I recently gave a recital of my new repertoire at a concert in London.

However, due to having a holiday in Las Vegas the week before the concert (i know, i know...not the best timing) I found myself practicing eight hours daily in order to try and be fully prepared for the upcoming concert.

Then, sure enough, two days before the concert i had bruised my thumb and second finger by playing the two Chopin/Godowsky Etudes I had programmed into my recital.


So, me being me i carried on practicing, ignoring the pain and taking neurophen like they were smarties. Whilst giving the recital I felt that I would not be able to play part of the program to a standard I would be pleased with due to the injury so i announced to the audience that i was to make a small programme change.

With hind sight , should I have stopped practice for a day or should I have played through the injury at the concert?

I would value your thoughts and views on this .