Chamber music

[Bouter Boogie]

Okay, if you have to choose to play with other instruments (as a pianist), what instrument would you pick and why (maybe based on your experiences)?

Sometimes I play with a friend of mine, he's saxophonist I love to play with saxophone I also like to play with 2 piano's, though Scaramouche, composed by Darius Milhaud, is so much fun to play with 2 piano's

[faulty_damper]

I don't know if anyone else is aware about how different the production of tone is on different instruments but I hate them all!  I hate string quartets, even good ones, because of how tone is produced with stringed instruments (as well as winds).

Everytime a voice enters, inevitably, due to how tone is produced, it produces a significant accent that draws so much attention to the entering voice thereby causing the music to be filled with accents.

I am sure no one else is bothered by this but it bothers me so much and upsets me because string players, even good ones, will sound like this.  Not so with a piano since tone is produced almost instantaneously and then decays.


I guess I would prefer a singer - a soprano - because I think singers are much more open to comments on how to sing with the accompaniment.  Or maybe I am dillusional.  But with the voice, the tone can be much better controlled than with strings or winds.

[grazioso]

definately not a flute just for the tone of amateur flute players.

I'd choose a cello. The instruments compliment each other and work well together.
Some great repetoire has been written by great composers for piano and cellos well

Rach, chopin, grieg etc
BRILLIANT music!!

[da jake]

I've never played with anyone before, but if I could, I'd play Alkan's Grande Duo with a vilonist. That is a masterpiece that has to find its way into standard chamber repertoire. 

[pianohopper]

I don't think a jazz band counts as chamber music, but...that's my music group of choice.  Everybody seems to like jazz, it's so upbeat and just fun to play.  I'm not very good at improv, and I don't have anything against Mozart, Rachmaninov, or anybody else mentioned who wrote chamber music.  But jazz is also a connection between the classical musicians on the one side of the room and the gansta rappers on the other side. 

[janne p.]

It depends so much on who it is you're playing with. If it's a musician who knows his/her instrument very well and has a musical mind, it doesn't really matter what she plays (as long as there is some repertoire to play, of course!)
But if I had to choose, I'd have to say the violin. My fiancée is a violinist, and I love playing with her, we match musically really well. She sings as well, but I've never accompanied her other than sight reading - and I have quite mixed experiences with singers...it's so dependent how musically and technically gifted the person is.
So, as I said before, it's much more dependent on the individual than the instrument.

[ako]

I don't know if anyone else is aware about how different the production of tone is on different instruments but I hate them all!  I hate string quartets, even good ones, because of how tone is produced with stringed instruments (as well as winds).

Everytime a voice enters, inevitably, due to how tone is produced, it produces a significant accent that draws so much attention to the entering voice thereby causing the music to be filled with accents.

I am sure no one else is bothered by this but it bothers me so much and upsets me because string players, even good ones, will sound like this.  Not so with a piano since tone is produced almost instantaneously and then decays.


I guess I would prefer a singer - a soprano - because I think singers are much more open to comments on how to sing with the accompaniment.  Or maybe I am dillusional.  But with the voice, the tone can be much better controlled than with strings or winds.

I'm a soprano. I have to let you know how singers work. To some extent, all sopranos are divas (imo) and it's definitely the piano accompaniment "following" the voice and never never never the other way around. (That's the diva in me talking) So you think you will change your mind?

On a more serious note, the voice is considered to be the soloist and the piano an accompaniment. In this sense, it is not considered "chamber music". To my understanding, chamber music denotes more of an equal partnership between instruments. A lot of people will say that in many art songs, the piano part play a very important role in expressing the mood and style of the music. I agree, but at the end, the piano still needs to tend to the needs of the soloist in terms of rubato, phrasing, etc. And that's why my sister hates being my accompanist and refuses to accompany me ever again.

Back to the original question. I had good experiences working with all strings and flutes before. However, I have sensitive ears and most of the time, the wind instruments are a bit loud for me. My ears actually hurt if they stand and play right next to me. So I'd say, strings. I want to do the Trout quintet and some Mozart PC arranged for chamber music....hard to gather around a string quartet though.

