Solfeggietto by CPE Bach: Fingering vs Grouping

C.P.E. Bach
1714-1788

     My student, diligent as always, brought the little Solfeggietto by Bach's famous son, Carl Philipp Emanuel. He proudly offered  a revised fingering, one that corresponds to principles I teach. That is, notes that move in the same direction are often grouped together. This concept, however, does not always apply to fingering. He proposed the following: (Click image to enlarge.)

C.P.E Bach Solfeggietto, MM 1-2

Awkward Fingering

     Notice that this fingering does encompass the entire triad and its octave, all notes that move in the same direction. Notice, too, that notating the middle C in the bass clef seems to argue in favor of playing it with the LH.  Logistically, though,  the LH hand is perhaps too much in the neighborhood when the RH gets to play, creating choreographic congestion.  I propose the following, which, if memory serves is in the Emil Sauer edition:

      

The choreography in this version works more smoothly.

     So, if a passage feels awkward, look for a different solution. Start with fingering and don't be unduly swayed by the layout of the notation on the page. "The score tells us how the music sounds, not how it feels in our hands," to quote myself.

Sonatina by Kabelvsky: Coordination Between the Hands

      

  

Dimitri Kabalevsky

    
     My adult student brought this familiar foray into classical style a la the 20th century. He stumbled often, but not always, at the two scale passages, G minor as shown here (Ex. 1), and the same passage on C minor a few measures later. Notice that nothing could be more innocent harmonically: a G melodic minor scale over a first-inversion arpeggio, also G minor: 

Kabalevsky Sonatina, Op. 13, No. 1, Third Movement

Reliable fluency, however, eluded my student. So, we set out to solve this mystery.

     Two issues are in play here: the musical objective and the 

technical means. I know, I know. What else is new? I point this out because my student fell victim to the musical objective as indicated in the score, trying for a whoosh without feeling the milestones along the way. 

 Step one is to notice which fingers of each hand are partnered and encourage them to cooperate by feeling a down together. Do this very slowly. (I've indicated these fingerings in Ex. 2.) Feel these pairs first on each eighth. Then, moving on to step two, feel the pairs on each quarter—still very slowly. Then comes the crucial third step: Notice the pair of fingers on the downbeat of measure two. Aha! This is not the beginning of the scale. Feel a secure starting place here. Gradually work up the tempo feeling, though not necessarily hearing, the pulses. Go ahead. Try it. It's fun.
     I'm happy to report that my student was able to solve the issues in the lesson. I sent him home, though, having elicited a promise that he will continue to practice along the same lines.
     

Leaping To and Fro: Rachmaninoff Prelude in G Minor

 

    My colleague in the English department had a framed cartoon on the wall over his desk. A cowboy rushes out of a saloon, the swinging doors flapping. His eyes widened in panic, he runs toward a horse hitched at the trough. The caption reads: "And he ran from the saloon, jumped onto his horse and rode off in all directions."

    I think of this image every time a student brings in a leaping problem, one that requires leaping to and fro at a quick tempo. More often than not, when there's a problem, it's because the muscles that

propel the hand in one direction haven't had time to release before going back in the other direction. Repeated over several bars, this can add up to considerable discomfort. Just as the English student needs to learn to organize his thoughts, we pianists need to organize our directions. We can't go two directions at once. The answer is simple. Only go one direction at a time. ("Sir, this is a one-way street." "But, officer, I was only going one way!")

    Okay, okay. I hear the grumbling. This is about grouping. One way to organize groups is to start from the heavier to the lighter. Chord to single note, for example. Then, use the single note as a springboard to land back on the next starting chord. By springboard I mean something like a diving board that propels the hand to the next place, a passive motion that allows the hand to let go for a split second. By using the chord as the organizing factor, the playing mechanism won't feel as if it's going in two directions at the same time. Notice, too, that the left-hand leap is farther than the right, so it will move first.

    As I reviewed the video, I noticed I didn't start "in" as I recommended. I felt this as a greater distance than it needs to be. So, do as I say, not as I demonstrate. Also, when leaping to a place directly in front of the torso, lean slightly away, in this case to the left in order to avoid twisting at the wrist.

