All three concerts went very well.  Since the concert in Mission was a re-engagement, and since we needed to play the Gershwin in both Port Alberni and Nanaimo, it was necessary that we bring almost two programmes with us for this trip.

For Port Alberni and Nanaimo:

Danse Macabre (arr. by the composer)..............Saint Saens
Variations on a Theme of Haydn.........................Brahms
Scaramouche......................................................Milhaud

Intermission

Two Slavonic Dances..........................................Dvorak
Rhapsody in Blue (original version by composer)..Gershwin

For our Mission concert:

Danse Macabre (arr. by the composer)..............Saint Saens
Sonata for Two Pianos.......................................Mozart
Scaramouche......................................................Milhaud

Intermission

Suite #2 for Two Pianos....................................Rachmaninoff

The main difficulty was in taking the Rachmaninoff with us without actually playing it for a few days, and then working it up for one concert.  Physically, it is the hardest piece in the repertoire (with the possible exception of the Bartok Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion), and to keep it fresh and secure, while at the same time dealing with the logistics of moving the pianos, is not easy.  However, the fact that we’ve played the piece so much made it not as hard as it could have been, and I’m glad to report that the performance went very well.  There is nothing like touring a piece over a period of years to make one grow with it artistically and in terms of security, though needless to say, we will never be foolish enough to take this one for granted!  For this trip, we started intensive work on it two weeks before we left.  The Mozart is not as hard physically, but in all other ways it is much harder, so we spent as just as much time on it.

I don’t want to end this entry on a down note, but Jim and I couldn’t help but remember that the last time we played in Mission, Bill Chapple was with us (please click here to go to the journal entry).  The concert presenters (and the volunteers who helped us with the instruments) remembered him well, and expressed genuine sorrow for his passing.

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