The ideal and the played performanceSome conductors put all the emphasis on the melodic line, while others are fanatics about rhythm, but there are very few conductors who are uniquely able to look at the score and hear every part before it actually happens. With the very best of conductors, it’s as though there are two performances going on simultaneously. […]
Life experience“Knowledge about life is one thing; effective occupation of a place in life, with its dynamic currents passing through your being, is another.” – William James, American philosopher and psychologist W. James, Essays in Pragmatism, United Kingdom, Free Press, 1970, p. 113.
Vaughan Williams on sense of musical citizenshipVaughan Williams wrote a series of articles for the Royal College of Music magazine entitled “Who Wants the English Composer?”. In these, he expresses his advocacy for an exploration of the English musical style: We English composers are always saying, “Here are Wagner, Brahms, Grieg, Tchaikovsky, what fine fellows they are, let us try and […]
Concentrate on the performanceDaniel Saidenberg ws the first cellist of the Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Leopold Stokowski. He recalled: Stoki’s ability to exert disciplines was occasionally matched by a sense of humor. After a concert at which I had played the Saint-Saëns A-minor Concerto, one of my buddies said, “Watch your step, Danny. All through the second movement, […]
Heard but not seenIn 1926, conductor Leopold Stokowski inserted the following into the Philadelphia Orchestra programs: The great conviction has been growing in me that the orchestra and conductor should be unseen, so that on the part of the listener more attention will go to the ear and less to the eyes. The experiment of an invisible orchestra […]
Saint-Saens on Bach and Mozart“What gives Sebastian Bach and Mozart a place apart is that these two great expressive composers never sacrificed form to expression. As high as their expression may soar, their musical form remains supreme and all-sufficient.” – Camille Saint-Saëns, from a letter to Camille Bellaigue, 1907 Cited in: Fisk, Josiah (ed.) (1997) Composers On Music: Eight […]
Doing what I can’t do“I am always doing what I can’t do yet in order to learn how to do it”. – Van Gogh, painter, in a letter to Anthon van Rappard, 1885
My tempo must be followedRavel was very particular about how his works were performed. Ravel always insisted that the tempo for Boléro should be moderate and rigorously maintained throughout. He made a recording of that, too establishing his requirement. Toscanini took it much faster and made an accelerando towards the end. Ravel, who was in the audience, objected. He […]
The art of listening“It’s a challenge, for me at least, to do nothing but listen. You need to set aside time for it. You need to concentrate on the music alone (and not on your next deadline). But when it works, you open yourself up to the transcendent ecstasy good music can bring.” Francis Merson, editor, Limelight, April […]
Air IIITitle: Air III Composer: Greg Smith Instrumentation: Piano Duet Level: Piano I – level 1 (five finger positions, left and right hands) Product medium: PDF score & MP3 accompaniment track (Audio sample of accompaniment track only)
