Advice for Pianists

Introduction

The art of playing chamber music is all about achieving 'sympathetic dialogue' between the players, but for a number of reasons it is often the case that the pianist is at odds with the other players. Firstly, whereas most string or woodwind players will have had prior experience of ensemble playing, pianists are in the main taught to think and play as soloists. Secondly, unlike strings and winds, the piano is a percussive instrument, and for this reason it doesn't always blend sympathetically with the other members of the ensemble.  And thirdly, the size of the modern piano makes it capable of a huge sound - undoubtedly useful for concerto playing - but often a liability when attempting to blend in a small chamber ensemble.

So these guidelines are intended to provide the pianist with helpful hints about how to best cope with these challenges when playing chamber music, and more specifically to give guidance about how to go about preparing for ACMS playing occasions, together with a few words of advice about the art of self-improvement.

The Repertoire of Chamber Music with Piano

There is an extensive repertoire of chamber music with piano. As evidence of this, about half of the chamber works in the ACMS library include the piano as one of the instruments. The repertoire can be conveniently subdivided either by group sequence - or chronologically.

By group sequence. We can divide the repertoire into a) works with strings, b) works with winds, and c) works for ensembles including both strings and winds (in addition to the piano). The most common ensemble grouping is the piano trio comprising piano, violin, and cello. The smallest groups are duos, and the largest are perhaps the nonets, although there are really only a handful of works for ensembles larger than five instruments.  So we use nomenclature such as: PS3 (ie for piano + two strings), PW5 (for piano + four winds), and PSW4 (for piano + three instruments that includes a mix of string and wind).

Chronologically. Baroque keyboard parts are for harpsichord rather than piano, but Baroque music provides a vast repertoire of music accessible to amateurs, turns up frequently in ACMS sessions. The Classical period represents the foundation of the repertoire for the piano, as distinct from keyboard. It was then that chamber music with piano truly became established. Then from about 1815 we enter the Romantic period. From then on, the music becomes more  complex with the pianist’s role often becoming more dominant, and correspondingly more difficult. In summary, these are some composers of chamber music accessible to amateur musicians:

Baroque (1600 - 1750):

Bach, Handel, Purcell, Telemann are generally playable by selfgrade 3 pianists.

Classical (1750 -1815):

Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, are again playable by selfgrade 3 pianists with some preparation.

Romantic (1815-1900):

Robert and Clara Schumann, Brahms, Dvorak, Suk, Fauré, Weber, Louise Farrenc. This music requires more preparation. Suitable for self-grade 2 and 1 pianists.

20th Century (1900+):

Some 20th century composers of chamber music accessible to amateurs are Bartok, Debussy, Ravel, Poulenc, Shostakovich, Martinu, Miriam Hyde, but these are of varying difficulty. With advance study and preparation this repertoire can prove rewarding for self-grade 2 and 1 pianists.

Choosing a Work to Play

As a general rule, we can say that the pianist will usually be the most stretched member of an ensemble when it comes to delivering the goods. This is because the pianist has many more notes to find and deliver – and all with reasonable sensitivity!  The pianist is also the only player with a score, so has a default responsibility for keeping everyone together. So for an ensemble of equally graded players (ref. ACMS self-grading method), the sight-reading task will usually be most challenging for the pianist. It is for this reason that ACMS usually gives the pianist the responsibility for determining the music to be played. And it is important for the success of a session that the music the pianist chooses lies within the capacity of all of the players, and the pianist ensures their own part is fluent, coherent and confident.

Where to Begin?

Pianists new to the ACMS are encouraged to choose three or four works (Mozart or early Beethoven trios for example) to practise up to a confident standard, so they have a repertoire up their sleeve. These works are available for free on the imslp.org website and available in the ACMS library.f

Self Improvement

The act of self-preparation ahead of every playing session is perhaps the most fruitful initiative you can take towards improving your ensemble skills over time, and will lead to greater enjoyment and fulfilment from playing. Advance preparation not only ensures that you will play more right notes, but gives you greater scope to interact sensitively with the other players. If you've ever wondered how it is that experienced chamber players achieve their mastery, the main reason is that over the years they have made it their habit to prepare ahead of group playing sessions. Listen to the works you are preparing - likely available on YouTube- so you are familiar with the other players’ parts as well as your own, and have sense of the style you are aiming at.

The other major opportunity you have to improve your ensemble playing skill is to take full advantage of the experienced tutors that are on hand to assist members at all ACMS playing occasions. If indeed you have prepared your part in advance, you won't be using your tutor merely for the basic task of holding the group together. Rather the focus will switch to details of) dynamics, phrasing, articulation, and developing a greater sensitivity to the other parts.

Summary

The purpose of these guidelines is to provide basic guidance to pianists in the selection of repertoire for playing sessions as well as advice about how to improve ensemble playing skills over time. If you have any questions about these or other matters please ask other members, or any committee member, for assistance at any time. We hope that you will derive lasting pleasure from your participation in the wonderful world of chamber music.

Acknowledgment:  ACMS acknowledges the contribution of some experienced tutors in the preparation of these tips.