Liszt as Interpreter of Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas: Adopting aspects of an historical approach to contemporary piano performance Tristan Lee ORCID: 0000-0003-3513-700X Thesis submitted in conjunction with Piano Performance recordings in total fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy December 2018 Melbourne Conservatorium of Music University of Melbourne, Australia i Abstract This integrated performance and written project comprises recordings of my performances of Beethoven piano sonatas and solo piano works by Liszt, alongside a thesis. I evaluate Liszt’s role in the performance, editorial, and pedagogical history of Beethoven’s piano sonatas, the impact of which has been largely overlooked by scholars and performers. My approach, which is influenced and inspired by Liszt’s interpretation, expands upon contemporary notions of Beethoven performance practice. Through recordings of three recital programmes and a written thesis, I address the following research questions: What was Liszt’s impact on late nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century performance practice of Beethoven’s piano sonatas? In what ways can adopting aspects of Liszt’s interpretation of Beethoven’s piano sonatas expand upon our contemporary notions of Beethoven performance practice? The recital programmes consist of Beethoven Piano Sonatas Op. 27 No. 2 ‘Moonlight’, Op. 57 ‘Appassionata’, Op. 90, Op. 106 ‘Hammerklavier’, and Liszt Années de pèlerinage: Deuxième année: Italie (complete), Deux légendes, Sonata in B minor. The choice of Beethoven sonatas recorded for this project has been made from the works that Liszt performed frequently. The choice of music by Liszt has been selected from works that show an intrinsic link to the music of Beethoven and were frequently performed and recorded by Liszt’s pupils in the early-twentieth century. The research I have undertaken has influenced my interpretation of this music, and this is reflected in my recordings. Accompanying the recorded recital programmes is a 25,000-word written thesis. In the introduction I detail my methodology, conceptual framework and provide a review of relevant literature. Chapter One is an examination of the elements of fact and fantasy within Liszt’s highly complex relationship to the figure of Beethoven while Chapter Two analyses Liszt’s pedagogical influence on the interpretation of Beethoven’s piano sonatas. Chapter Three discusses Liszt’s editorial approach to Beethoven’s piano sonatas. It includes my critical response to Liszt’s editing of Op. 27 No. 2 ‘Moonlight’ and a comparison between Liszt’s and von Bülow’s editions of Op. ii 106 ‘Hammerklavier’. In the concluding chapter I describe the ways my research has influenced and inspired my approach to performing the music of Beethoven and Liszt, and provide some possible avenues for this research to be continued. iii Declaration This thesis comprises only my original work towards the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Due acknowledgement has been made in the text to all other material used. This thesis is within the maximum word limit and performance recording range, exclusive of tables and bibliographies. iv Acknowledgments I would like to thank Gintaute Gataveckaite, Carolyne Lee, Rodney Lee, and Andrew McRae for their constant encouragement, interest, assistance and understanding throughout this project. I would like to thank my family and friends who provide me with a wonderful support network. There are too many of you to name, but you know who you are. I would like to thank all of my piano teachers who have guided me over the years, especially Leslie Howard and François-Frédéric Guy for their inspiring mentorship and for setting the benchmark for interpretation of Beethoven and Liszt. I would like to thank Andrew McRae and Eamon Quinn for their assistance in proofreading and editing this thesis. I would like to thank Haig Burnell and Mark Edwards for their excellent work as recording engineers. And finally, I would like to thank my supervisors, Professor Ian Holtham and Professor Kerry Murphy, for their expertise, patience, encouragement, and support over the past few years, and for always challenging me to delve further. v Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................1 Methodology ........................................................................................................................2 Conceptual Framework ........................................................................................................3 Musical Scores .....................................................................................................................5 Other primary sources ..........................................................................................................6 Critical Editing .....................................................................................................................7 Musicology and performance ...............................................................................................8 Philosophy of interpretation .................................................................................................9 Early sound recording as evidence of Romantic performance practice .............................. 11 Liszt’s performance style and editing of Beethoven ........................................................... 13 Performances ...................................................................................................................... 14 The recording process ........................................................................................................ 15 Thesis outline ..................................................................................................................... 15 Chapter One ............................................................................................................................. 16 Liszt and Beethoven: Fact, Fantasy and the Father Figure .................................................. 16 Part 1: Fact ............................................................................................................................. 16 Liszt’s narrative .................................................................................................................. 16 Liszt’s childhood ................................................................................................................ 17 Liszt’s relationship to the music of Beethoven ................................................................... 20 Part 2: Fantasy ........................................................................................................................ 25 The Weihekuss .................................................................................................................... 25 Part 3: The ‘Father Figure’ ..................................................................................................... 29 Liszt’s compositional links with Beethoven ....................................................................... 30 Form and Structure: ........................................................................................................ 30 Harmonic language: ....................................................................................................... 30 Modulation by descending thirds: .................................................................................. 32 Descending and Ascending Thirds in the Années de pèlerinage: Deuxième année: Italie: ....................................................................................................................................... 34 Motivic quotation: .......................................................................................................... 35 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 38 Chapter Two ............................................................................................................................. 39 Liszt’s Pedagogical Influence on the Interpretation of Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas ............ 39 Part 1: Liszt as Teacher .......................................................................................................... 39 Liszt as teacher in his early career ...................................................................................... 41 Liszt as teacher in his Weimar period ................................................................................. 42 Liszt as teacher in his late years ......................................................................................... 42 Part 2: The Recordings of Beethoven Piano Sonatas by Liszt’s Pupils .................................. 45 Methodologies of recording analysis .................................................................................. 45 Analysing Liszt’s impact on recorded performance of Beethoven’s piano sonatas ............ 45 Limitations of early recording techniques ...................................................................... 46 Repertoire ....................................................................................................................... 46 vi Textual fidelity and individuality of interpretation ......................................................... 48 Technique ......................................................................................................................