Jan 9 (Var 2)

Ha! This was a noisy session. Mixers, oven beeps, timers, dishes, dog squeaks - it's been good for my concentration! I'm still not super happy with this "final" recording of Variation 1, and I might come back to it, but I'm feeling the itch to move on, so I did.

Variation 2 is slow and beautiful. And oh so tricky! The left hand is extremely straightforward, but that right hand is doing the work of two. There are two melody lines weaving through each other in this piece, something Bach is famous for. That means often one finger is holding a note while another finger crosses *over* that one to play a moving line. I considered recording just the right hand to give you an idea, but you can take my word for it.

On top of that, sometimes a note that belongs in one of those two melodies is played by the *left* hand. It's usually just one or two notes at a time, and it's kind of unpredictable. This is one of those pieces that you practice one measure at a time. Luckily, those are the ones I'm good at; there's a straightforward plan and I know how to achieve it. I actually have more difficulty with movements like the Aria, which I can just about sight read, because it's less obvious what needs to be done to improve. Not so here; it's clear what needs to be done: finger gymnastics.

This variation has two thematic halves like the first; here is a recording only of the first.