DEFINING NATIONAL PIANO SCHOOLS Perceptions And
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COPYRIGHT AND USE OF THIS THESIS This thesis must be used in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. Reproduction of material protected by copyright may be an infringement of copyright and copyright owners may be entitled to take legal action against persons who infringe their copyright. Section 51 (2) of the Copyright Act permits an authorized officer of a university library or archives to provide a copy (by communication or otherwise) of an unpublished thesis kept in the library or archives, to a person who satisfies the authorized officer that he or she requires the reproduction for the purposes of research or study. The Copyright Act grants the creator of a work a number of moral rights, specifically the right of attribution, the right against false attribution and the right of integrity. You may infringe the author’s moral rights if you: - fail to acknowledge the author of this thesis if you quote sections from the work - attribute this thesis to another author - subject this thesis to derogatory treatment which may prejudice the author’s reputation For further information contact the University’s Copyright Service. sydney.edu.au/copyright DEFINING NATIONAL PIANO SCHOOLS Perceptions and challenges Wojciech Wisniewski Sydney Conservatorium of Music University of Sydney A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts (Performance) (Piano) 2015 Declaration ii Dedicated to my parents iii Acknowledgments I would like thank to Dr James Renwick for his professional and personal input towards my growth as both a researcher and human being, and for instilling in me a desire for the highest standards in my work. My sincere thanks and appreciation go to Dr Bernadette Harvey for her patience, time and professional advice during the final stages of my writing. I would also like to thank: Dr Elizabeth Jones for her valuable insight into the process of writing this thesis. Dr Kathleen Nelson for her input and suggestions in finalizing this thesis. Dr Helen Mitchell for help in designing the thesis document. Many thanks to Megan Dunn and Garry Penhall for offering their proofreading talents in polishing this thesis. Last but not least, to my beloved sister, I would like to express my gratitude for her support, help and motivation during the difficult times of my written work. iv Abstract The main purpose of this study was an investigation of contemporary piano professionals' perceptions with regard to the key areas describing national piano schools and their current state, as well as definitions of what constitutes a national piano school in the twenty-first century. The perceptual data was collected through an international, open-ended internet questionnaire and five in-depth interviews with piano professionals. The opinions were gathered and placed within the context of the relevant historical literature, while the design of nineteen graphical genealogical trees, representing the teacher-student lineage across the centuries, provided another dimension to this research. National piano schools can be described to varying degrees by means of: national characteristics - which include factors such as culture, conditioning, historical circumstances, the personality of the population as a whole; traditions of interpretation - including sound, aesthetics, technique; and the personality of individuals - particularly key archetypes of each school. The definition of ‘national piano school’ is proposed in Chapter Seven. This research is a resource for music educators, students and performers wishing to further explore their own artistic identity and it aims to encourage and inspire a true and intelligent or honest variety in performance style. v Table of Contents DECLARATION ......................................................................................................................... II ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................. IV ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................... V TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................. VI LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................................... IX LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................................... X CHAPTER 1 : INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 1 DICTIONARY DEFINITION ......................................................................................................... 2 SCHOOLS OF PIANO PLAYING ................................................................................................... 4 CURRENT STATE OF NATIONAL PIANO SCHOOLS ...................................................................... 5 PURPOSE STATEMENT .............................................................................................................. 7 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ............................................................................................................ 8 METHODOLOGY....................................................................................................................... 8 LIMITATIONS AND DELIMITATIONS .......................................................................................... 8 PERSONAL STATEMENT ........................................................................................................... 9 CHAPTER 2 : METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................... 10 LITERATURE SOURCES ........................................................................................................... 11 GENEALOGICAL TREES .......................................................................................................... 12 QUESTIONNAIRE .................................................................................................................... 19 INTERVIEWS .......................................................................................................................... 21 CONCLUSIONS ....................................................................................................................... 24 CHAPTER 3 : LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................ 25 vi THE FRENCH SCHOOL ............................................................................................................ 25 THE AUSTRO-GERMAN SCHOOL ............................................................................................ 30 THE RUSSIAN SCHOOL .......................................................................................................... 32 OTHER SCHOOLS ................................................................................................................... 35 KEY AREAS - DISCUSSION ..................................................................................................... 39 SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW FINDINGS ....................................................................... 44 CHAPTER 4 : GENEALOGICAL TREES ......................................................................... 45 DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................................... 47 CONCLUSIONS ....................................................................................................................... 51 CHAPTER 5 : QUESTIONNAIRE DATA .......................................................................... 53 SOURCES OF TECHNIQUE AND ARTISTIC PERSONALITY .......................................................... 53 DIRECT EXPERIENCES ............................................................................................................ 55 DESCRIPTIONS OF PARTICULAR NATIONAL SCHOOLS ............................................................. 58 CONCLUSIONS – CHANGES AND THE CURRENT STATE ........................................................... 62 CHAPTER 6 : INTERVIEW DATA .................................................................................... 65 INTERVIEW ONE - PILOT ........................................................................................................ 65 INTERVIEW TWO.................................................................................................................... 68 INTERVIEW THREE................................................................................................................. 74 INTERVIEW FOUR .................................................................................................................. 80 INTERVIEW FIVE .................................................................................................................... 85 CHAPTER SUMMARY .............................................................................................................. 89 CHAPTER 7 : SUMMARY OF RESULTS, DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS ...... 93 KEY AREAS ............................................................................................................................ 93 vii DEFINITION ........................................................................................................................... 95 CURRENT STATE OF NATIONAL