THURSDAY, August 27, 2020 – 2:15 AM
(I’ve been in the middle of the complete symphonies of Mozart and Dvorak, so I’m coming up for air to talk about something important for piano.)
The Watchman’s Song
This is one of the first serious pieces my grandmother taught me when I was very young. She had a book of Grieg Lyric Pieces, and she played it for me. The problem of such popular “student pieces” is that they are popular because they are not too difficult play, but playing them very well is very difficult. So we have to find really good pianists to show what can be done with them.
Here are some recordings…
I think these are all good, so pick which one you prefer. This is, by the way, one of the pieces I teach a lot.
I’m torn between Austbø and Richter for a favorite performance. I think both played with such grace and the pauses made it that much better. I think I might be leaning toward Austbø.
I also think that Richter, in his recording, was the most deliberate in the way that he played and really thought about how everything should sound and it really improved most of the piece.
Richter is my choice. It seems as though he thought about how each note should sound and be played. I felt the tempo was just right, not too fast or too slow.