Rediscovering Classical era piano technique

[Chaszz]

An accomplished pianist re-learns how to play piano using historical treatises, bringing some surprises.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/21/science/playing-mozart-piano-pieces-as-mozart-did.html?action=click&contentCollection=Politics&module=MostEmailed&version=Full&region=Marginalia&src=me&pgtype=article

[Harry]

An accomplished pianist re-learns how to play piano using historical treatises, bringing some surprises.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/21/science/playing-mozart-piano-pieces-as-mozart-did.html?action=click&contentCollection=Politics&module=MostEmailed&version=Full&region=Marginalia&src=me&pgtype=article

That sounds pretty convincing I must say. It's rather addictive to hear Mozart in this way.

[jochanaan]

Interestingly, many of the points she makes, I remember from my earliest piano lessons.  I think my teacher must have been trained in the old school.

Are there any videos of the great early -20th-century pianists playing, such as Josef Hofmann, Leopold Godowski, or even Paderewski or Rachmaninoff?  Do they use this quiet-hands, elbows-at-the-side technique?

[jochanaan]

Interestingly, many of the points she makes, I remember from my earliest piano lessons.  I think my teacher must have been trained in the old school.

Are there any videos of the great early -20th-century pianists playing, such as Josef Hofmann, Leopold Godowski, or even Paderewski or Rachmaninoff?  Do they use this quiet-hands, elbows-at-the-side technique?

Answer: I just found a video of Josef Hofmann playing Rachmaninoff's C# minor Prelude (the famous one).  He most definitely hunches and tosses his hands up--except when the music gets technically demanding, when his hands get quieter.  Hmmm...

[Holden]

As soon as I saw how the fingers were meant to work I immediately thought of Horowitz in his early days with that long finger style.

[Ten thumbs]

Maybe we might get back to Chopin with left hand playing in strict time.

[jochanaan]

Maybe we might get back to Chopin with left hand playing in strict time.

As I recall, Mozart also said that his left hand played in strict time, while his right played with more flexibility.  It makes sense, musically.  An analogy might be jazz, in which soloists improvise freely and often bend rhythms while the drums and other "rhythm" instruments keep strict time.  Yet I am reminded of the Bible verse that says to "let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth." (Matthew 6:3)  But pianists familiar with the Romantic repertoire should already be well-versed in  "cadenza notation," in which the rhythms aren't specified.

[Ten thumbs]

As I recall, Mozart also said that his left hand played in strict time, while his right played with more flexibility.  It makes sense, musically.  An analogy might be jazz, in which soloists improvise freely and often bend rhythms while the drums and other "rhythm" instruments keep strict time.  Yet I am reminded of the Bible verse that says to "let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth." (Matthew 6:3)  But pianists familiar with the Romantic repertoire should already be well-versed in  "cadenza notation," in which the rhythms aren't specified.

I'm aware of Mozart used this technique. It is known that Chopin kept a metronome specifically to ensure that his left hand was keeping strict time during practice.