The Lonely Piano

It’s always been a problem – you want to practice your piano concerto and the orchestra is away for the day, or on a break, or just not able to assemble due to the new social distancing rules. You need to practice your aria and again, no orchestra. What’s a poor performer to do?

Fortunately, there are soloist-free backing tracks that will help you through those lonely times when your orchestra is away. Think of them as ideal substitutes for the isolation of these COVID time.

Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15 (orchestral backing tracks) – I. Allegro con brio (Compagnia d’Opera Italiana Orchestra; Antonello Gotta, cond.)

Need a reminder of what your first entry should really sound like? You can get a recording with the same orchestra.

Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15 – I. Allegro con brio (Caterina Arzani, piano; Compagnia d’Opera Italiana Orchestra; Antonello Gotta, cond.)

Need to practice your aria from an opera and make sure you have the high Cs in order? There’s backing tracks for that, too.

Gaetano Donizetti: La Fille du Régiment, Act II – Cavatine: Ah! mes amis, quel jour defete … Pour mon ame (orchestral backing track) (Compagnia d’Opera Italiana Orchestra; Antonello Gotta, cond.)

And the original.

Gaetano Donizetti: La Fille du Régiment, Act II – Cavatine: Ah! mes amis, quel jour defete … Pour mon ame (Allessandro di Masi, tenorl; Compagnia d’Opera Italiana Orchestra; Antonello Gotta, cond.)

Need to menace your child into murder and the orchestra is away? There are solutions for these problems!

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute), K. 620, Act II – Der Holle Rache (orchestral backing track) (Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra; John Landor, cond.)

Unfortunately, the soprano singing The Queen of Night is straining a bit here, but you can get the idea of what you’re supposed to do.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute), K. 620, Act II – Der Holle Rache (Rachel Rosales, The Queen of Night; Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra; John Landor, cond.)

Of course, if you’re not set up as a soloist, there are other things you can get from these tracks – experience in conducting and experience in listening to what’s happening in the orchestra while the soloist is performing. These are valuable gems hidden away in the corners of the recording world.

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