{"id":334,"date":"2009-03-25T05:44:23","date_gmt":"2009-03-25T05:44:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/pianomorphosis\/wp\/2009\/03\/simple_is_difficult\/"},"modified":"2012-01-18T16:07:36","modified_gmt":"2012-01-18T21:07:36","slug":"simple_is_difficult","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/pianomorphosis\/2009\/03\/simple_is_difficult.html","title":{"rendered":"Simple is difficult"},"content":{"rendered":"

The simplest things can be the most telling. A very small, simple bit of music reveals everything about a player’s technique, sound — dare I say, soul?\n<\/p>\n

\n\"2noteslur.jpg\"<\/span>Consider the two-note slur: a group of two notes, frequently a descending step, connected, bound, by a legato phrasing tie (slur). A very basic building block, frequently realized very poorly, even by celebrated, professional executants.\n<\/p>\n

\nClassical musicians often strongly desire to perform music that is physically hard to play, a virtuoso challenge. Conductors perform Mahler. Pianists are attracted to the intricacies of Ravel. It may be excellent music — and then there’s that opportunity to adroitly cue the third horn!\n<\/p>\n

\nHaydn’s piano music might be rejected by some of the young virtuosos in my school because it’s too easy. In the conservatory’s series of performances of Haydn’s “complete” piano sonatas<\/a>, I have felt that some performers regarded this material as beneath them. And it’s a paradox: It’s too easy for them — and far too difficult too!\n<\/p>\n

\n\"dylan4.jpg\"<\/span>In the pop world, it may be different. Is Bob Dylan admired for his virtuoso “chops”?<\/a> Among some rockers and rock critics, there’s a focus on something like “truth” or communicative power that might perplex a lot of classical players. Some classical listeners, teachers, and performers still expect virtuoso pyrotechnics all the time, and feel cheated if they’re not there — in a piece, a program, a recording. “Does he have fingers?”, we ask.\n<\/p>\n

\nSome have extolled the value of physical struggle in artistic communication (Edward Said, Roland Barthes). Cornelius Cardew<\/a> saw it as a matter of politics or social order. Conventional instrumental virtuosity is a bourgeois acquisition — it takes time to develop, and expert advice to cultivate. Money and “leisure” are necessary to get these skills. And speaking of claviers<\/em> — well, pianos are expensive.\n<\/p>\n

\nSome, like Alvin Curran<\/a>, have sought to notate pieces that can be played by many, a manifesto of inclusion. Gebrauchsmusik<\/em>?\n<\/p>\n

\n\"EndangeredAJ2.jpg\"<\/span>
\nAlvin Curran: Endangered Species<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The simplest things can be the most telling. A very small, simple bit of music reveals everything about a player’s technique, sound — dare I say, soul? Consider the two-note slur: a group of two notes, frequently a descending step, connected, bound, by a legato phrasing tie (slur). A very basic building block, frequently realized […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1584,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[573,574,232,60,231,487,282,571,572,61,449,29],"class_list":{"0":"post-334","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-basics","9":"tag-chops","10":"tag-difficulty","11":"tag-legato","12":"tag-musical-difficulty","13":"tag-phrase","14":"tag-piano-playing","15":"tag-simple","16":"tag-simplicity","17":"tag-technique","18":"tag-two-note-slur","19":"tag-virtuosity","20":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/pianomorphosis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/pianomorphosis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/pianomorphosis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/pianomorphosis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/pianomorphosis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=334"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/pianomorphosis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/pianomorphosis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/pianomorphosis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/pianomorphosis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/pianomorphosis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}