Pianist

A pianist (from the Italian pianoforte, in short: Piano " Piano" ) is a musician who plays the piano.

Training

The job of a concert pianist requires it, usually begin in childhood taking piano lessons at a music school or a piano teacher to learn technique and artistic design possibilities of the instrument. An acoustic instrument, such upright piano or grand piano is essential to the teaching of a keyboard is not enough, since a weighted keyboard, all 88 keys and three pedals are missing. In general, the training also includes music theory and music history.

With the appropriate talent and advanced skills of budding pianist then completed a major course of study at a music school or conservatoire. In the foreground of this higher education are now less technical than artistic fields. After the artistic maturity test is a graduate recital closes at; to perfect master classes to follow. Some pianists place already during their training establishes a professional focus their later careers.

The profession of a pianist

The occupational field includes the entire repertoire of classical music - ie from Baroque (Bach ) on classical music ( Mozart, Beethoven), Romantic ( Chopin) to the New Music ( Henze, Lachenmann, Stockhausen, Crumb ).

Concert Music

Keyboard play for centuries an important role in musical education. They are well suited for compositional preparatory work, because here chords and harmonic progressions are generally much easier to play than violin or wind instrument. Even in the Baroque period were Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel and Domenico Scarlatti on the acclaimed virtuoso on the harpsichord and the organ. Many later composers such as Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Liszt, Frédéric Chopin and Sergei Rachmaninoff were also virtuoso concert pianist. Some of them, such as Sergei Prokofiev wrote a large part of their work for their own concert use; others such as Alfredo Casella and Béla Bartók were known during his lifetime less than composers, rather than piano professors. Thanks to their pianistic skills they have increased the piano literature by numerous brilliant solo works.

For solo play count on one hand works for a single piano or for two or more pianos ( and minor species such as four-hands ), on the other hand, the solo concertos for these instruments and orchestra.

Due to the large scope of the repertoire, some pianists choose to make the works of composers or less a single music era in the heart of its work: So mostly focuses, for example, Alfred Brendel on the Viennese Classical, Arthur Rubinstein played Chopin and mainly Glenn Gould dealt intensively with Bach. Some pianists such as Alfons and Aloys Kontarsky occur mainly as a duo and focus on works for two pianos.

Chamber music and song

A second area is the chamber music, which provides a piano as accompaniment of another instrument and in ensembles as a trio, quartet or quintet. Especially the piano trio calls for a player who has completed pianistic skills.

In some works, such as Ludwig van Beethoven's Triple Concerto, Op 56 or Alban Berg's Chamber Concerto for piano, violin and 13 wind instruments overlap the demands on the pianist, he has mastered the solo - concert as the chamber music game.

A prominent part of the chamber music is the song accompaniment. It requires psychological skills to piano songs in the wake of Romanticism - inter alia, Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, Hugo Wolf, Richard Strauss - the singing voice to interpret adequately. Some pianists such as Glenn Gould have only sporadically played in this area, some as Hartmut Holl, Michael Rauch iron or Gerald Moore confined its work almost or entirely on the song composition. Here is a solid working partnership with a singer or a vocalist the rule.

Chamber music and especially vocal accompaniment require special training, which is offered at some colleges of music as a major field of study.

Bar pianist

A bar pianist differs significantly from other pianists ( classical, jazz, boogie, etc. ) because he never acted in concert on stage in the foreground. The classic basic training is a prerequisite for this technique. A particular challenge is the interpretation of rhythmic variety. With the left hand you play drums and bass, with the right hand the vocal or saxophone melody, and the middle voices imitate guitars and percussion sounds that sind.Das indispensable for Latins extensive repertoire consists of all areas of music from all over the world ( Pop, Jazz, opera, operetta, Viennese songs, Latins, etc.). A sensitivity adjust the atmosphere by the proper choice of the repertoire of humor and the most appropriate Interpretationsart ( In the lecture, rhythmical ... ) to select, characterize a good bar pianist. The ability to accompany singers also is expected.

Vienna Barpiano scene

For bar pianist especially in Vienna, the traditional type of music of Barpianos blooming again. In addition to well-known hotels such as the Hotel Imperial in Bar Maria Theresia, the Sacher Hotel, the Grand Hotel Wien, the Hotel am Kahlenberg, the oldest hotel in Vienna - Hotel Stefanie or the Hotel Savoy and Vienna coffee houses offer again increased the guests regularly Barpiano music. The oldest piano from Vienna, the bonbonnière Piano Bar since its opening in 1938 until today life Barklavier music. The Vienna Broadway Bar, which was frequented by many famous artists, there are unfortunately no longer in recent years.

Job prospects for Pianists

Job prospects for pianists have worsened in Germany in recent years rapidly. Who does not rise in the foreseeable absolute top group of soloists, is more and more forced to attend performances for small and smallest salaries. Even the profession of piano teacher has lost its appeal. Contributing significantly to the public music schools that award little more permanent employment contracts, but only employ freelancers. This includes piano teacher for so-called "New Künstlerprekariat " which reports an average of 1,000 euros gross monthly salary, according to KSK. The old-age poverty is mapped out here. Almost all piano classes at the music schools recorded as a result, a sharp decline German applicants, while the influx of students from Asian countries continues unabated.