In a message dated 09/04/2002 02:46:11 GMT Standard Time, [log in to unmask] writes: >The liner >notes of the Brahms CD (on EMI), I think, mentioned that she practiced so >much during the recording sessions that by the end she was bleeding at her >neck. Of course, this would affect your spontaneity.) Which, the bleeding or the practising? I imagine that you are proposing that too much practice would reduce spontaneity. If so I would beg to disagree. As a performer myself I would say that on the contrary, true spontaneity in performance can only be achieved in conditions of complete technical security, hence the need for endless practice. Paul Silverthorne