Performing History
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PERFORMING HISTORY BACH PIANISM IN BRITAIN, 1920–35 Pierre Patrick Rancy Riley Fitzwilliam College This thesis is submitted to the University of Cambridge for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy September 2020 Declaration I hereby declare that this thesis is the result of my own work and includes nothing which is the outcome of work done in collaboration except as declared in the preface and specified in the text. It is not substantially the same as any that I have submitted, or is being concurrently submitted, for a degree, diploma or other qualification at the University of Cambridge or any other University or similar institution except as declared in the preface and specified in the text. I further state that no substantial part of my dissertation has already been submitted, or is being concurrently submitted, for any such degree, diploma or other qualification at the University of Cambridge or any other University or similar institution except as declared in the Preface and specified in the text. This thesis does not exceed the prescribed word limit set by the Degree Committee of the Faculty of Music. Abstract Performing History: Bach Pianism in Britain, – Pierre Riley The canonical repertoire of Western art music – and, by association, the pantheon of its progenitors – exists both as history and in the living, sounding present. It undergoes reinvention and renegotiation through performance and related activities, prompting reflection on how to account for its multi-faceted ontology. This study applies an array of methodologies to the task of describing and contextualising performance acts with the aim of gaining a more nuanced understanding of one repertoire in one historical time and place. The early decades of the twentieth century were a time of sustained interest in Bachʼs music in British musical culture. That interest was manifested with exceptional intensity in the performing, editing, and recording of his keyboard works by pianists. Such a range of phenomena, along with attendant discourses, reveals a historically and culturally situated portrait of the composer as he was understood in Britain between and . The research questions underlying this enquiry fall into two categories: those related to Bach, and those related to the interaction of performance and history. () How did the events of the decades preceding the s shape the way in which Bach and his keyboard works were perceived in Britain? () How, by whom, when and where were Bachʼs keyboard works performed live, recorded, edited, discussed, taught etc. in Britain during the s and s? Then, () How does this range of activity form a more broadly conceived historical narrative? () How does the historical context enrich our understanding of the performances themselves? Although it attends to performances and, more generally, to the concerns of the performer, this study is not limited to describing historically situated practices. It seeks more nuanced perspectives on issues such as wider patterns of Bach reception in the twentieth century; how canonical repertoires come to be understood, appreciated, and performed across borders and through time; and finally, how history may be written on the basis of performance events. Acknowledgements I would like to thank my parents, Dr Catherine Rancy and Dr Seán Riley CM, for all their love, encouragement, and wisdom during the journey that has led me here. The list of their gis could fill a volume of its own, but I could not have completed this project without the curiosity that they awakened in me so many years ago, or the delight that they taught me to find in learning, discovering, and doing. I would like to recognise the vital – and not always easy – role that Professor John Rink has played as my supervisor. Expert guidance, watchful oversight, and thoughtful advice should all be expected from an academic of his distinction and rank. Of these three things, he has given generously. I thank him for that, but I am especially grateful for his patience, his wit, his caring concern when I needed it, and his exacting rigor when I needed that too – all of which amount to a sincere, whole-hearted supportiveness that his mentees are very lucky to have. I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to Catherine Groom, Director of Music at Fitzwilliam College, for all her unwavering encouragement and friendship. As a professional, she sets a shining example through her tireless dedication, her generous musicianship, and most importantly the infectious joy she brings to music-making. As a friend, I cannot thank her enough for her support, trust, and care. The stimulating company of my peers at the Faculty of Music was always an invaluable learning experience as well as a great pleasure. I especially have Peter Asimov and Adam Behan to thank for their good-natured camaraderie, insightfulness, and thoughtfulness. I could not imagine a better community than Fitzwilliam College to