I recall that the effect was even more remarkable in a real life concert hall when I heard him play that piece live. Volodos is the only pianist I have heard who made me seriously wonder whether I was hearing the real deal- rather than the most transparently blatant attempt at approximate emulation. Personally, while I respect the right of others to go differently, I have never heard a longish pianistic attack that made me think I was literally hearing the instant of a real-life pizzicato. A longish piano note is just a longish note, for me. In either case, you can often hear a sharp attack followed by a prolongation that is severely gentle by comparison. In a resonant hall, the echo of a released piano note can be enough to render the fact that the string is still technically sounding on a string instrument virtually insignificant. Depending on the context, it's common for the start of a pizzicato to be the only part that significantly registers in the ear- with the softer sustain that follows frequently being masked virtually altogether by other instruments in an orchestra. Indeed, there's not one single quality- that invalidates a short sharp attack. It should be a "round" staccato rather than a sharp and short staccato. I think I should remind you that the comment I was actually responding to read: Too short and they become too dry.Ībsolutely. Volodos uses the resonance of the room to achieve any resonance on his pizzicato, and for me, it's not enough.Īnother example of piano pizzicato use are the last two notes of the 1st movement of the Pastorale sonata. Even the most aggressive are not as short as volodos plays them. I don't feel like pizzicatos are blips of sound. His staccatissimos while having fantastic tonal control are little more than blips of sound. Volodos' pizzicato, while getting very close literally, I feel lacks body in his sound. And then there's instrument, violin pizzicatos, cello pizzicatos, jazz bass pizzicatos, etc. And then there's orchestral pizzicatos and pizzicatos by a soloist. You can pizzicato from the air, pizzicato gripping the fingerboard with your thumb, pizzicato with your left hand as opposed to your bow hand, pizzicato with your thumb, etc. In fact, there are physically different ways to do pizzicato. There are harsh and percussive pizzicatos and there are melodic pizzicatos and everything in between. I think we're forgetting that there are multiple ways to play a pizzicato. I think I'm basically thinking why use the term pizzicato at all? Surely it's not a regular, standard term for the piano? I can't help but wonder to myself, if pizzicato is meant to be short and crisp on the piano, why not simply use the more standard staccato or staccatissimo sign? Why use the term pizzicato at all, unless it suggests a slightly different approach to regular staccato and staccatissimo? I would have thought that is why pizzicato is generally a term used for string players plucking the strings, rather than for the more percussive action of a piano. For years, I have played the piano and cello and have never considered the piano to be able to effectively reproduce the pizzicato sound in the same way as my cello. I don't feel that a pizzicato sound is as sharp a sound as you are suggesting. Until then, I have to remain sceptical because that's just my way! Can you suggest a piano piece where I might be able to find an indication of playing pizzicato so that I can look it up for myself? If I find one, then I will just have to agree that it is indeed standard practice for pianists. You mention that pizzicato is standard for pianists and I would like to believe this but am struggling to do so. Well, we must be moving in different circles because playing pizzicato or reading signs of pizzicato on piano music is new to me and I've played a lot of music over the years.
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