Bad News for Pianists!

If, as I have said before, endurance is not the most difficult thing to acquire in playing, what, then, is most difficult?

There are two greatest difficulties, tone and pedaling.

And the pedal is hardest of all to learn!

Vladimir Horowitz, 1932


Oh dear! It could be true - many many things are difficult in piano playing, but AFTER you have fixed them all, there is still a basic problem to solve!

Tone is a very fundamental thing. Some people don't believe in it. They think you can't change the sound of the piano. Well, that's like saying the conductor doesn't change the orchestra. Some people don't believe in that either.

And pedalling is something that affects the performance of a composition from the early years of study, yet it is something that is almost never given proper attention. It's really quite important. Exactly what goes on with the pedal beyond what we at the beginning called "a pedal change" is quite complex.

There are many technical issues in piano playing. No matter how many, the number is limited. So if you study it systematically, and fix your problems, then at some point you will ARRIVE AT THE END. Or actually, as we call it, the beginning.

Ravel Codes

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7968024.stm

A new theory concerning Ravel's secret use of musical code.

Szymanowski plays Szymanowski

It would be good to collect together all recordings of composers playing their own music.

I notice in Szymanowski's performance of these two Mazurkas that while there is a sense of great freedom, there is also a very strict underlying pulse - which is an appropriate quality for a dance to have, wouldn't you say?

Coral

"Coral reefs are the lungs of the ocean"

A nice thing I read today at Jeff Shaw's Okinawa Blog. Which he is not writing anymore. But anyway.

Thanks!

Who's Got Rhythm?

I had a rehearsal with a very good jazz singer today - it's for a big piece by Michael Finnissy that's being put on in the Spitalfields Festival in June. More information about that in the future, no doubt, but I noticed one interesting thing: she had really good rhythm.

Now why do I never notice that about classical people?

Rachmaninoff had rhythm in the sense of knowing exactly how each part of the structure should be paced so that the work reaches its peak at just the right moment and everything coheres. And of course he also could play in time, which is rhythm too.

But jazz rhythm is not quite the same as playing in time, and not like structural rhythm. People aren't normally playing the same rhythms so you can't play "in time" as such, but it all fits into the beat. The structure is not normally so complicated or "composed" on the whole, so while you can definitely get a build-up or peak on the scale of anything up to 3-4 minutes, or perhaps longer in varying live situations, again rhythm does not normally exist in that way.

But this ever-present, imperative and unavoidable pulse with a slight flexibility (swing) is something that I consider important in classical-type pieces. In addition to the other kinds of rhythm mentioned above.

You've got to have rhythm. Yeah you gotta!

Our hearts always beat but not like metronomes. Probably it all adds up to a constant beat (like rubato, where rhythmic freedom must always be part of some rhythmic strictness at the same time).

There is some important point about that.

Ravel Concerto in G - learning resources

For people learning Ravel's Piano Concerto in G, here are some bits of information to help you a little.

It was composed between 1929 and 1931 (Ravel was around the age of 55 and would live for another 6 years).

As you may know, the first performance was given by Marguerite Long on Jan 14th 1932 (with the Lamoureux Orchestra conducted by Ravel).

There is a recording of Long with the same orchestra made shortly after the premiere. There are some questions as to who is the conductor on this recording, but it is probably Ravel himself. Plus he is credited as the conductor so that perhaps makes it likely!

I have not heard all of this recording but I would like to. The only part available to listen on the internet is the second movement - it only appeared this week so it's fresh! Very interesting. There is some rubato but the tempo is generally strict. In fact we are often told how strict she was, then you actually hear her play and it's quite surprising when she does vary the rhythm - but then, a very "straight" performer of those times would seem pretty wayward today. It's nice to know she wasn't a robot. However, as people say, and as I can hear, she does play in time - so that's probably how Ravel liked it.

The other recording is that by Michelangeli with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Ettore Gracis (1957). This is a good one, and the piece was at this time about 25 years old so has had some time to settle (the Long recording has some shakiness from what I have heard of it).

Other people have performed this work, such as Martha Argerich, but for me the Michelangeli is the classic performance and the Long is of course the closest we can get to hearing what Ravel wanted.

