A Massive Glimpse Into Ligeti’s Pianistic Universe

Performing Ligeti’s complete Etudes is a challenge for any pianist. Young pianist Han Chen has received both attention and glowing reviews for his recording of the entire set for Naxos. We had the opportunity to speak with the pianist after his impressive recital at the Piano Experience in Cremona last fall.

Sometimes, sensations occur within the classical piano world that manage to make their way into the mainstream news flow. Whether it’s a sensational piano competition winner or a pianist performing all of Rachmaninoff’s piano concertos in a single concert, it is uplifting to see how piano culture can make a splash beyond the ordinary.

The young New York based pianist Han Chen has made an impression over the past year through his recording of Ligeti’s etudes (Naxos) and his performances of the same works. Praises in Gramophone and New York Classical Review make it natural to want to ask Han Chen some questions about his work with Ligeti’s etudes, which arguably also was a tribute to the composer’s centenary celebration, which took place in 2023. Han Chen is currently preparing a doctoral thesis on Thomas Adès’s piano pieces at the City University of New York named “Traced Overhead”.

Patrick Jovell: Dear Han, thank you for letting us talk to you. 2023 was “Ligeti 100” with celebrations all over the musical world. Can you tell us how this has effected your work with Ligeti’s cycle of 18 etudes – composed between 1985 and 2001 – and what sparked your interest and work with these?

Han Chen: Dear Patrick, thank you for having me. I am very glad that my work with Ligeti’s cycle of 18 etudes has caught some positive feedback, as I truly enjoyed working on them. Ligeti’s music has always fascinated me – I still remember hearing his Atmosphère for the first time in high school and the goosebumps it gave me. I have since heard performances of his piano works throughout my studies. Slightly before the pandemic, I learned the L’escalier du diable. The convolution and the excitement that comes with performing this work left me a deep mark, and when the pandemic hit, I threw myself into working on the complete cycle of his etudes. In a way, it was the only possibility for me to face the perplexing reality at the time, and the labyrinths Ligeti created lent me a dis/comfortable routine to keep a sane life during the lockdown. I knew Ligeti’s centenary was coming up, so I proposed this project to Naxos. It worked out greatly for both sides, and now I become inseparable from these wonderful gems of late-20th-century piano music.

PJ: Since their creation Ligeti’s etudes have made their way up on the concert stage and not least as a fully accepted choice of etude(s) at piano competitions worldwide. Can you reflect on which qualities we encounter in Ligeti’s oevre that has brought them up on the parnasse with greats like Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin and Debussy.

HC: Like all other composers, Ligeti used the form of an etude to create great music that either excites us or breaks our hearts. Ligeti is a master of using limited materials to come up with mind-blowing results, and an etude is precisely that. Although the technical challenges in his etudes are immense, the musical ideas are lucid and straightforward. Reading about the simple mechanisms in the etudes makes it unbelievable how musical they turn out. For example, Désordre’s rhythm evolves by adding or subtracting eighth notes, Touches bloquées is chromatic scales up and down while blocking some pitches, and Fanfares is the same eight-note scale repeated 208 times… all these self-imposed constraints sound so rigid and limiting. However, Ligeti is at his best with seemingly impossible rules. His restrictive rules provide the basis for both the technical challenges and the musical ideas, while his musical genius turns the rules into music that transcends both the performers and the audience.

PJ: The first book of the Etudes pour piano was composed in 1985, marking an 18-year gap since Ligeti last wrote for the piano, mostly in smaller forms. Despite not being a virtuoso, Ligeti admitted that his own inadequate technique was the main driving force behind the composition. However, influences from other composers can be seen throughout the etudes, such as Liszt’s “Il Sospiro” in No. 2, Chopin’s Op. 10/2 in No. 3, Rachmaninoff’s Op. 39/9 in No. 5, and elements of jazz swing in No. 6 with references to Liszt’s “Campanella” and Rachmaninoff’s Op. 32/12. When working on this set, how much impetus or sonic worlds from the old masters do you bring into your interpretations of these works? After all, we also know you as an excellent Liszt interpreter.

HC: Not to mention that the horn calls in No. 4 “Fanfares” can be traced back to Beethoven’s Les Adieux. Technically, No. 12 “Entrelacs” reminds me of Chopin Op. 25-1, No. 9 “Vertige” of Op. 25-6. In addition to the references you mentioned about No. 6 “Automne à Varsovie,” it largely refers to the sighing gesture related to the Romantic era, or the Lamento Motif for Ligeti.

Of course, Ligeti is not “afraid of” looking back to the tradition, unlike other avant-garde composers. He played chamber music with his students and colleagues on the piano, so he is intimately familiar with the classics. For me, it is not only revealing but also exciting to see the connections to the old masters, and I do believe my interpretation leans towards more traditional way pianistically. After all, I encountered his music around the same time when I encountered most of the music I know today, so Ligeti is, so to speak, an old master to me.

PJ: Book 2 written 1988–94 contains eight etudes, and Book 3, four, calmer in charachter written 1995–2001. How would you describe these sets of etudes compared to Book 1?

HC: According to what we know, a couple of pieces in the Book 2 were written around the same time as the Book 1, so stylistically they are closer together than Book 3. He did intend Book 1 to be played as a set, so the structure of Book 1 is more convincing than Book 2 when played in order. I have played all 18 Etudes in one concert, and I put the books in the following order: Book 3, 1, 2.

For me, Book 2 contains the most variety of characters, so it is impossible to summarize it. However, pianistically Book 2 is indeed more intricate than the other two books, as if Ligeti was trying to push the performer beyond the limit (he was indeed doing that!). I love the story of Pierre Laurent Aimard playing No. 14 “Coloana infinită” in which he misses the last note, which is the highest note on the piano, by hitting the side bar of the keyboard, and Ligeti liked it.

Book 3 is not necessary simpler even if it seems calmer. In fact, Book 3 is exploring something that’s more psychologically complex. The running theme in Book 3 is canons, mostly strict canons. Ligeti uses seemingly simple melodies as the dux, and the imitations of the canons create a mystic harmonic language. If No. 1 in Book 1 is two hands playing totally different things (left hand black keys and right hand white keys), the four Etudes in Book 3 are two hands playing the same things but always a bit off. The very slow and very fast tempi in the Etudes create a fraction in the mind that they are canons of the time more than the notes. As Ligeti writes “the fastest” and then “even faster,” the distance between the two hands gets so close that the mind can no longer tell the difference between hands.

PJ: Your album also includes the two Capriccios, written by Ligeti while being a student. The first is chromatic and modern, very structured and built on small motives. The second Capriccio makes one think Bartók’s Allegro barbaro and consists of irregular rhythms and shifting accents. How would you describe them as a performer and why did you couple them with the etudes?

HC: This is an album of music spanning half a century. We see the connection between early and late Ligeti, which is interestingly similar. He likes to start with a simple idea that runs throughout the entire work, and his personal treatment of the idea turns it into a very personal style. Indeed, the two Capriccios are still very much in the influence of Bartók, but we can already hear how he breaks from the tradition. His quirkiness in these two Capriccios becomes his trademark later on, namely the fantastical development of a simple idea and the structure of the development. I find it an intriguing pairing between the Capriccios and the Etudes, while the latter is more complex yet roots from the same characters.

