IT'S BACH. EXPLORE THE SCORE! | Anne-Marie McDermott Teaches English Suite No. 2
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- Опубликовано: 29 сен 2024
- The Prelude to Bach's A minor English Suite is one of his most energetic and dynamic works - a moto perpetuo from start to finish.
In this lesson segment, acclaimed American pianist Anne-Marie McDermott invites you to "be an explorer" of Bach's score, searching for novel articulations and shapes. McDermott draws your attention to the interacting voices in Bach's counterpoint and advocates for a kind of demonstrative playing that communicates directly to the listener. With an ear to the larger form, McDermott reveals the key moments that contribute to the dramatic journey and joyous culmination of the work.
Watch McDermott's full course on Bach's A Minor English Suite:
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"There are a lot of options within the confines of good musical taste". What a sentence! Splendid lecture, thank you very much.
Wow, she is amazing at communicating in such a way that we can understand precisely what she does on the piano
Indeed, her communication skill is as good as her piano skill, both world class
"The most important teacher you have is yourself" wise words indeed!👏
absolutely wrong statement...i could see where people would go without correct directions introduced by a good teacher. man, are u serious?
@@druntopronto7598 interesting perspective. Thank you for weighing in
She is brilliant, but I don't like all those cresc. and dimin.
It is like you are turning the knob of an amplifier up and down.
It is very wrong to do that plying Bach.....It is like a sick motion.... UUUUp and DDDDown.
Still, I think Anne-Marie McDermott is a great pianist.
The idea and taste behind are very good though could be done through more contrasts in articulations (portato, staccato, legato) while she prefers the more vocal "messa di voce" inner volume contrasts. The feeling and musical understanding are authentic and logical. I prefer her approach than Glenn Gould's trying to invent a new style, often with no logics behind it. In the end she does play more Legato due to the harmonic tension. This approach could be applied also in the first part. But she does speak rightly so about inner miniature phrasing. Over all a great musician, teacher and personality full of charm.
She encourages everyone to explore their individual voice while keeping the logics of the style that are not one dimensional.
Strangley enough it has recently become more fashionable among period instrumentalists to play Bach's music in a very fast sometimes overly expressive and manieristic Italian style, but she on the other hand is not falling into bravura ego energy. I think it is part of her vivid personality. What also explains her passion for Prokofiev while attaching both of them in her recitals as she herself mentioned in another video.
A great lesson the opens an interesting discussion.
I could listen to her forever. Reminds me of my old piano lessons, discussing every note and phrase. I am a big believer in play Bach robustly and like the way she plays. I spent a chunk of my life practicing this English Suite, it is so wonderful. I think I am going to dig the music out again right now.
>Video literally telling people to explore the score
>Comments section complaining about how she's playing it too fast.
Just wonderful. She has such great energy and is so clear in the articulation of her ideas, and her mastery of the instrument is really inspiring.
Fluffy is more the approach of Schiff....that's why I prefer the opposite: Gould, McDermott.....
So Alive and she really sees and hears ! ! Joy I never heard before in this music-what a fabulous musical mind ! Really wonderful ! What an eye-opener . This what creativity and MUSIC are about . TEACHING MAKES A STUDENT ALIVE ! WOW . I wish i had seen this 30 years ago !Invention and imagination. So interesting ! Made the music come alive for me in a way it never did . before . It's virtually completely new .Amazing I was playing the notes but never KNEW Da MUSIC !!! WOW!!!Really finding out what is really happening in a score . Metronome to help instill the life-vitality of the music's base :it's pulse and rhythm ! Interesting where she pedals.
You don't have to shape Bach's music. Any cresc and dimin are already included in the score. Making a "wavy" dynamics is really terrible
Such amazing playing❤️ Too fast for my taste, though she's able to maintain ALL of the clarity and expressiveness at this high tempo. Impressive.
there’s a typo in the description, it should be “moto” not “molto” perpetuo
Thanks! Corrected.
Amazing playing and precious teaching
I have studied this Suite with two legendary pianists (they will remain nameless!) and this video solidifies their instruction and adds volumes of information.
