What Makes a Piano an Ideal Instrument for Concertos?
Renowned pianist Anton Nel is the obvious answer, but there's more!

Internationally renowned pianist Anton Nel joins Arizona Philharmonic this Sunday, January 7, 3 PM, for Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 9. I'm super excited about this concert: I've been a fan of Anton Nel's performances and recordings since the 90's. It's a rare opportunity for Prescott to experience such a distinguished artist, and you don’t want to miss this performance.

In my discussion about the Mozart concerto, I thought I’d touch on a subject composers and orchestrators think about: differences in note attacks, or how the tone of an instrument first starts sounding.

All musicians can vary the attack of a note: They can accent the note, creating a relatively sharp attack. They can enter the note gently, even connecting it to a previous note in a legato manner. Yet each instrument's attack is constrained by physics. A flute player must split a column of air, a reed player must initiate the vibration of one or two pieces of wood, a brass player starts their lips buzzing, and a string player uses horse hair to activate motion on a string. And while you may not be aware of it, our ears can recognize that these sounds don't start immediately. For a small split second, there is a ramp-up in volume before the instrument's tone reaches a steady state.

A pianist, though, initiates their sound by causing a felt-covered hammer to hit one or more strings. And unlike the previously mentioned instruments, the sound starts almost immediately and ramps down, rapidly at first, and then more slowly as the tone is sustained.

Because a piano's attack is so different from the rest of the orchestra's attacks, the piano is easily heard and recognized separately from other instruments. This, of course, makes the piano an ideal instrument to feature in a concerto. The orchestra can accompany without overshadowing the piano, and the piano can solo with striking contrast to what the orchestra can offer.

(Ironically, I am a pianist married to a lovely percussionist, Maria. She also strikes her instruments with hammers ... er, mallets. That means our attacks are similarly shaped: sudden with a rapid ramp down. When I compose for us, I have to take extra care that we each can be heard separately.)

In the rousing third movement of the Mozart concerto, you can appreciate the difference in attacks. Take a listen below to the first couple of minutes. When the orchestra repeats the piano's opening statements, notice the contrasting "gentleness" of the orchestra's beginnings of each note. And when the orchestra plays behind the piano, you can hear the piano as separate from the orchestra. 

We invite you to come to Ruth Street Theater on Sunday, January 7, 3 pm, to enjoy Mozart's early masterpiece under the masterful control of pianist Anton Nel and Maestro Peter Bay. The acoustics are amazing in the hall: you will feel like you are sitting right next to Anton Nel. Watch for two more emails where we discuss the other great works on this program.

- Henry Flurry, Artistic Director

Anton Nel

Winner of the 1987 Naumburg International Piano Competition at Carnegie Hall, Anton Nel continues to tour internationally as a recitalist, concerto soloist, chamber musician, and teacher. Highlights in the U.S. include performances with the Cleveland Orchestra, and the Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas, Seattle, and Detroit Symphonies as well as recitals coast to coast. Overseas he has appeared at the Wigmore Hall in London, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, major venues in China and Korea and undertakes regular tours to South Africa. Much sought after as a chamber musician he regularly appears with some of the world’s finest instrumentalists at festivals on four continents. He holds the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long Endowed Chair at the University of Texas at Austin, is currently also a Visiting Professor at the Manhattan School of Music, and annually presents masterclasses at the Glenn Gould School in Toronto. During the summers he is on the artist-faculties at the Aspen Music Festival and School, the Orford Music Academy in Quebec, and at the Steans Institute at the Ravinia Festival. Mr. Nel also frequently performs as a harpsichordist and fortepianist. His recordings include four solo CDs, several chamber music recordings, and works for piano and orchestra by Franck, Faure, Saint-Saens, and Edward Burlingame Hill. The Johannesburg-born Mr. Nel is a graduate of the University of the Witwatersrand, where he studied with Adolph Hallis, and the University of Cincinnati where he worked with Bela Siki and Frank Weinstock. His website is AntonNel.com.

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