Posts tagged split octaves
MOZART | Concerto No. 9 in E-flat Major, K. 271: I. mm. 102–8
 

“Splitting the octaves between the hands improves legato. Some of the sixteenth-note figures are very awkward, so taking the occasional note in the left hand helps. Grabbing the last three notes before the right-hand leaps facilitates a secure shift.”

Submitted by Michael Clark

Published on 1/1/2020

 
Piano ConcertoMichael ClarkWolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Michael Clark, awkward passagework, facilitate leap, improve legato, redistribution, Piano Concerto in E-flat (K. 271), split octaves
PRICE | Fantasie Nègre No. 2 in G Minor: mm. 64–67
 

“Taking the lower voice of the some of the octaves in the left hand can improve accuracy and legato. Redividing the texture in m. 66 also alleviates the stretched position in the right hand.”

Submitted by Michael Clark

Published on 9/8/2023

 
Solo PianoMichael ClarkFlorence Price, Fantasie Nègre No. 2 in G Minor, Michael Clark, redistribution, split octaves, divide more evenly between hands, avoid stretch, facilitate leap, reduce position shiftsComment
RAVEL | Miroirs: Noctuelles: mm. 55–56
 
Piano fingerings for Noctuelles from Miroirs by Maurice Ravel

SPECIAL COLLECTION | Dorothy Brandwein’s Ravel Fingerings

Published on 4/22/2022 with the author’s permission

First appeared in Dorothy Woster Brandwein, "Divisi Fingering in Selected Passages from Ravel's Solo Piano Works" (DMA diss., University of Missouri–Kansas City, 1981), 79.

 
Solo Piano, Special CollectionMichael ClarkMaurice Ravel, Miroirs, Noctuelles, Dorothy Brandwein, split octaves, divide more evenly between hands, improve legato, redistributionComment
RAVEL | Miroirs: La Vallée des cloches: mm. 19–21
 
Piano fingerings for La Vallée des cloches from Miroirs by Maurice Ravel

SPECIAL COLLECTION | Dorothy Brandwein’s Ravel Fingerings

Published on 4/27/2022 with the author’s permission

First appeared in Dorothy Woster Brandwein, "Divisi Fingering in Selected Passages from Ravel's Solo Piano Works" (DMA diss., University of Missouri–Kansas City, 1981), 59, 91.

57–58: “Dividing notes between the hands in order to attain legato fingering may enhance the pianist's musical efforts…. Other measures where an octave melody may be divided between the hands are cited in Example 43. In ‘La Vallée des cloches,’ Ravel gave some indications that the octaves are to be divided; these measures are presented in the example to clarify Ravel's markings.”

 
Solo Piano, Special CollectionMichael ClarkMaurice Ravel, Miroirs, La Vallée des cloches, Dorothy Brandwein, redistribution, improve legato, improve voicing, split octavesComment