Notes from a workship taken by Jackie Epstein
Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 08:56:05 -0500
From: Jacqueline Epstein <triosuite@STARPOWER.NET>
Subject: Working with a pianist
That was the title of a musical clinic I attended last weekend at the Mid-Atlantic Flute Fair in Reston.
The clinic was run by Rebecca Wilt, a nationally recognized "virtuoso collaborative pianist," still known in some circles as an accompanist. She has performed with many well-known soloists. such as flutists Julius Baker and Michel Dubost, served on the faculty of the Interlochen Arts Academy, played with the Chicago Lyric Opera, and now directs keyboard studies at Messiah College in Grantham, PA, just south of Harrisburg.
These were some of the points she made with the audience, composed mostly of flute students:
-- Tuning should be with a fifth of a chord, both major and minor. "It's better to be sharp than out of tune." [Note: Dr. John doesn't agree]
-- The flutist should stand in the crook of the piano so
the pianist can hear the flute better.
-- "It's my job as pianist to listen to the flute and figure out where the flutist is going to breathe. There should be no need to discuss this ahead of time."
-- All pianists should learn to be collaborative pianists rather than mere accompanists. It is not true, as many people think, that they are disgruntled musicians who didn't make it as soloists. They truly love it.
-- The pianist and the flutist must understand each other's parts. The pianist must look at the music early, not in the last few days before the performance.
-- The pianist should run the first rehearsal because the pianist has both parts. After that, it must be a team effort.
-- Re tempo, the pianist should say to the flutist, "how fast to you want to take this?" If the flutist wants to take it at 1/4 speed for reasons of his/her own, that should be fine with the pianist.
-- If there's a section of the piece that the flutist can't play, it should be played slower.
-- Listen to recordings of the piece you plan to play, but don't think that's the only way the piece can be played. Think of the score as a map, a guideline, not a command. I ask my students to come up with three different musical interpretations for every piece they play.
-- Every year, flutists should memorize at least one movement -- and see how much better you listen to the piano, and how much better you play.
-- Before you play a piece, know something about the composer. What kind of sound, what kind of feeling did he want? What were the influences on him? When playing a Chopin ballade, for example, it helps to know about the Polish, Viennese and French influences in it.
-- "Know your part before rehearsals begin. That way, you'll be able to hear the parts of others during the rehearsals. I always tell my students during practice, 'Stop. Now sing my part.' And they'd better know it."
-Jackie Epstein
