Different Interpretations Then!?

[Ruro]

Hey all, make way for the newbie!

I think I just proper realised the effects of different Pianist and Orchestras playing pieces! Dang! Can't believe I never noticed or THOUGHT about this, it only just slapped me in the face! I have this video of Lang Lang playing a Prokofiev Concerto, and he makes it sounds so much more powerful and sweeter then the recording I picked up from the library (performed by someone else)! I know he's not even backed by any other instruments, but the CD I have of the concerto seems really light in style, no power :/

I guess the problem I can imagine having, unless you people out there have a method of working out who to choose? How do I know who will play the best way to appeal to my taste? Randomly take CD's off the shelf of the same piece performed by different people?! Seems a bit drastic... thinking about it hearing the wrong style first could make you think you hate the piece, when it's actually fantastic if played accordingly to your preference...

And thinking about it further... I though the composers noted the BPM, and the style the piece should be played at... it's not like blasphomy or something to just change it for the sake of appealing to a few more people? >_<

Hmmm, thanks for your time

[abell88]

Sure, borrow as many different recordings as you can find of a particular piece, that will help you find both composers and performers you like.

And regarding the BPM, the metronome was invented in the early 1800s, so if you see a metronome indication on a piece written before then, it was put there by an editor. Not all composers embraced the metronome, but as you approach more modern times, the tempo and other indications you see are more likely to be by the composer rather than an editor. (If you buy "Urtext" scores you get just what the composer wrote.)