The Journey
Start here...
If you just found me, then hi 👋 - and welcome. This is a small update to my original “Start here” post, which is still valid, but this one just have a few more details.
Recently, I’ve been a bit back and forth and confused myself a couple of times with what I’m trying to do here on Substack and the other platforms that I think it’s time to give a small update on how everything fit together here and where the path I’m walking here on Substack is leading.
The Why
As for the why of all of this, my first post here and the about page still explains this well:
But in short, I’m in a chaotic situation. On top of being a dad of two boys (3 and 7), my startup that I was the CEO of failed in the beginning of 2026, I have a chronically ill close family member since 2024, a stress / depression diagnosis of my own, speeding into financial insecurity because of all of this and all that comes with that.
But I feel a tremendous pull toward the piano and (neo)classical music in general. It’s all I think about when I’m not with my family. It’s all I do. It consumes me - in a good way. A lot of the posts I write here goes into greater detail about this and why.
The Mission
As I feel a strong pull to master this instrument I’ve decided that before Dec 31st 2030 I want to master the hardest works by Franz Liszt. So that’s La Campanella, the Transcendental Etudes, Sonata in B Minor. Master means being able to play these pieces so well that I could qualify for one of the competitions. The piéce de resistance is Sonata in B Minor that’s the target, but the others feel natural to add before that one.
My current level is that I can play Chopin Nocturne op 9 no 2, Liszt Consolation 3, and the like. I’m currently (19.04.26) working on Liebestraum 3 and Un Sospiro, which are Henle level 7 and 8 respectively.
Progress is good, but it’s one thing being able to play 5 minute Henle 8 piece sort of ok and then master a 30 min long Henle 9 sonata.
The stuff I’ll be sharing
My Substack is the headquarters for this mission and the journey towards it. I really feel like I’ve found my home here on Substack in a community with other 40-50 year olds sharing their transformation stories, their journeys. Following along here on Substack means you get the full picture.
Here’s what I have been sharing, and will continue to share:
Daily practice videos of something I’m working on as Notes
Longform posts about the journey. These can be from a philosophical, piano technical, adult mastery or any angle that makes sense for the current step in the journey. I plan to publish one long form post pr week.
The new stuff I’ll be sharing
I also want to add more recurrent posts, so I’ve decided to try to add two new types:
Weekly progress reports of what happened this week, what I managed to do, what I’m struggling with, as well as an easy to read summary of the most important Notes I shared throughout the week. All in one compact post so you won’t miss important stuff that I shared as Notes during the week.
I’ll soon be adding the first section to the newsletter where I’ll be highlighting a neoclassical album and/or artist that I find worth listening too. More about this later.
So I plan on reaching between 2 and 3 long form posts every week.
What about the podcast?
You may have noticed that I 3 weeks ago launched my podcast, then failed to post anything after that. And that was because I realized that the documentary angle I had planned was stealing too much time from what’s actually important for me — playing piano. So there WILL be a podcast, but it will be more an interview style podcast where I’ll interview pianists, neuroscientists, sports psychologists etc about how to perform your best at middle age and how to actually achieve this missions.
I will properly relaunch this once I feel it’s ready.
What about other platforms?
I’m also actively crossposting all practice videos on Instagram and Youtube and I’m publishing the podcast on all the usual podcast platforms. But rest assured, that if you’re here then you get it all, and you will soon get to pick you own adventure to ensure you only get the stuff me that you’re interested in (but as default you subscribe to everything).
New timestamp for all posts
From now on all posts and Notes shared here will have the following line at the top:
Week 16 - Day 108 / 1717
This is the counter that reminds me of the time I have left until the deadline and it also contextualises the post / Note in terms of time and thus anything else that is happening around that time.
This is also done to make it easier for people who may find me via a random Note algorithm push to see that there’s a progress to following along with.
The year 1 curriculum
This brings me to the final piece of this post which is to let you guys in on what I plan to learn during the first year 2026. This is my curriculum for the year:
Liebestraum 3, Liszt → Currently a bit more than 50% playthrough.
Consolation 3, Liszt → Polishing state
Un Sospiro, Liszt → Just started.
Piano Sonata no 8, op 13 “Pathetique”, Beethoven → Not started yet.
(links to all of these on Spotify below)
But as you may have already seen I might take some small detours when they inspire me such as the Rondo K485 and now Chopin’s Nocturne 20 posth. These are to be expected.
Apart from these pieces I also want to:
Learn all 40 Czerny Op 299 etudes - this is his “school of speed” and since he literally was Liszt’s teacher I feel these would be non-negotiable.
Learn all scales and arpggios in all keys, 4 octaves, quarter notes at speed 120
The year will be closed off with a house concert in my home where I’ll be playing my entire repertoire live to at least my family and friends and we’ll see if anybody else will show up.
That’s the curriculum for the first year.
I hope this clarified a bit more what I’m working on here and how things fit together. And I can’t wait to share this journey with you. No matter whether there’s 11 or 1000 of you it has a great therapeutic effect on me to reflecting on this quite “interesting” (for lack of better words) part of my life.
So all that’s left is to hope that you want to follow along! 🙏