PJ: You are a creative musician and we see you getting involved in interesting and experimental projects. You are also young but with vast experiences. How do the future plans look for you, projects, aims and expectations?

HC: Thank you for the compliments – I love to do different things. In fact, I am so excited about different projects all the time that I am often told to focus on one thing at a time. At the moment, I have just finished recording the Florence Price Piano Concerto with the Malmö Opera Orchestra and conductor John Jeter. It is a great piece that should have entered the canon long ago but luckily we are rediscovering it. Next, I am going to play two very best works by Boulez, the youthful Sonatine for flute and piano, and the masterful Sur Incises for 3 pianos, 3 harps, and 3 percussions. Boulez is the very first modern composer I fell in love with, and I am still inspired by his music. I also continue to commission new works – I have not mentioned that I commissioned 18 works inspired by the 18 Ligeti Etudes last year – and the next commissions are two solo piano works from Anthony Korf and Lei Liang. More classically, I am playing the 12 Chopin Etudes Op. 25 for the first time in a recital in the end of this season. These are all very exciting projects happening in one season, and I aim for more projects that excite not only me but also my colleagues and audience in the future.

---

Click the album cover to listen to the complete album.
This feature is available for Gold members of pianostreet.com

Play album >>

---

Read album review in Gramophone >>

The post A Massive Glimpse Into Ligeti’s Pianistic Universe appeared first on Piano Street Magazine.

from Piano Street Magazine https://www.pianostreet.com/blog/articles/a-massive-glimpse-into-ligetis-pianistic-universe-12866/

New Book: Women and the Piano by Susan Tomes

Susan Tomes’ latest book is a captivating and thought-provoking exploration of women pianists’ history, praised for its engaging storytelling, thorough research, and insightful analysis. The book combines historical narrative with Tomes’ personal insights as a performing female pianist.

Piano Street: Dear Susan, we were so happy to talk with you after the release of your book “The Piano – A History in 100 Pieces” back in 2021, and just recently your latest oeuvre was published; ”Women and the Piano”. This is your seventh book and this makes us wonder why writing about music is so important for you?

Susan Tomes: I have always been interested in expressing my thoughts in writing, from my earliest years at school. However, I did not find a way to bring it together with music until I was a young professional musician. By then I had some performing experience and was interested in sharing what I had discovered when rehearsing and preparing for concerts. As a member of the group Domus, I used to introduce pieces to the audience before we performed them, and people often told me afterwards that they found my words and descriptions helpful.

This gave me the idea of writing about music from a performer’s point of view. I have also found it helpful to have an outlet for some of the thoughts that go through my head when learning and performing music. Of course, many of those thoughts go into my playing of the music itself, but not all of them!

PS: Your new book sheds light on the male-dominated narrative of piano history by highlighting 50 pioneering women pianists and composers. What was the extensive research process like to uncover these trailblazers and ensure a more accurate account of piano history?

ST: First I should explain that my book is about the history of women pianists, not composers. In the course of writing about them, I found that some of them had composed music, but their music was not my principal focus. As for the research process, I started by looking through the books on my own bookshelf for references to woman pianists. That was a rather shocking experience because there were very few of them. It was also shocking to realise that although I had studied these books myself as a student, I had not consciously noted the absence of women. Now I can see how male-centric most of those books are, but I did not realise it until I started looking for index entries on women. I soon realised that there was a book to be written about women pianists – probably several books in fact. I did my research in the usual ways – in libraries, on the internet, listening to music, talking to people and asking them to tell me of women I might not know about. For example, it was at a dinner party that a fellow guest told me about their ancestor Louise Dulcken, an interesting 19th century pianist of whom I had never heard.

PS: In the course of your research, we imagine you’ve encountered a vast array of repertoire. Music history has traditionally been written from a perspective that elevates certain titans of style as the reference point and definition of their era. Meanwhile, numerous composers and artists have been working on their own unique paths, often unnoticed and marginalized by the historical record. Which female composers or artists did you find particularly stood out in this sense, carving their own distinct trajectories despite the prevailing narrative?

As mentioned, repertoire was not my main focus when writing the book, but I did look at lots of piano music by female composers, to build up a rounder picture of them and their work. One of the most talented was Fanny Mendelssohn, who was discouraged by her family from public performance or publishing her compositions. She wasn’t ‘carving out a distinct trajectory’ – her style was quite like her brother Felix’s, in fact, but her musical expression is (to my ears) sometimes more emotional and imaginative. I admire her cycle “Das Jahr”, a series of twelve virtuoso piano pieces depicting the months of the year.

PS: In March you played a recital at Wigmore Hall which presented nine women composers. What made you choose these and why?

ST: The Wigmore Hall recital was a sort of double event – a book launch for Women and the Piano, and a concert of music by some of those women. I took nine female composers mentioned in the book and made a lovely programme from their piano music. I took care to choose very good pieces – I didn’t want to give anyone the excuse to say, ‘Well, no wonder these pieces are not much played’. In fact, people were fascinated by the quality of the music and mystified as to why they had not come across it before. It has been very gratifying to introduce people to this music. Some people are familiar with it already, but many are not.

PS: Charlotte Gardner (International Piano) raises the question of gender imbalance in piano competitions – a career stepping stone for pianists. While sexism may be a factor, she senses it’s more complex. She wonders if conservatoires hold the key to understanding. The Leeds competition’s decision to address the issue is a positive step in shedding light on the problem. Which are your ideas on how to create a gender equal future for the music scene?

ST: I don’t think I know the answer to that question. Not just in music, but in many professional fields, we still hear regular reports of women being sidelined and under-valued. Things have certainly changed for the better, and there are many positive initiatives such as ‘blind auditions’ for piano competitions. However, there comes a point where the jury (and the audience) wants to see the real person in action. As Charlotte Gardner pointed out in International Piano in March 2024, ‘humans are hard-wired to form an initial response to someone based on visual cues’ – there’s no getting away from that. Even if the entire competition were judged ‘blind’, the winners still have to step out onto concert platforms around the world and be judged for how they look and move as well as how they play. Nobody has yet sustained a career entirely on sound recordings.

There’s a section on competitions in my book on women pianists. I found the same as International Piano did – that competitions are generally won by men. The reasons must be complex. Maybe men are more comfortable in a competitive atmosphere. Perhaps women are not going in for competitions because they feel competitions are ‘not a level playing-field’. Perhaps juries have unconscious bias. Perhaps the repertoire is designed more for men than for women – after all, most composers were male, and presumably wrote for their own man-size hands.

Traditionally, competitions have encouraged pianists to play Beethoven, Brahms, Liszt, Rachmaninov etc in a ‘heroic’ way, because such performances tend to win prizes. In this climate, women are in a difficult position. They can try to play in a ‘masculine’ way, which may go against their instinct, or they can ignore the traditional way, which may displease the jury. But it is not a simple matter of replacing ‘masculine’ repertoire with ‘feminine’ repertoire. Because many historical women were not given training in composition and did not have the time to compose or the opportunity to get their work published, the repertoire by female composers can never quite be the equivalent of the male one. Yes, there are beautiful piano pieces by female composers and these could be put on the menu, but it does not solve the problem of the predominance of ‘manly’ repertoire and our expectations of how it should be performed. There are still obstacles facing women who want to be concert pianists. When the nineteenth-century women in my book were trying to make their way in music, society disapproved of women who thought they could leave their homes, husbands and families to do something as ‘selfish’ as performing on a concert stage. Male pianists were not subject to the same expectations – nobody accused them of being selfish if their children were being looked after by someone else while they played a concert!

