Mitsuko Uchida talking about her experience with Arnold Schoenberg's piano music. Including a rehearsal of the Piano Concerto op. 42 (conducted by Jeffrey Tate).
This is not just a pianist, she doesnt just play it. She uses it for whatever means she wants, for whatever she wants to convey. This is truly a master.
I performed Schoenberg's op 11 from memory as an undergraduate. It's like 20 minutes long or something. My teacher kept saying, "Use the book. You're not required to memorize atonal 20th Century works. No one will mind that you're using music for Schoenberg." I said, "all my friends are killing themselves playing Bach from memory, and I get to use the book just because there's no key signature?" Truth is, once you get it in your ears, it's easier to memorize than a fugue, particularly a fugue with more than 3 voices.
Shoenberg's little piano pieces are much easier than this piano concerto. Most of the pianists don't play by memory. Especially in this era, we have to appreciate if someone is brave enough to play it. For example I admire the following great pianist, who played it wonderfully: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Xn4Owwy73MY.html . It is really a shame, he has not played this in the biggest concert halls.
"Oh My God! The guy was mad!" Great first impression of Schoenberg's but so true...Schoenberg's must grow on you! As a pianist myself, my goal is to reach the quality level of Mitsuki Uchida...she is amazing! So much enjoyable to hear speaking of music and, most important, playing it! Indeed a true musician! Brava!
Just saw Emanuel Ax do the Schoenberg with the NY Phil this past week. It was good, but watching this...Mitsuko Uchida plays this with so much more gusto! She is my favorite pianist, and it's so great watching her play something like this once in awhile, rather than all the Schubert and Mozart.
Her passion for this piece is infectious. I can listen to and enjoy atonal music up to a point, but hearing her talk about it and break it down makes it more interesting. Also agree that her Mozart readings are outstanding. Also, check out her Schubert recordings. Not sure if there are any here on YT, but her CDs of his Impromptus and Sonatas are excellent.
Whether one calls oneself conservative or revolutionary, whether one composes in a conventional or progressive manner, whether one tries to imitate old styles or is destined to express new ideas -- whether one is a good composer or not -- one must be convinced of the infallibility of one's own fantasy and one must believe in one's own inspiration. (Arnold Schoenberg, "Composition with Twelve Tones")
Mitsuko Uchida is amazing!! She's soooo passionate! I have been blessed to see her live at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, and her stage presence is a welcome addition to her astounding gift! I've seen other famous virtuoso pianists, but she, by far, stands out amongst the crowd! And not only did I see her in concert, but I met her afterwards. She is genuine and truly interested in those with whom she meets. I have many of her cd's/dvd's; her interpretation makes the music come alive!!!!!!!!
Her commitment ! Her faith that if she can find interest there will be others too . You can tell as she talks she loves (d) living in England . So much spirit ! At 14 for summer learn all this and Schonberg op.11 .
I think I might be falling in love with this women. Also, I love the way her accent is a mixture of Japanese and German (with a bit of English: "soooo" "knoooow") What a gal!
I just love Mitsuko Uchida. She plays wonderfully and it is always very interesting to here her unique Eurasian accent. Shoenberg's concerto is among my favorites, yes, a lot of brain work!
I Love her... She is a Treasure. Anything she does is Wonderful.... and her Mozart brings me to tears..... Thanks for Posting this! Charles, in Atlanta, GA
@manuelspcool You can search her interview on RU-vid. She says that now she's more comfortable with expressing herself in English. And I don't care her residence and her language, whatever it is german or english, you know? All that counts is her music.
I love her expression at 5:40 when she plays the original and inverted tone rows together... It's like, "I'm showing off, haha" :-) seriously, that is pretty hard to do, play two tone rows together like that at that speed without errors. (at least...i don't think there were errors...)
If one understands the music very well - as you said you can easily imagine - they wouldn't be asking such a question even if they don't enjoy it ("what am I supposed to feel when listening to Madonna's music?", I don't think so). And it's better to feel like taking a test, then not to feel anything at all for something that is so worth understanding and appreciating. "Brain work" - as Mitsuko says here - and "heart work" is good for you.
I'd call this 'engagement'. If a piece of music is able to engage your psyche, reach in and connect with multiple emotional circuits, it belongs with you. Mitsuko Uchida really explains how this process unfolded inside her mind. Thank you for sharing.
