Since that time, she's made new discoveries and found new challenges in the piece each and every time she has practiced and performed it. It's a lifetime project and it's worthy of being a lifetime project. This is music I never tire of. It's music that I think one could practice every day for an entire musical life. It's always interesting and it always teaches me something.
Preparation really becomes a matter of completely internalizing the piece and owning it.
This happens gradually over the years. But looking back, I think of how much better I understand them now. And each time you perform the piece, you learn more. Crawford offered an informal performance of the Variations during last summer's Baroque Performance Institute and she plans to perform them during her sabbatical next year. She recorded the piece in Finney Memorial Chapel at the beginning of Winter Term and is now searching for a publisher.