Classical music
How To Listen To The Same Music Played by Different Musicians
There are so many pieces written for a lot of instruments. And there are a lot of instrumentalists who play the same music. They all have their own interpretations. Yes, they play the same notes, but they could phrase a little bit differently. There is also different kind of musicians, also playing the same music on the same kind of instrument. Let’s explain this further.
For example, we use the Cesar Franck violin sonata.
A lot of violinists play the same sonata. All of them have a different interpretation of this sonata. But how do you listen to the different interpretations of the same piece? Also, everyone listens with a different mindset and everyone listens to the same music differently or hears something else. It also depends on how active and how often you listen to it.
Back to Cesar Franck violin sonata. I have listened to violinists playing this sonata: Janine Jansen, Kirill Troussov, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Noa Wilschut and Christian Ferras.
Listening to all of the interpretations, the notes, the phrasings and the people playing the music together, makes that there will be different people playing the music and having more style the same music has been playing — also over the years. 50 years ago, we played differently then we do now.
When violinists playing a piece, they always listen to other musicians playing the same music, study their (own) part — listening, reading all music parts and practicing on the instrument.
But how to you to listen to the piece played by different musicians? First of all, you have to play all the first recording, then the other ones at one time. Then, you have to play the first one, listen to the differences of each small part of the music of each recording, perhaps you could write that down.
Anything you could recognize while listening to music:
- The tempo of the score
- Phrasings and dynamics
- Time of the composition is written
- The time the musician lived
- Time the composer lived
The tempo of the score
Every music piece has a tempo the musician must play the music. Most players have the same tempo in their minds of how to play the piece. But sometimes, one has a fast tempo and the other one has a slow tempo of the same piece. There are tempo differences withing the main tempo the composer meant but it should be ok for the musician. You have to keep the tempo what the composer meant. Unless you’re an amateur musician who isn’t able to do keep the tempo.
Phrasings and dynamics
Phrasings and dynamics are written by the composer, but they are also personal to the musicians which he/she will always keep the composer’s favorite phrasing and dynamics in mind, but with a twist of the musician. But it is important to keep the composer’s phrasings in mind because that is what you do as a musician: telling the audience what the composer meant with the compositions.
Time of the composition is written
It is also important to keep the time the composition has been written in mind because that is how you have to phrase as well. The time is essential. You don’t play Brahms as a Mozart and the other way around. It was just another time period of playing and creating music. Composers are always looking
The time the musician lived
Also, it is the time that the musician lives, because the musician these days play differently than 300 years ago, but also they play on the modern instrument than 300 years ago.
Time the composer lived
As well as the time the musician lived, it is important to know about when the composer lived and when the compositions have been written. Brahms is played bolder than Mozart. Mozart must be played more light and with more joy.
Back to the violin sonata of Cesar Franck: what do you hear the differences between the recordings of the musicians?
Agnes Laurens is a writer. She writes for the local newspaper. Agnes lives in Bunnik, The Netherlands, with her husband and three daughters. Writing is — aside from playing the violin — one of her passions since childhood. She is on Twitter and Instagram.
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