The Interpretation of Unusual Dynamic Markings in Beethoven's String
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The Interpretation of Unusual Dynamic Markings in Beethoven’s String Quartet in Bb Major, Op. 130: a Study of Selected Twentieth-Century Recordings A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Performance 2016 Cardiff University School of Music Owen Cox i DECLARATION This work has not been submitted in substance for any other degree or award at this or any other university or place of learning, nor is being submitted concurrently in candidature for any degree or other award. Signed …………………………… (candidate) Date ………………………… STATEMENT 1 This thesis is being submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of PhD in Performance Signed …………………………… (candidate) Date ………………………… STATEMENT 2 This thesis is the result of my own independent work/investigation, except where otherwise stated. Other sources are acknowledged by explicit references. The views expressed are my own. Signed ……………………………(candidate) Date ………………………… STATEMENT 3 I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available online in the University’s Open Access repository and for inter-library loan, and for the title and summary to be made available to outside organisations. Signed ……………………………(candidate) Date ………………………… ii Summary This study takes as its stimulus the unusual dynamic markings in Beethoven’s String Quartet, Op. 130. Presenting an immediate interpretational problem for performers this leads to questions of execution and how this influences the character of the music. Whilst both analysts and performers use evocative metaphors to describe musical character, the explication of how this is achieved through performance has been little explored in academia. The study focuses on the intersection between metaphors found in the literature surrounding Beethoven’s late quartets and the performance choices made in eight renowned string quartet recordings. The ambiguity of Beethoven’s late style and unusual nature of his dynamic indications offer a fascinating case study of this intersection. The methodology uses metaphor as an analytical frame work through which discussions about performance decisions take place, suggesting one metaphor or another, usually in a spectrum of variations. This sees dynamics as a potential stimulus for manipulation of not just volume, but also vibrato, rubato, articulation, portamento and other factors often framed by the choice of tempo. Different treatments of these performance techniques suggest varying metaphorical characterisations. These are summarised through verbal descriptions of the performer’s choices with reference to the score. Chapter 1 focuses on two awkward dynamic markings that dominate the first movement: the hairpin crescendo to piano and rapid alternations of forte and piano in fast music. Chapter 2 focuses on hairpin swells which create not only unusual disruptions in the middle movements but also expansive lyricism in the Cavatina movement. Chapter 3 moves from localised dynamic markings to longer passages which are characterised by unusual dynamic stasis and descriptive terms in the Cavatina. This study shows how these dynamics have been interpreted in many different ways, through the variety and interaction of a number of different performance techniques. Far from establishing fixed definitions for these dynamics, this opens up possibilities for more expressive freedom for performers, not less. Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisors, Dr. Keith Chapin, and in the earlier stages, Dr. Robin Stowell, for their support in getting me through the PhD. Since I have worked full time through the entire process, keeping me going was an impressive feat on their part. I would also like to thank my parents for their support, in particular my mother who helped with editing at the end of the process. I would also like to thank my wife, Katie, who kept encouraging me to continue through the difficult times, and I would also like to thank my son, Noah, whose imminent arrival made the completion of the thesis an urgent necessity. And finally, I must thank the members of the quartet who agreed to play in the performance; my wife Katie Stillman, Graham Oppenheimer and Nicholas Jones, who are also invaluable colleagues at Chetham’s School of Music. iii Table of Contents Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 1 Dynamics within Beethoven scholarship .................................................................................. 4 Analytical literature on the late quartets ................................................................................. 9 Performance studies and recordings ...................................................................................... 13 Analysis and performance studies; shared concerns .............................................................. 17 Critical language and metaphor .............................................................................................. 21 Methodology: metaphor and gesture .................................................................................... 27 Choice of Recordings ............................................................................................................... 30 Editions ................................................................................................................................... 36 Core metaphors and outline of the thesis .............................................................................. 37 Chapter 1: Crescendo to Piano and Forte versus Piano: Recurring Dynamic Gestures in the First Movement of Op. 130 .................................................................................................. 41 Crescendo to piano – p < p ..................................................................................................... 43 Lyrical coherence to timbral contrast; varying the gesture through volume, rubato and vibrato in bars 1 – 4 ................................................................................................................ 47 Lyrical nuances through portamento, volume, agogic inflection and vibrato: the second subject group in bars 53-80 .................................................................................................... 51 Dynamic dissociation with rapid alternations between forte and piano: Allegro in bars 14 – 20 ............................................................................................................................................ 57 Coda: a final chance to dissociate or integrate? ..................................................................... 66 Chapter 2: Localised Dynamics: Hairpin Swell Markings ....................................................... 75 Presto: whispered, breathless, mad and comical ................................................................... 78 Andante con moto ma non troppo; poco scherzoso – ways to expand ................................. 83 Alla Danza Tedesca, Allegro Assai: an ode to seasickness? .................................................... 90 Tempo, vibrato and portamento: other means of achieving a swell effect ........................... 93 Cavatina, Adagio molto espressivo: the contribution of swells to vocality and lyricism ........ 98 Between operatic and hymnic: the use of rubato, vibrato and portamento to inflect nuances of vocality .............................................................................................................................. 102 Chapter 3: Expressive Characterisations of Longer Passages: Suppression and Stasis, Descriptive Terms and Extremes ........................................................................................ 113 Descriptive expressive terms: Sotto Voce and Beklemmt in the Cavatina ........................... 125 iv Grosse Fuge (Op. 133): violent and sparing dynamics .......................................................... 134 To another world yet again: sempre pp in bars 159 – 232 ................................................... 144 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 152 Two approaches to dynamics: literal and characteristic ...................................................... 152 Core metaphors .................................................................................................................... 155 Metaphor mapping ............................................................................................................... 158 Key performance choices ...................................................................................................... 161 Common metaphors and core metaphors ........................................................................... 165 Dynamics and performance freedom ................................................................................... 168 Further directions for researchers ........................................................................................ 169 Bibliography of Literature Consulted .................................................................................. 173 Discography ....................................................................................................................... 181 v Introduction Ex. 0.1 – Beethoven, String Quartet in Bb major, Op. 130/i, bars 1 - 41 When a string quartet is first confronted by the