Today, the world is full of amazing female pianists, and we can rejoice that some of the most distinguished concert pianists are women. However, quite a few of those high-profile female pianists don’t have children. This may be a positive choice, but it may also indicate the difficulties facing women who want to be concert pianists. Men don’t have to sacrifice a family life to have a career – and nor should women. But for that to become a reality, society would have to change at a fundamental level.

---

Women and the Piano by Susan Tomes
Yale University Press, 2024
Preview and buy at yalebooks.co.uk

---

Related posts:
The Piano – A History in 100 Pieces

The post New Book: Women and the Piano by Susan Tomes appeared first on Piano Street Magazine.

from Piano Street Magazine https://www.pianostreet.com/blog/articles/new-book-women-and-the-piano-by-susan-tomes-12862/

Master Teacher Christopher Elton – Never Ending Impetus

With 50 years at the Royal Academy of Music and an international teaching career, Professor Christopher Elton has gained unique experience in how to coach accomplished artists. In this unique interview for Piano Street, Elton shares his insights and views on the big perspective.

People within the professional piano community know his name, and most have heard his students on concert stages around the world and in recordings. For those knowledgeable about piano competitions, he is a household name, and despite retiring 14 years ago, he continues to be active as a teacher and as a judge worldwide. Born in Edinburgh, Christopher Elton received his musical education at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he earned the Academy’s highest performing award on both piano and cello. He has won several British and international piano competitions, performing as a soloist and in chamber music, and freelanced as a cellist with London orchestras. Elton is renowned internationally for the success of his students at the Royal Academy of Music, many of whom have won prestigious awards in various competitions. He has also conducted masterclasses and served as a jury member in countries around the world, including the USA, Japan, Israel, and China. Additionally, he has given recitals in several countries. For 24 years, Elton was Head of Keyboard at the Royal Academy of Music, and he also held the title of Professor of the University of London. In 2018, he was appointed Visiting Professor of Piano at the University of Yale.

During the 2nd International Piano Competition in Gothenburg 2023, where Piano Street’s Patrick Jovell was part of the jury alongside Professor Elton, the opportunity was given to discuss Elton’s long career and experiences in jury work, both in smaller competitions and the larger, more prestigious ones such as The Cliburn or the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. Elton has also a long history with the piano competition in Ettlingen where many famous pianists have distinguished themselves at a young age, such as Lang Lang, Boris Giltburg, Igor Levit, Eric Lu, and Yeol Eum Son to name a few. Elton is a person with a passion for politics and language and nourished aspirations of becoming a barrister if not attending the Academy in his youth. Although Elton regrets not possessing a strong singing voice, his musical abilities suggest a universal and diverse musical knowledge gained from his extensive international experiences.

---

Patrick Jovell: During our meeting in Gothenburg, I brought up how your vast perspective on things has always stood out to many. Specifically, I referenced your 50+ years of work at the Royal Academy as an example of the longevity of your experiences. I know you retired as Head of Faculty in 2011, but that you are still continuing your teaching there.

Christopher Elton: Well, I greatly enjoyed my work as Head of Keyboard, but sometimes it gets a bit much, and it felt good to be able to focus solely on my teaching. And in Joanna MacGregor I knew I had a fine musician to succeed me in the post. She is so much more the person for a profession that has changed so much since 1987! Competitions are something that I really enjoy because they provide a fresh perspective and allow me to hear new and unique individuals. Additionally, it provides me with opportunities to meet like-minded individuals on judging panels and my colleagues. I don’t really care about the size or scope of the competition, whether it’s modest or extravagant like The Cliburn or Moscow’s Tchaikovsky. That said I do try to limit myself to relatively few each year.
I had an outstanding experience at the Gothenburg competition since it felt more like an educational journey, and there was no excessive pressure to win. I have consistently attended and judged the Ettlingen competition for over 30 years and find it to be one of my favourites because of the impeccable standard and the fact that it is designed for young minds.
I specifically enjoy organisations that provide a nurturing environment for their candidates, regardless of their ages. Although the idea of a “competition” may seem incompatible with artistic expression, the music industry will always fabricate a highly competitive environment at the top. So, competitions, when well run should involve jury members who are specialists in their field and should be in the best position to help in the “selection process”. But as much as I love this format, there are aspects that I dislike. (But that is for another day!)
I have already mentioned that some of my students have flourished without partaking in significant competitions: Benjamin Grosvenor never competed after a junior UK BBC competition when he was 16; Yevgeny Sudbin seldom competed and Freddy Kempf only competed once. However, Jose Fegali and Anna Geniushene gained successes in The Cliburn which certainly was a different and instant path to establish a career.
Gradually building a reputation that experts recognize and promote is better than being a newly crowned monarch whose recognition ultimately fades away too quickly.
What always fascinated me is the sheer variety of music and people one encounters. For instance, I have participated on numerous occasions over the past three decades, including relatively modest ones for young students, and grand ones like Cliburn and Moscow. Each has its own charm. Take Gothenburg, for example – it’s a humbling and educational experience, characterized by sharing, playing, and talking with fellow musicians, minus the tension that usually accompanies such contests.
For me, the quality of care and attention that candidates receive counts a great deal in my evaluation of competitions. I find it reassuring to know that those vying for honours are given the necessary support to ease away from the overwhelming pressure to win. I am all too aware that competing can be a source of stress for many.

Patrick: As you mentioned, many aspiring musicians aim for a career on stage, often leading to competitions, conservatories, scholarships, and a professional career. Clearly, the moment of competing is always there within the profession. As someone with experience in this field, I want to discuss how competitions have evolved over the years. You’ve served on many juries throughout your career and have seen the changes firsthand. It seems that competitions are increasingly focused on education and building bridges between different approaches. Additionally, there appears to be a growing influence from Asia in the world of piano playing. Can you reflect on how competitions have transformed over the past 25 years or so?

Christopher: I don’t think that much has fundamentally changed in structure. They still do the same thing. A lot of competitions, they do a kind of lip service: you can talk to the jurors and get some feedback. I’m not cynical, I’m just sceptical about whether that is really a very valuable system. For a start, sometimes you have to do it as soon as you’re eliminated, and competitors are disappointed, they’re in no mood really to be told whether they were good or bad. And often the advice they receive from different jurors is more contradictory or confusing.
Some competitions do include master classes with members of the jury. That’s more to the point. And some combine the whole thing in a kind of festival atmosphere where everybody plays gets some concert opportunity. But the basic format of Moscow or The Cliburn or Chopin, I don’t think it’s changed, apart from the extraordinary proliferation of people who enter. I mean, for the last Cliburn, I think they had about 380 applications. It was cut down to like 150 or 160. I was at the pre-selection. We thengot it down to 72. And they were invited to play live in Fort Worth. And then they chose 30 or 32. So, even to get into these big competitions is almost impossible for most people.
I believe Ettlingen is an excellent illustration. I served on the jury for the first time back in the early 80s, almost four decades ago. Initially, it was a charming, modest competition largely featuring European participants. However, the competition underwent a significant transformation with the second edition taking place soon after the era of Perestroika. The number of applicants skyrocketed from around 80 or 100 to 280, prompting the introduction of a pre-selection process. With the Iron Curtain lifted, some 120 applicants from Russia were added to the mix.

