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Piano Street Magazine:
The Quiet Revolutionary of the Piano – Fauré’s Complete Piano Works Now on Piano Street

In the pantheon of French music, Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924) often seems a paradox—an innovator cloaked in restraint, a Romantic by birth who shaped the contours of modern French music with quiet insistence. Piano Street now provides sheet music for his complete piano works: a body of music that resists spectacle, even as it brims with invention and brilliance. Read more

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Topic: Mendelssohn Songs Without Words, Opus 85, No. 4, "Elegy" (Read 3016 times)

mbdey

PS Silver Member
Newbie
Posts: 2

Mendelssohn Songs Without Words, Opus 85, No. 4, "Elegy"

on: January 20, 2017, 01:26:50 AM

All of the scores of this piece show minimal amounts of pedaling. Yet, in listening to many recordings of this piece, it seems that most performers use the pedal throughout most of the piece. Is it acceptable or even preferred, to alter the composer's intention in this way? It is much more difficult to play the piece beautifully with predominantly finger legato. Is that the reason it is performed with so much pedal? What is correct? Thank you for your thoughts.

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mjames

PS Silver Member
Sr. Member
Posts: 2569

Re: Mendelssohn Songs Without Words, Opus 85, No. 4, "Elegy"

Reply #1 on: January 20, 2017, 03:44:05 AM

Pedal markings are usually just suggestions, strict directions only really become a thing later for genres like spectralism or expressionism. It's not something you have to worry about (there are exceptions) when playing pre-1900 music. The only directions I would worry about are the "senza pedale" marks. I can assure you that the pedaling for this piece is completely up to you.