I believe it's almost impossible to define what real music is. If you try to put into words what music is trying to say, then you have words, not music. This is why I play music; I have something I believe in, something I try to communicate, but I can't put into words. So I play; it's my way of expressing what I cannot verbalize.
- Vladimir Ashkenazy
The pedal plays an important part in voicing, too. Most of the young pianists today use the pedal as a crutch. Maybe it's because they've been brought up in the automobile age, but they use the pedal on a piano as an accelerator in a cat. To use their phrase, they just "sit on it". They don't feel right unless the accelerator is constantly depressed. Consequently, you seldom hear a real legato. They playing is so notey that the new pianists cannot play a legato if they take the foot off the piano. They were not trained to play in any other fashion. They use the pedal to cover ip sins they commit because of a void in their technical facility. When the pedal is used, it should be only for shading and for accent. But a pianist should not have to depend on it.
- John Browning
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