Bach’s Concerto in D-Minor (Timur Sergeyenia)
Feb 27th, 2008 by trevelyan
Bach’s Concerto in D-Minor is hands-down my favourite piece of classical music. It was written for two harpsichords, but everyone plays it as a piano+orchestra concerto these days. The recording below is by Timur Sergeyenia, who gets extra points for having his own website and referring to himself as an International Konzertsolist on it.
I’ve been trying to learn this piece on my own for ages, with *trying* being the operative word. I’ve got the first half pretty well down, but lose my pacing and consistency during the right-hand solo that kicks in at [4:21]. Things head downhill from there, and slide fully out of control during “the blitz” [6:35-6:50].
Anyway, I stumbled onto this recording through Youtube, and really like it for a couple of reasons. First, Timor Sergeyenia is showing real technical proficiency here: I can’t imagine anyone playing the piece much faster without their fingers spontaneously combusting. Glenn Gould’s famous recording clocks in at over 9:00 by comparison and comes across as much more delicate. I also like the sense of anger and momentum Timor throws at the music, and the contrast he sets up between the main (repeated) theme and the shadow theme at [2:37-3:20] and [5:54-6:20]. Also, Gould gets overshadowed by his orchestra.
Wow. Stopped me in the middle of my lunch break. Thanks for posting this.
The highlight of my music career (in violin, and believe me, a poor second fiddle kind of career) was when a professor of mine in college, Karl Kohn (who you might have heard of if you’re deep into piano) told me after a recital that my playing was “musical.”
I hadn’t played very well, I knew that. But I also knew what he meant from having listened to him play. “Musical” is what players, even very good ones, sometimes leave out when they have spent so much time with a piece — working through the technical intricacies, taming the tempos, coordinating with their fellow musicians — that they somehow forget that it is music and not exercise. Kohn’s compliment meant to me that I had managed to do what I set out to do: get as good as I could on the technical side but play it like it’s saying something and trying to be understood.
That’s what Sergeyenia does (albeit at a level I could only dream of). You can hear — and see — that he’s still playing music, not reciting. Beautiful.
Incidentally, probably because of my fiddle bias, I’ve never heard this piece. But it’s of course immediately recognizable — many of the same ideas are written all over the sonatas and partitas for violin. I was particularly struck by the section that begins around 2:30 that TS manages to give an ominous air. Very like one of those solo violin pieces (can’t think of which right now) and some key ideas that Paganini borrowed later for his solo violin works. Thanks again.
I know exactly what you mean. Sometimes you have to stop playing a piece for a while and come back to it in order to continue enjoying it. Otherwise it descends to technique.
Truth be told, I’m a pretty awful player. Motivation is the most important thing for me, and I like aiming for pieces way above my level that I really *want* to be able to play rather than sticking with easier pieces. Some of the raw joy I get playing is in the moment of stunned realization halfway through a difficult passage that you actually played it right that time! Also internalizing the strange rhythms and chords that shouldn’t work but somehow do (I really like Prokofiev for this).
Never had the experience you did studying formally at that level. Wish I did. Took lessons as a kid, but gave it up after a few years. Resumed playing in grad school when I started sitting in on undergraduate courses in the music department just for the fun of it. I was probably the least musical person in the class, but I enjoyed the lectures and found the people who were studying them genuinely interesting too. Enjoying life helps, eh?
Exactly.
To set the record straight, though, just in case you’re ever walking through a freeway underpass and hear some unheavenly violin squeaking, see a case open on the ground, and then come face-to-face with syz trying to scratch out Arkansas Traveler or the Suzuki-method-simplified theme to Paganini’s Witch’s Dance:
Although I did have the honor to study some music theory with Karl Kohn and had a college violin teacher far better than I deserved, it was really a parttime undertaking. Like you, I had played as a kid but never developed any real skill. When I picked it up again in college it was too late to get in the long hours that might have made me good. The second fiddle that I eventually played in the orchestra was a position given to me more out of charity for my enthusiasm than recognition of any nascent talent. If you’re attempting this Bach piece, you’ve surpassed me by far. Still, I do enjoy the music and (although I hadn’t thought about it that way before) also like to attempt things that interest me rather than necessarily playing only what’s within reach of my actual skills.
A link back from Beijing Sounds
Sorry, kind of screwed up that linkback. I know neither protocol nor mechanics. I was trying to connect to here:
http://www.bjshengr.com/bjs/?p=80
Feel free to delete all this if it’s too messy.
@syz — most of my commenters are spambots attacking the thread on popups, so I’m pretty tolerant of human error.
It’s a spectacular video you posted. I’m actually living down near the 音乐学院 and there are a few good CD shops around. Also a few street vendors who sell 盗版 editions classical music (”psst… Chopin!”). Will see if I can hunt down any of his stuff the next time I’m in one.