Petrouchka- Excerpt

Here is an excerpt from the third movement of Petrouchka from a recital I played in April. Just curious to hear what some people might have to say. I think you get a better impression when you hear it from beginning to end...I am going to get the DVD edited so that I can upload the pieces in their entirety. I think it's not bad considering I haven't performed it more than five or six times... but it's a work in progress! Even since April, I feel my technique has evolved quite a bit... trying to streamline my motions, and get rid of some bad habits (high wrist in my right hand, head motion, and so forth). It's so hard to get used to producing maximum music with minimum effort when I've been playing for years with quite a lot of visceral effort and trying to keep my fingers curved, rather than just letting the arch make it happen. It's almost like I'm afraid of being boring, so my old habits of excessive mannerisms start to creep in. Anyway, curious to hear feedback.

Sorry, I left the link out somehow!

Eric, Bravo, this is really great playing! Wonderful! Your sound is great, your hands look great - all really superlative use of self. An honour to have you on our forum! If I had one tiny little thing to say it might be that sometimes wrists a too loose, especially early on in the clip - you might be actually losing a tiny bit of capacity for tonal differentiation there. But overall I would say that you do seem to be using some sort of arm weight technique but doing it extremely well - am I right? From what you write, you seem to have been using my materials to 'upgrade' your technique: my hat's off to you! All congratulations, AFF

Hi Alan, Thanks a lot for your kind remarks and insightful feedback. Yes, I have watched your DVD several times, and have been trying to move towards a more skeletal approach... though I haven't yet had the time/discipline to study the DVD in the most orderly fashion (which I'd like to get to soon), I know that just the principles have a great way of rubbing off on my playing... it changes my mindset... just thinking "arch" helps a great deal, for example. Yes... I had a Russian teacher for my masters degree, and I think I got heavily into arm weight playing-- but also, was using fingery playing too. I think my ideals were pianists like Pogorelich and Kissin-- I liked their huge range of sound... but somehow, my taut fingers and hunched over posture was limiting my sound- I thought I was doing what they were doing, but I wasn't. It's funny how emulation only works up to a point... I remember often, when practicing, feeling like I've nailed down x pianist's style, only to find that in performance, it doesn't work, (whatever the reason is... is it not sincere trying to be someone you are not?) Getting back to the shortcomings of the technique I had... I remember I once played the Wanderer Fantasy for Seymour Lipkin, and he remarked, "you know, there's a lot more sound in that instrument!" I was worried, because my "way" wasn't working. He said something like "sit up straight, and pull the keys down," and it was amazing how much bigger the sound was. My fingers were not as taut...I guess flatter fingers are best for a really huge sound... thinking of the way Horowitz will spring of the keys with flat fingers and the pedal down, to get a truly orchestral body of sound. Yeah, I think arm weight remnants will probably remain part of my technical vocabulary... the way you remarked that Ashkenazy has a "sort of arm weight thing going on." It's funny, my Russian teacher seemed to think Horowitz used a lot of arm weight... I guess it's possible when you see how he sits far, leans in, and elbows sometimes stick out, but still it's very small... nothing like what you see Kissin doing. I've been out of school for some two years now, and from Nov 2010-May 2011 I was working with a woman who claimed to be a pupil of Rosina Lhevinne. This woman was very negative and destructive, and after a while of tolerating her bi-polar personality and insults, I decided whatever good she had was outweighed by the bad, and that she was a bit of a charlatan. She did have some good ideas about my arch and stuff, but she would insist on all this wrist motion-- telling me my wrists were frozen or locked...I think she used her wrist more because she had small hands, and didn't seem to realize that I didn't need to have all that extra wrist motion. Anyway, she insisted that I exagerrate at first to get my wrist moving, so I think that's where the excess you noted is coming from. I was going for that big tone that Gilels gets in that "d minor" section at the beginning of the excerpt-- his recording is so awesomely inaccurate at the end, but I don't think I've ever heard a more orchestral rendition of Petrouchka. I happen to be a big fan of his playing. So... that teacher was a not-so-good experience, I felt I was getting conned out of my money... she would say something like.... "well get to that when I teach you how to play a scale, cuz it's all wrong now..." then next week, I would see..."come on teach me the scale," and she would see, "no that wouldn't be fair to you." (giving me too much info at once). Anyway, she keeps you coming back, always putting the real "meat" in the future, and you never actually get to anything she says we'll get to. The last day, she said, "look I've been thinking about you, and this is going to take two more years of me cleaning you out," --and last year she told me it would be one year. Uggh,-- and she could barely play the piano... I wouldn't question her. Anyway, I'm blaming my over-active wrist on that woman. I'm rambling now, so I'll stop. But, thanks a lot -- it means a lot to hear that I'm actually on the right track, because for some years there I was really confused about piano technique. I think your work is opening up new doors for me, and helping wean myself from some of the mannerisms and "good student" technique that I need to get past, so to speak. I'll be in touch. Take care, Eric

Hello Eric, Thanks for your detailed description of your experiences. It is always educational for us to share a fellow colleague's path. Sorry to hear about your latest 2-year experience, very glad you got out! As for Gilels, an artist that I too hugely admire. However I just went back to his wonderful recording of the Brahms' 2nd and actually detected some negative results of his arm weight technique. To wit, some of the big loud chords given so much arm weight that there is actually a slight collapse in the hand, giving a little bit of a banged or thumped sound. Otherwise a wonderful performance... Thanks again, AFF

More thoughts on your great post... Speaking of wonderfully inaccurate playing, does anyone know the Geiseking recording of Scriabin 5th sonata? Because he learned the score according to harmonic key plans, twice in there he finds himself in the and just keeps playing for several bars, perhaps half a page or so, until he can get himself back in the right tonality - it is jaw-dropping! About Pogorelich: I too admired him hugely and imitated him, but there was always a limitation in his playing. As a Feldenkrais practitioner, at first I said, "His hands are great (those great paws with the super long fingers which he lifted high to get maximal articulation), but if I could get him on my table for a half a dozen lessons or so I could resolve all the tension in his body and he would be way better." Later on it appears he went down the wrong road in an attempt to resolve that body tension, because his later videos show the wrong use of arm weight technique, where the arm itself is used to move the key. This limits him tremendously. Then you go back to earlier clips and you see the seeds of it there as well. I think I wrote about it on this forum years ago in relation to one Scarlatti sonata video or maybe it was a Haydn sonata... Glad to hear about your Seymour Lipkin experience - I like it that he helped you so much with a relatively uncomplicated, pragmatic observation. I could use a few more of those myself! Finally: yes, flat fingers make for bigger sound, by the simple expedient that the more actual flesh area making key contact, the juicier the tone will be. Keep on your right track! All best, AFF