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Home , Andreas Scholl, Arnold Dolmetsch, Early music festivals, Early music revival, Malcolm Bilson, Musica Florea

Historical Performance Practice at the beginning of the new millennium

Dorottya Fabian

An interest in and performing practices of the past has a long history by now. Its characteristics in the nineteenth century have been mapped by several authors, especially in relation to the revival of ’s music, the Cecilian Movement and various musical developments in England. Even more pub- lications are available on its twentieth-century history.1 The initiatives during the early decades (e.g. the organ and recorder movements of the 1920s, the establish- ing of the Schola Cantorum in in 1933) and the contribution of pioneers like Wanda Landowska and have been extensively studied togeth- er with lesser-known figures, places and institutions.2 But as is well-known, it was during the second half of the twentieth century that the Early Music or Historically Informed Performance Movement has truly taken off, becoming a major force in the world of . Many books and papers have been dedicated to the history of this development, its various phases, musical characteristics, key figures, aesthetic outlook and philosophical assumptions, and its achievements. There was a burgeon- ing of such literature and heated debates during the 1980s and 1990s followed by more comprehensive and ‘corrective’ analyses published during the early years of the 2000s, most focussing on the second half of the twentieth century.3 Much less has

1 Harry Haskell, The – A History, 1988; George B. Stauffer, Changing Issues of Performance Practice, in: John Butt (Hg.), Cambridge Companion to Bach, Cambridge 1997, S. 203–217; Martin Zenck, Reinterpreting Bach in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, in: John Butt (Hg.), Cambridge Companion to Bach, Cambridge 1997, S. 226–250; Edward Dannreuter, Musical Ornamentation, London 1893. 2 Denise Restout and Robert Hawkins (Hg.), Landowska on Music, New York 1964, R1981; Howard Schott, Wanda Landowska – A Centenary appraisal, in: Early Music 7/4 (1979), S. 467–472; Hans Oesch, Die Musik-Akademie der Stadt Basel, Basel 1967; Margaret Campbell, Dolmetsch: The Man and His Work, London–Seattle 1975; Peter Williams, The idea ofBewegung in the German Organ Reform Movement of the 1920s, in: Bryan Gilliam (Hg.), Music and Performance during the Republic, Cambridge 1994 (= Cambridge Studies in Performance Practice 3), S. 135–153. 3 Jolande van der Klis, Oude muziek in Nederland – Het verhaal van de pioniers 1900–1975, Utrecht 1991; Ludwig Hartmann, Geschichte der historischen Aufführungspraxis in Grundzügen Teil I: Von den Anfängen bis Harnoncourt, 1988; Robert Strobl, Geschichte der historischen Aufführungspraxis in Grundzügen Teil II: Von 1970–1990, Regensburg 1992; Nicholas Kenyon 132 Dorottya Fabian

been written about what has happened since.4 What was the impact of all that ac- tivity and debate? How have attitudes evolved in the aftermath and where are things now, towards the end of the second decade of the twenty-first century? In this paper I will attempt to sketch an answer to these questions. It will only be a quick snapshot of a few issues and examples for the field has broadened both in terms of repertoire and global reach. It would be foolish to think a single person in a single short paper could give it justice.

Institutional changes: The internationalization of HIP (Historically Informed Performance)

One clearly noticeable difference between now and the 1980s is the proliferation of tertiary level music departments specializing in historical performance, in training instrumentalists playing period instruments. During the twentieth century there were few conservatoria where musicians could focus on developing period instru- mental techniques and an understanding of period aesthetics. Apart from the Scho- la Cantorum in Basel (Switzerland) and the summer school / festival in (Surrey, UK) there was hardly anywhere else a budding instrumentalist could go for formal training or master classes until such departments opened in and The Hague Conservatory () during the latter part of the 1970s. Around the same time Thomas Binkley established the Early Music Institute at Indiana Uni- versity, Bloomington, USA (1979). Even the learning of the was rarely available and often not as a primary instrument, let alone period versions of string, wind and brass instruments or vocal coaching. Today such programs are much more readily available across Europe (e.g. the Institute of Early Music and Performance Practice at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz and similar depart- ments in Bremen, Köln, , and elsewhere), although some were established as late as 2006 (Salzburg Institut für Musikalische Rezeptions- und Interpretationsge­ schichte). This growth is not limited to the ‘old’ Continent. Early Music departments are mushrooming in the Antipodes (e.g. Melbourne, led by Erin Helyard and David

