Bortkiewicz: Etude in Em, Op. 15 / Prelude, Op. 33, No. 7

[exigence]

As inspired by rachfan's suggestion in my current thread in Repertoire / thracozaag's fine performance of the Em etude as posted on this forum.

I'm hoping that both are long since public domain (am a bit unfamiliar with this composer); would much appreciate the sheets to these two works.

Thank you!

[rachfan]

Hi exigence,

I am doing some checking for you on your sheet music requests.  I'll be back to you in the near future.

David

[retrouvailles]

Hmm, I don't believe that I didn't see this earlier.

Btw, I have lots of Bortkiewicz. Not sure this is in public domain everywhere though. He's only been dead for roughly 50 years.

[dnephi]

Do you have Op. 65?

[exigence]

Hmm, I don't believe that I didn't see this earlier.

Btw, I have lots of Bortkiewicz. Not sure this is in public domain everywhere though. He's only been dead for roughly 50 years.

Thanks!

@Rachfan - thanks for checking for me, much appreciated.

[rachfan]

Hi exigence,

Yes, it looks like you're all set on Op. 33 thanks to retrouvailles' fast posting.  Also, I'm assuming that the Em Etude you mentioned is No. 10 of Op. 15?  If so, you've got that one now as well.  Great!  Have fun with those!

[retrouvailles]

Do you have Op. 65?

Yup.

[rachfan]

.

[exigence]

.

Hey Rach,

Toying with them on and off... bit tricky, some of them. Between midterms and med school stuff and other such things, I haven't been able to sit down and get them right 

[rachfan]

Hi exigence,

One of the problems in playing Bortkiewicz is that the performance practices have all but vanished.  So the aim is to produce a thoughtful and justifiable interpretation of the music.  Another problem is that Bortkiewicz, in addition to being a composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor, was also a conservatory professor.  So you need to anticipate that any piece of his, no matter how seemingly innocuous, has elements of an etude(s) buried within it.  It might be polyrhythms, melody in the left hand, short cadenzas, choices as to what is best foreground and background, finding the long line, fitting in his appogiaturas, or whatever.  So as we rediscover this music, we not simply recreating it; rather we're co-creating it with Bortkiewicz. 

I assume that you're focusing on the Op. 33 Preludes right now?  (I just posted No. 8 in D flat in the Audition Room if you haven't caught it yet.   What a gorgeous piece!)  Some of these pieces are really difficult.  You might want to look at No. 6 in C#m.  It's a shorter prelude and more straight-forward than some of the others.  If you complete it, getting a "win" will boost your confidence to undertake another one.  I plan to do No. 6 myself next.   

All my formal studies were with excellent private teachers, although I took some music electives at university as well, when I could fit them in.  As with your medical school pursuit, it might surprise you to learn that my BA was in Political Science and my graduate degrees are the MBA and DBA (Doctor of Business Administration), NOT degrees in piano performance or musical arts.  So it goes to show that amateur pianists with determination and inspiration can indeed perform Bortkiewicz's music.  My thought is that I'm sharing something very important of great beauty with those who care to listen.  If some of them are much better pianists than I and can take this same music up and play it even better, wonderful!  That raises and spreads awareness among pianists and audiences alike.  So I say to you, don't be put off!  Keep at it as your school schedule allows.   

[exigence]

Fantastic advice - and yes, I get the feeling that I'm giving myself a copout of sorts on the whole thing.

I've been a bit of a slacker on taking new stuff seriously these days for a number of reasons, but posts like that are definitely inspiring. Op. 33:8 is a good contender since its difficulty isn't nearly that of some of his other work, much like the C#m you suggested.

Good for you on the DBA. I'm curious - why did you choose the BA/PS -> MBA -> DBA route, anyhow? I second guess applying to MD programs pretty much on a daily basis, so I'm always interested in how people justify their own graduate training decisions.

