'Tis the season for revision! Last week I played a string quartet wedding, and the couple requested Beethoven's Für Elise, a piece that is familiar to just about anyone who has ever taken piano lessons as a child. It is really a fine little bagatelle, but it is a true bear to translate into a piece for string quartet. I made my first stab at it about fifteen years ago, and, thinking that I was paying Beethoven the highest respect, I used only the notes in his original.
The result was extremely repetitive as well as precarious. There is nothing less satisfying to me than treading on figurative eggshells when playing something that sounds repetitive.
So I revised it by filling in pitches, changing textures, changing voicing, changing octaves, and changing articulations. I put the arrangement in the IMSLP, where I hope it might be of use to string quartets who are asked to play it by well-meaning brides and grooms to be who studied piano as children.
Revising old arrangements is extremely satisfying for me. And I have a good many that need revision, so I might be occupied for quite a while.
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1 comment:
I think it is so generous of you to make your music available on ISMLP. A while ago I downloaded your piece for solo guitar but it is still a bit beyond my skill level. (Learning to play classical guitar as a senior citizen can be challenging but very rewarding.)
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