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There are many different opinions pertaining to this topic. My plan here is to explore my views and respond to your comments.
When I was a piano student, everything had to be memorized. That applied from grade school through college. Although I had no problem memorizing, I always wondered “why?”
Shortly after college, I began to concentrate on collaborative repertoire (songs and arias, instrumental repertoire, and piano reductions for opera and instrumental auditions). Collaboration requires that the pianist have the score in front of her/him. Someone needs to be watching the solo part! It is the pianist’s job to make adjustments if needed.
With all this collaborative playing, I found myself memorizing introductions, interludes, postludes, and any particularly difficult passages. But memorizing entire pieces was not necessary. It must be said, however, that a collaborative pianist practices so much that the music is nearly memorized anyway.
After several years of collaborating exclusively, I became interested in solo playing for the first time. I think this is related to being out of school. Whatever I want to play, I can, and nothing is “required” for an exam or a degree recital. In addition, I have become comfortable speaking to audiences. In fact, over the past several years, that has become a priority. (See previous posts here.)
Memorization just doesn’t seem necessary to me. Teachers will tell you that it’s good for their students, and helps them progress by getting them to be completely familiar with a piece. That may be true. When a student memorizes a piece, she/he often finds freedom from inhibition by removing the music and being able to listen better. For me, now, I can attest to the fact that I play just as well or perhaps better with the music.
So I’m going to continue performing solo concerts using the score.
In the past several years (9 or 10), no audience member, music director or board member has ever commented about the fact that I used the music, or mentioned that she/he was distracted. There was, however, one reviewer who commented, finding a positive!
“… The evening began with pleasant hometown feel — Saathoff came out to speak to the audience and thanked them for coming to hear her music. She requested that the house lights stay up so that patrons could read her program notes, something other performers would not think of in a foreign town. Saathoff played from sheet music, a departure from the far–flung visiting performers who deem such behavior to be déclassé, but here it simply added to the hometown feel and appeal….“
Read the full review here.
What do you think? When you attend a concert, do you expect performers to play from memory? Does it distract you when they use the score? Do you see them as lesser musicians when they use the score?
Please share your thoughts and experiences in the comment section below!
And while you’re here, please read about my new E-book.
Erica said:
Yay! Hooray!! Brava!!!
I guess you can tell that I’m delighted with your conclusions about memorization, Gretchen, and good for you for putting your thoughts out there for everyone to see. As a pianist that mostly started out with collaborating and accompanying, I also had a difficult time returning to the solo world as I once knew it. I’ve accompanied so many folks, both young and old, that were required to play by memory but that ended up very discouraged about performing because of a bad memory lapse. This is always hard for me to witness because I feel so strongly that the purpose of performing is to share emotion through music. I don’t think audiences really want to experience fear when they attend a recital but that is what can happen when memorization is involved. A performance can be ruined for everyone involved when there are memory difficulties. So why risk it, right? I recently performed a concerto with orchestra for the first time in my life. Since I knew that I might not ever get a chance to do this again, I decided to use my music during the performance. I had the concerto memorized but I took the music rack out and had the music just inside the piano. I did end up having a brief memory slip anyway but because the music was right there I immediately got back on track. I don’t know if that would have happened had the music not been there – yikes!
And thank you for sharing that review. I think you’re absolutely right – if we as performers don’t make memorization an issue, the public generally won’t. Yes, there might be another performer out there in the audience that makes a snide remark but if that’s the case, perhaps they are just jealous because someone decided to be brave 🙂
mark niemela said:
Hi, Gretchen, Keith Jarrett uses the score for his classical performances – seems not to matter. Gunther Schuller said he always conducts with a score. (indirect quote:”Those who conduct from memory are always in two places at once.”) from “The Compleat Conductor” – book.
nrhatch said:
I’m always wowed when performers play without music in front of them . . . but I don’t mind it sitting there silently either.
GretchensPianos said:
Hi Erica!
This is quite a comment! I love it!
I couldn’t agree more that “…the purpose of performing is to share emotion through music….”
Performing is my priority. I know that I am able to perform much more often by using the score. And I suspect that is true for many other musicians as well. Spending the extra time (substantial) that would be required just to memorize seems almost like enforced isolation. So what’s the point? And I don’t want to feel scared backstage that I might not know the music well enough.
Let me know if you encounter any snide remarks ~ I never have, concerning memorization. 🙂
Take care, and thanks again!
Gretchen
GretchensPianos said:
Hi Mark!
Nice to see you here.
What a great comment! Two famous people. I’ll use that if I need backup. 😉
Thanks.
Gretchen
GretchensPianos said:
Hi Nancy,
Thanks for your comment. That’s good to know!
Whatever a performer is comfortable with works for me. If they prefer to play from memory, fine… but if they know the music and can communicate equally well with music, then I don’t see why there should be a requirement or an expectation.
Thsnks for stopping by!
Gretchen
GretchensPianos said:
A search at Ask.com resulted in the names of three more musicians who used the score: Sviatoslav Richter, Myra Hess, and Bela Bartok!
Gretchen
Cathy said:
Great post, Gretchen. Performing, whether by memory or with the music, is full of landmines. For some pieces playing with the music is asking for trouble. It’s easier to keep an eye on the keyboard and not worry about page turns or notes. For other pieces, especially ‘new’ music, it’s almost expected that the performer use the music. That being said, I’m so happy to see that we actually have a choice these days. No more excuses for not performing!
GretchensPianos said:
Hi Cathy!
Thanks very much for your comments!
After we put in all that time in school, and they finally let us out, isn’t it nice that we can call our own shots?
Take care,
Gretchen
Mariel Mohns said:
Hi Gretchen,
If you recall via twitter, I am debating using the score for my recital in December. Do you use the original score, or do you lay out copies to avoid page turns? Or do you have a page turner? I think I will be using the score, but I’m terrified of awkward page turning.
GretchensPianos said:
Hi Mariel!
Yes, I remember your debate.
You can use the original score and have awkward page turns copied and just sitting there. Or you can tape things together. And, if nothing else works, use a page turner.
I use all 3 approaches. Sometimes, for example, I only need a page turner for one turn, or one movement of a piece, or not at all.
You could also look into Hugh Sung’s “Air Turn.” Although I’ve not used it, the buzz is very good. Christopher O’Reilly uses it quite a bit. http://www.airturn.com/
However you decide to handle it, you’re smart to be thinking of options now.
All the best! Please post again about your decision. And thanks for stopping by!
Gretchen