(Hg.), Authenticity and Early Music, Oxford 1988; Bernard D. Sherman (Hg.), Inside Early Music: Conversations with Performers, New York 1997; Dorottya Fabian, Bach Performance Practice 1945–1975: A Comprehensive Review of Literature and Sound Recordings, Aldershot 2003; John Butt, Playing with History: The Historical Approach to Musical Performance, Cambridge 2002; , The End of Early Music. A Period Performer’s History of Music for the Twenty-First Century, New York 2007; and innumerable other articles and chapters in books. 4 For instance, Claudio Bacciagaluppi, Historical Performance, Past and Present, in: Early Music, 40/1 (2012), S. 161–163; Nick Wilson, The Art of Re-enchantment. Making Early Music in the Modern Age, New York 2014. Historical Performance Practice 133

Irving) and even ‘bastions of tradition’ in the New World have come on board, as an advertisement of The Juilliard School of Music demonstrates:

Juilliard Historical Performance, the school’s graduate-level, full-tuition scholarship pro- gram for early music, enters its seventh performance season with a full schedule of concerts, tours, residencies, and master classes anchored by performances from its primary period-in- strument ensemble, Juilliard415, along with its faculty ensemble Juilliard , and a roster of distinguished guests artists.5

These developments show the success of the movement; that from a position of ‘ex- perimental, begrudged alternative’ it gained mainstream status. The commercial suc- cess of its pioneers during the last quarter of the twentieth century together with coaching ‘pockets’ and doctoral programs formed around key instrumentalists, e.g. Malcolm Bilson () at , Gustav Leonhardt (harpsichord), Frans Bruggen (recorder/), Anner Bylsma () and the Kuijken brothers (vi- olin, flute, viola da gamba/cello) in The Hague, have created demand and paved the way for the younger generation to establish further ensembles, festivals and training opportunities all over the world. While earlier histories of the movement could focus on England and a few countries of Western Europe, now there are such musicians and activities everywhere from the Bach Collegium Japan, to The Brandenburg Orchestra in Australia, Il Giardino Armonico in Italy, Le Concert des Nations in Spain, The Dunedin Consort in Scottland, La Tempesta in Poland, Hortus Musicus from Esto- nia, Musica Florea in , Capella Savaria in Hungary, or Música Ficta in Bogota, as well as dozens of others in the US, Canada, Australia and all over Europe (see list of early music ensembles in en.wikipedia.org, for example). Importantly, there are many ensembles that specialize in vocal and/or instru- mental music from earlier and later periods or specific genres, like the string quartet (e.g. Quatuor Mosaïques) or Gregorian chant (e.g. Anonymous 4). The 1990s also saw the rising stars of counter-tenors like Andreas Scholl, bringing the professional standards in this vocal ‘Fach’ to ever new heights and enabling the luminous musical quality of soundtracks in films likeFarinelli (sung by Derek Lee Ragin and soprano Ewa Malas-Godlewska in a digitally combined voice).6 Of these specializations the inroads into nineteenth-century performance practice and historically informed ba- roque productions seem important to single out as these represent the latest experimentations and I will return to these in the second half of the paper where I discuss stylistic developments.

5 Anonymous Advert, in: School Band and Orchestra 18/8 (2015 August), S. 13. 6 One of the current counter-tenor superstars, Philippe Jaroussky, was 16 years old when the film was made in 1994. 134 Dorottya Fabian

