The Art of Performance

by Schenker, Heinrich; