The piano is too crude an instrument for Bach and Baroque music / Article

In a conversation with Latvijas Radio 3 “Klasika” – both on the encounter with Dāvid Kļaviņš’s instrument “Una Corda” and on its constructive differences from the piano, on the infinity of Johann Sebastian Bach’s music and on the path of discovery, which, according to the professor, it is still ongoing. Also of the Moscow professor Jakob Flier and Bach, of the recordings and performers, as well as of the new concert venue – “Klavins Piano” concert hall in Kuldīga.

Inga Žilinska: This weekend, a wider circle of listeners will have the opportunity to learn about several things: both the new concert hall on the Kuldīga side, and a new instrument created by Dāvids Kļaviņš, which you have already met and tried, like so like Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Well Tempered Harpsichord” program, which you don’t hear so often and which you already offered at the opening of this concert hall. Maybe let’s start with the instrument itself: how did you get to know the instrument “Una Corda” by Dāvidas Klāvinas or a string? What is this tool and where did you come across it?

Arnis Zandmanis: I first got to know this instrument in Hungary – Dāvid Kļaviņš had a studio there at the time, where he built these instruments, and he kindly invited me there to introduce this instrument. I already had the idea of ​​recording the entire cycle of the “well tempered harpsichord”, so that all the preludes and fugues remain in the memory, but the piano is the piano, Bach did not write for the piano. Although the title of the cycle suggests a piano and is usually translated as “The Well-Tempered Harpsichord”, this is not entirely correct. German is “harpsichord” – this name includes both harpsichord and clavichord. That is, Bach wrote for keyboards. Therefore, I believe that the piano is still too rough an instrument for Bach and for Baroque music in general. I do not want to denigrate the piano in any way, but it is intended more as a concert instrument for concert halls, for music that is directed outward and is emotionally very bright. In Bach’s music, however, everything is directed inwards, there are absolutely no external effects, it is very intimate. Talk to God all the time.

Therefore, it is very important that the instrument is delicate in the sense that it responds to every little nuance on the part of the player.

But let’s go back to “Una Corda” or piano on a string. Pianos have three strings for each fret, which give a vibrant sound, but the “One String” string is thicker. The basses have longer strings to have enough power. The first time I encountered this tool, I knew it was what I needed!

It is known from history that Bach had many harpsichords and I thought: why does a person need to buy many harpsichords ?! He did this when he wasn’t satisfied with the sound of a particular instrument and bought each subsequent keyboard in the hope that he would sound better.

The “Una Corda” instrument has both the mechanics and the sound of the piano, in addition to the baroque. But you can’t say it, you have to listen to it. But the possibilities are great and those that also arouse imagination, both in the performer and in the listeners.

This instrument has 88 keys, just like a classic piano, but what about the pedals if there is only one string for each note?

The pedal is one – which prolongs the sound. You don’t need a silencer or left pedal. Visually, the instrument looks similar to a piano, because it is placed vertically, so the sound, when it hits the resonator, goes more into the audience hall, than to the floor or ceiling, as it is with a concert grand piano. And there is also the possibility of inserting special material between the hammers and the strings, which makes the sound different: depending on the type of material – thinner or thicker, you get a smoother, clearer or sharper sound . There are a lot of options out there, and that’s what makes this instrument different from a piano. And how it reacts to touch … Much depends on how this instrument is touched.

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Your encounter with Bach’s music goes back a long time, as it happens for all those who start learning music and the piano. But when did you really discover Bach for yourself?

I think I haven’t discovered Bach yet! (laughs) Because there is already the joke and the secret that is a path. It is an infinite path where you see more and more.