It nearly broke the competition because they thus had to find massively more hospitality for applicants, many of whom had little money. But the competition survived. I think that was when we began to realize that every Russian pianist wasn’t a genius. Back then the Russians only let out the star players to take part in competitions. We then found out; “Yes, sir, we’ve got wonderful Russian players, but – as with British – there are some pretty bad ones as well!” And then, of course, came Asia, with massive entries from China, South Korea and Japan. The entry from China was enormously increased when Lang Lang won Ettlingen in 1993.
Suddenly, Lang Lang was the star pianist. Every Chinese mother dreamed of their child following in his footsteps, flocking to apply to competitions like Ettlingen and Warsaw. The technical prowess displayed, especially by the under 15s, was astounding. Yet, over time, the initial awe faded as a lack of depth, gravitas, personality, and intensity became apparent in many of the young performers. Nevertheless, the truly exceptional ones remained outstanding in their talent.

I believe that currently, some of the most exceptional players are from Asia; Japan was perhaps first to be known for producing competition winners, followed later by China and South Korea. However, it seems that Korean pianists are now dominating big competitions. That being said, there are incredible artists in every country. Even in European countries, there are exceptionally talented players, but there are always those few who stand out and captivate listeners with their exceptional artistry and imagination. As Neuhaus astutely points out, giving a meaningful lecture requires more than simply being able to enunciate words, and the same principle holds true for piano performance. It is not enough to just play the notes with technical precision, a truly great pianist must also possess an emotional depth and unique perspective that captures the audience’s attention and elevates the performance to something truly extraordinary.

Patrick: In a recent interview i did with Garrick Ohlsson, we delved into his victory at the 1970 Chopin Competition in Warsaw and the evolution of piano playing. Ohlsson noted that in the past, a pianist’s country of origin was easily identifiable through their playing style, but now it has become more difficult to discern. Is this shift towards a more internationalized approach to piano playing a positive progression, or does it risk diluting traditional styles?

Christopher: I absolutely agree there. I mean, in fact, that in the 70s, 80s, there was a definite and phenomenal Russian school. Of all them all, I think the most identifiable now is possibly still the French school. However, nowadays, piano playing has seen a diaspora of influences, and it’s become challenging to classify piano players based on their schools. I think schools of violin and string playing still exist rather more.
But piano playing, well, it’s just been such a diaspora, such a wide array of influences now. So, whether the schools are brought on by this influence or whether they’re corrupted by it, I don’t know. But there’s a kind of cross breeding because the great Russian teachers, a lot of them have been in the West. The great, wonderful Chinese teachers, they’ve nearly all studied in the West. Before, they’ve only studied in Moscow. And so, there is this cross fertilization.
So, the edges are blurred. I am not sure you can talk of an “Asian SCHOOL”. It has been developed by so many European and American influences. But they have taken such training to a really high level, and often not merely techinically. Perhaps I admire and identify most with the South Korean, because there is such a deep core of sound and seriousness. I certainly am not denigrating the others, but Chinese tend not to have that richness of sound and that kind of gravitas. But over long years of competition jury work I can find them just a little predictable. (Many clear exceptions of course!)

Patrick: The topic we are discussing is fascinating as it explores how narratives drive culture forward through time and their connection to the past. Sharing music and cultural norms globally naturally leads to different interpretations of narrative, drama, and gravity. What are the benefits of cultural exchange across borders, and how does culture perception vary between regions like Europe and China? Considering their different historical contexts, it is evident that diverse cultural perspectives exist.

Christopher: It is important to acknowledge the rich cultural heritage of Chinese music, Chinese opera, and folk opera. Just as Hungarians have a strong tradition of folk music and dance, and Italians have a deep-rooted culture of opera, we must not overlook these aspects of cultural identity. Although it is unclear what specific cultural traditions exist in England or Sweden, it is evident that where I teach, the Academy boasts a diverse group of talented pianists from various backgrounds. By welcoming these musicians and exchanging ideas with them, students have the opportunity to broaden their musical horizons and engage in a truly international dialogue. Music, being a universal language, has the power to bring people together and facilitate mutual understanding across cultures. This is part of the tragedy of Brexit: we can no longer attract the wonderful and diverse student population from Europe that was so stimulating.

Patrick: You have had many students during your career as an educator. Many are well-known names at the highest level. Many are surely very eager to hear about the methodology you use when teaching at the top level, so to speak. How do you develop someone who already has so much knowledge and a clear artistic profile?

Christopher: The more advanced the student and the more genuinely gifted, the less appropriate is what could be called “methodology”. Of course with younger or less musically developed pianists then indeed there is a certain “method”. But here surely we are dealing with especial and individual talent and to try to mould this into some pre-determined box seems a recipe for stultifying the very uniqueness of the student.
So one has to respect THEM and try above all not to risk suppressing their musical personality.
Of course this is NOT some invitation to musical anarchy: my role is to try to strike a balance between allowing the student enough free rein, but being there to put the brakes on – hard if necessary – if the individuality is at risk of misrepresenting the essence of the music they play. And increasingly as they become real performing artists, our sessions together are almost as much discussion as instruction.
Nothing gives me greater pleasure than when people remark how totally different Yevgeny Sudbin, Benjamin Grosvenor and Anna Geniushene sound!

Patrick: Can you describe the key aspects of piano playing and how to best develop these during a student’s years at the bachelor’s and graduate level at the Royal Academy where you have been teaching all these years?

Christopher: This question surely needs almost a whole book.
Perhaps, though, one can start with the fact that piano playing cannot be totally divorced from music. So the stronger the musical image the more clearly the student can work at the pianism demanded to meet this image.
And I think we can almost begin with the idea of SOUND. If the ear is not really functional then any work risks being merely motoric. Learning almost every other instrument starts with the difficulty of actually producing an acceptable sound, but this can seem all too easy for pianists! You press a key and – magic – you have a musical sound! (Of a type!)
We talk glibly about “technique” so much, but can forget that the Greek origins of that word mean “pertaining to art/skilful”.
But to try to answer about how to teach key aspects of playing the piano in a paragraph is almost an insult to the thought and work that needs to go into this.

Patrick: You have conducted masterclasses all over the world. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this teaching format?