She is Wonderful
So vibrant and alive!!!👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Thank you very much, Anne 🌸⚘🌷🌼🌻🌹🏵
I'm going to start playing it tomorrow..rs
Why doesn’t she think Bach should be played light and fluffy?
I'm not familiar with this pianist at all. I'm glad I found this video! For me, Bach is one of the few (but by no means the only) composers that seems to have a composition for no matter what mood I'm in.
Pogorelich is able to play at this speed. Some others are not. Sokolov is able to do it, but refrains from doing it. Guess why....
Marie McDermott is such an articulate and fine pianist whose intellect is on equal terms with her disciplined fingertips! I value her more than the “pianistic simulacrum ad infinitum” that is now so common with the advent of RUclips!
Good teaching but this prelude is played much too fast.
Why? Every note is clear and interesting, shapes become very obvious, imitation is easier to hear and it's exciting? So what are the reasons it's too fast here?
It might not be to your taste, but if that's what you mean, then who cares? You can play it slowly if you want. She is playing excellently.
@@tompianohotmail Exactly. And when people are claiming certain tempi are “incorrect” when the composer never indicated anything whatsoever with regards to tempo, it’s nothing more than a personal preference presented as objective fact.
Kindly upload a video of you performing this prelude at the right tempo so we can learn from you.
@@eugenephillips481 you're completely missing the point - that there is no "correct" tempo!! The whole idea here is to experiment and see what works and what changes and what effects can be created. Just don't try and state "this is too fast" if it's only an opinion and you're not going to give reasons why - if the person had suggested why they thought that it was too fast, that would open up opportunities for interesting discussions about what effects different speeds have etc. Instead we just get endless boring comments from people which are as irrelevant as saying, "good teaching but her lipstick is much too red"...
@@tompianohotmail In this case, yes, I would prefer the piece to be played more slowly and I am sure that Bach did not conceive it to be played as quickly! But the problem that needs to be pointed out is that the music of past centuries is usually played too fast. One of the experts in metronomic indications given by composers is Wim Winters. I strongly recommend visiting his youtube site: ruclips.net/user/results?search_query=wim+winters . Winters considers that too often, the indications of tempo wanted by composers are not taken into account which can distort their music. Here is an example that will put you in shock... ruclips.net/video/zpfdMSlu2oU/видео.html . Personally, I prefer this "étude" to be played faster but is it because we are used to hearing it play very quickly, pianists competing in speed? What should be preferred? Our taste or what the composer wanted?
Great technique, excellent teaching, wonderful style. While I wholly disagree with her interpretation, I hope that these types of videos might introduce Bach and others that came before to new musicians! I love the tempo by the way, send it!
Love the sound and color of that CFX piano! The Yamaha is so great for Bach, I think....
Yes! It’s quite bright, almost like a harpsichord.
Brilliant !... Anne-Marie McDermott spells it out, on how to practice this enchanting Prelude of Bach on the experimentation side and developing the imagination. Thank you very much tonebase and thank you Anne-Marie for your charming way and manner kind regards WF Robinson.
I love this piece. I like a lot of Ms. McDermott's tips and ideas for creative practicing. I thought it was interesting near the beginning that when she said to try it different ways, she always played it at the same tempo. Changing tempo is also a creative juicer for coming up with new interpretive ideas.
You are an absolute pleasure to listen to. I hope you are written in the music books of history.
Wonderful insight and very musical, but I remain unconvinced that this prelude (or a lot of Bach, for that matter) is supposed under the esthetic of the time to go so fast. I think about 80% of this tempo sounds much better.
you are just an angel lady came to earth i love you alot and your fingers on piano is so beautiful i wish i can play like you
The conversations on the tempo: do they not betray the trap of baroque music playing into the historical lack of sound in baroque instruments making fast tempo the imperative ( as having the harpsichordist play many fast notes as continuo in an ensemble to even make an impression without breaking the instrument) while the delicate sounds in privacy of Bach clavichord at home...solving his tuning problems as he taught even his own children.... do bring out the significant details. ... harmonically ,contrapuntal polyphonically etc that Bach's mind seemed to have explored endlessly ? So we have to find a new balance with our modern grand that is also shaping out ...faster, louder,brighter fireworks 💥 tendencies! When will public performance fashions give us the freedom to allow that BALANCE FOR GREATER EXPRESSION possible in Bach's music that is Anne Marie 's basic tenet to happen! It is crying out for a revolution without bloodshed !! ha ha.