[rachfan]

Hi exigence,

Like most high school students, I wasn't exactly sure what to do at first.  I had, in addition to a regular HS diploma, a second HS diploma from the National Guild of Piano Teachers (American College of Musicians)--a ticket into a conservatory or university music department.  In addition I had been awarded the Paderewski Gold Medal for 10 years participation in the adjudicated National Piano Playing Auditions (requiring an annual memorized programs of 10 pieces or more plus demonstrated technical capabilities), had been a finalist in a regional competition in Boston, had a small scholarship, and had given a successful solo recital.  I agonized over applying to the New England Conservatory of Music or  attending a liberal arts program at another university.  I wisely chose the latter.

After looking at all the alternatives, political science appealed to me, as it took in a variety of things like public administration, foreign relations, government processes, comparative governments, constitutional law, etc.  I did enjoy it.  After graduation I took the LSAT and was accepted to three law schools in Boston...  but I didn't have the money to attend, so I pragmatically joined IBM Corporation to get some real experience and quickly found myself in administrative management. 

Three years later, missing the intellectual challenge of academe, I decided to do a master's program evenings at Boston College.  IBM had offered full tuition reimbursement for business-related programs, so I did the MBA evenings and summers.  The company paid my full tab.  An MBA, incidentally, is 54 credits, so much larger than a typical 30-credit liberal arts master's degree.  I did the DBA 20 years later to get a total update in the theories and practices, and to gain a competitive edge over those with MBAs (lawyers and MBAs are "drugs on the market" these days.)  By then I was in top management in the  mental health care industry, so the doctorate in late career opened doors and assisted me in my top management role (Chief Operating Officer).  It also provided further career validation for me, the latter being more of a personal desire than a professional goal.  Now I'm retired, so have much more time to devote to piano. 

Looking back, I'm glad I made the choices I did, as there are very, very few opportunities in the music business versus an open-ended range of opportunities in general business.  I'm grateful that I had a focused and progressive career in management.  So music has always been highly important in my life--but always an enjoyable avocation rather than my vocation.  In retrospect I'm glad that I never had to make my deep love of music my work.

[exigence]

Thanks for sharing; makes a lot of sense. And yeah, JDs and MBAs are definitely what you said they are - something that, despite what a few people have suggested to me, doesn't entirely hold true for MDs/DOs, best I can tell.

I wish I could land a 30-credit liberal arts MA/MS. At my university (one of Texas A&M's sister schools), most realistic master's degrees are 40+. Ordinarily, this wouldn't be bad at all, but medical school application season runs from May-October via the TMDSAS here in Texas for admission the following year, which gives me a fall, spring, and three summer sessions to do it. Seems a bit counterintuitive to bust my ass doing that before going to bust my ass as an MS1 - hopefully(!?) - in medical school. I've been tinkering with the idea of double majoring or at least picking up an additional minor or two in that off time since "do nothing" is often a difficult concept for me, but I'm not sure how useful of an idea that is beyond having it as transcript/résumé fodder.

Even though this may or may not change depending on how likely the socialized healthcare / Hillary doomsday theories are, the job security and financial possibilities offered in MDhood are, like your take on business, a big reason why I'm still headed that way. I guess it was a good thing that I went into my undergraduate program thinking that it may not be advisable to turn my musical more-than-hobby into something I would feel like I was forced to do.

[rachfan]

If I were to pick out some issues that seem to bug MDs and DOs these days, it would be 1) the fact that large hospitals are gobbling up solo and small group practices left and right and putting the docs on salary in HMOs, thereby limiting discretion and financial opportunity; 2) the ever tighter, unreasonable and untimely reimbursements from Medicare and third party private insurers; 3) the paperwork explosion facing physicians today as a percentage of their time and its effect on productivity; 4) the skyrocketing cost of professional malpractice insurance; 5) interference by managed care company medical directors in questioning physician decisions on patient care.  Those might be some things to look into and assess as you go down the road.  The life of the physician is considerably different now than say 10 or 15 years ago, as you know.   Anyway, good luck on forging ahead!  Where there's a will there's a way.