Are Collaborative Pianists Inferior?

If you have worked as a collaborative pianist for very long, you have encountered this question. It is often accompanied by a comparison to one of the "star" soloists that the masses adore. It can be a subconscious question asked by fellow musicians. As the question repeatedly appears, it can cause us to wonder if there is some validity to the presumption that collaborative pianists are inferior musicians. As I have wrestled with this falsehood in recent months, I have found that this opinion is based on personal experiences as well as false assumptions in many cases. In this week's post, I will address some of the most common reasons I have encountered and will briefly explain why I think they are entirely false.

• Collaborative pianists were unable to be soloists. Here's the simple fact -- not every pianist desires to be a soloist. Some of us (myself included) would much rather work with another musician and create beautiful sounds together. Don't be fooled... many of the outstanding collaborative pianists working today have spent years perfecting their craft and are very accomplished pianists. The fact that they rarely play solo programs is more likely due to their preference for chamber music than a lack of opportunities.
• Why do we assume collaborators are incapable of performing as soloists? Sadly, we have all heard far too many amateur pianists providing poor accompaniments! Let me state this clearly once and for all....just because a person has studied the piano for years DOES NOT mean that they are capable of providing quality accompaniment for your performance. For far too long, it has been accepted that anyone can serve as an accompanist. The result has been low-quality performances that have done little to reflect the quality of preparation and performance of the soloists and ensembles they were accompanying. This is one of the major reasons that many are choosing to refer to themselves as "collaborative pianists" today in an effort to separate themselves from the hack "accompanist" with whom we are all too familiar. However, it is also important to realize that the opposite is also true; there have been countless times where a great pianist proved to the audience that they were not strong collaborators. Collaboration requires more than mere technical facility; it is an art that involves careful attention to minute details that must be worked out in rehearsal with other performers. Even the most gifted musicians will find that a chamber work thrown together at the last minute will be less than enthralling simply because an insufficient amount of time was spent together in order to let the individual members of the ensemble become a single performing unit.
• There is a false assumption that the collaborative pianist's repertoire is easy to play. Nothing is further from the truth! Certainly, there are some pieces in the collaborative repertoire that are rather simple to put together -- because we have played them a million times before. However, for every simple piece that we play, there is also a massive aria, sonata, or concerto that demands our attention. The difficult repertoire does not necessarily feature the piano, but the technical and musical requirements found in these works are no less demanding than a Beethoven or Prokofiev piano sonata. At times, collaborating can be more challenging than performing as a soloist since two or more lines must be considered when making decisions.

I have tremendous respect for piano soloists and the wonderful music they are capable of producing. I would never want to belittle their work. I have simply chosen a different field of piano performance that is just as demanding and requires the same level of accomplishment, preparation, and sensitivity as my solo counterparts. The only thing I am asking is that we have some mutual respect for each other as we all work to further excellent piano performance in our differing ways.


What do you have to say? Have you heard different reasons for the assumption that collaborators are inferior to soloists? What piece from your collaborative repertoire do you name to show the demands of your work? I'd love to continue the conversation in the comments below.