Writing transcriptions fron piano to something

[zemos]

Have anyone ever done it? I want to try transcript a piano piece to a string trio/quartet or something, which piece will be appropriate for that kind of thing in your opinion?
Thanks in advanced,
Tom.

[SteinwayTony]

The most obvious answer to your question is a fugue.  But don't feel like it must be a Bach fugue.  Many other composers wrote fugues, but of course they often paled in comparison to those of Bach.  Examples are Beethoven, Mozart, Mendelssohn, and Shostakovich. 

I saw Joshua Bell in a recital and he played a couple transcriptions, one of which was Chopin's posthumous Nocturne in C-sharp minor, and the other was the hauntingly beautiful D minor Serenade (Standchen) which Liszt transcribed from a Schubert song...so technically it was a transcription of a transcription (a meta-transcription?).  But, Bell had a piano accompanist for both of these pieces.  They were quite pretty.  The Nocturne even became almost virtuosic, as of course it was intended for a keyboard, but it hardly destroyed the mood of the piece.

[anda]

i prefer 4-hands or piano-duo if i have to transcribe from piano works (otherwise, i prefer orchestral stuff). just make sure you know very well the instruments you are transcribing for.

[zemos]

I don't think any fugue is "rich" enough, for instruments I mean.
Maby pieces like sonatas or somthing? I don't know, that's why I ask you guys.
I really don't know the instruments good enough to transcript for orchestra, I want to start with an easier transcript...

[SteinwayTony]

Maybe to start out you could transcribe the first movement of the Moonlight to string trio?  That would be fun.  Could be pretty sounding if played right, too.

[zemos]

Again, how many layers are in that piece? 2, maby 3? And they don't even change!
I want something a bit more sophisticated...
Any other ideas?

[SteinwayTony]

- For a challenge: Waldstein first movement.

- For the hell of it: Bach Chromatic Fantasy & Fugue.

- For the suicidal: Wanderer Fantasy.

[zemos]

hmm not bad! I think liszt had done a transcription of wanderer fantasy for piano & orchestra (maby to cover the piano concerto schubert had never had...?).
Are you sure these pieces appropriate for a string quartet? I will think about that, it's just that It's hard for me to imagine those played by anything alse than the piano (: .
Thanks a lot anyway!

[richard w]

As far as knowing your instruments goes, check out Walter Piston's Orchestration. Pretty much every instrument you are ever likely to write for is covered in detail, telling you what works, what doesn't, what you are likely to get stabbed to death for if you write it... For instance, on the clarinet, the register is divided up into different sections. As you go up the scale, you reach the 'break' one octave above middle C (as notated - on B flat clarinet, C will sound B flat). At this point (my knowledge is a bit sketchy, but) the fingering starts over again and the player has to 'overblow' to get the desired pitch. This book will tell you that the notes approaching the break are referred to as 'throat tones' and have a certain timbre. You can exploit this timbre to good effect, but it will not blend so nicely with other notes. Furthermore, if you write a trill between B and C across the break you are quite likely to be stabbed by the clarinettist. If there are any clarinettists reading they may feel inclined to correct me if I'm wrong with any of my facts here - it has been a while since I had to use this information. Anyway, in short this book could save your life - which is nice.

Armed with this knowledge you will be able to write for any combination of instruments. As for pieces to transcribe, you need to choose something which is already 'orchestral' in it's writing style. Consider, for instance Schubert's E flat Impromptu - the texture is very pianistic, and I think would not transcribe well for an alternative combination of instruments. (Please feel free to prove me wrong if you wish.) However, something like Debussy's préludes are much more orchestral in their conception. It is much easier to think of the writing of, say Des Pas sur la Neige as being played by a collection of different instruments, or even Danseuses de Delphes. Something like Les Collines D'Anacapri is more pianistic, but it would still make a much more interesting arrangement than the Moonlight sonata (sorry).

Whatever piece you pick to arrange, pick one which is 'orchestral' in its style, not one which is pianistic. By 'orchestral', I don't necessarily mean that you need to write for an orchestra - an ensemble of four to eight players may do just as well.


Hope that helps.



Richard.

[SteinwayTony]

Barber's Adagio for Strings was arranged for string quartet, and I certainly think he pulled it off.

[theodopolis]

The reason Bach comes off best in transcription is that his music was written with a very 'horizontal' mindset. The single flowing lines of music are the focus which then form the harmonies vertically. As a result, every line may be given to a single instrument or sections. The best keyboard transcription to orchestra I have heard is the six Trio Sonati BWV 525-530. The three part writing in these sonati is widely acknowledged as Bach's greatest achievement in the art of counterpoint. The transcription was simple; three parts distributed for oboe, violin and continuo (viol and harpsichord)