Hello. I didn't want to hijack the other thread on G5 pedalling .

I'm doing the Martinu Columbine Dances from last year/this year G6 syllabus - not for an exam, though. The top of second page explicitly states "senza pedal" (or some such italian...), then the third page states "con ped". However, I think it sounds better if you use a bit of pedal after the first few lines of P2 to accent the LH chords, then again later before you get to P3. I also think, because of the stacattos, P3 sounds better with Less pedal. Does anyone have any opinions on this? And, if it were for an exam, would messing about with the pedalling instructions placed by the composer be a no-no?

I'm also doing Gypsy Rondo at the moment. Anyone know it? The speed is rather insane, and in my copy (an inherited 1953 edition of AB "Hours with the Masters"!) there are a few pedalling marks added by the editor (mainly on chords for emphasis). Anyone have any opinions on pedalling in this? I don't think I can carry it off, myself, without blurring this lovely crisp piece. When played at full speed, with the staccatto at the end of each phrase, it already sounds more like a typwriter than music!

Everyone should feel free to hijack this thread for other topics, pedalling or otherwise!

Cheers, Fred
(who is female, btw, sorry for the ambiguous name, Frances was already taken!)

Hi Fred,
Gypsy Rondo - yes, I think so - Haydn ??

I haven't got a copy in front of me, but if my memory is accurate, I wouldn't be tempted to add pedalling to this - I think your inclination to keep it crisp is right. Haydn generally needs little or no pedal. I remember Hours with the Masters too! - some great pieces.

The Martinu - I'd be cautious of adding pedal where it says "senza p" .
I have lent my teacher's notes to a student but will read up when I get them back and if anything useful will post.

Maggie

Hi I'm doing Columbine too, isn't she lovely?
I have been senza ped'ing from the vivo marking to the a tempo at bar35 and then legato pedalling to smooth out hte left hand a bit (I have fairly small hands so it sounded a bit silly otherwise)

Also with the staccato on page 3 - I have just been coming off the pedal as soon as I've played the staccato note - and also (my teacher would be proud of me for saying this) staccato is the way you press the note down as well as the length of it. I don't think i understand that fully myself but hopefully you might!

And finally - I played gypsy rondo once and it's well beyond me. What standard is it?

Cat

The gypsy rondo seemed rather fiendish when I tried it... but that was a while ago. Does anyone know what kind of standard it's supposed to be?

I think as far as pedalling against the composer's instructions is concerned, leave well alone for exams unless there are technical problems, eg your hands are too small to hold on a note while playing another chord, you can't stretch a chord so have to spread it, etc.

Surely if the composer explicitly states without pedal then it would be incorrect to play that section of the piece with the pedal: it's like saying no, I think that F would sound better if it were a G so I'll play that but it's not a wrong note.... In an exam it would probably be taken that you don't know what senza means if you use the pedal.

If the composer says nothing then use it if you want but otherwise try to avoid it (the exception being if you really need to use a small amount to cover technical problems that you can't solve, e.g. small hands, in which case use it sparingly).

I remember the Gypsy Rondo... I learnt it somewhere between grade 3 and 5.

hi, i'm doing colombine dances too.. having ma exam 2 weeks form 2day...
well i know that in page 2 it says that there shoudld be no pedal but my teacher reckons that left hand chords .. not the ones at the beginning but those in last part of the second line of pg 2 and the ones similar should have legato pedalling with.. they are more blended in that way and create a nice background with the short right hand.. and about the first page and its repeat i kept basically tehe same editorial pedalling.. its too stiff without pedalling..and the staccato c# in the repeat soudn nicer with a pedal.. hope it helps

Thanks for all the replies! Yes, it is Gypsy Rondo by Haydn, sorry I forgot to note the composer! I think there are probably a couple of versions floating around of various levels, but this one is in a G6 book. It's technically quite straight-forward - just the speed of the semi-quavers that makes it hard. I tried the pedalling today, and I think it sounds horrible!

QUOTE

i know that in page 2 it says that there shoudld be no pedal but my teacher reckons that left hand chords .. not the ones at the beginning but those in last part of the second line of pg 2 and the ones similar should have legato pedalling with.. they are more blended in that way and create a nice background with the short right hand..

Yes, this is what I'm doing too - I agree it sounds nicer. Good luck with your exam! One of the big changes I'm having to adapt to with my newish teacher (rather than the one I had years ago) is that she's very hot on giving a piece individual interpretation rather than sticking strictly to the score. She likes to add a stacatto here and a pedal there, etc. At first I was a bit unsure, but I'm enjoying it now. After all, as musicians aren't we supposed to put our own mark on a piece of music? Look at Nigel Kennedy ... no, wait, bad example .

So the question, I suppose, is how much can you get away with as "interpretation", and at what point will the player have deviated too far from the spirit of the original? I suspect that after a day of hearing a piece played in exactly the same way as those CDs the ABRSM are selling, an examiner would welcome a different interpretation - provided it was well played.

The little hints book actually suggests that pupils use pedal in the senza pedal bit of Columbine . . . so I don't suppost the examiner will be too cross