http://youtube.com/watch?v=r3ez9_HeVK4
Having studied music for a number of years (sadly, not recently), I can attest that not only is it difficult to play this piece at speed--anyone can see that--but that the degree of mastery that she's displaying by being able to play it _precisely_ at far slower tempos is just as impressive. (Nonmusicians might find this nonintuitive, but muscle memory tends to be associated with a particular pace, or tempo...and playing precisely at a very slow tempo is also hard because it exposes every slight mistake in timing. Of which this artist makes very, very few.)
Having studied music for a number of years (sadly, not recently), I can attest that not only is it difficult to play this piece at speed--anyone can see that--but that the degree of mastery that she's displaying by being able to play it _precisely_ at far slower tempos is just as impressive. (Nonmusicians might find this nonintuitive, but muscle memory tends to be associated with a particular pace, or tempo...and playing precisely at a very slow tempo is also hard because it exposes every slight mistake in timing. Of which this artist makes very, very few.)