The institutionalization of HIP also fostered increasingly detailed research and scholarship. The considerable academic literature produced during the 1950s to 1980s period provided basic information through translations of the most import- ant treatises and instrumental tutors and through ‘readers’ that summarized issues regarding performance parameters like rhythm, articulation, ornamentation, tem- po, expression and so on, at times offering collated citations from relevant historical sources.7 Since the 1990s many more treatises became available in modern editions and English translations and Cambridge University Press issued several books dedi- cated to early instruments and various performance matters.8 Importantly, students in doctoral programs have explored a myriad of additional issues from for Mozart’s Concerto for Bassoon, KV 191 (186e) to laryngeal height in vocal treatises.9 Database searches bring up a staggering array of fascinating studies. The practical im- plementations of findings have propelled interpretative styles forward. When thinking of institutional developments one should not forget the role of instrument museums, makers and trade shows. Collections are increasingly displayed with audio guides and live presentations that allow visitors to hear the sound of ex- hibited instruments and the music that was composed for or played on them (e.g. Musical Instruments Museum , Bach-Haus Eisenach). Internet search brings up dozens of highly skilled craftsmen making all sorts of instruments and accesso- ries according to varied specifications showing the increasing opportunity to have a highly specialist collection of , oboes, , , , bas- soons, and all to suite particular repertoires whether you live in Europe, North America, Australia or Japan. Various dedicate time and space for workshops and trade shows unlike during the old years when such events were rare and the availability and quality of instruments restricted. Information about histor- ical instruments is also much more readily available. For instance, Martha Clink- scale’s ground-breaking research into early pianos10 has been developed into an online

7 For instance, Robert Donington, The Interpretation of Early Music, London 1989 (2nd ed: 1965; rev.1974, reprinted with corrections 1975, 1977, rev. 1989, R1990); Frederick Neumann, Ornamentation in Baroque and Post-, Princeton 1978; Idem, Performance Practices of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, New York 1993; Stephen Hefling,Rhythmic Alteration in Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century Music, New York 1993. 8 For instance, volumes in the Cambridge Handbook series: Colin Lawson and Robin Stowell, The Historical Performance of Music: An Introduction, Cambridge 1999; Robin Stowell, The Early and Viola: A Practical Guide, Cambridge 2001; Rachel Brown, The Early Flute: A Practical Guide, Cambridge 2002. 9 Stacey L. Helley, Laryngeal Height as Seen in Modern and Historical Vocal Treatises, and Instructional Literature on Historical Performance Practice, Master’s Thesis (Master of Arts in Early Music Performance), University of Southern California 2015; Sarah Anne Wildey, Historical Performance Practice in Cadenzas for Mozart’s Concerto for Bassoon, K. 191 (186e), Doctor of Musical Arts Thesis, University of Iowa, 2012. 10 Martha Novak Clinkscale, Makers of the Piano 1700–1820, Oxford 1993; Idem, Makers of the Piano Vol. 2. 1820–1860, Oxford 1999. Historical Performance Practice 135 database containing information on over 7000 pianos built between 1700 and 1860 (http://earlypianos.org/). There are also more frequent international conferences dedicated to the topic of musical instruments.

Performers and styles

While specialization gained momentum and increased institutional support which led to higher standards of instruments and instrumental technique, this ‘industrial scale’ also re-enforced a standardization of what came to be called the HIP style. The characteristics of it have been mapped by several authors, some framing their obser- vations in more neutral terms than others.11 Speaking very generally, in performances of contemporary period specialists, baroque music sounds closely articulated, gestural and governed by harmony and pulse rather than long-spun melodies arching in tem- po and dynamics. In fast movements there is little variation of basic tempo or slowing for cadences. The dynamics tend to be uniform (except for echo effects) and accenting fairly regular but making the underlying dance character or harmonic-metric struc- ture clear. In slow movements rhythm is more flexible, especially the smaller values that are shaped as ornamental groups of notes. Accordingly, dynamics are also more nuanced and fleeting, with lots of chiaroscuro effects. The HIP style is in fact so clear- ly theorized and delineated in practice that many non-specialist musicians, especially violinists, have adopted elements of it when performing baroque music (e.g. Viktoria Mullova, Rachel Barton Pine, Isabelle Faust, ). My recently completed study of recordings of Bach’s Six Solos for Unaccompanied Violin made during the last 35 years showed an interesting trajectory of practice.12 After only three recordings of the Solos on period violin until the mid-1990s (the first by Ser- giu Luca in 1977, then by Sigiswald Kuijken in 1981 and Jaap Schröder in 1985), during the second half of the 1990s recordings of the works were made primarily by HIP spe- cialists until about 2005 (Table 1). Since then, there seems to be a fairly equal balance among recordings on period and modern violins. It needs to be pointed out, however, that several non-specialist violinists have been using period bows since the mid-2000s and even the playing of several others who use modern bows sounds strongly influenced by the precepts of HIP. All this results in a plurality of style that negates categorization and begs for a more nuanced approach focussed on individual difference.

