As usual, the performances at the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts were excellent. For Prjevalskaya’s performance I was seated behind her and paid particular attention to her movements, partly because I forgot my glasses and therefore couldn’t sit there reading the program or the news alerts on my phone (on silent) while she was playing. In any event, the way she swayed her body and bent her elbows to get her hands into the best position at all times was instructive.

In regard to reading the program, three things jumped out at me at Gewirtzman’s performance (for which I had my glasses). First, there were no program notes. They were replaced by an upcoming concerts page. I like having program notes in front of me during the performance (even when I make fun of them – see my April 4 blog), though I admit I don’t know what’s involved in producing them. Are there canned notes available somewhere for oft-played pieces (that weren’t available for Gewirtzman’s)? Or does someone write them up anew each time (and was that person on vacation)? I can live without a description of the music, but like having information about the composer and the time frame of and backdrop for the composition. Such a reduced note would be easier to produce (I presume) and would still leave room for an upcoming concerts schedule.

The second thing I noticed was that Gewirtzman served in the Israeli Defense Forces “Outstanding Musician” Program. That led me to finding an article about that program (https://www.israel21c.org/making-music-in-the-military/). Interesting stuff.

The third thing had to do with descriptions of movements. One that Gewirtzman played was shown as andante con espressione (at a walking pace, with feeling – why would you ever play without feeling?). There are apparently at least 20 basic tempos, and an greater number of mood markings (https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmXoypizjW3WknFiJnKLwHCnL72vedxjQkDDP1mXWo6uco/wiki/Tempo.html). It makes my head spin, allegrissimo.