April 13 - Bartok's Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion

David Kaplan, Julian Pellicano, Greg Anderson, Eric Beach

Wow, wow, wow, wow! I didn't think I'd be able to go on following the first movement of today's performance; my heart was pounding so hard I was nervous my hands would shake right off the piano. I can only think of a few instances in my life in which I experienced such an incredible flow of adrenaline. (It went really well.) I was, as they say, "swept away by the music," ... swept away by the really intense, loud, and tight performance.

Bartok's Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion takes a great deal of work to put together and an unimaginable level of concentration to perform, but it's worth it.

On a side note, check out this photo I took from backstage while they were setting up:


Yes, that's the stage. You can't even see the second percussionist's setup for the Bartok or the marimba at the front of the stage. Percussion recitals, it seems, have a significantly more cluttered stage than piano recitals do.