Bruch 8 pieces op81

[pianowelsh]

Hi you guys have you ever played any of the chamber pieces op81 of Bruch for piano viola and clarinet? If you have I would love to know more about these pieces as I am playing them for an exam SOON! - In fact so soon I need to practice them NOW

[Noah]

I've played these... lovely but to be honest the piano part is not very interesting. It's more accompaniment than real chamber music. Still, nice to play to relax and listen to the clarinet and viola. 

[earthward]

Are you playing all of them? I remember the fourth one being a real b***h.  If you are performing it make sure you turn all the corners of your pages because it's one of those pieces that if the page doesn't get turned properly you'll be totally screwed.  (Trust me I speak from experience: my page turner accidently grabbed two pages.  I had to drop out to rectify the situation. Big mess!)  The fourth one is weird, eh?  Not the best of the lot.  But I liked these pieces in general.  I really liked the last one.  It's really fun because you can be completely melodramatic and ultra romantic in it!  But the chordal tremolos are tricky. 

What I remember most about playing these pieces is the how much time the clarinet and viola spent working on tuning! Is that what yours is like?  It's kind of exasperating for the pianist! I guess that's what all the chamber ensembles are like though.  Anyway, these pieces were fun but I wouldn't say the piano part was easy.  Parts of it were awkward and it was hard to make it interesting because sometimes there was not much to work with.  Ensemble wise I think momentum was a big problem.  It tended to get kind of stuck and plodding.  If the viola and clarinet gripe about you overpowering them just say "play louder"!  The piano part is pretty important so don't consider yourself secondary.  Just be careful of anything in the middle register because that's where you can overpower them. 

If you're wanting to know historical info about it I don't know much but try googling Bruch. 

Anyway, have fun and good luck!

[pianowelsh]

Hi guys thanks for that . I have looked at them all but will be performing nos 1,2,5&6. I know what you mean about tuning. My clarinettist is the biggest problem though. She thinks she's playing in a military band and takes everything fast and no room to breathe which makes some of the changes of register and all the staccato in ped semiquavers a bit of a nightmare - not to mention the middle section of no5 which feels like it's going to take of or crash on the runway . We have just about got a sensible reading of it now that our coaches have made it quite clear to her that she dosen't have to play the whole piece in one beath!! I kindof know what you mean about them being accompanimental but I'm not sure the piano gets the melody in some form in each mvt and some pretty important countermelodies but it does involve a lot of strumming more like a guitarist or harpist. but hey I cna live with that - actually getting really good spreads that are atmospheric is one of the hardest parts of the work for me and keeping really clear in no 2 is almost impossible for me. They may not be the greatest chamber works of the century but they have range of techniques and accomp styles in them and I chose them really as etudes in chamber mus playing - but they have good tunes and strong character which I find audiences enjoy here. Thanks for your input

[pianowelsh]

Thanks guys the performance went ok! NO major inntonational difficulties and we all started and finished together which is always helpful! Happy playing !!!!