Piano Forum

Piano Board => Performance => Topic started by: rosejaune177 on June 27, 2021, 01:30:42 PM

Title: Legato in opening of Brahms 116/7
Post by: rosejaune177 on June 27, 2021, 01:30:42 PM

Hi, I'm about to learn the final Capriccio from Brahms' op. 116 (https://ks.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/0/0d/IMSLP01530-Bp33.pdf), but I'm struggling to see how to achieve legato in the opening bars. Maybe it's my small hand span. I just can't hold from the first crotchet to the second using the fingering that appears in most editions (as above) - it feels too stretchy. I can go to a 5-2-1 on the chord if I cover with pedal. Then I have the same problem in the LH, but most editions don't put pedal there... Would it be okay to just pedal every crotchet, and use whichever fingering I find least difficult, even at the expense of finger legato? Can anyone advise me please?  ???

Title: Re: Legato in opening of Brahms 116/7
Post by: lelle on June 27, 2021, 01:53:33 PM

Is it playing a sixth with 5-2 that is stretchy?

Honestly, you can just slide your thumb from the last sixteenth note to the bottom/top note of the chord and practice until it sounds legato. You can create the illusion with a minimum of pedal. Is it possible for you to play the chord with 1-2-4 in the right hand?