One-sided sculpture
I have been given an incredible opportunity to try something new. As a vocal coach and répétiteur, I am always studying to keep up with repertoire, languages, styles or learning more about history and/or historical performances and traditions that are often associated with a piece — and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. That is one reason why I love “my job” — there is so much to learn and discover.
Even as a pianist, I spend a considerable amount of time pouring over orchestral scores because I often play music that was originally conceived for an orchestra. I once worked with a German director who often called me Klavier — the German word for piano. I once thought about correcting him with Orchester - the German word for orchestra, but I did not. This was a man who once spat on the ground, got onto his hands and knees and licked his own saliva off our dirty rehearsal room floor. I don’t think he ever knew my real name but I digress…
Someone has to consolidate all those lines, notes and players into a score for just one player - the rehearsal pianist because it is not possible to rehearse with a full orchestra 6 hours a day for 4-5 weeks.
So somehow the picture on the left magically turns into this:
Now I am the one creating piano reductions. I get to do what I normally do — study orchestra scores and think of orchestral sounds and colors — but this time I get to create a part from scratch for the piano. I am teaching myself how to use Sibelius (music notation software) and actually inputting my ideas into a computer which will be transferred one day to paper - or tablet!
In every measure, I consider:
1. What is going on the orchestra? What are the most important lines? What will actually be heard by listener?
2. How can I transfer the composer’s intentions, styles and colors from the orchestra to the piano?
3. What can actually be played on the piano?
4. Are there musical cues in the score that will be useful for the singer, pianist or conductor?
No one goes to school for this type of skill. There are no degrees or online classes but everyone certainly has an idea about creating a piano reduction. I looked for inspiration and discovered a handful of dissertations, online blogs and articles about this topic. I did find some rather interesting advice from a Mr. Arnold Schoenberg - the other Austrian man named Arnold who also moved to the great state of California.
Found in Style and Idea: Selected Writings of Arnold Schoenberg
The Modern Piano Reduction (1923)
A piano reduction comes into being, not like a work of art — from unknown causes, but like a useful object — for known reason, for a particular purpose.
The reduction differs from the score: it is a reduction — something extracted from it. But a piano reduction is (1) a reduction and (2) for the piano. However, a reduction is not the whole, only a part. And to write orchestrally for the piano is just as bad as to write pianistically for the orchestra.
A sculpture can never be seen from all sides at once; despite this, all its sides are worked out to the same degree. Almost all composers proceed in the same way when handling the orchestra; they realized even details that are not under all circumstances going to be audible. Despite this, the piano reduction should only be like the view of the sculpture from one viewpoint.
The attempt to make a useful object equally usable for a variety of purposes is usually the way to spoil it completely; it is no good for anything. Is a piano reduction to be used to reading, or for playing? For playing to others or for accompaniment? Should it be a reduction, transcription, arrangement, paraphrase, or re-arrangement? How is it to be all these things at once?
The layman is very unlikely to praise something that exercises consideration for his abilities and inclinations, because he will certainly be unable to recognize any such consideration. But the expert is far more ungrateful still; he is equally certain to criticize consideration or lack on consideration, calling the one vulgar, the other incompetent. So all that is left is consideration for the thing itself.
Most authors of modern piano reductions limit themselves to transposing for piano the various parts that the score at any point contains, placing them one on top of the other. These people resemble a cook who instead of serving up dishes, serves up the ingredients from which they should be prepared.
Anyone writing for piano should bear constantly in mind that even the best pianist has only one pair of hands, though he also has a pair of feet, unfortunately, which now get in the way of his hands, and now help him on their way. The feet sometimes know (as and when required) what the hands are doing; and while on other occasions they take no notice of it whatever, they will give monotonous and reliable support to main aim of all present-day piano playing: the suppression of any possibility of a clear, pure sound. These feet, together with the pedals appertaining to them, make piano-playing more and more into the art of concealing ideas without having any. As remarked, this fact must be taken into account by anyone who wants to write for the piano. And the only way is to write as thinly as possible: as few notes as possible.
Wish me luck!
Thank you
John, for believing in my abilities. Kelly, for all your Sibelius guidance and help. Thomas, for loaning me a laptop (with Sibelius 6) at the very beginning before I owned Sibelius and helped me figure out which computer screen to purchase to do my work. To my friends who have been listening to me as I try to figure out my process and approach to all of this, the encouragement has been much appreciated. And Arnold, for making me laugh.