Understanding Styles of Master Composers Part 1

Sometimes, in my rehearsals, it can be different switching from one composer to another. Sometimes we tend to oversimplify compositional styles by era: baroque, classical, romantic, or modern.  This totally forgets how completely different composers can be, even when born around the same time.  

I feel that this is most abused in the romantic repertoire, treating the composer's the same, forgetting vastly different backgrounds, nationality, or technique.   Many small individual touches that make up a composer, and their unique style.

Franz Liszt

Liszt almost feels like a character of legend, a titan of the piano, whose technique was unparalleled in his time.   Saint Saens gave a lengthy description of Liszt in his Portraits et Souvenirs.   He wrote:

"It is difficult to realize fully with what brilliancy and magic prestige the name of Liszt appeared to the young musicians of the early Imperial epoch. A name so strange for us Frenchmen-sharp and hissing, like a sword that cleaves the air; traversed by its Slavic z as if by a flash of lightning. The artist and the man seemed to belong realm of legend.  most of the pieces which he had published seemed impossible of execution for anyone else but himself, and they were so in truth, according to the antiquated method which prescribed immobility-the elbows kept at all times near the body and with limited action of fingers and arms."

In order for a pianist to be a great player of Liszt's music, they must possess brilliant technique; the pianist must have fingers strong enough to give forceful articulation during the many rapid runs, arpeggios and other pyrotechnics found in Liszt's music.   Liszt, along with Chopin, revolutionized technique of playing piano, especially in the manner in which the instrument is played.  I feel the "freedom" is the best word to epitomize his style and character.   Every musical device: dynamics, rubato, forcefulness, lightness, massiveness, orchestra like adaptions, should all be employed, hold nothing back.

His influence is profound, Saint-Saens continues his description on the impact of Liszt, "it is more potent than the influence  exercised by Paganini in the playing of the violin."

Johannes Brahms

The standard exercises, such as from Czerny, or the Chopin Etudes, do not offer sufficient preparation.   Brahms at times can be Massive, like his teaching Schumann, but laid out, with a broad base.  Many times he uses technical devices, like arpeggios, that are larger then the span of an octave, but unlike Chopin, they're orchestral,  not just pianistic.   His variations on a theme of Handel, and both sets of variations on a theme by Paganini require, titanic Technic, and consummate musicianship.

To play Brahms, breadth, strength, and virility are needed; so many times, pianists play Brahms with a plodding, almost lethargic nature.    This leads to the obvious, a boring performance that lacks life.      Brahms also requires great tenderness, but the pianist must remember that playing with an exaggerated  tempo rubato or with sweet sentimentality, more appropriate for a nocturne, would be a huge mistake in the music of Brahms.   While he does have tender pieces that sing with a soft eloquence, such as Wiegenlied or Capriccio in B minor.   Brahms' real spirit can be found in his Op. 5 sonata, the Intermezzos, Rhapsodies, Ballades, and the aforementioned Variations.   To do justice to these works, one must possess a titanic musicianship equal to a titanic Technique.


It is important to treat these composers as individuals, we all know the similarities found in romantic music of the piano, but it is more important to look at what makes these composers different.  I will visit several other composers through the course of the week.  please subscribe to read more!!

July Update

Summer has finally set in, with record heat outside, I have been enjoying the air conditioning a little more then usual.    During this time, something rather important has come to my attention.  My car does not have a working AC.  Actually, I have never owned a car with working AC.   Most of the  it is not too bad, I can roll down a window, but the heat has been a bit worse this year, and when I get to ride in a car with AC, I get overly excited at the wonders of modern technology.

Honestly, I am not sure how I would react to have a working AC in my car, it almost feels like a luxery item.   This has led, surprisingly enough, to more practice time, and less distraction.  Very good things for me, and time to plot and plan the next couple of months.

I have decided, after some debate, that I wish to get my website running again.   Up until about a year and a half ago, I had a website, designed by a friend of mine who was trying to start up a web design business.   It did nothing but good for me, and I was happy to have it.  Several performances I got, were directly possible because of the website.   So hopefully soon, I can get my website back up, and post a link.   Also, I am looking for suggestions of places to host the website.  Feel free to offer any suggestions in the comments section or drop me a message on facebook, found here.

Another pet project, was one dreamed up by me, and longtime friend and songwriter, Andy Jones.  A few years back we brainstormed an idea to have a "Fine Arts Fusion"  to showcase several musicians of different genres: such as classical, jazz, and indie music.  We revisted the idea last night, and were going to look into it, and see if we can make it happen!  Check back for updates!

No Fireworks...Spiderman!

How did I spend my fourth of July?  With record heat for July, and a ban on fireworks, it was tough to justify, spending the money on them, or to go wait for the big show down by the river.   We have hardly had any rain, and there were big concerns for fire...What is a musician to do?

