Thread - Haze

OK, I'll tag it separately. Thanks for the info. Becky

No problem. Verklärte Nacht quickly became one of my favorite pieces when I listened to it many years ago, and I wanted to create a string orchestra arrangement for quite some time. After starting to work more extensively on string orchestra projects (particularly the Shostakovich arrangements), I was able to come back and finish this. Schoenberg's own arrangements always felt unsatisfying to me (partially for his heavy use of solo instruments), and I wanted to make one that would address certain issues that are unique to the sextet ensemble. While I originally envisioned a Strauss-like division of each part into separate stands, it was possible to use only divided sections which could theoretically be played by a group of any size.

Upon completion, I noticed IMSLP had a version arranged for piano. This score was poorly formatted, left out many notes, and looks unplayable (a recording proves me wrong on that last point). Since it has been a custom for many composers to arrange works for piano so that they (or others) could play it on that instrument, I wanted to create a proper version in this vein. My main goal (besides improved score readability) was to make sure that every note from the original score was represented. I had thought at first a third player might be necessary, but I found this could be done (excepting some minimal excisions) with two players on two separate pianos.

As I am not a piano player myself, arranging this work proved challenging but not outside my abilities. While I did decide on a benchmark of generally keeping the high violin melody notes in the first player's right hand and the bass notes in the second player's left, care had to be taken to emulate the instrumental interplay between the original's various voices. Many notes are played in two (or more) parts at the same time, so a second piano allowed for a better emulation of this than say a four-handed version would have. Dynamics often had to be consolidated or simplified, with attention being paid to how a piano's held note decays, but this shouldn't noticeably affect the overall presentation. Basically, this version should be as close as possible to playing the string sextet version of Verklärte Nacht on two pianos.

That said, the two piano version does highlight the instrument's differences from strings. Tremolos are performed differently, and the inability to hold a note at a consistent dynamic changes the feel of certain passages (sometimes a held note had to be repeated to compensate for this). Obviously the piano's tone quality makes for a different aural experience as well. I feel that the piano version better brings out how contrapuntal the original is, as the parts are less likely to be covered up. I wouldn't say I focused on any of those aspects you mentioned in particular, other than what I have already discussed was required to better mirror the original.

While either version has yet to be performed, I feel that the two piano arrangement is quite difficult overall. Distinct parts often have to be played in the same hand, and Schoenberg's style of writing many notes is often challenging for even a single line. Nevertheless, these both turned out as well as I could expect before hearing either played. I had never done a two-piano arrangement before, but it was the kind of compositional challenge I enjoy taking on. Perhaps I will have the opportunity to do another in the future, but I have yet to consider any such project. Let me know if you have any other questions regarding these arrangements, and thank you for your interest.

Gwendolyn Staheli