Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner If a theme is borrowed, is it helpful to know from where it derives?

Bartok wrote:

"In maintaining that the question of the origin of a theme is completely unimportant from the artist's point of view, Stravinsky is right. The question of origins can only be interesting from the point of view of musical documentation."

(from "The Influence of Peasant Music on Modern Music" (1931))

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So, what do you think?

If you are playing a Hungarian Rhapsody by Liszt, does it matter to you if the themes are folk themes, or if they are made up by Liszt in a Hungarian style?

If you are playing Romanian Dances by Bartok, does it matter to you if the themes are actual folk melodies, or if they are simply made up by Bartok in a folksy style?

If you are playing "A Fifth of Beethoven" by Walter Murphy (disco version of Beethoven's 5th), does it matter to you if the theme comes from a symphony by Beethoven or if it was made up by Murphey in a Beethovenian style?


Another important question is, even if it does matter to you to know, does it make any difference in the way that you play the music?

Musicologists probably like to get into these details. But for me, it does not matter where the original theme is from and does not make any difference in the way I play the music.

I firmly believe in playing music however it sounds to you.

People attempt to play hayden and bach in manners that closely resemble those of the original instrument. I dont particularly like this.

As time evolves music evolves and musical instruments as well. Liszt and Chopin would have composed totally different if they were still playing on harpsichords. The music they created changed because the instrument changed.

Why make a piece by hayden sound like what he would regularly hear when you can make it sound possibly better. What I mean is: adapt the piece to the instrument, not the otherway around.

Sorry if ive typed funny. Just spent 6 hours around people who dont speak 100% fluid english and their words are mixing with my current thought. I remember everything people say unfortunately.

I firmly believe in playing music however it sounds to you.

People attempt to play hayden and bach in manners that closely resemble those of the original instrument. I dont particularly like this.

As time evolves music evolves and musical instruments as well. Liszt and Chopin would have composed totally different if they were still playing on harpsichords. The music they created changed because the instrument changed.

Why make a piece by hayden sound like what he would regularly hear when you can make it sound possibly better. What I mean is: adapt the piece to the instrument, not the otherway around.

Sorry if ive typed funny. Just spent 6 hours around people who dont speak 100% fluid english and their words are mixing with my current thought. I remember everything people say unfortunately.

This reminds me of my latest classical conspiracy thing:

The opening of Mozart's Bastien und Bastienne, and the opening of the Eroica.

I think it depends on what you want to do with the music. If you intend to try and play a piece like the folk-music that inspired it, then I suppose it is to your benefit to hear the original folk music. However, if you intend to play the piece as you hear it, then this is an irrelevant step.