Christopher: I enjoy giving masterclasses: hearing new young musicians and having to respond on the spot both to them as individuals and to music that on occasion I may simply never have heard. (It is far from uncommon to come to give such a class with absolutely no foreknowledge of the repertoire you are to hear!)
But I sometimes describe this as “teaching without responsibility”, in that – although one approaches the task extremely seriously and hopes to be helpful, at the end of the day the student goes away and probably that is the end of your musical connection. It is the opposite of regular teaching and mentoring where you feel a real duty to nurture the student through a period often of several years. This, of course, is by far the more essential and valuable stimulus to the development of the student.
But at best masterclasses can be a real source of inspiration and a valuable opportunity to get a new pair of ears and a new musical mind to hear and advise you. I remember perhaps the most consistently great masterclass teaching I ever heard, given by a great musician (and a fine man) – Alexander Satz – who left Russia after perestroika and settled in Graz. He was our Visiting Professor of Piano for many years and I have seen students after his lesson seeming almost to walk on air, they were so inspired. And his lessons were totally without any self-aggrandisement – just a sense of humility in front of great music.
There are risks – not least that the student feels this teacher is on a higher pedestal than his regular teacher and that all he suggests has to be suitable advice that he MUST follow, (and even perhaps that his regular teacher is not due equal respect).
And the worst misuse of the system I came across was on a summer course where one student played the same work to three or four different masterclass teachers in succession. Madness! Finally I would have to say that I do not think any teacher in a public masterclass should ever humiliate any student.

Patrick: During my recent visit to Cremona, I attended one of the 180 events happening over the course of three days. This particular event was a panel discussion on the topic of Erasmus and beyond. It was a stimulating conversation with speakers from seven countries, including the United States. I’m curious; how has the EU’s Erasmus program been utilized and impacted internationalization, both before and after Brexit?

Christopher: I mean for music education and education generally, and the sciences too, apart from anything else, Brexit’s been an absolute disaster. We are no longer in Erasmus. If a European student wants to come to us, the fees are astronomically high. They pay the same as in America or as Chinese students. They used to pay the same as an English. So, if they’re going to come we – the Academy – have to fund them basically.
If a talented student from Sweden or Italy comes to study as an undergraduate, we are seeking a 4-year course and funding of £120,000 for them. This is a reality we must confront. We used to have several students come through Erasmus, often in their third year of study, with many returning after completing their bachelors for postgraduate studies.
We have in the past had exchanges for teachers and students with institutions in many European countries. I visited many institutions myself, though I found this not to be as productive as I had hoped. Teacher exchanges, while interesting, may not be the most fruitful use of time and resources. However, the opportunity to exchange students for a semester or a year can have a significant and positive impact.

Patrick: Have there been created any substitute exchange programs after Brexit?

Christopher: We currently do not have any concrete exchange programs in place. While we have connections with various conservatoires and universities, there have not been any official exchange programs established. There was one individual who came two years ago, but that was shortly after Brexit and regulations were still in flux. It is now clear that Brexit has brought an end to any potential collaborations. So very sad.

Patrick: What is coming up in your busy and evidently non-retired life Christopher?

Christopher: If my health is good, and my wife’s health is good, I think we both like to go on doing what we do. But gradually, I guess things will reduce a little. My wife keeps telling me I’m unable to say no… I think my early upbringing made me believe I’d never be good enough to earn a living playing the piano. So, I still have this deep rooted slight anxiety: “I ‘d better take it because I might never be asked again”!
So, maybe I am turning down a few more things, not because they’re lesser or because they pay less, but because I just realized I’ve got to say no a bit more. Now, I’d like to carry on teaching at the Academy, as long as people want to study with me and the Academy want me to teach. But I think I’m going to want to reduce by a few hours a week – instead of which this last year it went up by 5. And that’s not what I wanted. And the mix of external work such as juries and masterclass courses is a refreshing and different experience.

The post Master Teacher Christopher Elton – Never Ending Impetus appeared first on Piano Street Magazine.

from Piano Street Magazine https://www.pianostreet.com/blog/articles/master-teacher-christopher-elton-never-ending-impetus-12850/

Lucas Debargue – A Matter of Life or Death

Since Glenn Gould’s performances in Moscow in 1957 and Van Cliburn’s historic victory in the Tchaikovsky Competition the following year, at the height of the Cold War, no foreign pianist has attracted as much attention in Russia as Lucas Debargue. In 2015 he entered the famous competition in Moscow as a complete outsider, though he had only been studying the piano seriously for four years and had no experience of playing with an orchestra. He recently recorded the complete piano works of Gabriel Fauré on the Opus 102, a very special grand piano by Stephen Paulello. Eric Schoones from the German/Dutch magazine PIANIST had a conversation with him.

Horowitz used to study all the piano works by a given composer even if, as in the case of Fauré, he only included two pieces in his concert repertoire. Does your perspective change when you have an overview of the entire body of work?

Absolutely! I had regarded Fauré as simply a transitional figure between two generations. I certainly saw him as a great musician and a genius in the field of harmony, but he remained the man of the soothing ‘Requiem without purgatory’, moderate in everything and full of gentle melodies. I knew neither the Fifth Barcarole nor the Seventh Nocturne with their fury and ferocity, nor did I have any insight into his very personal and complex counterpoint. Now I consider these four and a half hours of music to be one of the absolute highlights of the piano repertoire. He had a very personal, philosophical relationship to beauty, actually very intimate, not superficially virtuosic, not spectacular, but still very difficult to play. Discovering Fauré came as a shock and a revelation. Perhaps a bit of laziness is also involved; choosing repertoire is like choosing clothes – we prefer to wear something familiar, ready-made, rather than customising something ourselves.

Debargue plays Paulello’s Opus 102 piano

The largely unknown repertoire and Paulello’s special instrument make this recording an interesting statement.

That is something I’m proud of. Paulello’s craftsmanship enjoys an excellent reputation, but his instruments are still too little known. He has done something really fundamental here; everything is different from usual, the piano has 102 keys, the touch is extremely sensitive, and how you develop the sound requires a lot of acclimatisation. I needed time to discover everything, and that has changed my technique and music-making. It goes in directions that haven’t been explored before, because most piano makers end up operating in the same arena. Stephen Paulello is truly an outsider.

Paulello is also a pianist. Could that perhaps be the difference?

That’s part of it; he built his instrument on the basis of his experience as a pianist. The recording was a real team effort, Paulello, Hans Kipfer, the sound engineer, and I all worked hand in hand. I sensed their support. Sometimes Paulello adjusted the piano a little and made suggestions. I liked that; for me that is art without egos and with open communication. Together with Hans Kipfer I worked like a madman for over six months on the editing, sending him 50 comments on each track, although we had already decided on the basics during the recording sessions. For me, a recording is like a sound sculpture. And I’m very critical about every detail – not everyone will hear the differences, but I have to use my own ears as a benchmark.

Claire Paulello, Hans Kipfer, Lucas Debargue and Stephen Paulello

So making music is a matter of life and death??

Of course! As a human being, you have to embody the music with everything you have, as it were, and make something happen that hasn’t happened before, something that can’t be compared to anything else, like a real performance. Think of Marina Abramović. Some people won’t like it, but that’s a good thing, because it means that at least something is happening. An interpretation has to open something up, ask questions. The only laws you have to follow are those of the beauty of symmetry. I come across colleagues who are tired and bored, and I find that unbearable. I’m tired sometimes as well, but never when it comes to music. I admire these professionals who have everything sorted out in their heads before they go on stage. But for me that’s impossible. I see myself as an artist, not as a pianist. I change my fingerings during the concert and I’m on the verge of a nervous breakdown every time I play. I can’t help it. I’m not interested in the piano. I’m not a musician, not a pianist. What is a pianist anyway? Someone who can play Liszt’s B minor Sonata without a single wrong note? If you look at it in those terms, then I’m not a pianist. I’d rather make a few mistakes, as long as it’s just to show how wacky the piece is. I think an actor may forget his lines as long as he captures the tension of the play and takes the audience on a journey of discovery. To forget being on stage, I often seek a delicacy of expression, an intimate atmosphere in a large hall. It’s about truth. How can you approach the Andante from Mozart’s 21st Concerto ‘as a professional’, music of such raw and wild passion that it breaks your heart?

