The other day Justine and I had our first rehearsal, which was only possible due to a massive amount of technology. Each of us had multiple screens open. We used our phones to connect via video chat, we each had an iPad, and we were both consulting our computer monitors as well.
We have a very short time to put ten sonatas together, so we wanted to give ourselves a head start.
Justine had created a shared spreadsheet, and each of us put a preferred tempo for each movement, without consulting the other. At our rehearsal we talked through all of the sonatas, movement by movement, focusing especially on discrepancies.
It goes without saying that we are not planning to play these pieces metronomically, but it was quite helpful to notice where one of us was feeling a particular movement slower or faster than the other.
At the end of the call, each of us promised to try the other person's tempi and record our thoughts in the spreadsheet. It has enlivened my practice this week to consider Justine on the other side of the planet, knowing that she is also working toward this goal!
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