[ako]

I now have a question. What really constitute chamber music? Just "chamber" as in music played in a small chamber? Do concerti with piano accompaniment count? Or will you only consider duets, trios, quartets, etc. (works with equal parts) or would Bach's double violin concerto count? It's usually performed by a "chamber" string orchestra with 2 soloists. Thx.

[minimozart007]

"Chamber music" refers to all small ensemble music, regardless of whether it one instrument accompanying another, or a singer.  A chamber orchestra is simply a smaller size orchestra, not nearly as big as a full fledged symphony orchestra, but big enough to be considered an orchestra per se.

[amanfang]

I really enjoy piano duo too.  If I could pick whatever and had whatever at my disposal to play with, I love piano trios and quartets.  I really enjoy the piano with a few other sting instruments. 

[janne p.]

I'm a soprano. I have to let you know how singers work. To some extent, all sopranos are divas (imo) and it's definitely the piano accompaniment "following" the voice and never never never the other way around. (That's the diva in me talking) So you think you will change your mind?

A lot of people will say that in many art songs, the piano part play a very important role in expressing the mood and style of the music. I agree, but at the end, the piano still needs to tend to the needs of the soloist in terms of rubato, phrasing, etc. And that's why my sister hates being my accompanist and refuses to accompany me ever again.

I've worked with four sopranos, and there weren't any diva elements in any one of those.
In some works the piano only accompanies; but in most it's an equal partner, both accompanying and acting soloist. I can't understand how you can believe that in the end "the piano still needs to tend to the needs of the soloist in terms of rubato, phrasing, etc." Isn't rubato, phrasing etc. decided together? Why should the singer have the last word? Why should the pianist succumb to the singer's interpretation if he absolutely doesn't want to? I bet I would never want to work with you.

[ako]

Janne p., you must be a good accompanist. It's good that you can support your singers and even provide sound suggestions. Unfortunately, not everyone is as good. If you hear about the accompanists that I had been working with, maybe you'll see why I was so crass in my comments.

I have to admit I'm a extremely strong-headed when it comes to music. I am a diva (and proud of it) in the sense that I do not compromise my music. I am confident of my interpretations. I won't listen or compromise unless you can convince me that you have good reasons behind your suggestions or you have shown me that your way works better. Once you have proven to me that you're knowledgeable, I will listen to you  until a time when you cannot convince me. BUt I'll listen to you again if you can convince me of your interpretation. I don't think that's unreasonable, do you?

That said, I have been limited to working with amateur pianists who happen to be my friends. Most of them do not have accompanying experience. I have to explain everything to them like"please give me time to take a breathe". That's one form of "rubato" that the piano needs to follow the singer so the 2 parts will come in together. It sounds terrible if you don't.  I had once told an accompanist at least 6 times to take a little time at one place because I had to breath. She did not do it after 6 times. She ran right through and left me catching my breath to come in together with her the following line. Needless to say, that sounds terrible and I was not very happy. I also had an accompanist who played so loud that totally drowned me out. I had one whose interpretation of dolce mp is what everyone else will call an unemotional f. How can I convey the text of sweet love if my accompaniment is playing like a robot even after I told her about the text and that's her interpretation of mp?

You're right, the accompanist should not always follow the voice. If you do, you'll drag out the song because of the time that breathing adds. I had an accompanist who did that one time with good intentions. She was giving me room to breathe but unfortunately, she could not pick the tempo back up after the breath mark. We ended up always "waiting" for each other. That wasn't too good either.

Sigh.... I guess I need to work with professional accompanist even though that means $$$. That's the price that I have to pay to get that one great, experienced accompanist who not only knows the art of vocal accompaniment, but also can provide the next level of musical ideas, i.e. background, staging, acting suggestions. I'll be very grateful and willing to listen and work as a team.  I'm just a perfectionist searching for that one perfect accompanist.      Have any of you feel estactic when you found a musical partner who's just in sync with you? You come in exactly the same time, you lines answer beautifully to each other? The voices are in perfect balance? Occasionally, your partners will do an interpreation that is just brilliant! Maybe it's just the way those bass notes detach just the right amount in the accompagnato. Ah...the beauty of perfect harmony...

