THE STORY OF THE PIANO

l
in the way of possibilities

for expressive shaping

using dynamics

and articulation

How much of the flavour of the harpsichord

Would

Beethoven

have preferred

should we try to recreate on the piano'

to hear his sonatas on a modern concert grand,

where even the most extreme textures

his own time, strained
music

retain clarity and projection,

or on a piano of

to its own limits and beyond in the attempt

to deliver the

This is the complex and demanding

addition,

they must negotiate

juggling

record

contracts

record producers,

world of choices for the modern pianist.

the pressures

with jet-set

and international

of the international

tours,

concert

competitions

managers

concert

and agents

with prestigious

In

circuit,
with

arts festivals.

What distinguishes

the great players of the modern world is their ability to preserve

a sense of artistic

integrity,

individuality

and involvement

through

all these

distractions.
The repertoire

for the piano is vast - far larger than for any other instrument.

get a rough idea how vast, cast a glance over the repertoire

(To

guide at the back of this

book.) Many players have therefore

achieved particular

Andras Schiff in J.S.Bach,

Uchida and Murray Perahia in Mozart, Mikhail

Plernev in C.P.E.Bach

Mitsuko

and Russian

Richard Goode in Beethoven,

music, Alfred Brendel

Krystian Zimerman

and Maurizio Pollini in early and mid-20th

examples

approaching

Radu Lupu in Brahms,

century music are JUSt some of the finest

could also lay claim to

of many other parts of the reperroire as well.

THE PIANO IN CONTEMPORARY

Contemporary

in certain areas.

in Haydn and Schubert,

in Chopin,

of this. At the same time, all of these performers

being masterly exponents

MUSIC

classical music has evolved in the last 50 years or so into something

a subculture

1960s produced
Barraque

distinction

of its own. The European

important

heavyweight

avanr-garde

works for piano,

and Boulez and the piano pieces of Stockhausen.

piano was the ideal medium

whose abstract and fragmented

for an intellectually

of the 1950s and

such as the sonatas

For these composers,

severe and uncompromising

textures often typified the nihilistic

intensity

of
the

style,
of mid-

20th century musical modernism.

Meanwhile,
understanding

American

composers

of the piano

as an instrument:

foreign objects into the mechanism

works for player-piano
Some players have become noted for their
skills in specific areas or with the work of
particular composers. Maurizio Pollini (above)
excels in performances of 20th century music
(not to mention Beethoven), while Alfred
Brendel (right) is known for his penetrating
interpretations

of Haydn and Schubert.

32

such as Cage and Nancarrow

Cage's prepared

stretched

piano

our

introduced

and strings to alter its sound, while Nancarrow's

turn the instrument

into a vehicle for multi-layered

textures

'--