The Fellow Pianist
In an interview with the great pianist Miguel Zannetti companion, said “we should eliminate the word pianist-accompanist, and replaced it with another pianist like camera.” If we understand the term companion, as a person who accompanies us in the sense of the artistic, person who helps us to provide an interpretation of a friend who watches and listens from behind, there is nothing pejorative. Every good soloist, knows the importance of being wrapped by a pianist who to trust, which helps tune the performance nerves, that in moments of inspiration leads in a twinkling the soloist or the difficult moments of a passage takes the reins . It is the lifeline that is the soloist on stage. A good accompanist is a guarantee, and this we know the true professionals. Some, and especially singers, are duos that last a lifetime, like a marriage. The piano accompanist is a professional who knows the peculiarities of repertoire, style, musical developments of the instruments … Great pianists have dedicated part of their activity to accompany, Rachmaninov, Horowitz, Baremboin, Askenazy … others have focused exclusively on accompanying his activity as G.
Moore. H. M. Deucht or Spanish Zannetti or E. Arnaltes.
Also several of the great conductors have been in their early or correspondent excellent accompanist of opera, Abbado, Mutti, Levine, Sawallisch, Pappano … Unfortunately in Spain can not study the specialty of “pianist – accompanist” unlike in other European countries, and the practice of students in the conservatories is limited to a few chamber music classes, taken as a subject “Extra.” Here the pianist is at a distinct disadvantage with fellow string group playing in the orchestra or wind in the bands, while the pianist spends long hours of study alone without anyone to share their interpretation. Conservatories accompanying pianists have, however there is no specific access to this task in the system of examinations for admission to the conservatory, lumped together with piano and piano teachers are complementary (otherwise equal). So the piano accompanist or want to be just left to go explore the repertoire on their own, increase their knowledge of other instruments, the particularities of each one of them (issue, arches, joints, pitch …) language to accompany singers, stylistic features, etc.., all this after making his piano studies as any piano teacher and soloist. Hard road for so little recognition. THE PIANIST COMPANION: “The pianist companion”