Unhinged | PianoMorphosis

C. P. E. Bach writes in his treatise:

“A musician cannot move others unless he too is moved. He must of necessity feel all of the affects that he hopes to arouse in his audience, for the revealing of his own humor will stimulate a like humor in the listener. In languishing, sad passages, the performer must languish and grow sad. Thus will the expression of the piece be more clearly perceived by the listeners….“

It’s an old and ongoing conversation in the theater — how directly does the emotional response or experience of the actor correspond to what the audience will feel/receive/experience/live?

Here are three passages from music written by Brahms that sometimes unhinge me so much that I may not be able to play the instrument adequately. They are a kind of psychological challenge. Can I divide my attention, or desensitize myself enough in practicing that I am left with enough physical ability to transmit to listeners in the moment?
Brahms: Opus 114 (II)

Brahms: Opus 83 (III) (Here it is not the piano part, but what the cello plays, and has played, that makes for “difficulty.”)

Brahms: Opus 10, No. 4

Performers will recognize that light stomach quiver (or ecstatic fluttering of the heart) I may feel when such music comes alive in the moment in the presence of hundreds of ears.

Comments

Steven Cravis says

December 12, 2011 at 6:19 pm

This is one of my favorite original compositions. I hope I’m morphing piano well enough for this article:

http://youtu.be/YxWbhcVbESc

Steven Cravis
Pianist, Composer
LaDona says

December 15, 2011 at 12:41 pm

I’ll never forget the first time I saw (and heard) Lang Lang play. He was playing a Chopin concerto on a PBS broadcast. It was unbelievably beautiful, and I was moved to tears. Of course his body language and his obvious passion played a part in that. Frankly, it is much harder to be moved when I’m watching someone who sits stock-still, even though the playing is exquisite. I guess it just takes more work on the part of the audience. On the other hand, nothing moves me quite as much as a recording of Maria Callas singing Casta Diva.

I am not one of those teachers who will choreograph my students’ movements at the piano. To me that is unnatural. I want to show them the beauty of the music, and absolutely encourage but not dictate an appropriate use of the body and arms to communicate the feeling of the music. Sometimes it takes years to get an introverted student to allow himself the freedom to move a bit. I think any movement should derive from the technique necessary to play whatever the passage requires, or be an extension of the technique or line. It shouldn’t dictate what the audience “should” be feeling.

Just my two bits’ worth…