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It's Fun to Play the Piano ... Please Pass It On!
I woke this morning to find this jewel sent to me and felt I'd share it. Be sure to watch it on Youtube as well and listen to the remainder of this recital which includes the French Overture and the complete French Suites. There's a gorgeous encore from WTC II with the Cmajor prelude and fugue as well. Schiff, as always, is quite brilliant.
"And if we look at the works of J.S. Bach — a benevolent god to which all musicians should offer a prayer to defend themselves against mediocrity... -Debussy
"It's ok if you disagree with me. I can't force you to be right."
Look at the sheer joy, the rapture on his face. He's my favorite Bach-on-the-piano of today, I'm pretty sure. I had the great experience of hearing him play Goldberg here in Disney Hall, making a final case, if one be needed, for Bach on the piano with no pedal at all. (He may have had his foot chained to the piano bench...)
A bit OT, but did you notice how low he sits? His elbows are slightly below the keyboard. Reminds me of Gould saying how you should pull the notes down, not push them.
Now that's musical playing. There was a poster on the piano forum talking about buying a Steinway in order to be more effective in competitions. He posted his rendition of the Italian Concerto and blazed through the third movement. I hope he listens to this one, tasteful rubato and dynamics that elucidate the structure of the work. Schiff plays fast, but not too fast. Thanks for posting this wonderful perfomance.
Last edited by Steve Chandler; 08/24/1102:02 PM. Reason: grammatical correction
Stores, I now understand why you say that the WTC can be played (or probably should be) without having to use any pedal at all.
Ah!!! I am so delighted that someone took note of this. I was actually going to say a little something about it in my original post, but I thought I'd let Schiff speak for me.
"And if we look at the works of J.S. Bach — a benevolent god to which all musicians should offer a prayer to defend themselves against mediocrity... -Debussy
"It's ok if you disagree with me. I can't force you to be right."
A bit OT, but did you notice how low he sits? His elbows are slightly below the keyboard. Reminds me of Gould saying how you should pull the notes down, not push them.
He does actually sit a bit low, but his height sort of tricks the eye, because he' fairly short. The pianos and benches he's been using for some years now are his own.
"And if we look at the works of J.S. Bach — a benevolent god to which all musicians should offer a prayer to defend themselves against mediocrity... -Debussy
"It's ok if you disagree with me. I can't force you to be right."
Stores, I now understand why you say that the WTC can be played (or probably should be) without having to use any pedal at all.
Ah!!! I am so delighted that someone took note of this. I was actually going to say a little something about it in my original post, but I thought I'd let Schiff speak for me.
Stores, I now understand why you say that the WTC can be played (or probably should be) without having to use any pedal at all.
Ah!!! I am so delighted that someone took note of this. I was actually going to say a little something about it in my original post, but I thought I'd let Schiff speak for me.
I still would though :P
Only if you admit that you did use some pedal in those first couple of bars (of the recording that you posted a while back).
I used *some*, never said I didn't. Just not much.
You said you "hardly used any pedal". Its different from "used some pedal". A lot of us were convinced that you were using more than just "hardly any pedal".
In any case, at that time, I thought the use of pedal could add to a performance of a Bach composition but after watching this video, I think I'm going to have to change my view on that.. I mean, it *could* add to the performance but I'm not convinced that it adds anything valuable. I'll have to play some more of the WTC and some of the suites before I can make up my mind about it.
I used *some*, never said I didn't. Just not much.
You said you "hardly used any pedal". Its different from "used some pedal". A lot of us were convinced that you were using more than just "hardly any pedal".
In any case, at that time, I thought the use of pedal could add to a performance of a Bach composition but after watching this video, I think I'm going to have to change my view on that.. I mean, it *could* add to the performance but I'm not convinced that it adds anything valuable. I'll have to play some more of the WTC and some of the suites before I can make up my mind about it.
Here's my take on pedal in Bach: Never blur sonorities. The pedal can be used to add weight or warmth to individual notes or sonorities. It can be used to facilitate a leap where a legato connection is desired and it isn't convenient to use finger legato. In general, though, I prefer to over-hold certain notes if more sonority is important, avoiding pedal almost completely. And as Schiff shows us, pedal is not necessary at all.
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