Different performance techniques?

[bitus]

I was playing a musical for a high-school, and the songs in there were very contemporary, with drums, bass, etc. After that i tried to play classical, and couldn't adjust my technique.

My concern is that i might have the same problem in a recital, where i'm trying to play Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Ravel... don't you think? And as periods (baroque, classical, romantic, impressionistic) what is the order you would recomend as far as technique goes?

[Bob]

I wonder about this too -- I'm I playing everything in my same "classical" style, or should I be making more distinctions between composers?

I was amazed how differently a professor played early Baroque music -- every composer was different, every improvisation was faithful to the composer's ideals... The professor was able to play all the different styles of Baroque music.  It still blows my mind....    another mountain to climb....  at least there's always some whole new world to awe you in music.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to differentiate styles?  I was thinking of writing down what's the essense of a certain piece just to make sure I check if I'm playing that way...  

? How do you know your Brahms doesn't sound too much like Mozart?  !!!!!!!!!!

[faulty_damper]

That brings up something that most amateur classical pianists don't know: composers' voices.

It seems true that certain pianists who focus on one composer (like Bach, Chopin, Mozart, et al) can only play that one composer's compositions well.  Example of this would be Murray Perahia - he plays a lot of JS Bach and it shows when he plays other composers' pieces like Chopin and Beethoven.

Amature pianists who aren't that into the piece or the composer wouldn't really think about the voices so they play it the way they were taught.  But that's fine because they are amature and don't aspire to be anything greater.

So what about this problem?  I've sometimes found that if I play a certain piece, I have difficulty playing a different piece because it requires different technique.  The only thing that I've found that helped correct this problem is to practice playing two different pieces back to back.  A purposeful change of mood also helps in teh process.

[bitus]

? How do you know your Brahms doesn't sound too much like Mozart?  !!!!!!!!!!

You just know... It's impossible to mistake a romantic and a classic composer
The Bitus

[Bob]

It IS possible to Mozart too Romantic though.  How do you really know if your playing a composer right?

[bernhard]

This is a real philosophical question!  

How can we be sure of anything?

I guess we can't. We just do our best.

Or as someone said: I do not believe in miracles, I rely on them.

[Motrax]

Before beginning a piece, I try to empty myself of all emotion and thought, and then adopt what I believe is the composer's personality and style.  

Physically, I just imagine anything which can absorb my full attention, like the ripples from a single drop of water. I just concentrate on anything silly like that, to clear my mind of whatever might be nagging me at the moment, and then I just sort of stop imagining anything at all. I then put my hands on the piano, and try to fully embody whatever style I'm about to play... difficult to describe I guess, and I'd assume different people would go about this differently.

But it's something to try if your at a loss for any other approach.