He was a recognised interpreter of Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann and Liszt. He put
technique in the background and emphasised textual accuracy in performance. Claudio
Arrau described him as ‘a wonderful musician’. While studying piano in Berlin, Charles
Griffes wrote that he wanted to ‘go to someone else like Ansorge for interpretation’.
Ansorge taught with colourful analogues and demonstrated at the keyboard. He often
said ‘Heiter ist das Leben, Ernst ist die Kunst’ (Life is happy, art is serious).
Conrad Ansorge composed a piano concerto, chamber music, three piano sonatas, other
piano pieces and songs. His pupils included Dorothea Braus, Joseph Challupper, Ernesto
Drangosch, Eduard Erdmann, Sverre Jordan, Selim Palmgren and James Simon. Ansorge
made a Liszt disc and made Liszt rolls, one of which, Hungarian Rhapsody no. 14, is on
CD.
ARPEGGIATA
Arpeggiata is the arpeggiation (rolling, breaking or spreading) of a chord or chords where
such arpeggiation is not so marked by the composer, for reasons other than the limitations
of an insufficiently large hand. It was a mannerism practised by pianists born in the
nineteenth century. The present writer uses the word ‘arpeggiata’ with this specialised
meaning following the use of the the word once, apparently with this meaning, in
‘Aspects of the Liszt Tradition’ by Tilly Fleischmann edited by Michael O’Neill (Adare
Press, Magazine Road, Cork, 1986.
During the first part of the nineteenth century the arpeggiation of chords in piano music
became quite frequent. When expressions such as ‘con espressione’ or ‘dolce’ were
indicated in the music, the frequent use of slow arpeggios seemed to be called for. So
frequent did such arpeggiation become that Samuel Wesley in 1829 observed that pianists
‘do not put down Keys simultaneously which on the organ should always be done, but
one after another.’[italics as in original] (cited by Clive Brown in ‘Classical and
Romantic performing Practice 1750-1900, Oxford, 1999, at page 612).
Carl Czerny in ‘Die Kunst der Vortrags (Vienna, 1846), translated by John Bishop, ‘The
Art of Playing’, London, [1846] at page 157, reported that ‘all passages in many parts are
now invariably played in arpeggio, and so greatly is this the case, that many pianists have
almost forgotten how to strike chords firmly.’ [italics as in original]
In a review of a concert by Brahms in 1865 playing his Piano Concerto in D minor it was
reported that Brahms incessantly spread out the chords in the slower tempos.
This practice continued into the early 20th century, as is revealed by reproducing roll
recordings and disc recordings.
ARPEGGIOS