Saturday, September 18, 2010

Usually people don't think of Rachmaninoff as an ironic composer, but the Waltz my students are playing, piano four hands, is definitely ironic. Purposeful wrong notes, hiccuping rhythms, it can't be serious. Maybe the trouble is that we tend to take music seriously just because it is written down. Then it comes as such a shock when someone brings it to life and we realize that it is amusing.