11 Richard Taruskin, Text and Act: Essays on Music and Performance, New York 1995; Lawson and Stowell, The Historical Performance of Music; Butt, Playing with History; Fabian, Bach performance Practice; Haynes, The End of Early Music. 12 Dorottya Fabian, A of Performance: Theory and Method based on Bach’s Solos for Violin, Cambridge 2015, http://www.openbookpublishers.com/product/346/ (14.07.2017). 136 Dorottya Fabian

Figure 1 shows the summary results of an extensive subjective coding of the stud- ied recordings. I rated a standard list of performance features (e.g. articulation, phras- ing, projection of rhythm, bowing, delivery of multiple stops, vibrato, ornamentation, dynamics, tempo rubato etc.) in each movement in each recording on a 1–10 scale and then averaged these for a value on each scale for each recording. These values were added up to arrive at a ‘Modern’ and ‘HIP’ overall score for each recording and are shown in the chart. We can see that the earlier recordings, especially those made by older violinists score higher on the modern performance features (e.g. Oscar Shumsky, Ruggiero Ricci, Itzhak Perlman, ). However, there are also young violinists making recordings around the turn of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries who adhere to this tradition and score low on HIP characteristics (James Ehnes, , Julia Fischer, Sergey Khachatryan). It is also interesting to note that the HIP scores of some period specialists are quite low (e.g. Sigiswald Kuijken, Jaap Schröder, Brian Brooks) while non-specialist violinists using (or not) period bows achieve high HIP scores (Viktoria Mullova, Isabelle Faust, Benjamin Schmid, Ilya Gringolts – who at the time of recording was considered non-specialist).

Table 1. Commonly mentioned recordings of Bach’s Solos for Violin made between 1977 and 2012

Violinist Rec. Date Comment Luca, Sergiu 1977 specialist Shumsky, Oscar 1979 issued in 1983 Kremer, Gidon 1980 Kuijken, Sigiswald 1982 specialist Zehetmair, Thomas 1983 Mintz, Shlomo 1984 Schröder, Jaap 1985 specialist Perlman, Itzhak 1986 Mullova, Viktoria 1987 only Bm Partita Ricci, Ruggiero 1988–91 Mullova, Viktoria 1992–3 only the Partitas Tetzlaff, Christian 1994 Huggett, Monica 1995 specialist Buswell, James 1989 issued in 1995 Historical Performance Practice 137

Violinist Rec. Date Comment Poulet, Gérard 1996 Van Dael, Lucy 1996 specialist Gähler, Rudolf 1997 curved bow Wallfisch, Elizabeth 1997 specialist Hahn, Hillary 1997 only CM, Dm, EM Podger, Rachel 1998 specialist Barton Pine, Rachel 1999 period bow, concert Ehnes, James 1999 Poppen, Christoph 2000 period bow, only Dm Schmid, Benjamin 2000 Kuijken, Sigiswald 2001 specialist Szenthelyi, Miklós 2001 Lev, Lara 2001 only CM, Dm, EM Brooks, Brian 2001 specialist Matthews, Ingrid 1997 issued in 2001; specialist Gringolts, Ilya 2001 HIP influenced, only Am, Bm, EM Holloway, John 2004 specialist Barton Pine, Rachel 2004 period bow, only Dm & Gm Kremer, Gidon 2005 Tognetti, Richard 2005 period bow Tetzlaff, Christian 2005 Fischer, Julia 2005 St. John, Lara 2007 Beznosiuk, Pavlo 2007 specialist Barton Pine, Rachel 2007 period bow, concert Ibragimova, Alina 2008 specialist Mullova, Viktoria 2008 period bow Faust, Isabelle 2010 HIP influenced Khachatryan, Sergey 2010 138 Dorottya Fabian

Violinist Rec. Date Comment Busch, Christine 2011 specialist Montanari, Stefano 2012 specialist

