Five recent Tweets of mine -- please pardon the cross-platform redundancy. April 21, 2011 In a way our technology is putting sound and music back together -- as perhaps the technology of writing took music and sound apart. April 20, 2011 Yes, some of Rachmaninoff's music is very much part of the "Back to Bach" movement. April 20, 2011 It's not surprising composers borrow or steal so much -- if you consider that we are all just adding … [Read more...]
Archives for April 2011
Voice Mis-Leading
Some solo piano music has part-writing that seems to correspond directly to music for string quartet. In such keyboard music, there are a constant number of "voices" tracing coherent individual lines. Beethoven: Opus 110 These voice-parts have integrity. We can follow tenor or bass, alto or soprano (viola or cello, second violin or first violin). This is a modern practice in keyboard music, I believe. The earliest keyboard pieces -- … [Read more...]
Nothing ventured, nothing lost
Can it be that aspiring musicians do not enter competitions because they don't want to lose? It might make sense. Or it may be an easy way out. I'm surprised by the competition-reticence of some young pianists. Not suffering disappointment in competitions may keep an artist's work and motivation pure. Not being known to have lost competitions may be useful professionally. Or, lacking the severe scrutiny of the competition platform, a player's … [Read more...]