Chopin exemplified

Ladies and gents, this is the Chopin to beat. In fact, Blechacz even seems to resemble Chopin - the hair, the feel, the sound, the expression...

Now, I will try not to get too carried away with the subject, so I will keep it brief. In vain I have tried to find the right words (even spending a half-hour poring over this d---ed screen), but I have concluded it would be better just to leave the text short and brief. After all the music (and musician) are too beautiful for words.

I will add a bit of an aside - a "barcarolle" is a Venetian gondolier song. Create whatever fantastical, romantic imagery to accompany the evening music - as for me, I'm content with the images in the video alone. ;)

So drink in with the ears, readers. But remember - he's mine.

YouTube...or me?

A quick question, everyone - would you rather me continue feeding these delicious YouTube videos or continue writing blocks of text? I find the former more comfortable, so, I suppose a better question would be...is that okay with you?

In the meantime, I'll leave with a beautiful rendition of Gershwin's Prelude No. 2, played by a familiar face. Ciao!

The Bach controversy

So a friend and I got into a heated debate over whether pedal should be used in Baroque music.

For those of you unacquainted with it, the controversy is centered on the fact that the keyboards in Bach's time (harpsichords and clavichords, they were called) lacked pedals. Thus, for the classical music purists, Bach's music should not be tainted by something that did not exist in his time.

I agree with this. But that goes not to say that I am a purist myself.

My friend argues on the novel fact that Bach has been dead for several centuries. There is no use in musing over whether he would like what we did with his music, since, in her words, "he may or may not hear it, and he can't complain squat about it anyway even if he wanted to."

Well, she has a valid point there.

But there are also practical concerns for this. You see, the damper pedal removes the all dampers from all the strings, so the sound does not stop, even when a pianist removes the pressure on a key. So you can play an entire sequence of notes while holding the pedal down, and the notes will all fall in a blur, without separation. You could even close the lid, and the sound would continue to resonate. The problem with this is that in four-part counterpoint, four melodies sing at the same time, and small, detailed articulations help distinguish one voice from the other. With pedal, these articulations are lost.

And, I argue, that pedal can easily over-romanticize a work to the point that Bach sounds like Chopin or Liszt. Not good. But I also acknowledge that it can help reveal the hidden emotionalism and passion lurking deep within every piece of Baroque music. Very good.

But, again, I leave it to you. Here are two performances of the same piece, the first with pedal, on a modern piano, the other without, on a harpsichord. It is, by the way, the Aria from Bach's Goldberg Variations.

Another little slice of heaven...

Once again, I am sorely tempted to add another tidbit of choice music. And, lookie - I gave in to temptation.

I was a little hesitant at calling this another slice of heaven, since it's such a dramatic, deep piece. A real contrast to the Ravel. The middle part - the climax - is my personal favorite. This is where Zimerman shines, I believe: a golden tone, almost tangible in its warmth and clarity. Time seems to stand still in those precious moments of pure musical bliss.

This piece is most certainly on my to-do list. That is, if I can get past those huge jumps in the bass. A small, but slender hand is one of my big issues. ;)

But I should keep quiet - listen for yourself and think of your own interpretations. In fact, tell them to me, right now, on the comments board. I'd like to hear from all of you.

Ravel + Argerich = Musical heaven

It's 1:30 in the morning here, and I just thought to share this moment with you all. I do believe Ravel was inspired by the supernatural when he wrote this - it's something to listen to and just reminisce, preferably alone, with closed eyes and a contented soul. To quote Chopin in describing his own concerto:

The Adagio [sic] of my new Concerto is in E major. It is not meant to create a powerful effect; it is rather a Romance, calm and melancholy, giving the impression of someone looking gently towards a spot which calls to mind a thousand happy memories. It is a kind of reverie in the moonlight on a beautiful spring evening.

Yes, he is quoting a different concerto, but how adequate - they both are in the same key, in similar tempos, scored for similar instruments, and they both evoke the same warm feelings in me. I'm having a hard time finding the appropriate words to describe a work like this - so perhaps that is the purpose of music, to describe what cannot be described with words.

But this is only one half of the equation - who could forget the amazingly tender performance by Martha here? Undoubtedly one of the best pianists of our century, a true gem. Her remarkably prodigious use of the una corda makes it so pearly and (let's try) translucent, like the sun peeping out behind wispy cirrus clouds. Not exactly a perfectly clear day, but that is, in my opinion, the imperfection that defines true beauty.