Figure 1. Percentage of modernist/mainstream (MSP) versus historically informed (HIP) stylistic characteristics in forty-two recordings of Bach’s Solos for Violin made between 1977 and 2013. Scoring is based on repeated aural analysis of features such as phrasing, articulation, bowing, delivery of multiple stops, ornamentation, rhythm, dynamics, tone, and tempo rubato. The chronological order of recording dates/issue roughly reflects the age of violinists as well (from older to younger, clockwise). Historical Performance Practice 139

The diversity also shows up in the increasingly common practice to add embellish- ments during repeats in slow and dance movements, for instance the two Sarabandes, the Andante of the A minor Sonata or the Loure, Gavotte and Minuet movements of the E Major Partita.13 However, so far I have heard added ornamentations in the opening Adagios and Grave or the Fugue moments only in Stefano Montanari’s re- cording. Many specialists (e.g. Beznosiuk, Holloway, Matthews) are more reserved in adding ornaments than the non-specialists who espouse HIP (e.g. Mullova, Faust). For instance, the otherwise eminently HIP recording of Christine Busch (2011) has a somewhat lower actual score than expected because of minimal added ornaments and even fewer embellishments. In terms of percentages of HIP and MSP points her recording is of course still very strongly in the HIP realm. A similar diversity may not be so prevalent in later repertoires, such as works from the classical period even though there are increasing opportunities to develop late eighteenth-century improvisation techniques, such as the course run by David Dolan at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London or master classes by Robert Levin at Harvard and elsewhere.14 My cursory study of Mozart recordings (violin sonatas and concertos) from past decades shows greater homogeneity and a fairly standardized approach. After Sergiu Luca and Malcolm Bilson’s ground-break- ing recordings of the Sonatas on the Nonesuch label during the early 1990s nothing particularly different has come to my attention. Phrasing is more locally nuanced, bowing is shorter and less sustained, dissonances (appoggiaturas) are more empha- sized, vibrato is limited and narrow or completely absent, but ornamentation is rarely added. The parts tend to be well coordinated with little venturing into free localised rubato that allows the melody to emancipate itself from the accompaniment, the kind of way we can see notated in some contemporary sources or what seems to be implied in Mozart’s score of the F Major Sonata’s Adagio movement (KV 30, composed in 1766).15 My attempt to find how far classical HIP has progressed in interpretations of the A Major Concerto KV 219 by Mozart brought similar results. The clean, light, neatly articulated Mozart style established already by Walter Gieseking, Géza Anda,

13 Dorottya Fabian, Ornamentation in Recent Recordings of J. S. Bach’s Solo Sonatas and Partitas for Violin, in: Min-Ad: Israeli Studies in Musicology Online 11/2 (2013), S. 1–21, http://www.biu. ac.il/hu/mu/min-ad/ (14.07.2017); Fabian, A Musicology of Performance. 14 See David Dolan’s website, http://www.david-dolan.com/ or his papers, David Dolan, Back to the Future: Towards the Revival of Extemporisation in Classical Music Performance, in: George Odam and Nicholas Bannan (Hg.), The Reflective Conservatoire: Studies in Music Education, Aldershot 2005, S. 73–136; David Dolan, John Sloboda, Henrik J. Jensen, Björn Crüts and Eugene Feygelson, The Improvisatory Approach to Classical Music Performance: An Empirical Investigation into its Characteristics and Impact, in: Music Performance Research 6 (2013), S. 1–38. See also Robert Levin’s lectures and lecture recitals on , especially: Improvising Mozart: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkFdAigjmLA (30.03.2017). 15 Richard Hudson, Stolen Time: The History of Rubato, Oxford 1994. 140 Dorottya Fabian

