My intuition regarding Caténaires proved to be right – at least where my brain is concerned.

I’ve returned to Caténaires after letting it lie fallow for a while. Now, I’ve by no means mastered the other short Carter pieces that I’ve been looking at, but they’ve been ticking along quite nicely, and I’ve become comfortable with Carter’s idiom – whatever that might be.

Greater familiarity with his musical language has made it much easier to process – and memorise! – the stream of constant non-repeating semiquavers, to the point whereby I’m now reasonably confident I can get the whole piece under my fingers. Reassuringly, it’s also starting to feel like music rather than just a chain of notes.

It seems to have been very worthwhile to take a step back and do some preparatory study with slightly easier pieces. And I’ve got to know more of Carter’s works in the process.

Another interesting and pleasing side-effect of playing music as intellectually stimulating as Carter is that after an hour spent battling the irrational rhythms of something like 90+, a lot of more “normal” music doesn’t seem quite so difficult any more.

Where next? I’m looking forward to trying to play Berio (the Sequenza) or one of the Stockhausen Klavierstuecke. But I’ll get these Carter pieces sorted out first.