Colin Posted May 28, 2004 Share Posted May 28, 2004 Pizzicato is a playing technique, most often associated with plucking rather than bowing the violin strings, although any stringed instrument can be played pizzicato. The word is Italian, a past participle of pizzicare, which has nothing to do with food preparation, but means to pluck. So what is a good example of pizzicato, other than classical guitar; what recordings would you recommend to someone who loves pizzicato on big ole horns? thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted May 28, 2004 Share Posted May 28, 2004 I don't have any specific recommendations but I'm also a big pizzicato fan. I'm hoping Larry jumps in here with a few. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted May 28, 2004 Share Posted May 28, 2004 ---------------- On 5/28/2004 12:34:44 PM Colin wrote: The word is Italian, a past participle of pizzicare, which has nothing to do with food preparation, but means “to pluck.” So what is a good example of pizzicato, other than classical guitar; what recordings would you recommend to someone who loves pizzicato on big ole horns? ---------------- Colin, THE premiere symphonic pizzicato, IMO, is the third movement of Tchaikovsky's Fouth Symphony! The plucked strings are the ONLY instruments playing throughout the two scherzo sections that open and close the movement. The middle section, called the trio, features a striking contrast in brass-only and woodwind-only passages. The return of the pizzicato scherzo is also very striking. The musical score instructs all strings that the entire movement will only be played pizzicato -- the players lay their bows on the stands and do only plucking in that movement. It must have been an astonishing sound in its day. Composers had previously used pizzicato effectively, but as part of the orchestral texture, sometimes as accompaniment, sometimes as musical punctuation. None, to my knowledge, had ever used pizzicato by itself to create a full orchestral sound through the entire dynamic range from very soft to very loud. I can't recall any similar, solely pizzicato work offhand. The "Harp" string quartet of Beethoven features prominent pizzicato in the first movement, hence its name. There are nice pizz passages in several Beethoven symphonies: in the RETURN of the scherzo in the third movement of his Fifth Symphony, to mock the terrifying opening scherzo section; an accompanying pizz to a main theme in the third movement of his Ninth; and the brief close of the second movement of his Seventh (all pieces you might want anyway). Another movement with nice use of pizzicato is the slow movement of Berlioz's "Harold in Italy," a four-movement work featuring solo viola. There are also spectacular left-hand pizzicato effects in certain solo-violin showpieces such as Sarasate's Carmen Fantasy and Zigeunerweisen. The latter two pieces, along with Paganini's equally astonishing violin concerto No. 1, played by Itzhak Perlman, can be found on EMI 5-62594-2. The significance of "left-hand" pizz are that the player is still using his or her bow in the right hand and fingering those notes with the left, while ALSO using left-hand fingers to form other notes and pluck other strings at the same time! IMHO, it would be nice if this were posted in the 2-channel forum, where lots of latent and emerging classical music lovers also trade around good information! Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted May 28, 2004 Share Posted May 28, 2004 Colin, I should make you a good recommendation on a recording of Tchaikovsky's 4th: DG 419-745-2, the Leningrad Philharmonic conducted by the great Evgeny Mravinsky. The 1961 recording vintage is of small disadvantage against the intensity of the Russian performances. Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted May 28, 2004 Author Share Posted May 28, 2004 Yes, since I was a Tchaikovsky fan as a teen, that is probably the movement that introduced me to pizzicato, thanks, Larry, I am astounded at your knowledge, I too think that Russians give wonderful interpretations of Tchaikovsky: so Cossack! I found and ordered the Tchaikovsky 4th with Leningrad Philharmonic conducted by Evgeny Mravinsky, but NOT that one: some of his recordings are expensive! I also ordered the Essential Beethovens and the Berlioz. Which one is Tchaikovskys Little Prince? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted May 28, 2004 Share Posted May 28, 2004 ---------------- On 5/28/2004 3:03:50 PM Colin wrote: I found and ordered the Tchaikovsky 4th with Leningrad Philharmonic conducted by Evgeny Mravinsky, but NOT that one: some of his recordings are expensive! I also ordered the Essential Beethovens and the Berlioz. Which one is Tchaikovsky’s Little Prince? ---------------- Not sure what the Little Prince is -- if you're thinking symphony, his No. 2 is the "Little Russian." However, the first 3 symphonies aren't as interesting as the last 3. Glad you got an inexpensive 4th; the album I identified was 2-CDs with his last 3 symphonies and I didn't know the price. I hope you like the Berlioz; I should have mentioned that the slow movement is the most interesting, the rest less so. There is better Berlioz overall. I'd be interested in your reactions if you feel like posting them. Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted June 8, 2004 Author Share Posted June 8, 2004 got them here at work, not much chance to really hear what they are like, will let you know, thanks for all the info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 Great, I certainly hope you like them, let us know. Sorry it looks like you won't be at Indy. Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted June 14, 2004 Share Posted June 14, 2004 Colin, Did you ever give those a listen? Hope you liked the recommendations! Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted June 15, 2004 Author Share Posted June 15, 2004 not yet, got them, just haven't sat down to listen yet, will post then.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted June 22, 2004 Author Share Posted June 22, 2004 Unfortunately the pizzicato recommendations were excellent, but the cheap Amazon recordings I sliced were horrible. I set the Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony aside after one listen. It was live recording with simple miking, horrible room effects, poor imaging, soundstage and quite harsh. My mistake. Shoulda listened to CD at CD Warehouse first. Will go there next. The Berlioz was re-mastered Sony disc, but it too seemed harsh, I retrieved from the exchange pile, maybe it is the solid-state amplifier I am reviewing now. The Beethoven was nice at work, need to listen to it at home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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