Thank you Anne-Marie. I just started trying to teach myself this work today and this popped up! I am excited! Love your thoughts.
Google is watching your every move obviously
she explains very simple, because she really knows!
how much of high IQ should be required if I want to become a pianist like you who are playing the piano without a music sheets not even watching the keyboard with memorized all sophisticated and complicated notes when playing? it's unbelievable
Has absolutely Nothing to do with IQ.
It is a simple decision, a promise, that you will make to yourself to practice every day until you run out of your life.
@@pluutoop if I have a bird's brain on me, I think it's an impossible to hit the narrow each piano keys precisely and timingly without seeing them even though I'm practicing in my whole life. I'm admitting and respecting the extraordinary talent of the pianists and orchestra members.
if I have a bird's brain on me, I think it's an impossible to hit the narrow each piano keys precisely and timingly without seeing them even though I'm practicing in my whole life. I'm admitting and respecting the extraordinary talent of the pianists and orchestra members.
3:04 I like this part, I don't know why. But she is like pulling the note out of the score, I felt aggressive and exploded.
Thank you for this video! So insightful, creative and detailed. I have so many ideas I want to try out now, much appreciated!
Thank you for this great lesson. Even though I like the tempo, it bears the risk for listeners to overhear some of the details in expressions? I do not know what is right or wrong, and it needs experiments...) In a performance, maybe dynamics could also stretch over a wider scale? Love it.
I really like A-M’s technique and musical style. I find her playing on the piano to be so revealing of what’s hidden in Bach’s music. But my question is where does this performance practice come from? Her solutions around phrasing and changing articulation aren’t all traceable back to Bach’s time; granted I haven’t read every treatise but this technique she’s sharing with us comes after Bach; the interview that goes with this identified her as a groove pianist and Schiff as no-groove. Is there a formal name or source for her background in interpretation other than this loose term?
If only Bach had left us some video tapes. One clue is his instruments. He didn't have the modern piano, but he did have the organ and orchestral instruments, not to mention the human voice. Clearly the harpsichord is less expressive than the piano, which in turn has fewer tonal possibilities than an orchestra or a chorus. In line with his keyboard writing, he also wrote very difficult violin sonatas, so he must have been a very accomplished violinist as well. On the organ, he had stops to change moods and colors. Much of his music is 'motoric' and lends itself to very tight metronomic pacing. On the other hand, even within the motoric music there are opportunities, as Ms McDeremott so eloquently demonstrated, to 'shape' the music in almost infinite ways. Since Bach's genius is so 'off the chart', we must assume that he was as aware of the interpretive possibilities in his music as the great performers of later centuries. Ms McDermott convinces us of this inevitability.
Both ways sound the same to me
Excelentes orientações sobre possibilidades de interpretação desse Prelúdio da Suíte Inglesa II.
I can listen to her play and teach all day !!! As a pianist that loves all genre this was super inspiring. I love Bach now.
i like Marie's Wuorinen the best
Just found it on Spotify, thanks for the tip!
@@chutton988 👦🙌
Such a joy to watch even if I dont play piano. Thanx
Good tempo.
Too fast, imo. To each his own, I guess.
Interesting what you said about your mind occasionally wandering off to what you want to eat, but that your muscles are so disciplined that it does not cause a catastrophe. Because as soon as you said that about the food, I thought to myself, "oh, if that happened to me, I'd be screwed." And what that means then, is that my muscles just aren't as disciplined and learned as they ought to be for a performance. Answer = practice more.
I love the prelude from the English suite no 2 l very much enjoy the recording of Ivo pogorelich of 2nd and 3rd suites
Thanks! Advice about phrasing valuable.
I suppose the word is interpretation. The music of the baroque composers could be particularly afflicted by this. But then, I suppose they liked this.
