The other day I was listening to a pianist playing the fearsome second movement of the César Franch Sonata for violin and piano. The piano part is highly virtuosic and, apart from anything else, a very good proof of the fact that these big piano parts are not ‘accompaniments’ as some persist in calling them.
Often when one hears this movement in performance, the excitement of the music and the technical difficulty of playing it combine to make it an overwrought experience for all concerned.
I was following the score from one of several copies I have on my shelves. This particular copy was actually the version for cello and piano, identical as regards the piano part. I probably haven’t looked at this volume for thirty years or more.
At the head of the second movement I found I had written, ‘Search for a way to make it natural, not hysterical.’ I read this out to the assembled company. Knowing the music, they were very struck by the wisdom and pithiness of this advice. The wording (‘Search for …’) alerted me to the fact that it probably wasn’t my own idea. I probably copied it down during someone’s cello lesson when I was playing the piano, listening to what was said and noting down observations that seemed important.
Thinking back to when this could have been, I realised it was probably at Prussia Cove, in the 1980s, when Johannes Goritzki (1942-2018) was teaching the cello masterclasses. Dear Johannes Goritzki, so ebullient, so imaginative, so handsome and funny, so great at showing how to make things feel easier on the cello. And so good at putting things into words, even in his second language. We, the students, just thought he was the coolest person.
I still remember how once, when he wanted me to make a magnificent crescendo, he walked over to the grand piano while I was playing and slowly, theatrically, opened the lid to its full extent. The gesture was inspiring and I found myself making a crescendo to match.
It’s such a gorgeous piece and the equality and interaction between the two instruments is awesome
( except that the piano part has a lot more notes !!! )
I’d love you to discuss the aspect in chamber music which includes a piano part which I think is the ‘white elephant’ in the room. Isn’t there just more work for the pianist generally or am I being completely rude? I know the technical difficulties of these parts can be immense for all the instruments but isn’t it times + in terms of quantity of notes for the pianist?!
Hallo Orla, the short answer to your question is ‘Yes’.
I’ve written extensively and spoken on the radio about this issue, so I won’t answer at length here, but briefly:
The situation would be greatly improved if people realised that characterising the piano part as ‘the accompanying part’ is a mis-perception. Most of the composers were pianists themselves and conceived these duo sonatas as works for the piano with the accompaniment of the violin (or whatever). Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms all called their chamber sonatas ‘for piano and violin’, not the other way round. As pianists, they naturally thought of the piano part as the bedrock, the main carrier of the musical thought.
In the 19th century, and more particularly in the 20th century, the cult of ‘star violinists’ and so on produced a shift of emphasis. Celebrity violinists (etc) now wanted their name to be in big letters on the poster or programme, with the pianist’s name in smaller type. Often there was a photo of the violinist only. Sometimes the pianist’s name only appeared on an inside page of the programme, or on the back of the disc. This cult of personality trained generations of listeners to see these duo sonatas as works for solo violin (or whatever) with a weirdly difficult and complicated part for the piano. It has led to many people wondering why composers wrote such enormous piano parts for the ‘accompanist’. The simple fact is that they didn’t. The piano part is not an accompanying part.
Another issue is that the string player (or wind player) usually stands up, whereas the pianist is always sitting down (unless they are Jerry Lee Lewis). Audiences tend to see the standing person as the principal musician, no matter how interesting the piano part is.
Of course the situation is more complicated than that summary suggests. How a player makes a sound on the piano is very different from how a string player makes a sound on their instrument. On the piano, the notes are already there. You don’t have to hold or support the instrument – consequently your ten fingers are free to play lots of notes one after another. On a violin/viola/cello, the player needs both hands to play a single note – one hand to stop the string at the appropriate point (and apply vibrato) and the other to apply the bow. They have to support the instrument and wield the bow as well. Essentially, therefore, string instruments are single-line melodic instruments, although as we know from Bach’s Partitas and so on, it is possible to play chords as well. For physical reasons, however, it is impossible for any string player to produce the simultaneous layers of notes which pianists regularly have to master.
My advice to young pianists embarking on chamber music careers is never to let themselves be presented in smaller type than the other player or players. If there are to be photographs, then there must be photos of both/all players. Piano students have reported back, however, that even today this is not an easy matter to get control of.
Thank you Susan for addressing this. I will read further on it as an interested listener to classical music. I myself play the piano very badly (which is why my husband and I enjoy recitals such as yours and many pianists so that I can experience the music as it is meant), but know enough to ‘know something’ and have a music degree. What you’ve said re the piano in chamber music makes complete sense. I always thought the parts for piano in Mendelssohn chamber music fiendish – lots and lots of notes – but Beethoven and Mozart even harder somehow… it’s all a joy but your advice to young pianists re chamber music career makes sense. Thank you