It may be that Debargue has never been a ‘professional’, even though he was awarded fourth prize at the Tchaikovsky Competition and also took home the prize of the Moscow Music Critics’ Association. He has had a completely different career from all his rivals, who spent countless hours at the piano every day from a young age, especially those from Russia, who for years had their sights set on the ‘Holy Grail’ of the Tchaikovsky Competition, because anything less than a first prize is not accepted in Russian culture. Lucas Debargue spent his youth in a completely different way. He invested all his money in piles of sheet music, which he played through as if intoxicated by the music’s beauty. How could it be otherwise for someone who also has such a fervent passion for the other arts, such as painting and film, as well as a university degree in philosophy and literature? For a while he earned his living as a jazz pianist in bars.

His encounter with the famous teacher Rena Shereshevskaya marked a turning point in his life. ‘Through her I finally understood music, and her vision inspired me. She is more of an artist than a teacher.’ At the age of 21 he began serious piano studies, and when he was 24 he took part in the Moscow competition. ‘I went to the competition to make music as well as I could, in one of the most beautiful halls in the world in front of a wonderful audience. That alone was my goal. How could it be otherwise? I had no previous experience and after the competition I was thrust into the arena alongside the biggest orchestras. Today I can talk about it – eight years have passed and a lot has changed in the meantime. At that time I wasn’t ready for an insane schedule packed with concerts. I had no concert experience; it was a nightmare. My friends sometimes say that I always wanted to be a concert pianist, but they’re just imagining it. All I knew was that I wanted to dedicate my life to music.’ ‘I recently played Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto. It was a great success, and yet a friend from the orchestra’s board, who had every reason to be pleased with a full house and a very enthusiastic audience, asked me if the first section hadn’t been a bit too fast. I don’t understand that. When you go with the flow of a piece, there is no fast or slow. If everything has to follow a pattern of expectations or a predetermined plan, that has nothing to do with art. That’s why I’m a control freak in my studio, I try to master every detail so that I can be free on stage and keep my eyes peeled for danger.’

He thinks it’s a pity that he can no longer play in Russia. ‘The audience there is something very special. You can talk about the sociological context in Russia, but you can feel the audience there very intensely; they devour the music. In Germany, for example, the audience is no less involved, but people are more reserved. And the more you get into a trance, the crazier it gets in Russia. I tried never to feel the boundaries there. Art should not be turned into a business. We need labs where artists can talk about their ideas. It’s about the joy of exploration; it’s better to answer a question with a question than with an answer. This is necessary because society is sick. Recently, a survey of 19,000 people in Europe revealed that 26 per cent believe that the sun revolves around the earth; who knows how many believe that the earth is flat? And they will not be dissuaded. Just think about what happened in the USA on 6 January 2021 – that worries me. We are in a serious crisis, there are so many concerns about conspiracies. It all starts with education, and if there was more artistic creativity, people would develop and not fall for this nonsense. Artists are like doctors, like a family that keeps old spiritual values alive.’

— ERIC SCHOONES

This article is a contribution from the German and Dutch magazine Pianist through Piano Street’s International Media Exchange Initiative and the Cremona Media Lounge.

---

Pianist Magazine is published in seven countries, in two different editions: in German (for Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxemburg and Liechtenstein) and in Dutch (for Holland and Belgium).
The magazine is for the amateur and professional alike, and offers a wide range of topics connected to the piano, with interviews, articles on piano manufacturers, music, technique, competitions, sheetmusic, cd’s, books, news on festivals, competitions, etc.
For a preview please check: pianist-magazin.de or www.pianistmagazine.nl

The post Lucas Debargue – A Matter of Life or Death appeared first on Piano Street Magazine.

from Piano Street Magazine https://www.pianostreet.com/blog/articles/lucas-debargue-a-matter-of-life-or-death-12792/

Does Rachmaninoff Touch Your Heart?

Today, with smartwatches and everyday electronics, it is increasingly common to measure training results, heart rate, calorie consumption, and overall health. But monitoring heart rate of pianists and audience can reveal interesting insights on several other aspects within the musical field.

We have previously written about Dr. Riley, who uses body scanning and heart rate to improve musicians’ playing, performance and self-consciousness.

Researcher Wolfgang Tschacher has also worked on measuring synchronicity between music performances and audiences through heart rate measurements and has recently published his results in the scientific magazine Nature. Tschacher’s results indicate that individuals in an audience may synchronize their breathing patterns, perspiration rates, and even movements in their seats while collectively experiencing a classical music concert.

Scanning Yuja Wang During Rachmaninoff Marathon

As part of last year’s Rachmaninoff 150 celebrations, pianist Yuja Wang made headlines after a 2.5-hour Carnegie Hall performance featuring Rachmaninoff’s all four piano concertos and the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini in January 2023. Wang, alongside conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Philadelphia Orchestra, delivered a most challenging program, first-time-ever done, according to Wang.

Continuously, Rachmaninoff’s music enchants audiences like no other, and the artists aimed to explore a central question: How does Rachmaninoff’s music affect your heart rate?

Carnegie Hall decided to make an experiment to investigate it based on the impressive effort of the occasion: During the performance, Wang performed over 97,000 notes, equivalent to 621 pages of music and 2.5 hours of playing time. Throughout the concert, she burned 2,427 calories, equivalent to 20,275 steps. In contrast, Nézet-Séguin burned 1,645 calories, or 15,079 steps.

One particularly intriguing aspect was Wang’s ability to identify key musical moments by analyzing her heart rate graph. She noted spikes in her heart rate during intense passages like the jumps in the Rhapsody but also moments where her heart rate remained surprisingly low despite the demanding music.

Wang mentioned that her heart rate tended to surge during climactic sections with more notes, showing a clear correlation between the music’s intensity and her physiological response. However, her deep familiarity with Piano Concerto No.3 seemed to induce a sense of calmness, reflected in her notably relaxed heart rate during this piece.

Orchestra and Audience Too

Multiple orchestra members and audience members also wore heart monitors to track their heart rates throughout the performance. The results revealed fascinating insights, from the highest to the lowest heart rates and moments of synchronized heartbeats among the performers.

Connecting Musically

The study also revealed instances of synchronized heart rates between Wang and Nézet-Séguin, highlighting their profound musical connection. These moments of harmony in heartbeats emphasized the emotional and intellectual bond that music creates, transcending mere notes to create a shared “telepathic” union.

In essence, Carnegie Hall’s experiment with a heart monitoring device offered a unique perspective on the intersection of music, emotion, and physiology, showcasing the complex interplay between a performer’s physical and emotional responses during a live concert.

