When performing I'm often asked "What do you think about while you play?" The answer varies. Usually I'm singing the melody in my head as I play. But, alongside that I'm thinking all kinds of things, from "What should I have for breakfast tomorrow?" to "What is the meaning of life?"
I bring this up because when I was recording my version of Sor's Estudio No. 5 I was particularly moved by the sad story of Leiby Kletzk, the Hacidic boy recently murdered in New York. Something about that tragedy and the sadness of this piece will be forever linked for me. It was a difficult and emotional recording session, but in the end I felt like I said something.
How is mankind capable of such beauty and such ugliness?
Notes:
0:00 - Piece begins. A slow arpeggio study in B minor.
0:17 - Repeat of first section, slightly faster, building.
0:35 - Second section begins.
0:50 - Bigger, moves out of B minor eventually coming to rest on a big F# chord (The dominant).
1:06 - Return to B minor, recalls opening.
1:20 - Crescendo with climax at 1:25
1:36 - Repeat of second section. Starts in ponticello.
2:20 - Final crescendo, then dies away.
As I said before this is a beautiful melancholic piece. Thanks for recording it.
ReplyDeleteThank you William! I've struggled with the interpretation on this piece. Now I know what to do!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome Chuck! Have fun :-)
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