[janne p.]

I understand your feelings and sympathize with you, and there's nothing wrong with having clear ideas and visions on music as long as one is willing to change them if encountering something better. Or sometimes you just need to compromise.
If the pianist you're working with has his/her own interpretive convictions (which doesn't seem to be the case with your previous accompanists ) I don't see that you being a singer (or a diva!) gives you the right to decide what phrasing etc. you should use. It is of course, as you said, of importance for the pianist to have in mind the instrumental restrictions of the chamber music partner: in this case the singer's necessity to breathe; what I mean is that the purely musical questions should be decided together. In my opinion there is no hierarchy in chamber music, overall. This means that if the cello has an important theme in a string quartet, accompanied by the others, possibly s/he can't play it exactly as s/he wants because the theme will most certainly be introduced by the other instruments as well, and it would be destructive for the form and coherency of the composition if the theme sounded totally different every time it was heard. Same with the accompaniment, or other polyphonies going on - all details are important for the work as a whole. So a mutual interpretation or compromise should be reached through discussion (or spontanous musicality, which is as you said extremely wonderful!) And in my opinion singer + pianist is as equal a situation as any; it's so feeble for any musician to not have any chance to affect the musical output - I can't understand how orchestra musicians stand it, they probably have to play quite the opposite what they feel quite often. I've experienced this many times when singing in a choir, and I think it's important to try avoiding this situation as much as possible. With a large group it's almost impossible, but piano + singer isn't too large at least in my opinion. :-)

[clef]

I don't get very many oppertunities to play with others, it is somthing i want to do more of.  I would like to play in a Piano Trio (piano, violin, cello) I have played with others before and i think it is one of the best feelings, the sense of family and the sense of everybody working together doing their part.  If only i didn't have ignorant friends

[clef]

I don't think a jazz band counts as chamber music, but...that's my music group of choice.  Everybody seems to like jazz, it's so upbeat and just fun to play.  I'm not very good at improv, and I don't have anything against Mozart, Rachmaninov, or anybody else mentioned who wrote chamber music.  But jazz is also a connection between the classical musicians on the one side of the room and the gansta rappers on the other side. 

well thats what most people think, and i suppose there is some truth in it, but... I'm not too sure

[clef]

I've worked with four sopranos, and there weren't any diva elements in any one of those.
In some works the piano only accompanies; but in most it's an equal partner, both accompanying and acting soloist. I can't understand how you can believe that in the end "the piano still needs to tend to the needs of the soloist in terms of rubato, phrasing, etc." Isn't rubato, phrasing etc. decided together? Why should the singer have the last word? Why should the pianist succumb to the singer's interpretation if he absolutely doesn't want to? I bet I would never want to work with you.

go Altos!

[clef]

I want to be an accompanist but i don't have anyone to accomp

  if only my sister was more musical

[Bouter Boogie]

I want to be an accompanist but i don't have anyone to accomp

I'm sure there are still a lot of musicians who need a accompanist. Maybe you should ask here and there.

[janne p.]

There are always bunches of string, brass and woodwind instrumentalists searching for pianists to work with. You'll find someone, I'm sure.

[hlconceiro]

No violins!!

[prometheus]

I have a CD with piano and sax duets, since I wanted to write some myself too. It would be nice to compose some fairly easy interesting ones and bring jazz/pop/rock sax players and classical pianists studing in conservatories together. So I found this CD called saxophone masterpieces:

https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00000DDB6/qid=1126351790/sr=8-2/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i2_xgl15/104-8544849-1747136?v=glance&s=classical&n=507846

I could not find much info on any of the composers. Not sure if these are easy and playable.

[Bouter Boogie]

No violins!!

Why?

- BB