Ian Bostridge and Julius Drake © Sim Canetty-ClarkeAccompanists need to be supremely attentive, quick-witted and calm, with an almost radar-like ability to react should your instrumentalist skip a few bars in the music or your singer omits a verse of a song. Being a brilliant concert pianist may not make you a great accompanist, where sensitivity towards the other performer and the ability to work together to support and help one another are crucial. Well, there’s a great deal more to it than that.” – Gerald Moore, acclaimed accompanist who worked with singers such as Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Elizabeth SchwarzkopfĪs Gerald Moore confirms, accompanying is a highly skilled role and some pianists make this form of collaborative work their forte, preferring it to solo work (notable British examples include Julius Drake, Roger Vignoles, Anna Tilbrook and Joseph Middleton). people think he’s there just to do what he’s told, to follow the singer through thick and thin. The most enchanting lady walks on to sing, and all the ladies look at her because of what she’s wearing, and all the men look at her because – well, all the men look at her. “I would like people to realise what extremely important people we accompanists are. Today the title “collaborative pianist” is preferable, which acknowledges the importance of the pianist as an equal partner. Even the term – “accompanist” – suggests a secondary role. Often unfairly regarded as “failed soloists”, they provide backbone to so many concerts and recitals, accompanying and supporting singers and other instrumentalists. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Gerald MoorePiano accompanists are, rather like page turners, the unsung heroes and heroines of the music world, often receiving smaller concert fees and less prominent billing than the singers and instrumentalists with whom they work.
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