Mistakes Peculiar to the Pianoforte Player
The nature of the keyboard of the piano, and the ease with which certain things are accomplished, make it possible for the performer to make certain errors which the construction of other instruments would prevent. The pianist is, for instance, entirely unlike the violinist, who has to locate his keyboard every time he takes up his instrument, and, moreover, locate it by a highly trained sense of position. In a certain way I sometimes feel somewhat ashamed for the pianist profession when I hear players, even those with manifest technical proficiency, commit flagrant mistakes against elementary rules of accentuation and phrasing, such as, for instance, an average violinist acquainted with good bowing is accordingly prevented from making upon his instrument.
The means of discovering the composer's hidden meaning are, in fact, so numerous that the conscientious interpreter must keep upon continuous voyages of exploration. There are many easily recognizable paths leading to the promised land—one is the path of harmony, without an understanding of which the would-be performer can never reach his goal; another is musical history; others are the studies of phrasing, rhythm, accentuation, pedaling, etc., etc., ad infinitum. To fail to traverse any one of these roads will result in endless exasperation. Find your guide, press on without thinking of failure, and the way to success may be found before you know it.
Questions in Style, Interpretation, Expression
and Technic of Pianoforte Playing
SERIES XIX
Sigismund Stojowski
| 1. | What composer preserved the most perfect balance between artistic conception and expression? |
| 2. | How may the student break the veil of conventions? |
| 3. | What fundamental laws should underlie interpretation? |
| 4. | How may master works be born again? |
| 5. | Is one ever warranted in altering a masterpiece? |
| 6. | Tell of Beethoven's attitude toward the metronome. |
| 7. | How may errors arise in the use of the terms of expression? |
| 8. | How may one be helped in learning the musical language? |
| 9. | State some mistakes peculiar to the pianoforte. |
| 10. | What voyages of exploration must the student make? |