Clara Haskil (piano), Arthur Grumiaux (violin), and others seems to reign on. Nei- ther nor Andrew Manze, for instance, provides radically dif- ferent readings from, say, Richard Tognetti, Tobias Feldmann, or Rachel Barton Pine although they all sound more HIP than Hilary Hahn, one of the most traditionalist violinists among the younger generation currently on the international concert stage. There might be less vibrato in one and a little more tempo variation in the other but essentially, they sound fairly similar not just to each-other but also to how Mozart’s music has been interpreted for decades. If one turns to piano repertoire the situation is somewhat similar, at least at a superficial glance. The growth in recordings on fortepiano during the 1990s of both the concertos and sonatas of the Viennese classics seems to have faded somewhat and younger non-specialist pianists continue the paths paved by their ‘classic’ forebears like , Sviatoslav Richter, Martha Argerich and the likes. The exciting ex- periments from the 1990s documented on recordings by Malcolm Bilson (Mozart Sonatas on Hungaroton [1988–1990] and Concertos with on Archiv [1991]) and his students, Tom Beghin, David Breitman, Ursula Dütschler, Zvi Meniker, Bart van Oort and Andrew Willis (Beethoven’s complete Piano sona- tas, on Claves [1997]), or Robert Levin (Beethoven Five Piano Concertos, on Archiv [1996–98]) seem to have standardized without significant changes in live perfor- mances, master classes and public lectures, as the many videos on youtube testify.16 It is still more the repertoire – or the technology of presentation – that is expanding, occasionally bringing about noticeable changes in performance style, e.g. Christine Schornsheim’s recordings of Haydn’s keyboard sonatas (Capriccio 2005) compared to Tom Beghin’s The Virtual Haydn project (Naxos 2011) as well as the many per- formances of works by Philip Emmanuel Bach, Hummel, Clementi and many lesser known composers.17 The area where exciting, if perhaps isolated, new initiatives are currently devel- oping is nineteenth-century . While earlier attempts of HIP in per- formances of nineteenth-century works seem to have imposed eighteenth-century

16 The discrepancy between specialist performers’ playing style and the evidence of nineteenth-cen- tury practice has been outlined by Clive Brown, Performing 19th-Century Chamber Music: The Yawning Chasm between Contemporary Practice and Historical Evidence, in: Early Music 38 (2010), S. 476–480. See also Clive Brown, Rediscovering the Language of Classical and Romantic Performance, in: Early Music 41 (2013), S. 72–74. 17 The official blurb for Beghin’sVirtual Haydn box reads: “Tom Beghin, on 7 historical keyboards in 9 virtual rooms, plays as his sounds are captured and mixed with reverberation responses identical to those of the actual location – all recorded using the application of Virtual Acoustics. Twelve CDs con- tain fifteen hours of music, and an additional DVD offers three hours of video, including a ‘making of ’ documentary. As an exciting extra feature, the user may freely navigate from one room to the next, or from one instrument to another, mixing, matching and comparing the performance of a short piece for musical clock, for a total of 7 x 9 possible combinations”. Historical Performance Practice 141 aesthetics on Brahms, for example – and here I’m thinking of recordings of his sym- phonies by , among others – now there are musicians who em- brace a very different attitude to resurrecting practices we can hear on early sound recordings made by artists born and trained well within the Romantic century. In England David Milsom has been experimenting with implementing bowing, finger- ing and portamento practice evidenced in early recordings and historical editions of Brahms’ violin sonatas. In Rachel Barton Pine recorded works regularly per- formed by her nineteenth-century compatriot, the virtuoso violinist (1867–1920). She used Powell’s recordings and scores during the preparatory process. In this tribute (An American Virtuosa, Cedille Records 2007) Barton Pine resurrects several expressive traits common at the time, especially the use of frequent sliding between notes and the more selective and varied use of vibrato. Her accompanist sounds less prepared to emulate historical conventions. There is no arpeggiation of chords, for instance, and the ensemble is precise and well-coordinated throughout. A more comprehensive approach to recreating nineteenth-century performance con- ventions is being developed by the Sydney-based chamber ensemble Ironwood, led by fortepianist-harpsichordist Neal Peres Da Costa. Their aim is to not shy away from aspects of practice that fundamentally provokes our current aesthetic sensibilities: a-synchrony among ensemble members and/or between melody and accompaniment, wayward tempo fluctuations, frequent arpeggiation of chords, non-uniform bowing/ articulation of similar musical phrases (whether in parallel or sequential context) and prominent, clearly audible use of sliding. Their performances are based on Peres Da Costa’s scholarly work on piano rolls, early recordings and nineteenth-century edi- tions18 and the results can be heard in their recording of Brahms’s Piano Quartet and Piano Quintet (ABC Classics 2016). It will be interesting to follow the evolution of their style as they become more and more comfortable and experienced with adopting these by-gone mannerisms to their own aesthetic ideals. Another important development is occurring in opera performances. While ear- lier it was the revival of repertoire that was the focus, first of works by Monteverdi and his contemporaries then of the French baroque and lesser known eigh- teenth-century works, nowadays there are more frequent attempts at also recreating historical staging practices. This enables ‘dual HIP’ rather than a dichotomy between the musical and the theatrical side of production, when the former follows HIP prin- ciples while the latter exhibits postmodern tendencies.19 One of the centres of histor-

