The following image shows markings that I have never seen before. Does anyone know what all those 1.C and 3.C mean? They are scattered about on every page.
Re: little help, please... My educated guess is they mean 'una corda' and 'tre corde'. Though my score has just p and f markings. I bet you have Schirmer
Re: little help, please... Thanks, that makes sense. And no, it's not Schirmer - it's Ricordi - whatever/whoever that is; I can't remember where I got this music - it's printed in Italy is all I know. But it amazes me that they put in all these 1-cord, 3-cords markings. That's going to make playing this piece a lot different now.
Re: little help, please... I would not bother using una corda here, it seems a bit facetious and risky at that. Just do piano and forte as I think was intended.
Re: little help, please... Giulio Ricordi was an Italian publisher (now I believe that the publishing house is part of the Sony BMG group). Who's the editor of your Bolero? Beniamino Cesi or Attilio Brugnoli? Concerning the 1C/3C indications, bear in mind that that edition is several decades old, probably conceived at the beginning of the last century. Said that, a quick comparison with my PWM/Ekier reveals that the only difference is just about those indications! And they make a lot of sense to me. You have loud repeated chords in the LH and the pedal down, how could you possibly deliver those diminuendi?
Re: little help, please... It's Brugnoli. Yes, it makes sense to apply the una-corda pedal in all those places, but it's also very tricky. At least for me. I don't think I've ever played like that where my left foot is so busy. I'll try it, though.
In my opinion, I don't think the UC pedal should be used just to make something softer. It's always a "special effect" thing in my playing, since it changes the tone. Of course, I've recently made it a goal of mine to REALLY learn how to use the pedals, and not have the damper just simply always be used to sustain notes either. I think the most interesting playing is when the voicing/balance is all thought out and controlled, all the lines are shaped, and the pedals are used as means to a musical end rather than just to sustain or make softer... just my 2 cents!
I like your 2 cents! And you're absolutely right about the UC pedal being used more for changing tone, not volume. Using all 'three' pedals is something that I am probably going to be forever trying to improve.