Piano Playing in the German Tradition, 1840-1900: Rediscovering the Un-Notated Conventions of Performance
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Piano Playing in the German Tradition, 1840-1900: Rediscovering the Un-notated Conventions of Performance Miaoyin Qu Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Leeds School of Music May, 2015 The candidate confirms that the work submitted is her own and that appropriate credit has been given where reference has been made to the work of others. This copy has been supplied on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement i Acknowledgements This thesis would not have been possible without the invaluable help of my supervisor, Professor Clive Brown, who insightfully guided me during every stage of my research. I express my thankfulness to the recording engineers and friends Kerry-Anne Kubisa, Nektarious Rodosthenous, Philip Hardman and the staff at the school who assisted me in my recordings. I would also like to thank my advisor, Dr. Bryan White, for his kind suggestions; Daniel Gordon for supporting my topic; and Dr. Michael Allis and Dr. Stephen Muir for commenting on my writing. I am indebted to my Master’s supervisor at the Leeds College of Music, Marion Raper and Martin Pickard, for helping me shape my thoughts and clarify my aims in my preparation for the PhD. It has been an honour to receive instrumental tuition from my supervisor, Clive Brown, and from my teachers, Marion Raper, Julian Cima and Renna Kellaway. I would also like to give thanks to staff of the various libraries I visited: The Leeds University Library; the British Library, London; and the Royal College of Music Library, London. I would like to express my sincere appreciation to my parents, Jiewen and Guiyu, for their support, both moral and financial, and for raising me to become the person I am today. I am thankful to all my friends for their companionship and their encouragement during the years of my study, especially George Rodosthenous. Finally, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my husband, Ilias Devetzoglou, without whose support it would never have been finished. ii Abstract This practice-based project investigates performing practices in German piano repertoire in the period 1840-1900, when a style of playing with distinctive qualities dominated the pianistic scene and music making in general. That style can be heard in early recordings and piano rolls, but is now long forgotten. Modern players, even those who embrace the newly emerged field of Historically Informed Performance (HIP) and claim to perform and record Classical and Romantic repertory in a historically-informed manner, mostly avoid the employment of that style. This project seeks to discover through practical experimentation how that style of playing, which speaks a musical language unfamiliar to us, might be reinstated in the repertoire with which it was originally associated. In this way, a new interesting dimension will be given to piano works, which have nowadays seen countless approaches, most of which, however, may be far removed from anything their composers might have expected. This is attempted by means of a process of testing ideas through practice that aims to explore potential hidden meanings of the notation. More specifically this study investigates the use of Arpeggiation, Dislocation and Tempo Rubato in piano rolls and historical recordings in conjunction with scholarly studies and general theoretical writings of the period in question. The first chapter presents the research context, as well as the methodology followed. The second chapter discusses performing practices of the period in question as they are manifest in historical recordings, in the notation, and as they are commented upon by nineteenth- century theorists. The third chapter is a detailed analysis of the rationale behind my performances of piano repertoire by important German composers. The ultimate aim of this project is to produce performances that embody the research and are in line with the documented concepts and the interpretations of the composers and performers of the period in which the music was written. iii Contents Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................i Abstract ..............................................................................................................…...ii Contents......................................................................................................................iii List of musical examples .......................................................................................v List of figures .........................................................................................................xii Abbreviations and signs .........................................................................................xiii Chapter 1. Introduction ............................................................................................1 1.1. General introduction…..........................................................................................1 1.2. Research questions, rationale and methodology……………………………........6 Research questions……………………………………………………………….6 Research Rationale……………………………………………………………….6 Methodology……………………………………………………………………..8 1.3. The German piano playing tradition…………………………………..……………9 1.4. Reinecke ............................................................................................................12 1.5. Notation: its un-notated conventions and the modern literal approach…………18 1.6. Piano rolls………………………………………………………………………..22 Pre-1905 rolls…………………………………………………………………....23 Post-1905 rolls…………………………………………………………………..25 1.6.1. The role and use of piano rolls in this project…………………………………26 1.7. Process and progress…………………………………………………………….28 1.8. Repertoire………………………………………………………………………..31 Chapter 2. Nineteenth-century pianism and music notation: rediscovering its un- notated conventions...................................................................................................33 2.1. Dislocation………................................................................................................33 2.2. Arpeggiation.........................................................................................................41 2.3. Tempo Rubato.....................................................................................................47 2.4. Other notational issues………............................................................................57 2.4.1. Over-dotting………………………..................................................................57 2.4.2. Unnotated crescendo and diminuendo.............................................................60 2.4.3. Equal notes unequalised .................................................................................65 2.4.4. Portato signs or dots under slurs……………………………………………….68 2.4.5. Grace notes…………………………………………………………………….69 iv 2.4.6. Hairpin………………………………………………………………………….70 Chapter 3. Commentary of recordings …………………………..........................72 First phase: imitation of Reinecke’s style…………………………………………….72 Field Nocturne No. 4…………………………………………………………….73 Beethoven Ecossaisen Woo 83………………………………………………….76 Field Nocturne No. 5…………………………………………………………….82 Reinecke Ballade Op. 20………………………………………………………..85 Mozart Fantasia K. 475…………………………………………………………87 Second phase: experimental recordings………………………………………………91 Schumann Kreisleriana Op. 16…………………………………………………91 Schumann Romance Op. 28 No. 2……………………………………………...109 Brahms Three Intermezzi Op. 117………………………………………………112 Mendelssohn Rondo Capriccioso Op. 14……………………………………….118 Mendelssohn Prelude and Fugue Op. 35 No. 1…………………………………120 Third phase: mature recordings……………………………………………………….122 Schumann Kinderszenen Op. 15…………………………………………………122 Brahms Capriccio Op. 76 No. 1…………………………………………………138 Schumann Warum? Op. 12 No. 3.........................................................................143 Mendelssohn Op. 102 No. 4, 5, 6……………………………………………….146 Brahms Op. 118…………………………………………………………………151 Beethoven Sonata Op. 110………………………………………………………166 Chapter 4. Concluding remarks................................................................................177 Bibliography...............................................................................................................179 Discography................................................................................................................187 Appendix I: CD recordings........................................................................................188 ▪ CD 1: Imitative recordings ▪ CD 2: Experimental recordings 1 ▪ CD 3: Experimental recordings 2 ▪ CD 4: Mature recordings Total time of recordings: 209’38” v List of musical examples Ex. 2. 1a. Mozart, Fantasia K. 475, bars 1-5. Reinecke, 1905……..………………….38 Ex. 2. 1b. Mozart, Fantasia K. 475, bars 1-5. Leschetizky, 1905……………………..38 Ex. 2. 2. Mozart, Rondo Alla Turca, bars 1-8. Reinecke, 1907.………………….…....39 Ex. 2. 3. Field, Nocturne No. 4, bars 1-8. Reinecke, 1907……………………,,.……40 Ex. 2. 4. Field, Nocturne No. 4, bar 11. Reinecke, 1907……………………..….…..…44 Ex. 2. 5. Field, Nocturne No. 4, bar 14. Reinecke, 1907…………….……..….……..44 Ex. 2. 6. Field, Nocturne No. 4, bars 19-20. Reinecke, 1907……………….….…..…45 Ex. 2. 7. Field, Nocturne No. 4, bar 25. Reinecke, 1907……………..…..…..….…..…45 Ex. 2. 8. Field, Nocturne No. 4, bars 41-43. Reinecke, 1907……………..….…...……46 Ex. 2. 9. Reinecke, Ballade Op. 20, bars 12-26……………………………........……47