Hey everyone,
I'm looking for some help with Charles Ives' Piano Sonata No. 2, 3rd mvmt- "The Alcotts." I absolutely love this piece, and so am trying my hand(s) at it. I don't have a piano teacher right now, so one could call me either gutsy or dumb for attempting to play Ives
I was wondering if there is anyone out there with experience with this piece who could maybe answer a few of my questions?
-I'm not sure how to play the left hand chords in the second phrase of the movement- Ab-Eb-C. I've looked for different recordings and some sound as though the chords are being rolled, others don't. My hands certainly aren't big enough to play it as a block chord, so should I play the top C with my right hand?
-Also, should the section after the massive Beethoven theme and the following disconsonant section juxtaposed with the opening hymn-like theme have a more "swing" feel? The section I'm talking about is about half way through the piece, with a tempo marking of "slowly and quietly," with broken chords in the left hand. Again, I've checked various recordings, and some swing this section, and some don't. I'm wondering if there is a proper way to play this part, or if it is up to the performers discretion?
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Teya

I actually do not have a teacher either, and I really don't have the chops yet, but I'm working on this piece as well. Fortunately, we do know what the composer had in mind: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXHjeSamz...amp;playnext=1.

Even if we have a recording of the composer playing the work himself, I wouldn't make it your goal to replicate the performance precisely. The recordings I've heard of Rachmaninoff playing his own stuff have made him my least favorite interpreter of Rachmaninoff. Your interpretation of Ives will only make sense if you play the work in such a way that honors the aspects of it that speak to you.

I think with the respect to both questions, the fact that you have heard reputable pianists playing it both ways demonstrates that there is no "right" way to play it and you should choose whichever approach you prefer.

I would suggest picking your favorite characteristics from each recording that you hear and build your own ideal interpretation. You may even find that you can approach a passage in a new way that you like and makes sense with the rest of the work, in which case you will have been elevated from pianist to artist. It's that kind of thing that I love about the piano, and that separates pianists from CD players.

I not talking, of course, about butchering a piece or completely rewriting it in a way that would make the composer gag. I just feel that too often classical musicians are so concerned about the proper way to play something that they forget to listen to themselves and ask if they have anything to add that would honor the thing that makes a particular piece interesting.

The other day I was playing prelude 18 from Shostakovich 24 preludes and fugues. There is a beautiful and eerie pp passage in the middle of the second page that I see as the key moment in the piece. I asked myself what would happen if I played the RH non-legato to really articulate each note and I loved the sound, though I have never heard it played that way in any recording. The rest of my performance of that piece is admittedly uninspired, but I now own that phrase and every time I get there I give myself chills. Is it what the composer had in mind? Probably not. But I really think that if Shostakovich heard me play it, he might grin when I played that phrase and, for a brief moment, reflect in awe at his own genius.

I can't help with your question, but I listened to this piece on youtube, and I also like it. However, I can't find the sheet music. Can you say where you got it?

Teya, in such pieces it's always difficult to say that "this is right" or "this is the proper way". It's not Beethoven and there isn't a 2 hunderd year gap to make sure we all know EXACTLY how to perform Beethoven. It's Ives.

Your first issue is an issue of big/small hands. The score as it shows in the youtube video shows no signs of broken chords, so it's up to you. If you can hit a 10th with the left hand, don't play them broken, otherwise do.

The second issue is also a matter of personal opinion. Like Elij mentions there's no right or wrong. It's up to you, a matter of how 'mature' you are with such works and so on. The concord sonata is STUNNING btw and good for you for trying your hands on it, even without a teacher! Shows your passion! YAY on you!