Why not play it Legato? Or at least legato could be one of the colors on your palette. I don’t like the contemporary dictum-perhaps in the shadow of Glen Gould-that in order to achieve clarity in contrapuntal music everything must be relentlessly detached. The trick with non-legato playing in Baroque music is that the audience shouldn’t be aware that you are doing it. I am tired of hearing Bach played like hens pecking on a typewriter! I wish we lived in a world where Wilhelm Backhaus or Samuel Feinberg, with their singing and naturally expressive Legato style, were the models of how to play Bach.
With the changing dynamics of a hammering a string instead of plucking it, it's always interesting to see various interpretations of what notes the performer chooses to be louder or quieter than other notes, a simple glimpse into their thought process of what they would deem more important in the flow of the music.
You are So So good! you make that sound every bit as good as my favorite Murray Perahia
Wonderful lesson. Fresh insights. I've spent a good bit of time with this piece. It challenges me to go back and relearn it and apply new insights. When you're gleaning new insights after years, you know that 1) your time has been well invested,, 2) you're dealing with a true masterpiece, and 3) you will be able to apply new insights to all of your repertoire. It's like a gift that keeps on giving!
There have been people like you. The teachers. The beauty here is how many people you can teach because of the net.
Perfect thank you very much. You are great.
La ringrazio per le sue raccomandazioni preziose.
amazing interpretation, thank you
i love how she talks about Bach
What prelude is that?
Her "light and fluffy" touch was the best by a long shot. Despite the speed she played all the other version there was no 'arch' to this dynamic piece. On the contrary, her in your face, hammering staccato and drastic dynamics broke up the piece into many small sections and lost the pulse. To me, her playing of this piece sounds very over analyzed. Her little sample of the Goldberg Aria was the same. As short as it was, it was without continuity of style. She contradicted herself by saying "this is not a harpsichord," so as to give permission to play a certain way the way 'Bach intended'. News - Bach did not have a pedal or a modern piano with great dynamics. Lastly, the pianist who made her hold her breath, Ivo Pogorelich, plays this piece for the most part very delicately with his fingers close to the keys with dynamics spread over long section of the work, not from bar to bar. Her favorite interpretation of this is in a way she would never play in performance, light and fluffy.
I too much preferred the "light and fluffy" approach (which sounded nothing like a harpsichord). The rest was all so aggressive. What is strange is that she makes as though her primary version is obviously better and the other is simply wrong. Is it so obvious how this piece goes?
I enjoyed the fluffy. The aggressive style of playing has been in vogue for a while but I have heard a change in young pianists coming through. I feel there is room for the butterfly as well as the eagle.
Thank you!
Me enamoré ❤❤❤
tausendmal danke
What a great lady!
Much appreciated.
ANNE-MARIE ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Wonderful
Really captivating lesson! But what about the pedaling aspects? Of course this is technically hard to show on a video but why not on a specially dedicated moment.
It's a clip from a much longer video, you can see the whole thing on their website - this is only part of it.
@@tompianohotmail ok.
@@jfpary7336 they're really interesting and worth looking up
Bach is not only motoric. I try to find the spiritual side but I don't see it. This prelude has an energetic touch but not hysterical. And it's not just a question of tempo.
😍😍😍
McDermott suggests playing the piece in different ways, with various articulations, voicings, use of pedal, but it never seems to occur to her to vary the tempo. Incidentally, it’s “Moto perpetuo”, not “ molto”, and it doesn’t translate as “breakneck speed.”
Agreed, I play this suite too, ridiculous tempo choice.
She literally says at the start she will be talking about shape and voicing...are you aware that this is a clip from a much longer video? Aside from the fact that choosing a tempo that suits how you play is blindingly obvious and she mentions "try playing it 5 different ways", from which it's no great leap to try varying speed - it's not the focus of this video!! I'm assuming she discusses tempo in the full lesson given how interesting it is in relation to Bach's music.
I really don't see the point of comments like this, doesn't add anything. Any musician knows that you can play at different speeds, so it just feels like criticism for the sake of criticism.
Incidentally her tempo isn't so fast if you think about the tempo of the harmonic progressions, rather than just "she's playing fast notes". Nobody's fault but your own if you can't manage to play it this fast and with such clarity and energy - practise more!
