Bradykinesia and sloth; introduction to slow movements; music by Beethoven, Haydn, Mozart

When I was first diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, the symptom of bradykinesia was most apparent. Bradykinesia is the gradual, sometimes profound, slowing of body operations, and results in a generally slow body tempo. In addition to walking slowly, people with Parkinson’s (PWP) demonstrate bradykinesia through their slow arm and hand movements, as well as a slowing down of emotional response and sometimes cognitive functioning. I have described my own experience with bradykinesia as being caught in slow motion and not being able to set myself free. My wife and I jokingly refer to the sloth as my spirit animal, since sloths tend to move at about the same pace as I do!

Being a lifelong student of music and professional pianist, I naturally made a connection between bradykinesia and sonatas. Many pieces of music are referred to as “sonatas” when they are multi-movement pieces with a general arrangement of movements being “fast-slow-fast”. The first and last movements often sandwich in the slow, middle movement. This is not a hard and fast rule, but the textbook arrangement follows this pattern. Following this line of thought, it seemed appropriate to focus my attention on “slow movements”, namely, the pieces of music and the body motions.
As I reflect on the remaining 46 days of my “100 days of Parkinson’s” writing project, I decided to focus 30 of those days on some of my favorite musical slow movements. This morning, I asked my wife to stand close to me as I stepped up the ladder to reach the top shelf in our den, where my stacks of music reside. I pulled out my editions of sonatas by Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven, three of my favorite sonata composers. It took me quite some time to page through each volume, choosing the most likely sonatas to focus on. I’m a little top heavy with Beethoven at 10. Only 2 sonatas by Haydn made the cut, and Mozart rounded out the list with 8. My goal had been to choose 15 sonatas, approximately 5 each), so I could devote two days of writing to my experiences with each sonata. Apparently, this will need some tweaking, but I’m on the right track.

Since I have studied and performed most, if not all, of these movements in the past, returning to this music will be like reconnecting with old friends. I have history with each piece—days and long practice sessions spent answering the call that jumps out at me from the page. Many hours devoted to conquering specific technical challenges and solving interpretive questions. Countless handwritten annotations in the margins of each page. I feel like I’ve been preparing my entire life for this project. Now is the time to return to these pieces anew. It is my opportunity to re-learn each one of these slow movements, utilizing my current set of technical capabilities. I have lost some of my technique due to Parkinson’s, and I don’t seem to possess the same level of energy for playing. However, I am also noticing that the sheer musicality that emanates from the piano when I play, carries with it a type of melancholic joy and new appreciation of the beauty that I can still create at the instrument. My goal is to bring forth music, even in spite of diminished technical ability.

Today I sat down to play the first slow movement on my list. I have played the Mozart Piano Sonata in D Major, K. 284 ever since my youth. I enjoyed revisiting its slow movement, although I experienced some rather challenging roadblocks. I had to rest my hands after playing it through once, but it has occupied some serious head space all day long. I’ll return to it later today and try to put words to the experience for tomorrow’s post. Until then, may we make the most of our slow movements!

649 words
Day 54: September 22, 2023
Success!