[video] Godowsky & Saint-Saens: The Swan

[sjskb]

did this for encore after a concerto

for those who know this piece inside out, do forgive the wrong notes!

Comments, please!

thank you....

sjskb

[soderlund]

Very nice playing... I do not know the piece extremely well, I haven't played it, and I did not notice any wrong notes now when I listened to it in the background. I suppose your audience did not hear anything either
Very refreshing, I think you played it very well.

[rachfan]

Hi sjskb,

I totally enjoyed your rendition of the Godowsky/Saint-Saens "The Swan".  I'm familiar with this very intricate piece, but have not played it.  The couple of slips were extremely minor, nearly imperceptible,  and did not interfere with the flow or detract from the performance at all.  Very beautifully played!  And what an excellent choice for an encore.  Thanks for posting it! 

[keypeg]

I thoroughly enjoyed it - superb.  This was my violin piece last year, and by chance a dear friend was assigned it on viola by her teacher half ways across the world at the same time so it holds special meaning.  It is gorgeous on the piano and beautifully played. 

[sjskb]

Thank you all for your kind comments....

I wasn't really prepared for the encore... it was a spontaneous decision due to the enthusiastic applause.....

I'm glad you guys liked it. Felt it was a bit rushed through in the middle...

[berrt]

did you record a new cd? id be interested 

B:

[sjskb]

did you record a new cd? id be interested 

B:

hi berrt...

nah, too lazy to do any more recordings for CD... i don't really have the money as well..
 
thanks for your support!

[slobone]

Lovely. The Swan was one of my favorite pieces when I was a kid.

[pianiststrongbad]

You did a wonderful job! Your pedaling and clarity is absolutely spectacular! I always love hearing different interpretations of this transcription as there are so few.

In case if your curious I have a video up of this:

Again, Great job!

[ramseytheii]

Lovely!  The only thing I disapprove of is when you have a crescendo, the music should not sound muscular, but rather just like an opening up, like the wings of the swan spreading out calmly and being reflected in the waves;  your crescendi sound rather like the swan barking at some intruder on the lake.  Don't push so hard, and don't ever be aggressive.  let the swan be free!

Walter Ramsey

[ramseytheii]

Sorry to come back to this after I already commented, but first I used this performance as an example of different types of crescendo in the Performance room, then someone posted the score in the Sheet Request room, and I listened to it again watching the music. 

(Following the score during a performance is never a healthy habit; one always ends up disappointed, either because the performance doesn't reflect the music, or the music doesn't reflect the performance.  I remember the first time I saw the score to Die Meistersinger overture, and I was profoundly disappointed.  How could such an amazing, glorious and robust sound be expressed on the page by a C and a couple of G's?  It was actually shocking.)

In this case, I have to comment on something which is important to me and should be important to all pianists in our time.  I think you have missed an essential part of Godowsky's style, and not only that, but an essential part of what Godowsky had to teach us all pianistically, and musically.

Rachmaninoff said of Godowsky, and this is very important, that he was "the only musician of this age who has given a lasting, a real contribution to the development of the piano."  When Godowsky published the Chopin etudes, he said in a preface that he hoped his approach to the piano would influence composers as much as pianists.

Godowsky more than any other piano composer was able to develop the left hand to make significant contributions to any piece.  His fantasy in this regard was unmatched; the left hand often has multiple lines of material that give layers and layers of texture, and provide emotional commentary on the main thread of the music.  This arrangement is one such case.

The left hand at cursory glance would appear to be mostly conventional harmonic arpeggios.  Of course it doesn't take that closer a glance to see that it is filled with specialized voicings and secret melodies.  The difference between Godowsky and other composers who had habits of fleshing out the left hand were that he notated it explicitly, and the others left it to the imagination most of the time.  Since he notated it explicitly, we have to make a special effort to realize all the voicings that he himself heard, and played.

I feel your performance has a very beautiful sound in the right hand, but the left hand is played in a totally conventional way.  It doesn't seem you have given it special thought as far as how it contributes to the piece as a whole.  This is Godowsky's biggest achievement in his compositions, and it cannot go neglected.  He saw the left hand in an unconventional way, and by treating it as a complete equal, he hoped that pianist-composers would be able to develop their music to new possibilities.

On the first page, the left hand has quarter notes notated in the midst of the harmonic arpeggios that on close inspection, form a long line.  Four bars, to be exact.  In the fourth bar, you see the second quarter note is tied over an extra beat.  That's obviously the high point of that melody, and it can't be heard at all in your otherwise lovely performance!  This is precisely that thing that can't be left out in Godowsky; otherwise it becomes something conventional, and loses so much.

It continues in this vein, until bar 11, where the left hand has a short descending isolated out of the harmonic swirl (E-flat, E-double flat, D-flat) which is later repeated in sequence.  I can't hear it at all!  The left hand gets more complicated, and has more dialogue with itself, and it can't be heard. 

Sorry to be so critical.  I only do it because this is an element of Godowsky's genius that has yet to sink in with pianists and composers.  We are seeing his music today get more attention then it ever has, and hopefully this is something that will be noticed eventually.  I urge everyone to not be a "right-handed pianist," but to open yourselves up to the world Godowsky opened for us.

By the way, in bars like 5, where he added a voice in the left hand that is an octave below the one in the right hand, you should play the left hand slightly louder for a richer sound.  Generally speaking, subtle emphasis of the higher note adds brilliance, and the lower note richness.  This is more of a case for richness.

Many thanks,
Walter Ramsey

[sjskb]

Hi Ramsey,

I thank you for your long and insightful comments, and of course the detailed analysis of the score too.... Sorry i haven't been able to reply as i was out of the country.

I thoroughly agree on your points about Godowsky's emphasis on multiple sound layers, especially found in the right hand. I do wish I have the touch to pull it off better though!

I do see it necessary to bring out certain quarter notes in the LH, but my ears aren't that comfortable with the sound i hear. Seems to break the melodic lines too much for my liking!

Of course, I still agree with you that I have to follow Godowsky's intentions faithfully...

Again, thank you for your helpful comments. I hope to go back to this piece again in the near future....

[ramseytheii]

Hi Ramsey,

I thank you for your long and insightful comments, and of course the detailed analysis of the score too.... Sorry i haven't been able to reply as i was out of the country.

I thoroughly agree on your points about Godowsky's emphasis on multiple sound layers, especially found in the right hand. I do wish I have the touch to pull it off better though!

I do see it necessary to bring out certain quarter notes in the LH, but my ears aren't that comfortable with the sound i hear. Seems to break the melodic lines too much for my liking!

Of course, I still agree with you that I have to follow Godowsky's intentions faithfully...

Again, thank you for your helpful comments. I hope to go back to this piece again in the near future....

The only way to get the touch to pull it off, is to practice! 

If the melodies in the LH break the melodic line int he right hand, you've run into the principal difficulty of playing Godowsky's music, which is voicing.  Not only it is it the main difficulty, it is his main achievement.  I think you are a fine pianist, but if you want to be a great pianist, follow what he taught us.  Struggle to achieve the most in voicing that you can, and the rewards will be more than you ever imagined.

Walter Ramsey