Arensky Variations Transcribed for Piano Duet

  

Anton Arensky

    I recently posted information about my transcription of Anton Arensky's "Variations on a Theme of Tchaikovsky." Some piano folks are understandably not very familiar with this Russian composer from the Romantic era, as he did not write extensively for piano. So, here is a recording of the original version for string orchestra:

Listen here: Arensky Variations 

Explore here: 

Arensky Variations Piano 4 Hands

Chopin Nocturne in D-flat, Op, 27, No. 2: Pesky Melisma

     

When I was a mere lad, my teacher assigned Chopin's Nocturne in D-flat, Op. 27, No. 2. It was a favorite of mine and I was eager to study it. All went well until that pesky melisma near the end. You know the one I mean—the one that tends to jam in speed when the hand gets out of synch. Somehow,  the passage worked for me most of the time, but I was never happy with it until years later when I understood better what was at stake. I was reminded of this recently when a student appeared with his hand out of whack from having struggled with it. It was my job to help him smooth it back into shape. 

    Notice that the music changes direction with every note. This is a job for forearm rotation, our fastest movement and one that our bodies are designed to do easily and forever—well, a very long time. The hand will lock and the notes will jam if each note doesn't get its full attention, if the weight isn't transferred back and forth. So, if this passage bothers you, practice slowly feeling balanced on each note before going on to the next. Notice also where the hand is in relation to the black keys; move in just before playing the thumb on a black key and back out again for successive white keys. I've added the fingering I use, all though the editor's fingering will work, fussy though it is. Click on the example to enlarge:

Chopin's Nocturne in D-flat, Op. 27, No. 2
Pesky Melisma

        Another tool I use is called grouping. If the above fingering and in/out shaping isn't enough to make the passage feel easy, consider organizing groups of four notes beginning with the C-flat. If the first note of the group is C-flat, group from the second note, the first one a G. So, G, A-flat, G, C-flat and land back silently on the next starting note, G-flat. Always land on the first note of the next group.

                                                                                Rotation

                                                                                Grouping

Broadening the Musical Experience: Piano Four-hand Transcriptions

   

Bette Davis

 Every now and then—okay often—I cite a reference with my students that dates me. I've learned, for instance, that film stars from the golden age of Hollywood are no longer in the firmament. Bette Davis (mid-twentieth century movie star) once said "If everyone likes you, you’re not doing it right.” I thought this apropos for students enduring the rigors of competitions. The most celebrated musicians that I grew up revering are at most an echo in some distant galaxy. Arthur Rubinstein was once the go-to pianist for all things Chopin. His training began, after all, in the late nineteenth century.

Arthur Rubinstein

    Sometimes I allude to other instrumental works or opera in order to make a point for students. When these references elicit blank stares, I begin to think there's something missing in the musical education. Hence my present occupation, which, admittedly arose out of an abundance of at-home time in recent months. I have been transcribing significant and engaging works, orchestral and piano, for piano four hands. The hope is that the joy that comes from sharing music with a partner will instill a broader appreciation of other genres and of larger piano works that may lie a bit beyond technically, in the virtuoso realm. These pieces are remarkably easier to play as duets, and in the process of playing them, one begins to unlock some of their mysteries. The Brahms "Handel Variations" is in the works. But available now is the "Variations on a Theme of Tchaikovsky" by Anton Arensky. 

Huh?

    This set of variations is the celebrated string-orchestra composition by one of Russia's most romantic composers, which I've transcribed for piano four hands. Here you will find idiomatic piano figures that are both easy and somewhat challenging. The variations began life as the slow movement of Arensky's String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 35, for the unusual scoring of violin, viola, and 2 cellos. Written in 1894, the year after the death of Tchaikovsky, it is a tribute to that composer. The theme is from the song "Legend," the fifth of Tchaikovsky's sixteen Children's Songs, Op. 54. Tchaikovsky's song was inspired by a poem  called "Roses and Thorns" by the American poet Richard Henry Stoddard. At the first performance of Arensky's quartet, the slow movement was so well received that Arensky soon arranged it as a separate piece for string orchestra, Op. 35a, in which form it has remained among the most popular of all Arensky's works.

    Have a look here:

Variations on a Theme of Tchaikovsky by Arensky, Piano Four Hands