live and work in during these years. I may struggle to say exactly how, but playing, singing, and conducting there undoubtedly transformed my thinking about what it means to perform. The Music Societyʼs convivial and adventuresome ethos made it a shared and joyous experience. I am thankful as well to all involved in the Chapel Choir for the visceral, upliing thrill of collective singing. For this and many other reasons, I owe all my friends involved in college music, past and present, my admiration, love, and gratitude. Climbing this hill in the company of so many valued peers – fellow PhD candidates in fields as diverse as English, Classics, Engineering, Mathematics, and Plant Sciences – was also a memorable privilege. I would like to thank Professor Daniel Leech-Wilkinson and Professor John Butt for the painstaking care they devoted to examining this dissertation and for the insightful, detailed advice that resulted from it. I am grateful too to Dr Ceri Owen, Professor Simon McVeigh, and Dr Martin Ennis for assessing earlier versions of this work in the context of progress reports. This work relied on the obliging assistance of many librarians and archivists. I would therefore like to recognise Dr Michael Mullen, of the Royal College of Music, London; Martin Holmes, of the Bodleian Libraries, Oxford; and Gilles Bertrand, Alexandra Clemence, and Suzanne Lemaire, of the Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa. I am thankful too to Dr Nicholas Morgan for helping me track down the names of critics who signed in initials or pseudonyms throughout the s, a task that I could not have accomplished without his depth of experience. I am honoured to have been the recipient of a Doctoral Fellowship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. I also owe an immense debt of gratitude to the McCall–MacBain Foundation for their generous financial support throughout my studies. This dissertation was finalised during the COVID- pandemic. These months could not have been such a productive period without the companionship and solidarity of those who stayed locked down at Fitzwilliam College. I am grateful to the Master, The Baroness Morgan of Huyton, the Senior Tutor, Dr Paul Chirico, the MCR committee, the porters, and all the staff at Fitzwilliam College for their tireless efforts to make the situation as liveable as possible. I owe thanks and praise to the guardian angels who looked aer me during two periods of compulsory self-isolation in September and January : Maurits Houck, Robert Nicholas, Sylwia Kowalska, and Michael Fan. Cambridge Spring This doctoral dissertation is supported in part by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Note on the Text Unless otherwise specified in the caption or a footnote, musical quotations and examples in this dissertation are made to reflect the early twentieth centuryʼs understanding of Bachʼs text and follow the two scholarly editions that defined it at the time: the Bach Gesellschaʼs edition and Hans Bischoffʼs complete edition of the keyboard works (see under ʻScoresʼ in the Bibliography). Every effort has been made to indicate cases where the two diverge. The now familiar Bach Werke Verzeichnis catalogue did not exist yet, but, privileging the avoidance of ambiguity over historical usage, I give BWV catalogue numbers editorially. Where spellings or designations are idiosyncratic in the original sources, e.g. non- standard German usage in nineteenth-century sources, they are given unaltered. Finally, many German-born figures who lived in Britain, such as Edward Dannreuther or Charles Frederick Horn, were oen better known under the anglicised form of their names (as opposed to ʻEduardʼ or ʻKarl Friedrichʼ). These are therefore employed here. Table of Contents Declaration 3 Abstract 4 Acknowledgements 5 Note on the Text 8 Introduction 11 . Performance and Pluralism in History 24 . Johann / John Sebastian 49 Bach Reception in Britain and Cross-Channel Relationships . The Kantor in the West End 84 Harold Samuelʼs Bach Weeks . Mixing and Matching 115 Editing for/as Performance . Bach at the Birth of Gramophone Culture 151 . Identity Parade 179 Seven Recordings of the Prelude in C-sharp major . Three British Bach Pianists on Record 221 Cohen, Howard-Jones, and Samuel . History and Pluralism in Performance 262 Appendices . London Performances of Selected Bach Keyboard Works 278 . Known Repertoire Choices from the Bach Weeks 292 . Milestones of the Early Bach Discography 295 . Recordings Heard in the Gramophone Societies 298 . Score of the Prelude in C-sharp major BWV 302 . Full-Page Figures for Chapter 304 . Full-Page Figures for Chapter 336 Bibliography 347 Scores 363 Discography: CD Reissues 364 Streaming Links 365 Introduction The performers known as ʻclassical musiciansʼ tend to be the products – or the survivors – of years of rigorous training. In any case, they are assumed to possess a suitably vast experience of their cra. Surely, common wisdom would tell us, when they do something, they have a good reason.