| To tell you the truth, I don't know why people choose to, play it at the faster tempo except that there might be endurance issues and they want to get over with quicker. I play it at the printed marking. There is also the famous old recording with Gil Johnson and Glenn Gould which was very fast, almost cut time. Maybe it's a hold over from a well known recording. It's like Beethoven's 5th and the big ritardandi conductors used to put in that were dramamtic but not what Beethoven wanted, apparently.
I believe a strong command of extreme dynamics is essential to a "masterful" performance and well-executed rhythms. The phrasing is often done poorly when people play accents in the wrong places, and don't allow the music to breathe when it needs releasing in just the right places. It's dramatic music and has become a contest piece or college audition piece like the Arutunian and played in a similar style. I don't like to hear high school students play it but they have to because all the colleges ask for it, so, what are they supposed to do? The same goes for the Hummel and Haydn. I'd rather hear a kid play Rustiques by Bozza and a Brandt Concertpiece or a well played Arban solo than a perfunctory performance of classical stuff. College should be the time to get into the soul of music by the great masters. Okay, Hummel was not a master and neither was Neruda. But you get the idea.
The Hindemith needs to sound easy yet meaningful, as though it were the most important piece on earth when you're playing it. High School is the time in one's life for inspirational fluff. Lord knows you have plenty of time in front you after High School for the seriousness of life.
ML |