What started it all? When Ilze Graubiņa would have turned 70, I dedicated a concert to her memory. And I think: what else will I play, if not Bach? I’m preparing that program, but I’m thinking – hm, but when to get out of it? Ah, this and that and that still needs to be done. And when I had done this and that, it suddenly appeared that there was still this and that to be done. And then I’ll do something else. (laughs) And it’s always like that in music. That’s why I’m also pretty skeptical about recordings: no matter how good it is, it exists in a specific version and you can’t fix anything there anymore. But as the years go by, you see something else in this music that you want to change and diversify. There is no right or wrong option: beauty is in variety.

Because also from the point of view of the public, which of all artistic genres is the most abstract? It’s music!

Because instrumental music does not represent anything, it can only evoke associations, reflections to the imagination. I can imagine a chirping bird or a walking bear, but there are no birds or bears … So music is the most abstract art form and Bach is the most abstract of all composers!

Because his arguments are very laconic, very mathematical, I would even say. For example, if I say “two apples”, a person will imagine two apples. But if I say- “two”, a person can imagine whatever he wants! Each listener can imagine the meaning of Bach’s music very individually and in different ways – endlessly. And this is what makes this music infinite in its time and also attractive in its infinity.

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You mentioned Ilzi Graubiņa – she also liked playing Bach a lot. Also, you both studied in Moscow with Yakov Fliere, who was himself a great pianist, but played mainly Russian composers from the first half of the 20th century and also music from the Romantic period. Or he had his own approach to baroque music and to Bach, and you talked about it during your studies – how to approach baroque music?

Undoubtedly, we played baroque music, because it was on the program, but to say that it was given a lot of weight, I could not. Russian music is dominated by romanticism, romanticism, but the baroque is different. I have always been skeptical that almost all competition programs require a Bach piece, but it is treated fairly formally. And not only in competitions, also in school and in the learning process in general, the main thing when playing Bach is to learn the text. Play the quarters and eighths correctly and you’re good to go. But that’s nothing! It does that music a disservice, because when you listen to such a performance, it sounds very boring. And here it is very important to understand that it is essential to practice mastering time, mastering the breath. They say you have to play and sing.

But for a singing game, like the voice, the breath is important. Sometimes you have to breathe.

And when using agogics, breath and intonation, the music begins to form. Not for nothing they laugh that a pianist is the only creature who can play for a whole hour without taking a single breath, because a singer cannot do it, not even a wind player, a musician has to change the bow …

In music, it is necessary to understand the structure of the structure. Otherwise, it turns out that we learn Latin letters, we can read any language written in Latin letters, but we will not understand anything about it. We must try to understand where a sentence begins and ends, where a word begins and ends.

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Does this mean that Bach’s music is much more analytical than romanticism and primarily requires analysis?

There is already that thing! It is correct that Bach should be played from the first grade, but it should be directed in such a way that the child understands what the main task is. This is not solfeggio, where you have to distinguish a quarter from an eighth.

God forbid that Bach is only played in quarters or eighths. He only roughly wrote the outline, but the musician has to do everything to make it breathe and live.

Have you listened to Johann Sebastian Bach’s music in the wide variety of interpretations available today? Are there any people you like to be influenced by, who you like to be inspired by?

In the past, yes. But now I try to avoid it. If it’s a bad performance, then I’ll have wasted my time, but if it’s a very good performance, I’ll want to copy it, willy-nilly, and either way, nothing good will come of it. (laughs)

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Have you planned to also tune the volumes of “Well Tempered Harpsichord” on Kuldīga’s “Una Corda” instrument?

Yes, we are thinking of doing it. We will start with the concert, which will take place already on Sunday, and literally already in November we will make recordings and sing all 48 preludes and fugues of this cycle.

How is this room?

I don’t know what the acoustics will be like if there is an audience. But the hall is very interesting and also suitable for concerts. It is not great, but it is wonderful that Dāvid Kļaviņas had such an initiative and achieved all this. There will certainly be an audience there – not only from Kuldīga, but also from other cities, who will go there to listen. Perhaps not all music can be played on this instrument, but time will tell. Impressionism sounds very good there, as does contemporary music with all kinds of effects. Maybe less romance.