Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner Do you play the same when you repeat?

If I could do that WELL, I would.

I do that sometimes when I play Scarlatti!

By the way, my favorite repeat change is from Schiff's recording of the Goldberg Variations.

He takes all the repeats, generally without varying much. But in Variation 7 ("al tempo di Giga"), he plays the repeated sections one octave higher, and in Variation 18 ("Canone alla Sexta") he plays the repeated sections one octave lower.

The effect, in both places, is wonderful.


-Jason

....and actually, believe it or not that's the main composer I was thinking of. I have the hugest admiration for people who are able to do it well.

At the Boston amateur competition, one of the semi-finalists did it even the first time around.
He did it 'well' (IMO) but I wasn't sure it made sense, and I felt sure the judges wouldn't be sure about that either.

They weren't.

When i do it, sometimes it comes out well, other times, not so much. Mozart tends to be the biggest victim, as there always seems to be space for it, especially in the slower movements.

True. I have also seen repeats with "p the second time" for example, or "f the second time".

I'm pretty sure Beethoven stated to play precisely what he wrote. He underlined his attitude by effectively decommissioning the improvised cadenza for good with the "Emperor." His was the last word. Besides, my feeling is that if he uses a repeat, it's because he built the structure with that repeat in mind, and if you follow his directions, it will have the intended effect. He instructs you when he wants something different the second time with either a 2e volta (Op. 31/3 minuet), or a difference in the second ending.

This reminds me of something I once read in a review by one of Beethoven's contemporaries, of some of LvB's newly published sonatas (they were early Beethoven). The critic complained that Beethoven had written in too much ornamentation, which made it excessively difficult for performers to fit in any of their own! I thought that was very interesting for a couple of reasons - I hadn't realized that performers were still in the habit of adding ornamentation at that time, and because of the idea expressed that composers should not take away all opportunity for adding and changing notes.

Those of us with the general more flexible view of how to approach scores wouldn't be surprised by that at all. In fact, at least for me, knowing about that kind of thing has been one of the major bases for my more flexible view. I'm really surprised you weren't aware of it.

I wonder if knowing it might lead you to have a more flexible view as well....

I knew that adding ornamentation was still standard operating procedure in the early stages of the Classical era, but somehow it never occurred to me that it would apply to Beethoven. And of course, it doesn't usually apply to Beethoven, since, as the critic said, he pretty much wrote it all in himself. At any rate, I read this some time ago, so it's not a recent discovery.

And, if my view was any more flexible than it already is, it wouldn't even exist (a kind of non-existence which may be a nice goal, but I'm not there yet).

I don't think I'd understand that if I studied it for the rest of my life.

In the Waldstein sonata, there's this beautiful inner voice in the 2nd subject when it comes back with triplets in the soprano (in the exposition). On the repeat, I bring it out, which works pretty well because the original theme has already sounded 3 times within 4 minutes.

I never repeat the exposition. Normally that's because I play sonatas for competitions, though...

I always take repeats unless I am specifically told not to or if I do a competition, it messes with time restrictions. I just love taking repeats. It gets annoying to some whenever I play Schubert Op. 142 No. 2, but that's probably my problem more than Schubert's.

(inb4MarkC)

Expositions are soooo long, though.......

I love repeats too. When I run a piece through, I never cut them out. If it's beautiful music, who cares how long it is?? Richter can repeat the repeat in the D960 twice and I wouldn't care, it's just that magical.

Nothing to add except that if it were up to me, I'd take every repeat in that piece 3 times.

i always do different interpretations.

even in simple music like church songs.. every verse is different and new... usually with more ornamentation each time..

this works (for me) for difficult works as well.

When I play a repeat I always play things differently by simply trying to avoid the f***ups from the first time I played it through.

My thinking, too, more or less. If I didn't get it right the first time - which I usually didn't - maybe I'll be lucky enough to get it right the second time.

Cheers!