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12 - Stylistic Exercises

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 September 2020

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Summary

One of the founding principles of this book is that there is a fundamental shift of attitude towards the act of performance (and the role of the performer) in the early years of the twentieth century: in general terms (with all due caveats acknowledged!) this might be said to be a schism between romanticism and modernism. Although this idea has been problematised and a degree of scepticism exercised concerning whether this constituted a ‘revolution’, it is self-evident that not only performance style but also fundamental aesthetic principles in these two epochs differ very substantially. In general terms, twentieth-century thought considered the role of the performer to be more towards the ‘faithful notational cypher’ end of the interpretative spectrum (rendering notation ‘precisely’ with great skill) than appears to be evident in the nineteenth century, in which, by and large, notation was seen more as the starting point of interpretative ideas. Truthfulness to the work (‘Werktreue’), in terms of accurate and ‘correct’ delivery of what notation encodes, is a concept that can and does encapsulate romantic performance as well, of course (as shown, maybe, by studies that concentrate on semiotic meanings in this period). But the performer seeking to ‘be romantic’ (in all the various manifestations of the term) must explore ideas as to how to ‘read between the lines’ to a greater extent. This inevitably can lead to changes to notation (i.e. not playing what it says, and seeing departures from ‘the text’ as integral to artistic delivery), as well as magnifications of the notation (a process of going ‘further’ than what is written down).4 Of course, all performance (in a hermeneutic activity such as music) must by definition go ‘beyond’ the notation. The questions to ask are: in which ways, and how much? In this respect, it is important to consider ways of encouraging a deliberately more flexible attitude to the performance score in terms of realisation. We are used to this concept in terms of notations that are, self-evidently, incomplete (as in the case for Baroque ornamentation, for example).

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Romantic Violin Performing Practices
A Handbook
, pp. 259 - 270
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
Print publication year: 2020

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  • Stylistic Exercises
  • David Milsom
  • Book: Romantic Violin Performing Practices
  • Online publication: 11 September 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781787447967.013
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  • Stylistic Exercises
  • David Milsom
  • Book: Romantic Violin Performing Practices
  • Online publication: 11 September 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781787447967.013
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Stylistic Exercises
  • David Milsom
  • Book: Romantic Violin Performing Practices
  • Online publication: 11 September 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781787447967.013
Available formats
×