My teacher recommended me for a special program that was an evaluated performance in front of a judge. If you received high marks for 10 years in a row you won a college scholarship. The first year went ok. The 2nd year I planned to play a challenging Chopin piece. I could play the piece just fine. I had the technical ability and the musicality. Chopin is known for having had large hands and wrote music that requires more than an octave reach. My hands don't seem large but my fingers are long and I could reach all the notes.
But the level of concentration required to memorize the order of the themes and repeats could not be achieved at home and I floundered on stage. After the director walked up and let me know I had gone over the allowed time I met my mother at the back of the auditorium and we walked home. She mentioned several times how embarrassed she was while I was fumbling at the keyboard. She found the whole experience very embarrassing. How I felt? She never asked.
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