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THE
MUSIC
TRADE
REVIEW
11
The Sixth of a Series of Articles, Written in Collaboration with a Music
Lover, Wherein Is Described How the Player-Piano Awakened in Him a
Desire for Good Music — His Experience with a Beethoven Concerto
[Ktlitorial Note:—This is the sixth in a series of "experi-
ences" which have been set down as told to the Editor
of the Player Section by an amateur music-lover whose
musical education has been obtained through the medium
of his player-piano; which, however, he had to master by
himself without the slightest assistance from anybody in
the trade. Dealers and manufacturers may well ponder
the words of this disinterested owner, who has so much
that is pertinent to say and says it so well.]
A soft, massive chord. A pause. Again, the
same chord; this time shorter, more imperative,
but the same. The same again, repeated, twice,
four times, eight times, till the insistent rhythm
is driven into one's senses and through it begins
to show up vaguely the outlines of a phrase. It
is the introduction to Beethoven's great concerto
in G major, which I had begun to study, as I
told you in the last instalment of these adven-
tures of mine with a player-piano. I took the
trouble later to look up the history of this very
wonderful and (to me) very fascinating piece of
music. It seems that somehow or other the
same master's great fifth concerto, generally
known as the "Emperor," in course of time alto-
gether came to supersede its predecessor, the
fourth in G major, so that ten years after
Beethoven's death (1827) it had been almost for-
gotten. Then along came that remarkable man
Mendelssohn, and dug it up. Becoming con-
ductor of the famous Gewandhaus concerts in
Leipsic he re-introduced the concerto to the
musical world on November 3, 1836, playing the
solo part himself. Schumann, who heard this
performance, said of it: "I received a pleasure
from it such as I have never before enjoyed; and
I sat in my place without moving a muscle or
even breathing—afraid of making the least
noise."
It seems that Mendelssohn produced the con-
certo in England some eleven years later and Sir
George Grove, whose great dictionary of music
and musicians I have made my own since I be-
came a great player-pianist, says this of the oc-
casion: "After this it (the concerto) lay dor-
mant until the 26th of April, 1847, when it was
played by Mendelssohn at the philharmonic
concert, amidst the greatest applause, partly ex-
cited, it is fair to say, by the magnificent extem-
pore cadenza which he introduced and which, to
those who were in the secret at all, was the more
extraordinary, because it was entirely different
from two cadenzas, also extempore, which he
had introduced at the rehearsal on the Saturday
previous."
That sounds pretty good for a piece of music
composed in 1808, especially if one remembers
that, when I heard Hofmann play it, people
seemed to be just as enthusiastic over it one
hundred and seven years after its birth. There
must be a reason for a life as long as this.
Find Out Why the Music Has Vitality
There is a reason. Play the music yourself
and you will find out. If, however, you are in-
terested in seeing what I found in it and if that
may help you to go and do likewise, then listen
to what follows:
The concerto is written in three movements.
The first opens with the series of drum-beating
chords I first mentioned which form the begin-
ning of an introduction, during which, first the
orchestra and then the piano, work over a
melody formed from the introductory chords
and a phrase that grows out of them. All this
is used again later on; but the true movement
begins with the sharp staccato biting melody
which opens the fast movement or Allegro
proper. This works over at some length and if
you pay attention you can easily see where the
solo piano enters alone and where the orchestra
or the two together have their place. The first;
theme of the movement, mentioned above, is
developed at some length between piano and or-
chestra and finally modulates into the second
theme, a melody of flowing and gentle character,
but with something of the swing of battle in it
nevertheless.
These two themes and the way they are
worked out together form, I soon perceive, the
material of the entire first movement. They are
respectively the masculine and feminine ele-
ments in the musical conception and the struggle
between them is vastly interesting, as first one,
then the other, comes up to the top. The piece
is written in what is called the sonata form, as
I have since found out, which means that it
has two themes which are, after an introduction,
stated and worked over, thereafter to be de-
veloped in all sorts of fascinating ways and into
all sorts of fascinating forms. When this riot
of fancy and color is drawn out far enough to
please the master, Beethoven breaks off sud-
denly to allow the solo pianist a riot of tech-
nique all his own. This is the solo cadenza
which Hofmann played so wonderfully and
which, for all I know is the same one, written
down later, which Mendelssohn first extempo-
rized on that day so many years ago in London.
Hint for the Arranger
It's too bad that my roll—and I believe my
copy is from the only player arrangement pub-
lished—has nothing of the cadenza in it. It is
even worse luck that it has never occurred to
anybody to write in a real player cadenza to a
concerto like this. What a glorious thing it
would be! That is the kind of work that old
mister player-piano likes better than anything
else, brilliant, passage-playing with extended
chords, doubled runs that the hands could not do
if they tried, counterpoint with secondary tunes
worked in to fascinate and bewilder, and all the
rest of it. Here is a hint for some sharp ar-
ranger.
