I haven’t written on this site since November, I think. It’s OK. I have been busy writing for 3 different sites.
This calendar year has been a year of change. I don’t believe in making New Year resolutions because of their extremely high rate of failure.
I wanted to lose weight, but knew that starting a regimen January 1st was a guarantee of failure. I decided to start in February.
One morning, I was chatting with a good friend of mine when I mentioned my plan. He asked, “why don’t you start now?”. That was January 3rd. I began training and watching my nutrition that very day.
Today is April 5th, and I am 1.4 pounds away from my goal. I’m forever thankful to my friend who I now call “coach”.
I spent the past 3 months focused on losing weight and getting into shape for the spring and summer seasons. As a result, I now weigh the least I’ve weighed since high school.
Sergei Rachmaninoff playing a Steinway & Sons piano
This headline should start arguments. In any subject, mentioning a favorite results in arguments in the comment section. People by nature tend to be passionate about their favorites.
I am a huge fan of several composers. I found myself debating with myself over who is my number one piano composer. It was Franz Liszt who got me into classical piano… before I even know of the different eras. He was a composer during the Romantic era.
I bought my piano this past spring and began taking lessons. At the same time, started to expand my collection of favorite pieces. Since I like Liszt, I decided to explore more composers from the Romantic era. I found Sergei Rachmaninoff among several others.
I was blown away the first time I heard Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in C# Minor aka Opus 3 Number 2. It immediately became my new favorite piece. I dream of being able to play it someday.
I then discovered a wonderful current-day pianist named Yuja Wang while I was looking for more pieces by Rachmaninoff. I found two videos of Yuja Wang playing Rachmaninoff pieces. Both Prelude in B Minor, Opus 32, Number 10, and Prelude in G Minor, Opus 23, Number 5 are wonderful pieces which invoke emotions.
My love of classical piano grew exponentially and continues to grow each day. I have discovered several more pieces by Rachmaninoff which lead me to state that he is my favorite composer.
I also love Franz Liszt, Frederic Chopin, Claude Debussy, Johannes Brahms, and Erik Satie. It just seems that Rachmaninoff has the most pieces which resonate deeply with me. I found my style.
As I continue to explore the wonderful world of classical music, I expect to find many more wonderful pieces by all my favorite composers and others.
I will leave you with my current list of favorite pieces by Sergei Rachmaninoff.
I will start this post by not lying. I will tell you all the truth and nothing but the truth so help me.
Summer has ended and I am now feeling sad. The cold weather and the fact that it will be miserable for the next 8 months has really got me down.
There are only two things that bring joy to me during the start of these dark days. The piano and my new job.
I just completed my second week at my new job and am still very excited. I’m so excited I find it difficult to sign out at the end of my shifts.
As most of you should know, I’m passionate about the piano. Learning and practicing piano has really helped me to feel better all around. I am working on my scales and spending up my left hand. I see Improvement in my sight reading and left hand speed. I’m also seeing improvement in my hands-together routine.
I am thankful to be able to work from home but fearful of the day when they ask us to return to our office…especially now that the weather is poor.
I miss my friends overseas and look forward to the day when I can see them again.
