Dear Fiona,
That was a _great_ post on student accompanists and the various
situations that can arise.
A few thoughts of my own:
Just as I'm sure all singers enter college with the hope and expectation
that they are going to finish up either as operatic principals or as
full-time concert performers, I'm sure all piano students start out
assuming they will have a career as a concert or concerto pianist. In
both cases only a relatively small percentage will have the (?)luck(?)
to end up following this path and will divert on to other areas of music
activity.
A good college will try to maintain a balance between giving its
students high aspirations and reinforcing the truth that they will have
to be prepared to end up as musical jacks-of-all-trades to some extent.
This is possibly truer of pianists than any other instrument. So
accompaniment is to be taken seriously. And remember, it's not only the
singers who are looking for pianists - most other solo instrumentalists
need them from time to time as well, whether it's in a fulfilling role
as partner in, say, a Beethoven cello sonata (they were originally
designated as being for "piano and cello" which should make the pianists
feel a little bigger) or playing the part of an orchestra for an oboist
to work on a concerto. And there are choirs in college which need them
too.
It's this non-piano-music type of accompaniment, which, as you say, is
not the fun stuff for a serious aspiring pianist, which is likely to be
the bedrock of the work of the jobbing musician that these pianists are
to destined to become, and, as I say, a good school will encourage them
to get as much experience in it as they can.
A close friend and ex-pupil who went to Birmingham Conservatoire in the
UK said that the word among the singers was that if you wanted a
reliable accompanist, try the organists first, rather than the pianists.
They've always had accompanying experience before they get to college,
they don't have - on average - quite such big egos, and they can
TRANSPOSE!
cheers
Linda
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