There is a week to go until I take off for London and my recording session at Abbey Road - the detail work is intense. Not only with the music but the tons of details involved in pulling this together.
I have written and practiced my pieces many times. (I tell my neighbors to only listen to the good notes when I practice) Those endless unseen practice sessions are where the rubber meets the road.
In addition to the music, there are a ton of details, including the team of engineers, producer, executive producer, photographer, videographer, string players, piano tuners, photo releases, travelers, visitors, copyists, copy machines, publicists, flight details, ground transport, hotels, Covid tests and so on and so on.
I have created three notebooks of all of the music I will record. One notebook is for me at the piano, one for the recording engineer in the control room, and one for the producer. It will pay off during the recording to ensure we are all on the same page.
I look at the days of recording just like the day of running the marathon. I have completed five marathons. Marathon day is a happy day when you get the medal. The hard work for the marathon medal is with the unseen endless weeks of long training runs. I look at my Abbey Road recording days the same way. After all this practice, it will be a happy day to soak in the history of the room and the beautiful piano,
I won't get a marathon medal for this - but I will have memories that will last a lifetime and have my music become a part of those hallowed walls. How cool is this!