It has been suggested that in Chopin his ornamental passages should gradually get faster
but it seems that every case should be based on what sounds best. Hurrying an
ornamental passage to fit it with a metronomically played left hand does not always
sound good.
It has been said that in Schumann ornamentation is before the beat and that in Liszt
arpeggiated chords and ornamentation are before the beat.
Ornaments and ornamental passages should usually be played with a much lighter touch
than their surrounding.
OVER-STRINGING
Over-stringing was invented by Jean-Henri Pape during the 1820s and was first patented
for general use in grand pianos in the United States by Henry Steinway in 1859. The
over-strung scale, also called ‘cross-stringing’, involved the strings being placed in a
vertically overlapping slanted arrangement, with two heights of bridges on the keyboard
rather than just one. This permitted larger, but not necessarily longer, strings to fit within
the case of the piano. Virtually all modern grand and upright pianos are cross-strung.
PACHMANN
Vladimir de Pachmann (1848-1933) met Liszt several times but was not a pupil.
Pachmann was the soloist in Liszt’s E flat piano concerto conducted by Joseph
Helmesburger in Vienna on the evening of 13 April 1869. The concert was given by the
pupils of the Conservatory in honour (and presumably in the presence) of the composer.
Liszt greatly admired Pachmann’s playing, especially of Chopin’s works. They heard
each other play Liszt’s piano works on several occasions.
Pachmann’s 1906 Welte roll of Liszt’s ‘La Leggierezza’ (‘The Lightness’) is in Denis
Condon’s collection. His live performance of this was greatly appreciated by Amy Fay.
He played with considerable freedom and rubato. In his later years Pachmann acquired a
reputation for his eccentricities on and off the concert platform. Pachmann made many
rolls and discs including Liszt recordings. He was one of the first pianists to record discs.
He did not record Liszt’s Sonata but he did perform it on 21 April 1892 in New York as
part of an all-Liszt program.
PADEREWSKI
Ignacy Jan Paderewski (1860-1949) was a Polish pianist, composer, diplomat and
politician, and was the third Prime Minister of Poland. In 1872, at the age of twelve, he
went to Warsaw and was admitted to the Warsaw Conservatorium. In 1881 he went to
Berlin where he studied composition with Friedrich Kiel and Heinrich Urban. In 1884 he
moved to Vienna where became a pupil of Theodor Leschetizky. It was in Vienna that he
made his début as a pianist in 1887.