To have lived in grander rooms, I sometimes think, would have been -- well, grander. Until I walk into my other room, quickly come to the piano and see the window I looked out of, as I learned Brahms's Concertos. … [Read more...]
Archives for July 2010
No pedal
By some, it's considered a mark of distinction to play J. S. Bach's music on the modern piano using no pedal. Glenn Gould often did. Several of my students have aspired to. It seems like it must be harder to play that way, more pure, more noble. And the harpsichord has no such device for extending sound -- so perhaps it's more "authentic" to eschew the pedal in old music? I always use the pedal. Perhaps judiciously or even undetectably -- to … [Read more...]
Faulty
In recent reviews, I've read about the structural shortcomings of Robert Schumann's Humoreske and the emotional emptiness of Pierre Boulez's piano sonatas. When I proposed a complete performance of Messiaen's Catalog of the Birds in Boston some colleagues told me it wasn't good music. Let's be cautious about reaching such judgments. Just because we have not yet heard (or given) a performance that makes sense of a scripted piece -- I don't … [Read more...]