Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner pedaling question in chopin waltz op 64 #2

what is the correct way to pedal the lovely "piu mosso" sections?

i have tried it with the pedal held for the first note only in the left hand, then releasing it, and that seems to sound the best, assuming i get the timing right. holding it for the entire measure sounds a bit busy, and no use of the pedal just doesn't sound right.

I am not sure which is a correct way because I've seen many people apply pedal differently though this section.

In the first 14 measures of piu mosso section, I don't use any pedal, and just half pedal on measure 15. Then the repeat of that, I add a pedal on the first beat and off on the second beat for each measure (like you do). I play through this piu mosso a bit faster than most people do so I want to keep that RH part clear by using less pedal.

ptu2slp :

There is no "absolute" way of pedaling most pieces, because much depends on the sustain of the particular piano one is playing on as well as the acoustics of the room. Each piano is different and pedaling has to be adjusted accordingly.

Your ear is your best judge because, all the above factors considered, taking into account the stylistic requirements of the period of the piece in question, and avoiding inappropriate excesses in either direction, the exact amount of sustain you want is purely a personal matter.

If this does not help, try listening to some recordings to get a feel for what most professional pianists do with pedal for pieces you might be interested in. Then try to apply what you hear - and if you agree with what you hear - to your playing.

Regards,

The pedal on the first beat seems to sound the best to me, as in this polished performance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lTc74u-5z0

Ashkenazy and Cliburn seem to use no pedal at all, other than to connect a few occasional notes, which also sounds quite good. Still, I feel the pedal on the first beat makes it sound more like a waltz.

The two editions I have(one is Cortot) recommend pedal change just at the end of each measure. I think some pianists use a lot of pedal the first time through and less pedal the second time for each piu mosso section.

This might work on the sort of old piano that Cortot would have played, but I think it would be too much on a modern piano.

Cortot died in 1962. I would say the pianos from the 1920(or even earlier)were very similar to today's pianos so I cannot find much truth in your statement.

chopin 64-2 is perhaps one of my favorite solo piano pieces and as such, i convinced my son's teacher to give him a chance to play it although his fingers were not long enough and his legs could not reach the pedals.

but william grew to love the piece after i played a few videos and cd's with various style and tempos.

here, in his school concert, he wore sneakers and sat at the edge to reach the sustain.

he was never formally taught by his teacher on the pedals as she was against it and he basically learned it by ear as he liked the sound and affect so very much.

so i guess the way to learn the pedals without being taught how is to simply press down and let go...

watch those sneakers here:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=m-ZWn7TywyU

paul