Further Resources:
Some things you need to know about this piece.

Ravel was Basque, which means he came from the area known as the Basque Country which extends from around the North of Spain to the South of France. But it is not Spain or France, it is the Basque Country (Euskal Herria, Pays Basque, or País Vasco).

This is a special area for many reasons. You can find out why.

Ravel refers to Basque folk music in his Concerto. The first thing you hear is the piccolo from bar 2 of the first movement. This is not really a piccolo, because it is singing the sound of the txistu - a wind instrument that you can see and hear here.

In Euskara (Basque language) the sound "tx" is pronounced similar to English "ch". You will need to know this again in the next sentence!

There is also a percussion instrument called txalaparta. It's sort of not really an instrument, more of a way of playing, because it could be made out of different materials. The main way is to have planks of wood arranged together so that you can play them like this. Of course, it doesn't always sound as crazily exciting as this one! Also here is a more traditional one - can you hear how they bring out the harmonics of the plank? (It's hypnotic and amazing, like Mongolian/Siberian throat singing)

There is no txalaparta as such in the concerto, but I can hear it from figure 10 in the score (bottom of page 8 in the two-piano score). Can you?

The last thing I have to offer is the eerie sound of the musical saw. A saw is of course used for cutting down trees and other wooden things. However, if you play it with a bow it makes a special sound which is imitated in the right-hand trills of the first movement cadenza (page 18 of the piano score).
Here are your musical saw examples:

clip from film "Delicatessen" (1991)

and some kind of mysterious businessman

Right that's basically all my information about this piece. I hope it is useful.

The piece combines jazz (a sort of modern, "natural-sounding" music that seemed more real than a lot of classical concert music) and folk music (actually quite similar to what I just said, except it wouldn't have been called modern). Why are they together? To tell us something about why we have music and where it came from and what we can do with it.

Steps Along the Way

One of the greatest barriers to progress is knowing you are already too good to need help.

I always try to help when I can, and some people actually improve, but of the rest, some of the sadder examples are those who sit proudly on a lump of dirt of their own construction and show you they have conquered Everest.

I'm far more impressed by those who make no claims to fame, who are not embarrassed to admit their deficiencies, and who would like to improve.

They will find someone listening who knows what it's like!

Hope Springs Eternal

Well, I'm always optimistic.

Today was the first day this year that the air had a smell. Not a bad smell, but a smell - it was the first time it was warm enough to taste the air. The temperature difference between yesterday and today is no doubt extremely small, but it registered with my sensitive sensing equipment and I therefore decree that it is the first sign of Spring.

There have been some flowers springing up out of the ground for some time, but with the seasons all being a bit confused these days I'm not really counting that - although it is very nice too!

Spring doesn't have to be warm to be Spring, of course. So it probably actually is Spring already. But perhaps I am sensing the appearance of "Season Two" in my personal calendar: apart from the usual four seasons which I also recognise, we have a choice between "not yet warm enough for me" and "warm enough for me". Because it is almost never warm enough for me (though all temperatures can be pleasant in their way), optimism is paramount in judging whether the weather is right. Without it, I'd get about three days a year of good weather. But with optimism in place, we're doing a lot better.

What can you smell in the air today?

(A Little) About Tycho Brahe

It is reported that Tycho Brahe (Tyge Ottesen Brahe, 1546-1601), the Danish nobleman astronomer and alchemist, lost part of his nose during a duel with Manderup Parsbjerg in the dark at Christmas 1566 (Brahe was 20) and after that wore a prosthetic replacement made of silver and gold (the injury sparked his interest in medicine and alchemy). At one time in the 1580s he was said to own 1% of the entire wealth of Denmark. He also numbered among his retinue a clairvoyant dwarf called Jepp who resided under the table at banquets, and a moose who unfortunately died after one such banquet, having drunk too much beer and finally fallen down the stairs.

He also made progress in astronomy, but I have chosen not to mention that today.

Land of the Free...style

Chairman

What Upsets Me Is...

What upsets me is that I occasionally think of listening to some piece of music (principally for research, but I'd like to be able enjoy it too) but it is impossible to do so.

It is impossible because apparently nearly nobody can be bothered discovering the true character of music. They instead prefer to play "their version".

