The past comes to life

I just researched this for my Mannes course. Two great reads on the subject you don't want to miss: 1) "Method of learning to prelude" by Andre Gretry. Deliberately written as simple as possible, this book would have been called "Preluding for Dummies" or "Preluding in 5 minutes a day" if released nowadays, showing how those type of books have a long history. And because Gretry was a very respected composer in his day, it would be like, to pick a name, John Harbison writing such a book. 2) "The Art of Preluding" ed. Betty Mather, which very interestingly is on the subject of woodwind preluding! Compiling all the printed wisdom on woodwind preluding in those days, the editor adds her own ersatz approach.

Thanks, Eric. Do you think we'll ever hear preluding again, in our own time? Will you try it? You'd be perfect for it, needless to say. (Eric, who's a pianist, puts a new improvisation on his website every day. I just listened to the one for 2/18, and it's lovely. http://ericbarnhill.wordpress.com)

Greg, Nice entry! It reminds me of Horowitz playing his riff on Stars and Stripes Forever, which sort of falls into this category.

Hi, Rafael. Good to hear from you. Horowitz, I've read, preluded before strictly classical pieces, too. I wonder if there are recordings. Does anybody know?

I have a broadcast recording of Backhaus "preluding" some Chopin from the late 50's/early 60's. And Gieseking and Furtwängler did it, too.

Furtwangler did it as a pianst? Or did Gieseking do it before a concerto he played with Furtwangler?

A few years ago, Chick Corea toured around playing a Mozart concerto with Bobby McFerrin conducting. As I recall, they preluded together before the performances.

Yes, there definitely is one (recording) of Horowitz doing the Stars and Stripes Forever...I believe it is a PBS program - possibly still available on VHS or DVD of his return recital in Leningrad (then)But I definitely remember seeing and hearing this not long ago.

I am a devoted Josef Hofmann fan, and adore the ""preluding" he does in his live recitals.

I am really a jazz pianist, but used to perform classical music when I was Mark Morris' music director. During my tenure, he made up a dance to Chopin called "Sang-Froid." The first piece was Op. 10 no. 2. Any pianist will agree that this hardest of etudes is not the most agreeable piece to start a program (and "Sang-Froid" was always the first dance of the evening). To calm my nerves and make some sound at the piano before the onslaught, I insisted on a pair of rolled chords before the downbeat, which I varied every night. I stuck in transitions between pieces when I could, too. One night I went too far, and Mark irritably asked me afterwards, "Ethan! Is this why you like playing this piece, simply to put in your outlandish transitions between nocturnes?" I innocently claimed the great Josef Hofmann as my forebear.

And you were right! Great story. And I think you've shown one of the benefits of preluding. Pianists get to prepare themselves for the pieces they're going to play. And the audience prepares itself, too. Thanks for sharing this.

Furtwängler "preluded" albeit slightly in a performance with Schwarzkopf accompaning her on Hugo Wolf lieder. Gieseking simply "preluded".

Thanks!

There definitely is a recording of Horowitz's "Stars and Stripes Forever," on RCA, 'cause I have it at home. I don't know of any records of him preluding, though.

At an Awadagin Pratt solo concert I saw a few years ago, he played a pre-written transition between (I think, memory iz hazy) a William Byrd piece and a Bach work. It worked really well.

It was interesting that at the very beginning of his preluding to the Schumann piece, Backhaus alludes to the piano sonata (Op 31 No 3) which he wasn't playing.

Thanks, Tim! I hadn't noticed this. It shows yet another lovely benefit of preluding. You can comment on what's going on around you.