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Views from the Choir Loft

Concerning “Finger Flapping”

Jeff Ostrowski · June 7, 2013

S I HAVE SAID in the past, I find it extremely difficult to write blogs about the great pianists. Every time I sit down to post a blog, I fail. Why do I fail? Because once I start selecting excerpts, I get really excited. I listen to piece after piece, saying, “Oh, I just have to talk about this.” Then I say, “Wow, this is the greatest. Oh, except for that one. Oops, I guess this one is the best. Oh, I can’t forget this other section.” By the time I’m finished, I end up not posting a single thing, because I feel “guilty” not posting a billion other fantastic, unbelievable, magnificent excerpts. It’s quite frustrating.

A Franciscan priest used to tell us, “The problem with some of these young priests is that every time they preach a sermon they feel compelled to tell the congregation everything they know.”

Therefore, I will try to do a better job in the future when it comes to the great pianists. I will attempt to “contain myself” and not feel compelled to share “everything I know” in each blog post. But just know this: there’s a ton more awesome stuff out there!

HOSE OF US who have spent our entire lives being obsessed with the Golden Age Pianists know that there is so much to “listen for.” We listen to the same masterpieces over and over again, always finding new things which amaze us. “Oh, listen to what he does with the left hand here,” we say. “Oh, listen to how she shapes this long phrase,” we say. And so on and so forth.

What I find hilarious is listening to the really great masters. On the one hand, they’re supreme musicians (not just technicians): musicians of the highest order. On the other hand, their fingers can blow every other “finger flapper” out of the water, even when they’re old! I love thinking about how every young pianist in the world can sit in front of a piano for a billion hours, yet never play thirds as fast or as clear as, say, Josef Lhevinne. Notice that I said “clear.” It’s not just about speed. It’s also about articulation.

Let’s start with a little excerpt by Josef Hofmann. Hofmann was being recorded live (as he almost always was) celebrating 50 years since his debut. The guy had already stopped practicing 30 years ago, mainly so he could focus on his inventions (he had many patents to his name, several of them of epic importance to the world). Yet listen to how he can still play left hand passages faster than every youngster in the world (toward the end of the excerpt):

      * *  Excerpt: Rubinstein Concerto “live” [Mp3]

By the way, you probably noticed that Fritz Reiner’s orchestra was (oddly) not even close to staying together.

OK, let’s consider another example. Listen to how Hofmann’s supreme fingers allow him to not use pedal, where almost every other pianist would:

      * *  Excerpt: Chopin Polonaise “live” [Mp3]

For the record, that’s the first time that passage appears. Each time it reoccurs, he grows stronger and more powerful. By the final repeat, he actually does use more pedal in that section. Hofmann was quite an “architect” when it comes to the overall shape of the piece. The elderly Hofmann does the same thing in his “live” recording of the Waldstein Sonata. Each time the theme returns, he adds more pedal and grows stronger (using other effects). Here’s the very first time the section appears, and note how very little pedal is used:

      * *  Hofmann “live” Waldstein (Last Movement) [Mp3]

Not bad for a guy who stopped practicing thirty years prior! Nice left hand! I’ve been talking about this very thing (and, indeed, showing people excerpts about this) since I was about 10 years old, and it’s still amazing. Harold Schonberg was right when he talked about the fact that all other pianists sound “thick” compared to Hofmann. For another example, just listen to the elderly Hofmann play this cadenza:

      * *  Excerpt: Beethoven Concerto “live” [Mp3]

When Horowitz was “on,” he was doubtless up there with the very best of them, musically and as a technician. I laugh when people say, “Horowitz was a great technician, but he wasn’t a true musician, like Claudio Arrau.” I laugh when I hear such nonsense. Arrau was a nothing, a nobody, a small person compared to Horowitz as a technician and a musician. Recordings prove this to anybody who cares to listen. By the way, speaking of Horowitz the technician, here’s Vladimir proving that his repeated notes are faster and more articulate than all the young “finger flappers” combined:

      * *  Excerpt: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 “live” [Mp3]

Finally, listen to how even after 50 years before the public, Hofmann can still “storm the gates” with the best of them:

      * *  Excerpt: Concerto by Hofmann’s Master “live” [Mp3]

Uh oh. It’s happening again. There is so much more I want to share . . . sonatas, nocturnes, more concerti, ballades . . . I better stop for now. But, God willing, I will have an opportunity to share much, much more soon!

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Josef Hofmann Pianist Extraordinaire Last Updated: June 13, 2020

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About Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Michigan. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “What Martin Luther Said…”
    My pastor asked me to write little columns for the bulletin each week. The article for 20 July 2025 has been posted, and it’s called: “What Luther Said…” Martin Luther (an ex-priest and apostate) was an infamous heretic whose ignorance of JESUS CHRIST was only exceeded by his filthy and disgusting vulgarity.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 15th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (13 July 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and propers for this Sunday are also provided at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    This coming Sunday—13 July 2025—is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). All the chants have been conveniently assembled and posted at the feasts website. The OFFERTORY, Ad Te Levávi, is particularly beautiful.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

“A theologian who does not love art, poetry, music and nature can be dangerous since blindness and deafness toward the beautiful are not incidental: they are necessarily reflected in his theology.”

— Josef Cardinal Ratzinger (Interview, 1985)

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