After the cadenza, the original themes are re-
peated and then comes the closing piece or coda
which in this case is wonderfully and brilliantly
worked out from material made up mainly of the
second theme.
But the real beauty comes only after this. The
little second movement (on another roll, by the
way) is a lovely gem, a sort of delicious dialogue
between piano and orchestra, which the player-
piano, via music-roll, only faintly reproduces,
though its spirit one can catch. I turn to Grove
again for a description fitting: "This movement
is one of the most original and imaginative
things that ever fell from the pen of Beethoven
or of any other musician. The strings of the or-
chestra alone are employed, but they maintain
throughout a dialogue with the piano in alter-
nate phrases of the most dramatic character;
the orchestra in octaves, forte, and staccato,
fierce and rude; the piano employing but one
string, molto cantabile, molto expressivo, as win-
ning, soft, beseeching as ever was human voice."
That explains it beautifully. First you have
the short, sharp, heavy chords of the orchestra,
which with a good piano and a liberal use of
the sustaining pedal you can make most im-
pressive. Following this first phrase, you cut
down your pumping to the limit, crowd on your
soft pedal and listen to the soft whispering
phrases of the piano answering.
The lover—rather rough and noisy—has been
talking to his lady love, who, for all her apparent
coyness and timidity is getting her own way as
•usual. It is a charming episode and the repeti-
tions but make it the more so; until the little
movement without pause, and without even hav-
ing to change music-rolls, develops into a jolly,
gay, fascinating and altogether tip-top Rondo;
than which I think no other piece of music I
play on my player-piano is better liked by me.
Analyzing the Rondo
The same sharpness and abruptness that has
characterized the leading ideas in all this con-
certo marks off also the leading theme of the
Rondo; but now it is jolly, happy, a sort of
rollicking dance, yet without a hint of vulgarity
or bad taste. First the orchestra takes it up,
lightly, as softly as possible, and tripping like an
Irish reel. Answers the piano, more elaborately
but in almost the same words. Then the two set
out on their race together, first piano, then or-
chestra, overtaking, falling behind, running to-
gether, tripping along in a sort of breathless
jolly race; suddenly is brought to a stop by the
emergence of sweet melody in the wind instru-
ments of the orchestra, slow and gentle, like a
sort of interlude between two periods of reck-
less, joyful dance. But the intermission is brief
and we are soon off again. More and more
brilliantly the work develops, ever faster and
faster, the principal theme, in obedience to
Rondo form, re-appearing at regular intervals
in piano or orchestra. The fun never ceases,
never even hesitates; but finally with a gen-
eral grand clearing up of all the elements, the
two great instruments, piano and orchestra, run
together their last lap and finish, out of breath,
ready to drop, but with the consciousness of real
fun most joyfully and finely expressed.
Why This Beethoven Concerto Fascinates
At least that much is the Beethoven concerto
to me. That much I have seen in it.
I suppose I have played through that thing
fifty times in the last year, for I confess it fas-
cinates me. Sometimes I have gone through it
twice in the same evening; and I play pretty,
nearly every night. But I do know that it has
always had a wonderful effect on me and I do
know also that it has driven me to go to hear
still other artists play it: Harold Bauer, Go-
dowsky, Lhevinne. I know that to have known
this and to have come to like it, not to mention
having finally fallen in love with it, has been
to me a big experience and has done perhaps
more than any other music to. make me under-
stand the beauties of great thought in tones and
the beauties of the player-piano.
I sometimes wish, when I see the real non-
sense that is put out by people who call them-
selves experts on selling musical instruments,
that the American nation could really know, as
a body, what the player-piano is and what it
can do for them. It is too bad there should be
so much chaff to so little wheat. Too bad that
the people don't know what a prize they have in
the player-piano. This is too much a push-the-
button age anyhow. 1 am only an ordinary busi-
ness man, but I do a little thinking sometimes;
and one of the things I think is that we get too
luxurious, too little inclined to do anything for
ourselves and too much engrossed in the one
topic of wealth. Who was it that said:
"111 fares that land, to hastening ills a prey,
Where fortunes multiply and men decay."
(To be continued)
DELIVERING PLAYERS BY AUTO
Frank W. Thomas, a piano dealer of North
Pearl street, Albany, N. Y., has recently secured
a large motor truck to facilitate the delivery
of pianos and player-pianos to his customers.