[Dixielandjazz] Reading The Dots

[Steve Barbone]

Below is excerpted from an article by Bernard Holland, music critic for the
NY TIMES. It is about some piano rolls made by Claude Debussy in 1913. It
contrasts the composer's own playing disregarding what he had written in the
score of several pieces. The resultant question then asked in the last
sentence is an interesting one and would relate to all forms of music
including OKOM.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone

 

"When the tempos go up, so too do the pianist¹s impetuosity levels. At one
point in ³La Cathédrale Engloutie,² Debussy nearly doubles the written tempo
in relation to the note values around it. He throws himself at ³La Danse de
Puck² and ³Minstrels.² ³Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum² is a mad rush, perhaps
intended as a comic portrayal of young pupils feverishly engaged in finger
exercises. I don¹t think the piece is a mad rush but rather a wistful,
deftly accented and, above all, slightly slower bit of nostalgia. And if I
can play it this way without contravening the written score, who says I
can¹t love the piece and declare its composer wrong?"