Piano accompanist: far more than a simple side-kick
by Lucie Renaud

"I was never sure how to bow, where to look, whether or not to smile at the applause, or how many paces to walk behind her. I walked across quickly, like a shadow, without looking at the audience. I sat down with my eyes lowered, and placed my hands on the keyboard". (Nina Berberova, The Accompanist)

Fiction or reality? Are these words written in 1934 by Russian author Nina Berberova still relevant to today's piano accompanist?

Evolution over the centuries
The profession of "piano accompanist" is a relatively new phenomenon in the world of classical music. In the early days, accompaniment was usually played on stringed instruments from the lute family. By the Baroque era, the harpsichordist had become critical to maintaining a continuous bass, improvising elaborate accompaniments within the harmonic parameters set by the composer.

In 18th century Italian opera, while the recitatives continued to be supported by continuo, accompaniment gradually began to take on a larger role in arias. Thus, the top composers of the day would write far more involved instrumental parts, transforming arias into veritable duets for vocals and instrument. Towards the end of the 18th century, the piano came to replace the harpsichord as the preferred instrument for accompaniment and chamber music. The Alberti Bass was initially favoured by composers, its sequence of broken chords supporting the soloist. But little by little, the texture of the piano parts became increasingly layered, reaching an initial peak with Schubert. These parts are as essential as the vocals in creating the musical landscape and communicating the emotions underlying the text. One need only think of the effect of the spinning wheel created by the piano in Gretchen am Spinnrade (Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel) or the "leaping" accompaniment figure in Die Forelle (The Trout).

Schumann and Brahms reinforced the importance of the piano in their lieder but did not go beyond the fundamental relationship defined by Schubert. In the lieder of Liszt, Wolf and Mahler, the accompaniment plays a psychological role: it complements and extends the meaning of the lyrics and helps render the emotion. In the 20th century, the pianist thus became an indispensable and constant partner of the soloist by setting the rhythm, enveloping the text in a subtle harmony, and creating the mood.

The role of the accompanist was particularly belittled at the end if the 19th century, with audiences often viewing it as a necessary evil and soloists, especially singers, treating these partners with condescension and disdain. But in the years that followed, things began to slowly change, due in large part to exceptionally gifted accompanists who succeeded in bringing new lustre to the tarnished profession. Leading the charge was Gerald Moore. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Victoria de los Angeles, Pablo Casals, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, and Yehudi Menuhin were some of the many who benefited from his remarkable sensibility and vast experience. Thanks to him, the art of accompaniment has finally been given back its letters of nobility.

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