by Peter Fritz Walter
A ‘Universal’ Pianist? Questioning the Standard Why have I decided to play only Baroque music, leaving behind a mixed repertoire where figured a bit of all from Bach to Bartók? In fact, why striving to be a ‘universal’ pianist—where is that idea coming from? It is a musical and philosophical ideal based on the historical change…
It would make sense, I admit. But the high-pitched sound is not agreeable to my ears. And I will have to explain a few things here. How does a harpsichord sound in its original set and setting? Great. But then, how does it sound today? In a modern house or apartment: horrible! Again, why? It…
Q. What is the true reason you specialize on Baroque in terms of musical performance? Is it because your practice time is too limited? Is it a question of taste? Is it because you count yourself among the ‘old music’ fans, the purists, the ones who live highly restricted lives? A. None of this. Or…
Finally … I could start with recording … to begin with, the Bach Inventions I am now playing every day, for besides being musical jewels, they are also ideal practice pieces. I have recorded the 1st, 4th and 8th and later today will record the 14th. These four are all I am playing …, for…
In this series of recordings from 2019 I play a few pieces of my repertoire, and some of them both on the organ and the harpsichord. I am of course using internal sounds of my Roland RD-700 stage piano, while I did have to creatively modify the existing sounds for both instruments, which took me…
I always loved Steinway and my dream is a Hamburg Steinway D Concert Grand. And yes … I love to play Baroque on a Steinway, not a harpsichord. I will explain why … in a FAQ that is my next post. My present digital piano is the 19-year old Roland RD-700 Stage Piano. I am…
Playing only Baroque? Well, there is something like a foreground argument, and a background argument. Needless to add that the background argument is the important one. On a superficial level, my extended sickness with lymph edema seems to suggest my slowing down on any body position other than the horizontal one (in bed). But as…
I have learnt over the years that it is of the highest importance for me to be crystal clear about the fingerings I am using. For years and years I have been practicing pieces from the WTC, and in general, and did not retain the pieces in what pianists call ‘finger memory.’ This has changed…
I never developed a philosophy for jazz music and related genres. Regarding classical music, this was different, for I had from the start the intuition that classical music has some sort of philosophical basis. This intuition of mine was fully confirmed by the play of Svjatoslav Richter that I discovered in my early 20s. —See…