PROGRAMMED FOR
Perseverance, Perfection, Passion, and Performance by Eldean Hagans
A
s musicians, we are programmed for per-
quickly burst my bubble with “Good, now where’s
mance. We rehearse the same seven-minute piece,
we finally marry quasi-perfection with passion,
severance, perfection, passion, and perfor-
measure by measure, note by note, ad nauseam. Practice seems unending as we seek the elusive
perfect play-through. Even when all the notes and rhythms are “perfect,” there is an expectation for passion in the music. Early in my years of piano
lessons, I was so excited to be able to play my
piece perfectly as printed on the page. My teacher
the feeling … the expression … the passion?” When there looms the ever-stressful performance where
it could fall apart in one blazing instant. My senior recital in college contained one of those meteor-hurtling-toward-the-earth moments when my fingers
were far ahead of my brain. It was all I could do
to hold the piece together until the saving grace Continued on page 38
February/March 2020
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