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Gnomon - time to move on Started conversation Dec 8, 2008
I'd have to go along with you on this almost entirely.
I don't think I'd ever go to a concert of solo piano music. And I don't think anyone would be crazy enough to put on a concert of solo violin music. But I do enjoy the occasional solo piano piece on the radio interspersed with the heavy orchestrations of Mahler, Strauss (Richard, of course) and Wagner. Chopin has his moments.
You're right about the enjoyment of a cadenza being related to the ability to play the instrument. But you get a lot more from a cadenza at a live performance than you do just listening on a CD. You can see all the contortions the player has to do in order to play it. I remember a bit in the Alban Berg violin concerto where the player has to play a continuous tune using the bow while interspersing a pizzicato passage. This would just sound like two violins on a CD, but is amazing to watch.
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