Performance Tips

While there are indeed various ways to play this piece, the author would like to offer some performance tips based on personal discretion and preference. Looking at the score as a whole, in addition to the Allegro Moderato tempo, whole notes are arranged in the left hand, serving as accompaniment. This is a tendency towards what is known as homophony. Since the melody in the right hand always has notes on the beat, it tends to emphasize the beat, resulting in a vertically-oriented musical texture. While such an interpretation is certainly valid, the author believes this music ought to flow horizontally. What techniques are necessary to achieve this horizontal flow?

Achieving Horizontal Flow

• Play the whole notes and half notes in the left-hand accompaniment as softly as possible. Imagine the left-hand three-note chords as three voices, played by cellos or violas. In that case, a strong attack on the first beat is not necessary, is it? To ensure a continuous, horizontal flow without breaks, the pedal is essential. The pedal eliminates the breaks between chords. Further details regarding pedaling will be discussed later.
• It is essential to play the right-hand melody line legato. To avoid any harsh, protruding notes, allow it to flow gently and horizontally.

Pedaling Techniques

Now, then, we use the pedal to make the music flow horizontally, but how should it be applied? With the exception of measures 1-2 and the final measure, every measure in this piece contains chromatic progression. This means that continuous pedaling will result in muddiness. As the author's advice, there are two ways to apply the pedal in this piece:

• One method is to depress the pedal only during beats 3-4 of each measure (with exceptions, of course), and to omit the pedal during beats 1-2. By depressing the pedal for beats 3-4 and releasing it on the first beat of the next measure, the left-hand chords can be connected smoothly.
• The other method is to depress the pedal in two-beat units. Either method is acceptable, and they can be used interchangeably depending on the specific passage.

Even when applying the pedal using these methods (depressing it for at least two beats), muddiness cannot be entirely avoided. While there are ways to completely avoid muddiness, the author intentionally recommends the aforementioned pedaling, which allows for a slight, deliberate muddiness. The muddiness created by the chromatic progression can evoke a truly romantic beauty. While avoiding muddiness perfectly, 'like splitting bamboo,' could be said to depict the title, the author feels that such a performance would become too dry and uninspired.

By playing dolce and pp, utilizing the aforementioned pedaling, and applying ample rubato, the piece transforms into something entirely different.

For your reference.

Musical example provided by: Ongaku no Tomo Sha