18 Neal Peres Da Costa, Off the Record: Performing Practices in Romantic Piano Playing, New York 2012. See also the critical editions of Brahms’ violin, viola and clarinet sonatas (co-edited with Clive Brown for Bärenreiter Verlag 2016). 19 Richard Taruskin, Setting Limits, in: Idem, The Danger of Music and Other Anti-Utopian Essays, Berkeley 2009, S. 447–465; Holly Champion, Dramaturgical Analysis of Opera Performance: Four Recent Productions of Dido and Aeneas, PhD Dissertation, The University of New South Wales 2016. 142 Dorottya Fabian

ically informed opera productions is the biennial Early . Their aim has been to put to practice “the latest information on period singing, orchestral per- formance, costuming, dance, and staging”.20 Online video clips attest to their increas- ing success in achieving this goal, even allowing for contemporary audience behaviour to re-surface as when spontaneous clapping is heard at particular moments during an aria or scene.21 Another important development is the staging in historically appro- priate venues. Apart from the famous eighteenth-century theatre in Drottningholm, , nowadays there are many more period opera theatres, large and small, some attached to aristocratic palaces, restored to functionality where performances take place during festivals or more regularly. To conclude this short and necessarily skating overview the shift towards a more subjective approach has to be noted. Since the late 1990s there has been a mellow- ing of rhetoric, of dogmatic references to rules and historical ‘facts’. Musicians can now choose whether to be prioritizing knowledge of period, composer, place or the historical circumstances of composition and/or first performance – or to pick and choose freely from any of these resources. During the past two, three decades they have been asserting their right to interpret the music, the notation, the sources; to be entertainers and co-creators, not just ‘transmitters of dead composers’ un-know- able intentions.22 Some people lament this and focus instead on the justifiable claim that “many choices are dictated (even against better knowledge, i.e. against historical evidence) by economic constraints”.23 For me the most heart-warming about the cur- rent state of historical performance practice is the emergence of non-specialist musi- cians doubling on modern and period instruments as the repertoire may require. This might seem a little similar to the early days when pianists sat at harpsichords or cellist played viola da gamba. But the level of craftsmanship, of technical skill and musical knowledge are of an entirely different order. Surely specialists might tell you what the non-specialists are doing wrong but as a listener with considerable familiarity with the sources, problems and solutions I find many of them quite at the forefront of ‘early music’ performance (e.g. Isabelle Faust, Viktoria Mullova). Their playing frequently sounds more interesting, more ‘alive’ as if their non-specialist status has allowed them to cherry-pick what they like of HIP conventions and then adapt them freely and se-

20 Boston Early Music Festival, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Early_Music_Festival (30.03.2017). 21 Boston Early Music Festival, recorded 13 June 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pc- DRKgeqQWs (20.03.2017). 22 Michelle Dulak, The Quiet Metamorphosis of ‘Early Music’, in:Repercussions , 2/2 (1993), S. 31–61; John Butt, Bach Recordings since 1980: A Mirror of Historical Performance, in: David Schulenberg (Hg.), Bach Perspectives 4, Lincoln–London 1999, S. 181–198; John Irving, Performer Rights and Responsibilities in Historical Performance, in: Muzikologija, 16 (2014), S. 31–46. 23 Bacciagaluppi, Historical Performance, Past and Present, S. 162. Historical Performance Practice 143 lectively to create ‘postmodern’ – flexible, subjective, personally authentic – readings of repertoire classics. The availability of formal HIP training opportunities and the cross-fertilization between mainstream and HIP taking place due to collaborative projects and the flexibility of the labour market seem to have propelled classical music performance to a new golden era of exceptional talent, individuality and artistic ex- pression.