It was very generous of Scott to post his keyboard accompaniment for THE SWAN but there are a couple of things people should be aware of if they are going to use it for theremin practice or performance.
First of all, there are some odd tempo and timing choices in the interpretation. You will notice that the phrasing seems to hesitate at the end of each bar. I'm not sure why this happens. It might be an attempt at "rubato" but it doesn't seem to move with the feel of the music. It's almost as if the accompaniment gets stuck on each bar and then awkwardly lurches forward. It seems to stumble rather than flow.
Certainly rubato is in order for this piece but the accompaniment should be like ripples on the smooth water of a pond as the solo instrument (the swan) moves majestically across its surface.
This is not helped by the second problem with the track. It was recorded using a keyboard that was not touch sensitive, so all the notes throughout the piece are the same "mezzo forte" volume level. There is no expression, so there is a kind of "mechanical" feeling to the sound.
Yes, I know, you only want to use the track for practice at home, but you should be aware that you are practicing more than the notes. If you use this track you are practicing its phrasing, its "feel", as well. Its all a matter of personal taste. If it is to your liking, then no problemo.
Here is a video of Russian ballerina Maya Plisetskaya dancing The (dying) Swan to a beautiful cello & harp rendition of the piece. I saw Plisetskaya dance this at the old Metropolitan Opera in New York City in 1965. A friend of mine was playing violin in the orchestra and managed to sneak me into the theater backstage. At the time, Plisetskaya was the prima ballerina of the Bolshoi and even though I was not a great fan of ballet, seeing her "up close & personal" was thrilling. The audience loved her so much they would not stop applauding and yelling "Bis! Bis!" (Again! Again!) until she had danced the same piece a second time!
I remember the smell of her as she swept past me in the wings. It was a strange, and compellingly delicious combination of perfume and sweat. I was GAGA!!
The Dying Swan (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWYYQN-6tJg)
Just a little footnote. Plisetskaya's family suffered greatly at the hands of the Russian dictator and mass-murderer, Stalin. Her father was executed and her mother, like Leon Theremin, was sent to a gulag.