Paying the row by itself is a rather "old school" gesture for serial composers. The row is a source of harmonic entities that will appear during the aggregate suggestion of the music itself. It means no more than a minor scale played before the G-minor symphony. During composition of this symphony, Schoenberg's student, George Tremblay, encounaged the maestro to re-introduce the octave and (0,3,7) trichord into motivic positions that made the concerto more distinctive.
@TheRealLo Music previous to the baroque period was still basically in a tonal context. Medieval music, for instance, which is my specialism at university, was clearly tonal. The atonal music of Schoenberg and Webern is something new in terms of musical history; and if you don't recognize that then I'm afraid you are ignorant of musical history. In terms of sound- what distinguishes some of Schoenberg's piano pieces from someone banging on a piano randomly? Remember I said, in terms of sound.
@bayreuth79 1. Do you never feel emotions which can only be explained with sheer dissonance? 2. Chaos IS order. Research it. 3. How can atonal music be nonexistent if it exists lol
No. Atonality is not a complete language of expressions. Neither is tonality. Each is simply a different way of putting notes together, nothing more. A piece of music can be tonal and still express nothing at all. A piece of atonal music can express many things, including some things which can be expressed tonally, and some which cannot.
@violench oh and a year ago there where a interview in youtube but was erased where She Speaks German like a Real German and says a lot of thing's of the languajes but like you say the very important thing here is the art
@violench yeah youre rigth the residence and the languanje are in other place, Her Art is the important thing = ) and for me She is the most puwerful pianist in the world
I saw her live tonight playing this work and she had to use a score!! The page-turner was jumping up and down like a rabbit! It is so complex and just does not flow. Schoenberg did not marry the piano with the orchestra in many places.
Like A. Schoenberg's, B. Bartok's music may also at times (most inconsistently) be very confusing and difficult to immediately relate to emotionally. I don't yet have enough of Schoenberg's music to "work with", but I did have a personal break-through with that Bartok 1st movement which always "bugged" me. Sorry, but as long as the discussion is relevant to the video commented upon, I don't see a reason to apply your "lesson", though I accept and understand your position.
I'm staggered at some of the imbecilic responses below. There really is no great mystery to appreciating this music; it just requires open ears and a philosophically pliant attitude to tone and musical structure. It doesn't belong to a foreboding elite who spend their lives sneering at the lower orders. If you don't like or understand it, fine; but don't just assume that it's nonsense or some sort of fraud perpetrated against the listening public.
I heard about a pianist who was going around the US faking Schoenberg's piano pieces & it took 3 years before anyone figured it out. I guess you could call this DodecaPHONY music.
@FidelioRoo :D Some people can't even tell if you mess up a tonal piece, most don't even notice off-key singing... So what? Some people are far-sighted, does that stultify the details in visual art? There are always intricacies which can ruin a performance when they are neglected, but can only enrich it very subtly when played well. To the trained attentive ear every sound adds to the listening experience and those who listen to the music passively like it's a blurry mash of sounds don't matter
dear shjescaresme,do you like rock,and jazz,when i hear some of schoenbergs music,i too think,wow,it's cruel,and cold.BUT THIS,and his violin concerto is to me very romantic,i loved them when i first listened to them.to me he put allot of mental anguish,and sorrow,in the piano concerto,when i was in vienna,i had a walkman,playing this as i went round the city blew me away,THE MOST ROMANTIC PIANO FOR THE MOST ROMANTIC CITY ON EARTH
So do I, and I don't like it. That's why I don't feel the need to ask what I am supposed to feel about it, because I intuitively "know". But with Schoenberg it's different, here one may find it actually difficult to understand what one's SUPPOSED to feel and this is a natural condition, the music is perplexing. This comes before "I like it" or "I don't like it" and the need to resolve this perplexity before arriving at a superficial "sentence" is something that should rather be encouraged.
@CHELL9001 No, I don't think so. I do think atonality (or atonal elements) can broaden the way of expression but atonality alone seems to me an insufficient way of expression.
Yet another old comment that's worth responding to: Reacting to a piece of music as being "Grand" and "neat" or "awful" and not worth listening to, isn't relevant to what 'kachum' asked about. It's a legitimate question not only as a rhetorical one, and the relevant answers are legitimate as well. I know I for one, want to know them and I do my best to improve my understanding. (Are these the only ideas and emotions music brings up in you?!).
By the way, ideas and emotions are different things but not separate and independent of each other and definitely not easily distinguishable when the subject of understanding music is discussed (though the "emotions" you brought to the table are lacking in terms of imagination indeed). Over all, I think the philosophy you suggested unintentionally promotes ignorance and intolerance.
