# Can one person play piano AND sing lieder at the same time?



## Dustin (Mar 30, 2012)

Just something I was curious about here. Have any of you ever ran across an example or heard of any one person being able to play the piano and sing the lieder at the same time? It seems like this would be extremely difficult but I don't see why it couldn't be done if you were supremely talented and worked at it.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

I haven´t really come across any such recordings, at least.

Hans Eisler´s somehow transcend the category, I think ;-)


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

I might be wrong but don't classical singers usually have to be stood up in order to maximise their vocal capabilities?


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

Sure you can! They often did it this way, way back in Schubert's time! Most songs, until the 20th century was written to be performed sitting in the company of Your friends in the music room of Your house or castle. They way Lieder and songs are performed "today" are a completely artificial construct totally out of place, modern singers are generally to pampered and spoiled... 

/ptr


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## Dustin (Mar 30, 2012)

ptr said:


> Sure you can! They often did it this way, way back in Schubert's time! Most songs, until the 20th century was written to be performed sitting in the company of Your friends in the music room of Your house or castle. They way Lieder and songs are performed "today" are a completely artificial construct totally out of place, modern singers are generally to pampered and spoiled...
> 
> /ptr


Good point! I guess I totally forgot about the story of Schubert playing Winterreise to his friends and them hating it.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

ptr said:


> Sure you can! They often did it this way, way back in Schubert's time! Most songs, until the 20th century was written to be performed sitting in the company of Your friends in the music room of Your house or castle. They way Lieder and songs are performed "today" are a completely artificial construct totally out of place, modern singers are generally to pampered and spoiled...
> 
> /ptr


Fair enough - I've just googled some images of a Schubertiade to see how the company was assembled. Mind you, if I wanted to feel pampered and spoiled then I think I'd prefer to take the weight off my feet rather than stand up.


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## AST (Oct 8, 2014)

Reminds me of Jose Cura singing and conducting at the same time---at least on recordings.


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

AST said:


> Reminds me of Jose Cura singing and conducting at the same time---at least on recordings.


As do composer, conductor and chansonnier *HK Gruber*, I've seen him do this live!

/ptr


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## SimonNZ (Jul 12, 2012)

I think there are some old recordings of Reynaldo Hahn singing from the piano


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

SimonNZ said:


> I think there are some old recordings of Reynaldo Hahn singing from the piano


With a cigarette dangling from his mouth too, it's said. Now that's multitasking!

There's a YouTube video of Richard Tauber accompanying himself in Schubert's Serenade. The set features Liberace style candelabra I seem to recall, which was quite amusingly kitsch!

George Henschel always (or at least frequently?) accompanied himself singing Lieder. Not long ago my son and I were listening to him and discussing the pros and cons of self accompaniment- not that either of us has any special insights, not being musicians ourselves! Henschel had a very fine sense of rhythm which we can hear in Das Wandern, and that rhythmic sense must have had more scope and less potential complication since he was his own accompanist.

Amelita Galli Curci was a pianist before she was a singer. Did she ever accompany herself in recitals?

Jean Baptiste Faure often accompanied himself at recitals (formal ones or just for friends? I'm not sure.) and this has been used as evidence of the authenticity of the two cylinders attributed to him. Personally I wouldn't be able to tell from a sound recording, and a dodgy one at that, whether the singer was accompanying himself. If the pianist sounds better than usual, perhaps it was just a better pianist who had played for the unknown singer before and was thus well rehearsed.

This is quite an interesting topic, although I don't really know that much about it.


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## Pimlicopiano (Oct 23, 2014)

It's terribly hard to do, unless you know both parts to perfection. Well I find one's concentration get's pulled every which way and it's difficult to justice to both. The way around it is that I in addition to my Erard grand I've got one of the better Yamaha Clavinovas, and you can record the piano part while you are mumbling along to the vocal line, and then use the recording to practice your singing. I much prefer accompanying others though.


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## MoonlightSonata (Mar 29, 2014)

It's especially hard when the piano part is difficult, like in some Schubert.


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