<p>D (a mezzo) also calls them collaborators. She did the Stern Fellowship program at Songfest and after working with the pianists Graham Johnson and Martin Katz she has an enormous respect for collaboration (ESPECIALLY in art song).</p>
<p>In chamber music, in lieder and chanson, in songs where all instruments are partners in the texture of the music, collaborative is appropriate. In um-pah-pah, keep the beat, "accompaniment" some other term may be more appropriate. Pianists who train for a career as solo, chamber, concerto pianists are pianists. Those who are "coaches" for style, interpretation, etc., are something else....teachers and supporters....collaborative is inadequate for their level of contribution. It is one of those PC issues, it seems.....musicians must ask each other how they should be referenced. (Certainly no one makes any assumptions about someone else's voice type designation.) Perhaps in the conversation, something more will be accomplished. Typically for a "solo" recital, i.e. voice or solo instrument plus piano, the musicians are referenced by their instrument: Susan High Note, Soprano and Cynthia Fleet Fingers, Piano.</p>
<p>In a chamber or larger group, I see the pianist as part of the team and are neither an accompanist nor a collaborator. When the pianist is there to add background/colour to the performance of the soloist, then to me, they are just accompanying. That is not to demean the accompanist. To be a good accompanist, they have to be able to play and follow well. But it is just that, a supportive role.</p>
<p>I think you can have a collaborative effort if the soloist and collaborator have an ongoing relationship. Then the collaborator has some basis for making recommendations and becoming part of the team with the solosit. However, if the pianist meets the soloist once before the performance, they really shouldn't be telling the soloist what to do. At that point, they really are just accompanying.</p>
<p>I believe the accompanist/collaborator the op referred to is the same one who accompanied my daughter. He was fantastic, very professional, in the room at the scheduled hour and a delight for her to work with, even for such a short time. He was able to ease some of her anxiety about the Juilliard audition and I am grateful for that!</p>
<p>Our poor German pianist is taking quite a rap, but he turned out to be a wonderful person, very supportive and very apologetic for what was an honest mistake. He refused to take payment for the rehearsal and DS was only able to prevail upon him to accept a portion of agreed fee. I wouldn't want anyone to form a negative impression of this fellow. I think it is probably true that this sort of thing has never happened to him before. Apparently, he comes every year from Germany to accompany auditions (I'm not touching the semantics debate over collaborative pianist/accompanist) so is probably the same person Binx's S remembers. He has been doing this for a long time. As it turns out, I think DS was better off for being on campus early to rehearse and the whole experience ended up being positive despite the glitch of the missed rehearsal.</p>
<p>"When the pianist is there to add background/colour to the performance of the soloist, then to me, they are just accompanying."</p>
<p>OperaDad,</p>
<p>Can you give me an example of a piece, where the piano is only there for "background/colour"? Thanks.</p>
<p>Certainly not for any of the Hindemith sonatas. </p>
<p>The piano part in his trombone sonata is a killer.</p>
<p>Stringkeymom - I was hoping you'd check back in and let us know how it went. So glad it all worked out. This will be one of those stories you get to tell the next generation of applicants, next year!</p>
<p>I wasn't going to go further in the debate, either. However, in defense of "accompanying" - many times when a pianist is brought in for just one rehearsal, and another instrumentalist is regarded as the focal point, I believe it is appropriate to call the pianist an "accompanist." In the case of an audition, I do believe the focus needs to be on the person auditioning. And it's a bit too late to "collaborate" other than learning what the soloist needs in terms of tempo, dynamics, etc. I'm a pianist, and I am very happy to take the background in these situations! </p>
<p>However, a pianist can make or break a performance (and I'm sorry to say I've broken more than my share - which is why I would rather pay someone else to "accompany" my kids.) So in that sense, it is very much a collaboration, in that there is some interdependence.</p>
<p>All that said, I've never heard a pianist refer to him/herself as a "collaborator." I think most of the time, conversations between musicians refer to the instrument - eg. "The piano needs to have a steady tempo here." "Can we have more attack from the horn here?" etc.</p>
<p>I was curious, so I looked through a handful of programs I had here, from Juilliard and Music Academy of the West. At the Juilliard graduation, there was a small ensemble that included piano. The person was listed with his name followed by "piano" - just like the other performers were listed with their instrument. In the listing of names with degrees being earned, those said, "Collaborative Piano" as the degree. In recital brochures, again, it is name, followed by instrument.</p>
<p>In the MAW brochure, with student bios, the bios are divided by instrument. There is a section labeled "collaborative piano." In individual bios, many people list degrees in collaborative piano, from places like Eastman, CIM, etc. One said, "Performance, with an emphasis in chamber music" (Indiana). Those bios were self-written. Nobody called themselves a collaborator, nor an accompanist. One person mentioned touring "with" a cellist.</p>
<p>My conclusion (based on that limited sampling) is that "collaborative piano" is the recognized name of the degree for those who are focusing on group/ensemble performance. But most of the times, musicians refer to each other by instrument: "I need to play an unaccompanied piece, because I can't find a pianist." "He and I want to do the Brahms Trio, but we need a violinist."</p>
<p>Runningthebasses--ha! how did you know? DS <em>was</em> playing the Hindemith Sonata.</p>
<p>Binx, I agree with your assessment of the terminology for pianists. I play a little piano myself and didn't want to stir the pot, but I do think "Collaborative Piano" designates a course of study or degree focus rather than being a more respectful term for accompanist. That said, I do hear people comment, "x is a good collaborative pianist" by which I understand, they are a strong chamber musician (in distinction from solo performance).</p>
<p>
[quote]
Can you give me an example of a piece, where the piano is only there for "background/colour"? Thanks.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>If he had to, my son could sing these songs at an audition without an accompanist, and they would sound fine, and probably cut out the interludes:</p>
<p>The Vagabond, from Songs of Travel, by Ralph Vaughn Williams
Quando ti rivedro, by Stefano Donaudy
Winterreise: Erstarrung, by Franz Schubert</p>
<p>On Wednesday, he will sing the Star Spangled Banner acapella for his High School's awards ceremony.</p>
<p>Beg to differ, OperaDad. Your son may sound fine, but the intent of the composer is not conveyed with just the voice part in either of those pieces. "background/colour" is part of the texture of a piece, just as important as the solo voice or instrument. Even the um-pah-pah accompaniments have a rhythmic pulse which is part of or propels the energy of the piece, regardless of whether there is a distinctive voice (harmonic definition) to the music contributed. </p>
<p>Star Spangled Banner has so many arrangements....only the melody and text is crucial. However, if an arrangement distorts the message, it is inappropriate. I have heard movie music versions which sound wrong....romanticized rather than inspirational and invigorating.</p>
<p>They might sound "fine", but they won't sound like Vaughn Williams or Donaudy or Schubert.</p>
<p>In fact, in the case of Winterreise, if I HAD to listen to the entire piece and get rid of either the pianist or the singer, I would choose to listen to the piano, any day.</p>