The score (3/4) – Notation13 May 2010

Let’s continue our series on interpretation and scores. In our previous post we have been discussing the issue of editions, today let’s focus on notation and its interpretation.

The score (2/4) – Editions6 April 2010

A promise is a promise. In my first post about the score I told you that I will talk about the issue of editorial quality and the differences between editions. Text is our best source, and often all you can find about the music we want to interpret. In the case of a composer still alive you can always contact him to know his opinion about a detail, but in the case of Beethoven for example, it is a little late to ask him if a particular phrasing is in accordance with his thoughts.

Confessions of a pianist27 March 2010

I realize how time flies and I have not managed to write for almost two weeks already. the past couple of days have been tough for me : a lot of decisions to make, a lot of work to do, so excuse me for not being very punctual at our weekly meeting on this blog. I must say that I spent much time in front of my piano; learning new repertoire, maintaining the old, I found back my student’s pace work! It’s time to make a quick review of the first six months of sabbatical.

Needing Rebirth? I don’t think so…25 February 2010

This week, a post a little more personal. I would like to comment Greg Sandow’s post entitled Needing Rebirth, which sparked a controversy in the american blogosphere. At first I paid no attention to it, then after rereading it, I started to think deeply about it.

To sum up, Sandow talks about two concerts he heard in Washington: Janine Jansen playing the Sibelius concerto with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam and one of the ECCO (East Coast Chamber Orchestra). Both took place at the Kennedy Center.

The score (1/4)11 February 2010

The score is often the first medium you have to deal with when studying a piece. It enables the composer to encode four key dimensions of music: pitch, duration, intensity and timbre. This document can then transmit the composer’s thought, or rather transcribe his music in a format understood by any interpreter.

Introduction to Interpretation21 January 2010

Interpreter: word which can, by extension, replace the word musician. Yet the two words have a totally different connotation: if the latter clearly evokes music and the inspired craftsman created in and by popular imagination, first emphasizes another facet of the same man: here is suggested the intellectual work, in other words the analysis and long road towards understanding a work.

What will 2010 be like?13 January 2010

At the start of this year, I tried to think about the directions my writings could take for 2010. It is thus self-evident that this blog will still be about piano and music, but I would like to give a new impetus and provide more didactic content. Let’s see what will 2010 be like.

French classical pianist Genevieve Joy has died2 December 2009

Genevieve Joy died Friday night in her sleep at the age of 90 years old. Key figure in contemporary music, she had played a major role in the spread of contemporary piano repertoire, creating works of her husband, Henri Dutilleux to whom my thoughts are, but also other leading composers like Pierre Boulez and Andre Jolivet. She has highlighted in her work the composers much more than herself.

The pianist’s loneliness11 November 2009

Loneliness is an issue that quite often comes up in discussion with people who know and follow me. I work alone, I play alone, I like being alone most of the time, but isn’t the feeling of loneliness heavy and suffocating? It is true that I don’t meet my friends very often, I am not a big fan of mass meetings and that I avoid crowded places. But in another hand, I like chatting over the phone and mailing them.

On rituals and lucky charms2 October 2009

Last week I wrote here about going on stage and I evoked the “lucky charm”. Today I will focus on pre-concert rituals as well as these charms. Some do not have rituals or lucky charms, and others elaborate complex rituals which become totally obsessive. Star’s whim or real necessity?