Go see the new Spider-man movie!  Honestly, it was a great decisions, I grew up on the Spider-man mythos, and the idea of a new movie was exciting to me.    Let me give you a history of me and spider-man movies.  I saw the first one in the theaters four times; most of the time when at a movies I only get to see a movie once. At the end of Spider-man 2, it was the midnight showing, I screamed out "Kiss the girl already," in what had to be my most masculine moment of film viewing, and when Spider-man 3 rolled around, I went to the midnight showing the night before my jury.

And now....Mozart!

Ten years after the first movie came out, I was just as excited to see the new one, and I honestly was not disappointed.   Without going into a review, I just had a great time at the movie, and flt myself truly at ease.  It was a great time with friends, and I enjoyed the chance to geek out again.

This summer, when I am not indulging a fantasy of being a costume vigilante I have been contemplating how to be a better pianist.  How to push the boundaries, learn quicker, and become a deeper musician.    Frankly speaking, since starting this blog, I feel the urge to put a disclaimer at the end of every post, "I am not a teacher, and still learning myself"   I feel that half of the things I try, end up with me making some pretty bad mistakes.

My technical abilities have constantly been improving, but despite my love of playing, I have not been the most natural musician.  There have been many times, where there has been struggles: struggles with speed, agility, and sometimes reading.   The aspects of music that we call "technique" have been a struggle for me.    Though, I no longer view that as a hindrance to my musician ship.  This is not to say these aspects are not important, they most certainly are, and I can't help but to be a little bit jealous of those who posses them.

Sometimes though, our technique can be a liability, making things too easy, too slick, giving us nothing to hang onto.   Ideas, can loose value, we loose a sense of control, letting our technique govern us, instead of using our physicality to reach our means.

We can achieve this through practice.  The addage "practice makes perfect" is still very true, but as I get older, I realized, the kind of practice, is just as important.  I can sit at the piano and doodle around for hours, and get no where.    Two important factors to practice is regularity, and mental control.   It is very important to practice regularly, despite how we feel some days. what we would like to be out doing, or what our mood is.    Mental control is also very important, we should strive not to play a note that is not directed and guided by alert musical thought.    

As of now, my own practice routine is five hours a day, and never in one sitting.   I will not sit at the piano longer then an hour, setting an alarm for myself, and taking time between each one of these hour sessions.   The outcome has been fantastic, my practice is filled with mental alertness, and I avoid the fatigue comes comes from over practicing.

In a previous post, I went through how I go through scales, and I can't stress enough how this has improved my technique.  I practice with an awareness, of everything technical element, running through some very basic exercises to help with evenness in the sound.   I do not rely on instinct when I practice like this, and achieve an awareness of my abilities and how to use them.    I have been adding technical study pieces into the mix, playing them slowly, or with a syncopated rhythm.   My hands are now more capable of dealing with the challenges I find in my repertoire pieces.

Achieving my interpretive goals with the music is another matter entirely, and honestly is one that comes easier to me; it is where my own strengths lie.    The ironic part, is that the same ideas apply to interpretation, if we are not aware of what we are doing, then we loose the value.  When we look at music, we must look note value length, voice leading, and patterns in the phrases.  We should find reason, instead of relying on instinct, for a more thoughtful, and profound music experience.    When we work out the why, based on the note values and melodic patterns, we can turn our nebulous feelings, into something tangible, into crystalline shapes, and know the how and why in the things we see in the score.

Despite, all we do to strive for good practice, one can still encounter off days, when we feel a resistance in the body, or our nerves are getting the better of us.    Anything from eating bad, to having a sleepless night.   The best way to minimize these days is to lead a regular somewhat disciplined life.   Avoid excess, eat well, sleep regular, good hours, and exercise; these are all common sense things, but can lead to better balance, and avoiding those off days.   We don't just play the piano, it has become infused and part of our lifestyle.

When I feel nervous before performance, I once again feel it is important to exercise control, no one needs to know of how nervous I am.  So I a place to relax, meditate, take a few deep breaths.

The lesson I have learned, is that no matter what angle of music I am approaching: the technical, the interpretive, or even just nerves or bad days, the one constant way of dealing with them is control.   As I continue to learn how to master myself, I become more and more aware of what I want to do, and exactly how to do it.   The key for me is not focusing on the finger work, but rather on regular, alert, and never remitting self- discipline.   I stop worrying about the preparatory details I used to feel I must accomplish before a concert, through regular practice work they become second nature, but of the beauty of the music, the releasing of my emotions, and just how fun playing in public can be.

I welcome any thoughts, opinions or discussions, please feel free to comment below!  Also please subscribe if you would like to read more.   I can also be found on facebook here.