UNIVERSITY of CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Tempo And
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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Tempo and Character in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, Op. 55 (Eroica): A Performer’s Guide A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Musical Arts in Music by Maksym Kuzin 2018 © Copyright by Maksym Kuzin 2018 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Tempo and Character in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, Op. 55 (Eroica): A Performer’s Guide by Maksym Kuzin Doctor of Musical Arts in Music University of California, Los Angeles, 2018 Professor Neal Stulberg, Chair ABSTRACT This dissertation examines historical issues, performance practice, and practical application components of character/spirit, tempo, and tempo rubato in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, Op. 55 (Eroica). An important goal of this research is the connection between theoretical analysis and its practical application. The three chapters of this dissertation address, in turn, three central performance elements related to the Symphony: character/spirit, tempo, and tempo rubato. Each section first provides an historical overview of the topic and identifies the range of issues that a performer might face. Then it addresses each issue from different perspectives – that of Beethoven himself, his students and followers, his antagonists, contemporaneous musicians and musicians of later generations. This study also attempts to connect the past with modern-day beliefs and practices by tracing the development of major performance paradigms from Beethoven’s time to the beginning of the 21st century. ii After the theoretical-historical overview, the second half of chapters 2 and 3 attempts to address in detail, examples that a performer may encounter while working on the score, and provides recommendations grounded in performance and musicological knowledge for possible ways of addressing these issues. This research was done by a practicing orchestral conductor (no comma) and aims to serve as a performer’s reference guide. My hope is that this study will help stimulate further theoretical and practical research leading to informed, stylistically aware, and interesting interpretations of Beethoven’s Eroica - a revolutionary, potent, and timeless work. iii The dissertation of Maksym Kuzin is approved. James Bass Gordon Henderson Mark L. Kligman Daniel Szabo Neal H. Stulberg, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2018 iv This dissertation is dedicated to my father, Yuriy Kuzin, for passing on his outstanding analytical capacity of a chess-master, and to my mother, Tetiana Kuzina, for instilling a natural curiosity and an interest in the core subjects of character and spirit. v TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 ................................................................................................................................................ 1 Spirit, Character, and Expressive Performance as Regarded by Beethoven and Other Composers in the 19th and 20th Centuries ............................................................................................................... 1 Beethoven’s Spiritual Views ................................................................................................................ 2 On the Importance of Spirit and Character in Music ......................................................................... 4 Correlation Between the Spirit in Music, and Tempo, Phrasing, and Accentuation ........................ 5 Tempo, Phrasing, and Accentuation in Piano Playing of Beethoven and His Contemporaries ...... 8 The Rise of Virtuosity Over Expressivity ........................................................................................... 10 Summary ................................................................................................................................................ 15 CHAPTER 2 .............................................................................................................................................. 16 Tempo and Metronome Markings ....................................................................................................... 16 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 16 What are Eroica’s most controversial metronome indications? ...................................................... 20 Why are some of Beethoven’s metronome indications in the Eroica so fast? ................................. 22 Were early metronomes reliable devices and might Beethoven’s particular device have been functioning incorrectly? .................................................................................................................... 23 Were some of the most questionable tempos in the Eroica caused by Beethoven’s inability to hear the physical realization of his music? ............................................................................................... 25 Can an odd-seeming metronome marking be caused by a copying error in the score? .................. 28 Do metronome marks apply only to first bars of a movement? ........................................................ 29 Do Beethoven’s fast metronome indications actually mean what we think they mean? ................. 31 Is it technically impossible to play Eroica’s finale in Beethoven’s tempo? ..................................... 32 Have tempo choices in the Eroica slowed over time? If so, what caused this? ............................... 33 Why traditional and HIP conductors, even those who claim fidelity to Beethoven’s tempo markings and performance authenticity, do not follow Beethoven’s tempos? ................................ 35 Table No. 1 .................................................................................................................................................. 36 What objective and subjective performance parameters can affect tempo choice and to what degree? ................................................................................................................................................ 40 Why did some 19th-century composers choose not to provide metronome markings for their compositions and how might evidence of a composer’s performances of their own music influence a conductor’s tempo choices? ............................................................................................................ 42 vi Summary ................................................................................................................................................ 45 CHAPTER 2-1 ........................................................................................................................................... 46 Tempo and Metronome Markings: Issues of Music Notation in the Score ..................................... 46 Movement I ......................................................................................................................................... 46 Movement II – Marcia funèbre (Funeral march) ............................................................................. 48 Movement III – Scherzo .................................................................................................................... 56 Movement IV– Finale – Allegro molto .............................................................................................. 58 Movement IV– Finale – Poco Andante ............................................................................................. 64 Movement IV– Finale – Presto .......................................................................................................... 66 CHAPTER 3 .............................................................................................................................................. 67 Tempo Rubato ....................................................................................................................................... 67 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 67 The Earliest Accounts ........................................................................................................................ 68 Two Main Types of Tempo Rubato – ‘Earlier’ and ‘Later’ ............................................................. 69 Issues of Practical Application of the ‘Earlier’ and ‘Later’ Tempo Rubato ................................... 70 Beethoven’s Views on Tempo Rubato and Its Application in His Own Playing or in the Performances under His Direction ................................................................................................... 78 Summary ................................................................................................................................................ 83 CHAPTER 3-1 ........................................................................................................................................... 83 Application of Tempo Rubato in the Eroica’s Notation .................................................................... 83 Movement I ......................................................................................................................................... 83 Movement II – Marcia funèbre (Funeral march) ............................................................................. 88 Movement III – Scherzo ...................................................................................................................