The Well-Tempered Clavier, Prelude 1, Book 1 by Akaash Maharaj published on 2015-04-25T22:13:37Z Until November 2014, the last time I had played a musical instrument was more than two decades ago, in my compulsory high school music class. I was assigned the oboe, which I imagine would be quite a beautiful instrument -- in someone else's hands. The years since them have slipped by faster than I care to think, but I always harboured a desire to return to music through the piano, just for the pleasure of it. I began my lessons in the autumn of last year, and can certainly attest that being an adult student is a humbling experience. My first time playing in public was this past week, at the music festival in the small community of Renfrew, near my home in the Ottawa Valley. I played Prelude 1 of Book 1 from JS Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier. I selected this piece primarily because I have always enjoyed it, but also because I hoped that the regular geometry of the composition would place it within my modest abilities. The festival asked pianists not to record their performances, and so this is a recording of one of my late practice sessions. I realise that I play the piece much more briskly than is usual, and I will likely moderate my pace in the future. Bach wrote that the pieces of The Well-Tempered Clavier were, “for the profit and use of musical youth desirous of learning”. It has certainly been a while since I was a youth, and I have never been terribly musical, but I am desirous of learning. Genre Piano