Watch the video in which Carnegie Hall presents the results of the experiment:

---

Related reading:

Body and Intention – Tracking Down Musicians’ Health

Audience synchronies in live concerts illustrate the embodiment of music experience

The post Does Rachmaninoff Touch Your Heart? appeared first on Piano Street Magazine.

from Piano Street Magazine https://www.pianostreet.com/blog/articles/does-rachmaninoff-touch-your-heart-12815/

The Complete Piano Works of 15 Composers

Piano Street’s digital sheet music library is constantly growing. With the additions made during the past months, we now offer the complete solo piano works by fifteen of the most famous Classical, Romantic and Impressionist composers in the web’s most pianist friendly user interface.

Last year, we celebrated Piano Street’s 20th anniversary with a new web design and new improved composer pages. Now, when you visit a composer’s page, you get an instant overview of all their piano works as well as quick access to each composer’s most popular piano pieces.

With the recent addition of hundreds of scores, we now offer the complete piano works by twelve of the most famous Classical, Romantic and Impressionist composers: Bach Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Chopin, Liszt, Brahms, Grieg, Tchaikovsky, Debussy, Ravel, Rachmaninoff and Prokofiev

<!–
For example, you can now download any of Mozart’s 27 Piano Concertos. Browse and study your favorite concertos in full score or in piano reduction. Many of Debussy‘s lesser known pieces, including several works for piano four hands or two pianos have also been added recently. And be sure to visit the Grieg page to see how much more there is to the Norwegian composer than his ever-present Lyric Pieces – our Grieg collection now holds no less than 219 works! –>

When you have clicked a piece link, don’t forget to open the AST which allows you to access selected recordings while following along in the score – and immerse yourself in the world of classical piano music!

While we offer the complete work lists with work data, comments, first-line previews and forum links openly on the website (for free without registration) you need a Gold membership in order to download pdf-scores or view and listen to the piece in the AST.

<!–

Who is next up?

We will continue to work through the major piano composers in order to provide digital scores for their complete solo piano productions. With the 12 above mentioned composers checked off, which composers would you like us to work on next? Let us know by answering our poll and posting a comment motivating your selection.

[poll id=”10″]–>

The post The Complete Piano Works of 15 Composers appeared first on Piano Street Magazine.

from Piano Street Magazine https://www.pianostreet.com/blog/site-news/the-complete-piano-works-of-15-composers-12776/

International Piano Day 2024

Piano Day is an annual worldwide event that takes place on the 88th day of the year, which in 2024 is March 28. Established in 2015, it is now well known across the globe. Every year it provokes special concerts, onstage and online, as well as radio shows, podcasts, and playlists.

“Why does the world need a Piano Day? For many reasons. But mostly, because it doesn’t hurt to celebrate the piano and everything around it: performers, composers, piano builders, tuners, movers and most important, the listener.” – Nils Frahm, pianist and founder of Piano Day

Official website: pianoday.org

Piano Day website presents a vast collection of events taking place all over the world. Many of them favour the so called ”new-classical piano music” genre. Piano Street has put an effort in finding performances which reflect the classical piano repertoire.

Selected online events: (more will be added when available)

---

Medici.tv

Join medici.tv in an 88-minute celebration of legendary pianists and the pieces we love to hear them play! Curated specially for you, this compilation brings together works by Chopin, Beethoven, Rachmaninov, Brahms, and other favorite composers in the hands of some of the finest interpreters of every recorded era: Vladimir Horowitz and Arthur Rubinstein to Van Cliburn, Martha Argerich and Daniel Barenboim to Maria João Pires and Grigory Sokolov, Yuja Wang and Daniil Trifonov to Alexandra Dovgan and Yunchan Lim.

---

Deutsche Grammophon

From Thursday, 28 March 2024 9AM ET • 1PM GMT • 2PM CET tune in to a YouTube premiere showcasing the best in pianism with extraordinary performances by such piano legends as Víkingur Ólafsson, Lang Lang, Alice Sara Ott, Daniil Trifonov, Hélène Grimaud, Bruce Liu, Marie Awadis and more.

---

ARTE Concert’s Piano Day

ARTE Concert celebrates Piano Day 2024 with a concert recording at Palais de Tokyo in Paris on February 20, 2024. The program features a soulful solo performance by pianist and singer Sarah McCoy, the versatile Thomas Enhco, Clara Ysé, Guillaume Poncelet on two pianos, and a double concert by Léonie Pernet and Gael Rakotondrabe.
Watch the program here >> (Starts 28 March at 19.00 GMT)

Previous ARTE Concert Piano Day programs:

The post International Piano Day 2024 appeared first on Piano Street Magazine.

from Piano Street Magazine https://www.pianostreet.com/blog/piano-news/international-piano-day-2024-12759/

Remembering the great Maurizio Pollini

Legendary pianist Maurizio Pollini defined modern piano playing through a combination of virtuosity of the highest degree, a complete sense of musical purpose and commitment that works in complete control of the virtuosity. His passing was announced by Milan’s La Scala opera house on March 23.

Between the 1970s and 90s, he launched various recordings with the Deutsche Grammophon label, solidifying his reputation as an esteemed interpreter of works by Beethoven, Schumann, Schubert, and Brahms. He later incorporated contemporary works by Boulez and Nono, developing close relationships with both composers. Pollini’s albums earned numerous awards, including a Grammy in 2007 for his Chopin: Nocturnes solo performance.

This latest recording from Maurizio Pollini features Beethoven’s final three piano sonatas, works he first recorded more than four decades ago. “The sonatas were published separately,” notes Pollini, “but can be seen as forming a unified cycle.” In the Sonata in E major op. 109, completed in September 1820, the first two movements – played without a break – function almost as an introduction to the much longer finale. Live from Munich’s Herkulessaal on September 27, 2019.

Read more:

The Guardian – Maurizio Pollini obituary

Gramophone: The pianist Maurizio Pollini has died at the age of 82

Slipped Disc – Top pianists pay tribute to Pollini

The post Remembering the great Maurizio Pollini appeared first on Piano Street Magazine.

from Piano Street Magazine https://www.pianostreet.com/blog/piano-news/remembering-the-great-maurizio-pollini-12727/

Enfant Terrible or Childishly Innocent? – Prokofiev’s Complete Piano Works Now on Piano Street

In our ongoing quest to provide you with a complete library of classical piano sheet music, the works of Sergey Prokofiev have been our most recent focus. As one of the most distinctive and original musical voices from the first half of the 20th century, Prokofiev has an obvious spot on the list of top piano composers. Welcome to the intense, humorous, and lyrical universe of his complete Sonatas, Concertos, character pieces, and transcriptions!

The music of Prokofiev follows its own, sometimes quite unpredictable logic, while at the same time being full of references to the Classical and Romantic eras. He seems to have always retained something of the fearless, playful, even arrogant approach he displayed as a child. For example, the young Prokofiev refused to touch the black keys, and so wrote a piece in “F major” but without the customary B-flat. At age five, he also composed a “Liszt Rhapsody” on a stave with nine lines and without bars, prompting his mother to give him “a more systematic explanation of the principles of musical notation.”

