Many genres of music have demonstrated the value of a visual component as a complement to a performance, something which has been increasingly capturing the attention of classical musicians. The moving image solidified the relationship between both modes and began our current multimedia era. Furthermore, the development of abstract animation allowed fundamental aspects of music to be effectively visualized: time, gesture, and form, to name a few. Correspondences between acoustical and visual elements abound, both in theory and materialized in instruments to “perform” colors. One way to suggest an alternative is by rethinking the recital in an audiovisual way. Therefore, to advocate for modifications in the piano recital is simply to continue the rich tradition of a format that has not been rigid, but responsive to its environment. It is a format that, as this essay will examine, has evolved throughout its history in response to artistic, social, and technological changes. Since its inception, the piano recital has remained the principal-if not exclusive-model for presenting solo piano repertoire. A comparative presentation of selected revisions, alternatives, and variants from the work illustrates the problematic juncture between improvisation and composition, the extent to which self-borrowing and the interchangeability of texts raise questions about our modern work-concept, the notion of a musical text, and the functions of performance within a text. Based on the excised material from the extant manuscripts, I reconstruct the genesis of the “Dante” Sonata and chart its compositional history and generic evolution. Through a study of Carl Czerny's influence on Liszt, and the latter's own improvisational practices, I take a medium-sensitive approach to the “Dante” Sonata by interrogating the historical concept of Phantasieren as part of a rereading of the compositional technique of thematic transformation. As a work borne expressly of improvisational acts, the “Dante” Sonata exhibits paradoxical traits that bind it to both performance and compositional traditions. As such, it documents the mise-en-scène of Liszt's self-fashioned metamorphosis from virtuoso to composer. The staggered compositional history of one particular piano work, Après une lecture du Dante-Fantasie quasi Sonata (1839–58), straddles this schism uniquely in that it bridged two distinct periods of Liszt's life: the Glanzzeit of immensely successful European concert tours, and the predominantly compositional span as Kapellmeister in Weimar. The European press of the late 1830s indicates a glaring disparity between Liszt's questionable status as a composer and his eminence as a virtuoso performer. The piano was promoted as a "one-man orchestra." The expectation that Traditional piano pedagogy has associated memorization with the notion of absolute music: entirely self-referential instrumental music with no extra-musical association. Finally, "Transcendental Memory" examines memorization as an ultimate manifestation of the Werktreue (true-to-work) spirit-a veneration of the canonized work reflecting the performer's scrupulous study and internalization of the score. Next, "Virtuosic Memory" considers memorization as an enhancement to virtuosic acts as superhuman and sublime. The first chapter "Innate Memory" considers memory as an inherent aspect of any musical experience, and surveys the general shift from oral culture (based on memory) to literal culture (based on writing). These include the rise and fall of virtuosos, the emergence of non-composing performers and non-performing composers, the establishment of the musical canon, the ritualization of concerts and the disappearance of the art of improvisation. Its significance becomes apparent when considered with several other notable changes that coincided with the development of performance practice. This study examines the genesis of memorization as a piano performance practice, contextualizing it within the major technological, political, aesthetic, and philosophical movements of the nineteenth century.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |