Re: Hindemith

[Elizabeth Volpé Bligh]

Saul, I am looking at my music right now and I just play it exactly as written, with the 24 13 fingerings all the way up. To avoid stopping the A flat, I just pull my hand back so that my knuckles clear the strings, and I place at the exact moment when I play. This also mitigates that “choppy” sound. I studied this piece with Miss Chalifoux during my year in Cleveland, and also with Judy Loman after I got back to Toronto (1970’s). The movement is marked “Lebhaft” which means “lively” or “full of life”. I think of the ascending pattern as spritely and energetic, so I don’t want it too legato. Here’s a bit of heresy: if the knuckles are banging into the strings, and you want a smoother sound, just let them go straight so that they don’t hit. Curved fingers are fine in many instances, but there are always exceptions to every rule. Sometimes you have to pull the left shoulder back a little bit to give your left hand room to execute a maneuver in an upper register. I never thought of it before, but you could also try reversing the hands at the beginning of that upward arpeggio and see if that solves the problem of hitting the A.

As for the last movement, I have it marked in my part that the beat remains the same; in other words, the previous quarter equals the new dotted quarter. Since both Judy and Alice were Salzedo’s students, they may have gotten that marking from him.