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Contact: [email protected] Max Reger's Variations and Fugue on an Original Theme Op. 73: Issues of musical structure, performance practice and interpretation by Eleni Keventsidou Canterbury Christ Church University Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Year 2016 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all my supervisors, Dr. Robert Rawson, my first supervisor, who has helped me understand, organise my research topic and clarify my arguments. I am profoundly grateful to my second supervisor Dr. Maria Varvarigou, who made me understand that writing is equally rewarding and enthusiastic with performing. I would like to thank Professor Roderick Watkins for his constant support and encouragement. I am also grateful to Dr. David Flood, who advised me in important practical matters and kindly allowed me to rehearse all these years on Canterbury Cathedral Organ. My warmest thanks to Dr. Kim Burwell, who helped organise my first chapters and continued offering her precious guidance, even after moving to Sydney. I will be eternally grateful to my mentor teacher, Nicolas Kynaston, former Professor at the Royal Academy, who made me understand that music and performance is my only goal and breath, offered me incredible performance opportunities and coached me over the preparation of Op. 73 Variations. I would like to thank David Titterington, Head of the Organ Studies at the Royal Academy for his continuous support, tuition and for offering me three magnificent years in this Institution. My deepest thanks extend to Gerasimos Katsiris and Alexandra Tsakona for their precious translations of German sources and the organisation of my files. I would like to express my special thanks to the Friends of Music Society who offered me the three years scholarship at the Athens Concert Hall, sponsored my lessons with Nicolas Kynaston and offered me my first concerts at the Athens Megaron on the unique Klais four- manual Organ. Of course I would like to thank my first piano teacher, Danae Stavraki who ii believed in my abilities and my devoted teacher at the National Athens Conservatory, the departed Kate Trouli, with whom I obtained my piano Diploma in Athens and who constantly supported and encouraged me since my early school years. I am extremely grateful to Vinia Tsopela, who prepared me for the organ scholarship audition in 1998 and several other National and International piano competitions. Of course the completion of this thesis would not have been achievable without the generous financial support of Canterbury Christ Church University through a Research Studentship Award. I could never express enough my innermost gratefulness to the whole team of the Max Reger’s Institute, es̕ecially Dr. Jürge̓ Schaarwächter and Johannes Geffert, Head of Organ Studies at Cologne Hochschule for encouraging and entrusting me with precious material for my research. I am immensely indebted to Bruce Buchanan for his precious material regarding the ̔rga̓s duri̓g Reger’s time a̓d the organ builder Eric Shepherd who offered me a lot of performance opportunities throughout the UK and provided me with relevant articles, photographic material and discography for my research. I am extremely grateful to Steve Garnett and Dr. Witt, who helped me significantly with their proofreading services on the fourth and fifth chapters. I would also like to thank Mr. Charalampidis, the Technical Director of the Athens Megaron and generally all the Megaron team for allowing me practice all these hours during the last fifteen years on that wonderful instrument. Last but not least I would like to thank my parents who have always supported my constant effort to expand and consolidate my musical knowledge and university studies. This thesis is the peak of an exciting journey and I am grateful for their unconditional financial and psychological support. iii Abstract The thesis investigates Max Reger’s Variations and Fugue on an Original Theme Op. 73, dem̔̓strates the refi̓eme̓t ̔f Reger’s c̔m̔̕siti̔̓, and underlines his connection to the great performer Karl Straube. His musical language, dynamic markings and technical problems regarding the tempo, registration and acoustics will be examined by an actual performance in Canterbury Cathedral. Several issues such as cathedral acoustics, mechanical or pneumatic actions and choice of tempi have underpinned this study. Within each variation, the characteristics and techniques of Reger’s compositions express his exceptional connection with the art of fugue and, of course, the use of variation technique in the rest of his organ works. The long Introduction falls into five clear sections and is, followed by the wistful mood and resignation of the Original Theme, where the great role of the third bar is often quoted in the course of the variations. Due to the all-pervading chromaticism Op. 73 gives the impression of being completely pantonal. Ca̓terbury Cathedral ̔rga̓’s electr̔-pneumatic action and acoustics are close to the Leipzig Sauer instrument, and it seems well capable of meeting the challenges of control, polyphonic harmony, mystery and chromatic moods of Op. 73. Approaching the interpretation of Reger’s highly demanding Variations and Fugue on an Original Theme Op. 73 through formal analysis and the complicated background of early twentieth century performance practice will be the final goal of the live performance. iv Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................................... ii Abstract ................................................................................................................................................. iv Chapter 1 ............................................................................................................................................... 5 MAX REGER’S RECEPTION AND DISCUSSION OF PERFORMANCE AESTHETICS ISSUES ................................................................................................................................................... 5 I. JOURNEY INTO RESEARCH ....................................................................................................... 5 II. PERFORMER-ANALYST ............................................................................................................ 8 III DISCOGRAPHY OF OP. 73 ....................................................................................................... 15 Chapter 2 ............................................................................................................................................. 18 CHRONICLE OF COMPOSER’S LIFE AND THE GENESIS OF OP. 73 ................................ 18 I. BRIEF CHRONICLE OF REGER’S LIFE AND COMPOSITIONS ............................................ 18 II. REGER AND STRAUBE ............................................................................................................ 21 III. HANS GEFFERT AND KARL STRAUBE AS INTERPRETERS OF REGER’S ORGAN MUSIC ............................................................................................................................................. 25 IV. DYNAMIC AND RHYTHMIC INDICATIONS ....................................................................... 28 Chapter 3 ............................................................................................................................................. 30 THE WORLD OF THE ORGANS IN 1900s ................................................................................... 30 I. MAX REGER’S FIRST ENCOUNTERS WITH THE ORGAN CONSULTANCY ................... 30 II. THE THIRD PRACTICE ORGAN IN REGER’S STUDENT LIFE IN WIESBADEN 1890–1898 .......................................................................................................................................................... 32 III. SAUER FIRM AND THE FIRST CONNECTION WITH REGER-STRAUBE ........................ 35 IV. THE SAUER FIRM .................................................................................................................... 37 a. Organ of the Leipzig Conservatory (1887, 1909 and 1927) by Walcker-Sauer ...................... 40 V. REGER’S ΜUNICH PERIOD 1901-1907................................................................................... 41 VI. REGER’S CONTRIBUTION TO THE ART OF ORGAN BUILDING AND THE ROLE OF SAUER ORGANS AT THE TURN OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY........................................ 43 VII. MICHAELISKIRCHE – HAMBURG .....................................................................................