Well, guys, I raised this question its because, people kept telling me or asking me whats the right tempo when play the mazurka.....heeeee.


I just listened to Rubeisteins op7/1 vivace and his op33/2 vivace. I want to see if he interpret it the same as in tempo.....Obviously he played the both different. Op7/1 was much slower piece. BUT on the otherhand, I listened to Ignaz fremen(I spelt wrong). He played a much faster than Rubeins in op7/1. Now, I dnt want get invoved judging there playing simply because they are masters. these just a TWO differnt pianist at there own interpetation.....ARE you telling them that Rubein you played TOO slow?? or to Freeman, you played to fast???? of couse not.

Its back to my point that it seems , when your are famous, you have your own rules and tempos
and I am sure no one dares to say anything unless you are BETTER ??/ So, I have reached my own conclusion that the right tempo is when youre enjoying the music and free of mistakes....keep youself away from outside world, you have your own art, which is pure in soul.......

whats your say???

Like I said before, I always wondered if the tempo markings meant the same thing back in time as they do today? I read once that Mozart complained when people played his music too fast.
Might make a nice little research project for me, unless someone already knows the answer. Is there an old, old music dictionary that lists tempo numbers?

[quote]So, I have reached my own conclusion that the right tempo is when youre enjoying the music and free of mistakes....keep youself away from outside world, you have your own art, which is pure in soul......./quote]

I second that! If one truely enjoys playing the music there will be others who enjoy listening too, I am sure. Than the magic wireless transformation can start between player and listener. That is almost independent from speed.

A piece at lower speed, but confident played, can sound faster than the same piece at faster speed but sloppy played.

I do not think there is "a right tempo" for mazurkas. What feels right should probably be right, unless there's nobody else who shares your view, then you probably made a wrong choice. Bit unconvenient he did not provide metronome marks, but that could be intentional. If anywhere complete freedom reigns, it is probably here. In any case it is very personal, and so it should be oin this most personal of music.

Whatever sounds best is the correct tempo. The same could be said of the use of the pedals.

Pete

With all aspects of life concerning numbering...there always has to be a person on the bottom of the list and on top of the list. For example, competitive weightlifting there has to be someone who only squats 400 pounds and gets last place. Likewise there is a muscleman who puts up 800+ receiving first place. The question is: where is the respective cut-off?

Translation: There can be someone who plays a Hungarian Rhapsodie the slowest (instead of Presto...it is Allegro) and there is someone (like Cziffra...just a side note for clarification--I do not find his H.R to be the greatest in the world, however he is one of the top 5 for Liszt's other works e.g. Grand Galop Chromatique ) who just goes overkill sometimes (most of the time) and plays it really fast.

Generally those who set their tempo in the middle of the pack or play at the high end are regarded to be playing the piece better, whereas people who play the piece slow(er) are not considered so great.

My advice: See if you can match the Mazurka King...Rubinstein...if you cant play as fast then slow it down, maybe 10bpm (depending on the piece) to be in the average range.

....I hope I did not stir up any controversy

thanks for every ones valuable replys.

so it must be sound good as long as to youself-the player unless you want to satisify others by vary the tempo to suits other taste--a big no no,,,,2) at the same time we enjoyed the music....a friction slower than the full tempo of your control is recommended.

3) At least you must hear all the notes youself, otherwise there is NO POINT to speed up.

Tahnks again.

The best tempo is the one that works best with the myriad of factors that every pianist confronts. In the morning, I play at a very relaxed pace (Chopin's Black Key Etude @mm60, for example). Usually, only after an hour or so can I begin to add speed. My point is, we must all choose a tempo based solely on ourselves, our environment and our piano.

Pete