Koda Exploration

And then we arrive into the Koda.

If you remember the poetry that I wrote to you, it says it was a beautiful summer night and the stars were shining or gazing upon them.

Importance of the Stars

For me, it is very important to show those stars. And here they are, coming along in the lower register.

Students' Reaction

Now, some students become dazzled by this section for some odd reason. So, here's what I suggest we do:

• Play the Chords: First of all, we play it as the chords, which is very useful. This will give you an idea of the hand position.
• Hold the Lower Note: We need to make sure that the lower note is held.
• Sonority of Notes: We always have a sonority of three notes or four notes. This is very important.
• Syncopation: There is some sort of syncopation as well.
• Beautiful Bass: I also want you to pay attention to the beautiful bass because it's holding it all together, and we need to hear this.

Measure 87 Insights

Now, there's a beautiful imitation. I want to also point out measure 87:

• First Edition: The first edition had an octave there instead of a second fifth.
• Tchaikovsky's Autograph: Tchaikovsky in his autograph had two fifths both times around.
• Common Practice: However, a lot of us play the octave in measure 87 just because we're so used to that. Both of them work.

Conclusion of the Koda

Now, we move to the conclusion of the Koda. The syncopated section reflects the first subsection , the so-called lullaby in the second part , which is this very soft double piano.

• Need to Hear the Line: I do need to know this; I need to hear this line.
• Crescendo: I would say it has a very small crescendo, and I do it just a little bit differently.

Arpeggiato Chords

As you see, there are nine G minor arpeggiato chords at the end. So I usually do it this way:

• Starting the Crescendo: I start the crescendo a little bit later, and then I do the diminuendo.

For me, this is such a quintessential sunrise.

Ravello Music Festival

I don't know; some of you probably know that there's a famous music festival in Ravello. It's called the Ravello Music Festival, and they have the most amazing thing , a beautiful surrounding.

• Sunrise Concerts: They have what is called the sunrise concerts. When people come to listen to the concert, it's dark. Slowly, the sun rises, and by the time the program is done, it's beautiful sunshine.

For me, this is such a beautiful ending of that summer night.