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I’ve done it with piano, and the skill of the accompanist makes such a difference. It can be good or bad. Miss Lawrence preferred to have it done on organ or harpsichord, but I couldn’t get one for my recital. Thankfully, I did get to play it with orchestra, which is a fine experience, except for those french horn solos in the third movement.
It might have been then. I believe that Lyon & Healy originally sold them, and then it was switched over to Bow Brand, as they’ve been around a long time. I used them from about 1985 to 2005.
I need beginner piano stuff, and we no longer have a music store in which to browse. Anything online that you know of as good?
I need beginner piano stuff, and we no longer have a music store in which to browse. Anything online that you know of as good?
I need beginner piano stuff, and we no longer have a music store in which to browse. Anything online that you know of as good?
Betty Paret’s book one, Pathfinder to the Harp by Lawrence, and the Enchanted Harp by Beatrice Rose are favorites of mine. I believe Salzedo made Tiny Tales challenging so you would immediately get used to the hardest things about the harp, rather than rely on placing and other false forms of security. He gets you used to the idea of letting the strings ring, of coming off and on again. It is challenging, but a brilliant approach. He also has you playing in every key. Sometimes you need challenging as well as accomodating or whatever you would call that which is only slightly challenging.
By the way, I have to say that composing very easy pieces that are good is extremely hard to do. I have yet to do anything simple that is able to remain simple, they all turn into something more. So I take my hat off to anyone able to do it well.
Gut is much harder to tie than nylon. Two things will help you, besides experience: thread the string through the sounding-board first, then tie the knot—that way you will have enough length and not have trouble threading it; tie a second loop around the stabilizing piece and that will usually keep it from falling out.
Thank you for that rousing introduction, Tony.
Few people outside the school know that there is an oral tradition to the Salzedo method, as well as the written. Fortunately, Lyon & Healy published the revised Variations as Salzedo wanted them done, except for the notation of the harmonics. I prefer the original tempi of the Leduc edition, but the revised are more feasible for most people. You should meet with someone who studied with Miss Lawrence or Miss Chalifoux in particular, to learn how his sounds should be executed.
Some of the stylistic issues is that there is very little romantic-style expression in Salzedo’s esthetic. A little bit goes a long way, just a hint of a tempo change, nothing overt. These are classical variations in that sense. However, that changes when you get to the Prelude. There the rubato is great. Salzedo’s tenutos are very exaggerated. In Mirage, you would hold the bass note for at least the time of three sixteenths. In the Prelude, perhaps two of the sixteenths, and it usually played slowly and thoughtfully. Listen to Lucile Lawrence’s recordings of it. He is very accurate in his notation, and expected it to be followed to the note. Any more than that, you have to get in person. Hopefully that is possible, where-ever you might be.
I think you might need to change the focus of your topic, depending on the length. If you make it on Salzedo’s performance style in general, not only that piece, you will have more to say.
I used to use Burgundy gut strings for years, when they came from Lyon & Healy. In more recent years, they were of much less quality, not good enough to keep, much more than just visual imperfections. I went back to Bow, despite the cost. I used two sets of Classic gut and found them hard to keep in tune, not clear in pitch, and the protective coating is so thin it wore off very quickly. Pirastro strings may be the best, but soooo expensive. I use Pirastro nylon strings for 0-3 octaves, then Bow gut, and silver/copper wires, no colored strings.
That was a good program, much like harpists do here. There are many works where the harp and flute are equal partners. The pieces you chose on the first half happen not to be of that type, except the Faure and Saint-Saens. There are about 100 fine pieces for flute and harp at my last count. Perhaps you are not thinking of projecting your tone outward when playing, that makes a difference. It is
I am very saddened to hear this. I will add to what you said that Lucile Lawrence considered her to be an exceptional talent, one of the best students Salzedo ever had. When she was student at the Curtis Institute of Music, she won a school-wide award over such future figures as Jorge Bolet and Leonard Bernstein. She was one of the few teachers for whom Miss Lawrence had unrestrained regard.
