Approaching Orchestral Reductions

One of the most challenging tasks the collaborative pianist faces is grappling with orchestral reductions. We do not have the same variety of timbres available that a full orchestra can produce. "Piano Reduction" often means the editor simply transposed all voices into a single key and tossed every note on the staff with no thought for what might be most pianistic. Voicing and registration must conform to the physical limit of hand span.

The challenges of orchestral scores are at the forefront of my thoughts at the moment. I am preparing a recital that will feature Mahler's massive Kindertotenlieder. Much of the work's appeal is found in the rich orchestration the composer provided to support the lush vocal lines. While dealing with this enormously challenging score, I'm finding a few things helpful as I prepare for the performance.

• Use the orchestral setting as a roadmap for your piano reduction. It seems obvious, but as pianists, we can sometimes get so wrapped up in the notes on the page that we forget about the sounds that the composer intended. Regularly returning to the orchestral score and recordings helps us make informed decisions about phrasing, color, and layering.
• Accept the piano's limitations. My instrument cannot warm a single tone by adding vibrato. The core of the sound of a sustained pitch quickly decays compared to one sustained by a wind instrument. Rather than fighting against the piano's limitations, focus on its unique qualities and look for opportunities to exploit them.
• Carefully decide what is most important and what can be simplified (or completely left out)! Orchestral reductions are notoriously difficult to play. Through carefully examining the score and critically listening to recordings, it is the pianist's responsibility to determine what is essential and what can be left out. Resist the pressure to play every note. In this situation, communicating the intent of the orchestral accompaniment is far more important than sacrifing musical line in the name of virtuosity.
• Decode the text! The composer carefully chose the text that he set as well as the performance directives included in the score. It is essential that the pianist translate each word included in the score. A marking of agitato combined with lyrics referencing a storm clearly suggests a violent mood. Return to the text throughout your preparation, constantly looking for new insights that will influence your interpretation.

What do you find to be essential steps in your preparation of orchestral reductions? Is there a certain edition or composer whose reductions cause you significant levels of stress? We'd love to hear your stories in the comments below.

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First Experience with Composition Projects

As part of my summer camp for music students, I decided to provide students the opportunity to compose an original work rather than performing a closing recital. Since this year's camp focused on reading, intervallic relationships, and rhythm patterns, the compositional process was the perfect way to move what we had learned from theory to application. There was only one problem: I am not a composer! I have arranged a few hymns in a pinch, but I don't have significant experience with improvisation, much less formal composition. I decided the only way to see how the project would work was to jump in head first and forget about my fear.

I'll begin by telling you that the final results were very successful and the kids had fun creating their own pieces. By no means do I suggest this to be the best method for exploring composition with young students. It was simply the process that made the most sense to me. Here are the steps my students and I used.

1. Determine the length. We looked at pieces the students were currently playing in their lessons. Students noticed the recurrence of phrases that were four measures long. After some discussion, we decided to aim for multiples of eight bars. (If an extra bar was needed, we didn't fret about it since there were no definite rules for our compositions.)
2. Generate the rhythm first. We began by reviewing the note values each student was currently using comfortably. Students were then instructed to write a rhythmic pattern that was original and interesting to their eyes and ears. (Earlier in the week, we decided to avoid rhythmic patterns that repeated a single note value for the entire measure to ensure excitement for the audience.) Once students had successfully produced a rhythmic pattern the chosen length of their composition, we moved to step three.
3. Clap the rhythmic pattern! The composition project was the first activity in our camp that would combine rhythm and pitch, so I wanted to make sure the patterns were secure before adding melody. This also provided the student a chance to experience their compositions at various tempi. This step required the most time from my campers.
4. Create a melody. Armed with their rhythmic notation, students moved to pianos and began developing melodies that fit the patterns. At this point, my students used letter names below the rhythmic figures as a notational system. (I recommend avoiding this pre-reading notation if students are able to immediately notate their theme on the staff.) I rotated between students, offering suggestions and explaining advanced aspects of theory -- such as why the leading tone wanted to move to the tonic -- in very simple terms. Once the student was satisfied with the piece, I had them play it for me in its entirety to ensure that I was clear of their intentions and the pre-reading notation.
5. Notation! Students merged the rhythm and notes into standard notation on staff paper. Final copies were given to me to create Finale editions of their creations. With older students, it would be fun to allow them to complete this final step of the process using a trial version of Finale if a computer and printer are available.

There you have it! The students naturally created charming pieces and were not intimidated by the compositional process since each step added a new element and no one told them composing was difficult. I was encouraged to see that students were comfortable venturing into additional experiments in composition on their own using the steps of our process as they enjoyed experimenting to find the most satisfying sounds.

What has been your experience with exposing children to composition? What lessons have you learned? I'm definitely interested in hearing your ideas to try in a future camp.

Managing My Music Library

My music library has been taken over by binders filled with various photocopies of music. I rarely throw copies away because I want to have access to the scores in the future (in theory, at least). If I know I have played the piece before, I am tempted to toss it out, but I rarely do because I know that I cannot easily put my fingers on the music. What was originally meant to be a treasure trove of music quickly grew to an unmanageable mess! I literally have all of the vocal music I played throughout my graduate studies as well as the other random pieces I have encountered since then.

When I began to discuss this issue with other pianists, I found that most kept their music in a single binder. I decided to tackle this Herculean task until I actually counted and realized that I have 21 three-inch binders filled with music! I had to come up with a solution. After several faulty attempts, I finally arrived at a method that works for me.

Since most of my scores are art songs and arias, I separate the music by language. All French repertoire is located in one binder while another houses the English songs. (The separation is only by the text used and not the composer's nationality.) After I separated everything, I alphabetized the songs by composer's last name. This was so academic and beautiful in my mind, but I quickly found out it was not the most useful. Students could easily tell me the title of their repertoire, but didn't always know the composer with the same degree of certainty. After accepting that my library's usefulness was more important than its correctness, I began to alphabetize according to title. (Whether or not to include definite articles such as "der," "die," and "das" in the arrangement is a constant battle for me. At the moment I include definite articles in the alphabetizing.)

A master list of all works filed in the binders can be found at the beginning of each one. The first copy of the list includes only the songs in that volume arranged by title. Three additional copies of the entire catalogue follow, sorted by title, composer, and language respectively. These lists are helpful when trying to construct a set of songs by a single composer or in the same language.

Is there an easier way? Possibly....and I welcome hearing how you organize your amassed photocopies in the comments section below. Now that I have the catalogue begun, it is simple to update it at the end of each semester. I am still in the process of merging the music from the remaining 15 binders of graduate school music, but it's actually not too bad to do. As I organize the music, I'm reminded of wonderful music I have played and rediscover some gems of the repertoire that I had forgotten about.