Home > Henselt, Adolf > Douze Etudes caractéristiques de concert > Si oiseau j'étais à toi je volerais (Op.2-6) arrangée pour deux pianos par l’auteur
Henselt, Adolf : Si oiseau j'étais à toi je volerais (Op.2-6) arrangée pour deux pianos par l’auteur
Work Overview
First Publisher:Hofmeister
Instrumentation:Piano Ensemble
Genre:transcription
Total Playing Time:2 min 00 sec
Copyright:Public Domain
Original/Related Work: Henselt, Adolf 《Douze Etudes caractéristiques de concert》
Commentary (1)
Author : Nishihara, Masaki
Last Updated: March 3, 2022
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Author : Nishihara, Masaki
This is Henselt's addition of a second piano part to his own piano solo piece, "If I Were a Bird" (12 Concert Etudes, Op. 2No. 6). The significance of being able to perform Henselt's masterpiece as a duo for two pianos is considerable. It is marked Allegro, in 3/8 time, and F-sharp major. While the original piece is a difficult work, requiring the hands to coordinate to play continuous, rapid arpeggiated chords without pause, the second piano part does not feature the original's figuration. Instead, it has the character of extracting new melodies that emerge from the register at the boundary between the two hands in the original, and singing them smoothly and sustainedly. When performed together, the roles are reversed, creating an interesting effect where the first piano seems to become an embellishment for the second piano. Henselt, who often added modest and cautious second piano parts to the works of others, seems to have enjoyed a free and uninhibited playfulness in his own compositions. In the two-piano version of Henselt's "Romance" (Op. 10), it is stated that the composer himself used "Romance" as a prelude (Vorspiel) to this work, "If I Were a Bird." At the end of "Romance," there is also an optional short cadenza that serves as a bridge to connect to "If I Were a Bird" (known in German as "Vöglein-Etüde" or "Bird Etude"). It would be interesting to follow the composer's plan and perform them in the same way.