Prokofiev’s Piano Music – A Very Short Summary

The five Piano Concertos and nine finished Piano Sonatas are among the most important such sets composed in the 20th century, and offer an interesting overview of Prokofiev’s style development (the Sonatas’ opus numbers range from 1 to 135 out of a total of 138 opuses; two more sonatas were left incomplete at his death)

If you prefer smaller-scale pieces, there is also plenty to explore. Particularly recommended are the beautiful Visions Fugitive, a cycle of twenty miniatures, vignette-like, almost aphoristic, with an impressionist feel, and several not-so-terribly difficult. Prokofiev often performed a couple of them as encores at the end of his performances. For something even more accessible, try Music for Children, labeled ‘easy’ by the composer, although in the intermediate range by most standards.

Quite a large portion of Prokofiev’s scores for solo piano are transcriptions of his own orchestral works. The versions for solo piano of pieces from his popular ballet masterpieces belong to this category: there are the Ten Pieces from Romeo and Juliet, and no less than 19 pieces adapted from the ballet Cinderella, divided into three collections: op 95, op 97, and op 102.

Prokofiev the Pianist

Prokofiev frequently caused scandal with his forward-looking works, but also made his mark as the supreme melodist of the modern era. As a pianist, he could be tempestuous, defiant, with incredible rhythmic energy, and remarkably direct: “Not a single superfluous gesture, not a single exaggerated expression of emotion, no striving for effect” (David Oistrach). At lyrical moments his playing turned “poetic, childishly innocent, astonishingly pure and modest”. (Yakov Milshtein). Thankfully, there are several recordings of Prokofiev playing his own works, both commercially-issued discs and piano rolls, including the 3rd Concerto, selections from Visions Fugitive and the famous Toccata Op. 11.

With Prokofiev’s music entering the public domain in the EU and Canada in 2024 (works published after 1928 remain under copyright in the US), it is now much easier to gain access to his scores; and our Prokofiev page is a great place to begin, with all his published piano pieces available for download. With Piano Street’s AST feature you can also listen to handpicked recordings for each of the 133 pieces, including those made by Prokofiev himself, while studying the sheet music.

The post Enfant Terrible or Childishly Innocent? – Prokofiev’s Complete Piano Works Now on Piano Street appeared first on Piano Street Magazine.

from Piano Street Magazine https://www.pianostreet.com/blog/site-news/enfant-terrible-or-childishly-innocent-prokofievs-complete-piano-works-now-on-piano-street-12708/

Driving an Old Car – The Art of Decoding Historical Instruments

How can we approach and learn about period instruments? We think the best way would be to follow the path of a pianist who actually did and additionally, very successfully. We talked with the second prize winner and winner of the prize for best Polish participant of the 2nd International Chopin Competition on Period Instruments, pianist Piotr Pawlak.

Piano Street has previously covered the recent Chopin Competition on Period Instruments in three articles:
The Real Chopin Shines in Warsaw
Embracing the Past Now – The Messenger Paul McNulty in Warsaw
Watch the Chopin Competition on Period Instruments with us!

Patrick Jovell: Dear Piotr, thank you for your wonderful competition performances and congratulations on your prizes! The Chopin Institute puts a lot of effort in bringing period instrument playing to public attention through numerous recordings and now the second edition of the International Chopin Piano Competition on Period Instruments. Can you tell us your personal path in discovering playing and performing on historical instruments, or ”the real Chopin” on this occasion so to speak?

Patrick Jovell meets Piotr Pawlak after the prize announcements at the 2nd International Chopin Competition on Period Instruments.

Piotr Pawlak: Thank you very much! My path of discovering the beauty of period pianos was also partially a result of the Chopin Institute effort. They invited me for the masterclasses in Radziejowice in 2016, where I had some lessons on period instruments. It was my first meeting with them, and I have to say, it was not love from the first sight (or maybe: first hearing?). At this point in my life I believed that playing those instruments in concert setting does not really make sense nowadays and the only reason to study them was to understand composer intentions better. However, each year I attended those masterclasses and I was more and more interested in those instruments and the unique sound they produce. I was also inspired by people specializing in historically informed performance, by their passion and how they share it with others, especially by Tobias Koch. When the Institute announced the competition, I decided to give it a try. I did not expected to even qualify to the competition, so I was really happy what eventually happened. I have to say, that after competition, I like period pianos even more, as first time in my life I had a possibility to play on such good and well prepared historical instruments. The Pleyel from 1842 was absolutely amazing.

PS: In the first round competitors performed non-Chopin repertoire. You were also offered non-Chopin instruments (i.e. Pleyel & Érard) such as Graf for example. Can you tell us which works you chose in this round and which considerations you had when deciding on which instrument to choose for these works?

PP: For the non-Chopin pieces in this round, I chose Bach’s Prelude and fugue in C sharp minor from DWK I, Mozart’s Fantasie in d minor and Oginski’s Polonaise “Farewell to homeland”. In fact for Bach and Mozart I had almost decided already before the Competition that I would play those pieces on a Viennese instrument. Mozart’s piece because the composer had a very similar piano at his disposal, and Bach’s piece as their sound most closely reminds me the sound of harpsichord and clavichord. Eventually I decided to choose Buchholtz for them, as I felt more secure on this piano than on the Graf. As for Ogiński’s piece I did not want to perform it on a late-Chopin-piano (Pleyel 1842, which I chose for the Barcarolle), and I found out that this piece sounds the best on the Paul McNulty’s copy of Pleyel from 1830.

PS: Second round and the finals contained works by Frédéric Chopin. Can you explain how you navigate technically and soundwise as a pianist playing this repertoire, as compared to when you play on a modern piano?

PP: Period pianos have different capabilities compared to modern pianos. They cannot give full, powerful forte, but on other hand they can produce more variety of colors. They are not so precise technically, but you control everything better as the “path from the finger to the string” is shorter. For me, the most important thing in music is expression – telling the listener feelings and emotions. So, the only thing I have to change is to look for different means to reach the same goal. The most important for me was to balance forte throughout the piece, thinking wisely where to really use it and how to achieve it. The second important thing was revision of pedaling, as on modern and period pianos it give a little bit different qualities. The third thing was the choice of tempi, to still have long lines despite the shorter sound of Pleyel and Érard. In other differences I was just following my intuition.

PS: In the finals you chose to play the e-minor Concerto on the Érard. This more forceful instrument resembles a modern grand in a way but adds other sonic qualities. How do you have to think and act soundwise when performing with and orchestra which sometimes has a tendency to ”eat” the sound of the piano?

PP: I decided to play the final on the Érard, mostly because it had more powerful sound than the Pleyel. The Pleyel had more beautiful sound in piano, but I found that it did not really work in this hall, compared to the chamber hall. Also with Érard it was possible to be audible over the orchestra almost all the time. I was playing the concerto like I was playing a chamber piece. The orchestra was really listening and following me, so I did not have to really care about the balance. I was focusing on the color that is produced with piano melody over the orchestral accompaniment.

The post Driving an Old Car – The Art of Decoding Historical Instruments appeared first on Piano Street Magazine.

from Piano Street Magazine https://www.pianostreet.com/blog/articles/driving-an-old-car-the-art-of-decoding-historical-instruments-12658/