I agree that it does sound fast, but she also talks very fast, so me it sounds like her goal was to convey the words and the performance in a condensed format - the video is 20 minutes long and would be even longer if things were slowed down. I tried slowing it to 0.75 on playback and it seems listenable - just an observation.
The tempo is completely within the realm of reason; this particular choice lends itself well to feeling half note pulses as opposed to quarter note, which can lend a lot of large scale structure and dancelike feeling to a performance.
She preaches experimentation but always plays at the same tempo (too fast) and with a choppy, over-inflected style that interrupts the flow of the music. It makes me seasick. I far prefer a half-time feeling. Also, the left hand does not get its due. All just my opinion
Advocating pedal for baroque is a bit controversial but I approach this tutorial with absolute respect. She obviously is a good tutor. I love her style and obvious understanding of the music. This is what makes the music REAL!
Only Glenn Gould performs Bach with no pedal lol...pretty much all teachers nowadays encourage at least *some use of pedal as a coloring device in Baroque music. :)
@@lflagr That’s interesting, I think my teacher was old school then😀 But then I started learning 45 years ago!
🌺🙏🌺
4:37 don’t eat either of those. Hotdogs (processed meat) are known carcinogens and cheeseburgers are full of cholesterol, saturated fat and inflammatory foods. Have whole grains, cruciferous vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, seaweed, mushrooms, allium veggies, spices, and copious amounts of dark green leafy vegetables. Think about those while playing (briefly, of course, relying on muscle memory, before remembering to concentrate on the music again).
We need folks like you to live for 60 more years. So beneficial to have your experience and insight. What a wonderful gift you are! Brava! Thank you!
Origins of music unevidenced. Except it is gift to humanity from God the Creator. Music continues in heaven. Discontinues in hell.
Jesus Christ came from heaven to earth for one purpose only - to die on cross for remissions of pre-existing sins of every single person and to resurrect. Jesus Christ providing forgiveness from pre-existing sins for every single person, salvation from eternity in hell and free entry to eternity in heaven for all who repent of sins in Jesus Christ.
Other side of death is eternity. Eternity in hell. Or eternity in heaven through Jesus Christ.
Penalty of pre-existing sins already paid by Jesus Christ on The Cross. Accept HIM. Repent sins in Jesus Christ name. Be saved from eternal in hell. Enter heaven. Enjoy heavenly music. For free.
I wonder what relevance your remarks have to do with this music and its performance by human beings. Everything you wrote after the first sentence is also unevidenced, and an assertion of your opinions and beliefs, to which you are of course entitled. Btw, I practise both piano and atheism.
@Arturo’s Michelangeli When Bach or Anne-Marie McDermott giving glass of water to some other person, they are giving water, created and gifted to them, by someone else ie God.
@@bruce_c_in_nzI was raised to believe life is meaningless, purposeless, in pursuit of nothingness, we are random bag of molecules, complex chemical dust.
Found the above deficit. No reason for being, no meaning of life, no morality to espouse, no truth to trust, no hope beyond grave.
This a form of violence forced to believe leading to rebellion, disrespect, hatred, destruction of social fabric of family and patriotism, infanticide in wombs, depression, suicide.
Raised to believe it is lese-majesta to scrutinize atheism with sceptical mind.
Tabula rasa, introspect, I see evil in me pre-existing. What is origin of evil, I did not want it, I did not ask it, what is remedy?
Why are we on earth for?
Is history merely a series of events whose sum is meaningless?
Or is there a providential plan?
And atheism is found naked. Atheism never produced a line that is comforting on a death bed.
Made me to think. When rearranged furniture in mind, the perspective is different outside non-god box.
If there is no sin/evil, I don't need to know it's origins, I don't need to know the remedy. I don't need God if there is no sin/evil.
Police, judiciary, jails, passwords, media etc prove there is evil.
Found Jesus Christ very enigmatic, being God still humbled to die on cross for remissions of pre-existing sins for every single person to save from eternity in hell.
BTW I left atheism, but enjoy piano.
i personally don't like her piano technique especially the forearm is pushed down, the wrist is stiff absolutely not free and below any possible level. she is lucky to not to get hand problems.