It's very lazy!

There are always an infinite number of ways of playing music. Even if I somehow magically guide you to see the composer's way, there is still an infinity of choices. There is no such thing as an "authorised version", except in rare - and unhealthy - cases. Yet I'm claiming that there is some way of testing if you've got the right way.

It's a bit much to go into today, but it's along the lines of

Jack: I don't actually know who I am by birth. I was... well, I was found.
Lady Bracknell: Found?
Jack: Yes. The late Mr. Thomas Cardew, an old gentlemen of a kindly disposition found me and gave me the name of Worthing because he happened to have a first class ticket to Worthing at the time. Worthing is a place in Sussex. It's a seaside resort.
Lady Bracknell: And where did this charitable gentlemen with the first class ticket to the seaside resort find you?
Jack: In a handbag.
Lady Bracknell: [closes eyes briefly] A handbag?
Jack: Yes, Lady Bracknell, I was in a hand bag. A somewhat large... black... leather handbag with handles... to it.
[pause]
Lady Bracknell: An ordinary handbag.
Lady Bracknell: And where did this Mr. James... or, Thomas Cardew come across this ordinary handbag?
Jack: The cloak room at Victoria Station. It was given to him in mistake for his own...
Lady Bracknell: [Shocked] The cloak room at Victoria Station?
Jack: Yes. The Brighton line.
Lady Bracknell: The line is immaterial.

[The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde, first performed 1895]

In the case of the famous line "a HAND-BAG?", we know the handbag is important so that's why the word is emphasised. It's not normally a question of "A handbag?" because this is not the important word, so far as i can see.

I know this is an extremely simple example.

It's a simple thing I am telling you, you see.

Anyway, it's a bit like that. you work out the handbag is important in one line, then it gets mentioned again so you know there is something about this handbag.

But to take the musical analogy, some actor (musician) has discovered that he pronounces the diphthong "A" rather well. So she decides to make that the focus. No question of meaning, just effective sound.

Ok fine but unfortunately music is a language too and if you ignore the meaning then it becomes meaningless.

It's not that difficult to work it out. I'm sure lots of people will disagree with me over the future years, and they are welcome to as long as they don't damage anybody in the process, but we will gradually get to the point where we understand the language of music. Yes!

----------------

It has recently come to my attention that there is an excellent recording (1952) of the Liszt Piano Sonata in B minor, by Maria Grinberg, the pupil of F. M. Blumenfeld and K. N. Igumnov at the Moscow Conservatory.

Although - to be unneccesarily honest about it - this recording does not entirely speak in the language of the music itself, by virtue of the personal choices of the artist, this recording makes so many great choices and shows many faces of the work that are normally smoothed over in favour of "playing the piano well", that: I think...that...if this were the only recording in the world...then I'd be quite happy with that. It's that good. That's what I think.

I may wish for other things in this piece, but that is a true fact that I just told you. I.e. for me it is possible to be better than this but it is good enough. And that's extremely good if you are familiar with my exacting standards.

Thanks to Prof. Pascal Némirovski for finding it for us.

part one

part two

part three

While the Blog was Sleeping...

Look what happened while the blog was broken!

(that was on 2nd February 2009)



It's not news now. It's more like a historical blog today.

Anyway, there it is! The worst snow in 20 years...except I think they meant the best snow...

Fairly Amusing Pizza Restaurant Article

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/mar/04/restaurants-food-and-drink


A fine review of some not-so-fine pizza restaurants in England.

Much of today's news is aimed at people who are trying to save money in the face of credit crises and having to cut down on their eating-out spending. For example, formerly leading bankers and stockbrokers, heads of industry, friends of Madoffs and so on.

I have eaten at most of these places at one time or another and I would tend to agree with the opinion espoused in the review. Therefore it must be correct!

Right?

It's back!!

Amazingly I have fixed the problem!!! It's back!

More exclamation marks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well that's a big help anyway.

The problem was that my web host had changed my ftp login details (passwords etc for saving files onto my website remotely) so that's why it wouldn't publish. It doesn't take years and years to fix that but it taks a while to figure out what the problem is and finally fix it.

It's a relief!

See you soon!