I had the great privilege of spending one hour being coached by Dalton Baldwin (1931–2019), one of the world’s great accompanists. He not only played the piano like a god, but he was an excellent teacher of the nuances of vocal literature. He coached me on the beautiful Berlioz song cycle, “Les Nuits d’été.” As a dedicated, but unknown singer, I feared his demeanor would be professional but indifferent. The opposite was true. His immediate absorption of the essence of my voice and singing was stunning, his teaching, profound.
Make no mistake, a good accompanist does far, far more than just play all the right notes. The best of them have an intimate, thorough knowledge of the musical repertoire being performed, the ability of the singer or instrumental soloist they are accompanying, and the laser focus and skill to adapt tempo, dynamics, and tone color to what that soloist is doing, even if it’s a surprise.
