Re: Piano, voices and stem directions

[Urs Liska]

Am 09.08.2018 um 21:16 schrieb Torsten Hämmerle:
> Noeck wrote
> > Probably, that also means that using separate voices is the appropriate
> > syntax, isn’t it? Can I make the slur aware of other voices’ notes?
> Hi Joram,
>
> Sometimes, decisions whether to use separate voices, temporary parallel
> contexts, etc., are often more of a technical nature (coding-wise).
>
> But in this case, at least that's my personal opinion, I think we have to
> distinguish between the musical idea/content (the "illusion" created by the
> pianist) and how one can actually play all this with only two hands (and the
> sustain pedal).
> I'd see the musical line (the semiquavers, even with a phrasing slur) as one
> voice and therefore code it as one voice. The stem directions, to me, are
> mere hints for the player (very valuable hints, though).
>
> Rachmaninov managed to incorporate the intended rapid transitions between
> the two hands without having to clutter the music with m.g./m.d. remarks
> (main gauche/left hand, main droite/right hand) and he even hints about
> pedaling without clumsy \sustainOn/Off symbols.
> Pedaling is very delicate there, anyway, sometimes one might even use
> half-pedaling (not just on/off).

When I was a teenager my piano teacher made it a big event introducing 
me to "half-pedal" which he claimed to be an extraordinary effect.
I got my first degree in piano after studying with a teacher who was 
infamous for his overuse of the sustain pedal (which was one of the rare 
flaws in his teaching, and the one that eventually made me search for my 
own way).
Only years later I came to realize that (of course depending on the 
style of the composer) my use of the pedal had evolved to resemble a 
Gaussian distribution, with "on" and "off" only being the exceptions to 
the rule. The sustain pedal of a real (grand) piano is nothing like the 
MIDI pedal of the same name, but much closer to the MIDI volume pedal 
;-) The exact pedal position is a function of the imagined sound, the 
characteristic of the instrument and the acoustics of the room. And it 
is (should be) only partially controlled consciously, mostly it is a 
subconscious feeback loop between the ears and the muscles.

Scrjabine reportedly said to an admirer that she shouldn't pay attention 
to his hands but rather to his feet. And I really appreciate a saying by 
a great pianist (unfortunately I forgot who this was attributed to) who 
concluded "Pedal spielt man mit den Ohren" ("the pedal is actually 
played with the ears" (i.e. not the feet)).


> Just using \stemUp and \stemDown seems appropriate to me, because it's one
> single voice (just being divided up into two hands for physiological
> reasons) and the dynamics stay where they are, it's easier to start and end
> phrasing slurs, …
>
> And, last but not least: these "encrypted playing instructions" are, just
> like fingerings in general, not carved in stone and hardly justify a strict
> separation of voices.
> Just look at the last two down-stemmed semiquavers in the measure: Some
> (most?) play them using the right hand, even if their stems are down.

While this is generally the case (and I'd agree to it personally) I 
recall that for example Claudio Arrau went to great length arguing that 
the distribution of hands is a means of expression and that even if 
(well, actually *because*) it imposes additional demands on the player 
it should be faithfully executed. I found this to be a very interesting 
thought, although I didn't adopt it personally.

Best
Urs

> Later on, I'd still use a single voice that changes staves.
> A single voice for "the line" seems most natural to me. But opinions may
> differ, of course.
>
> All the best,
> Torsten
>
>
>
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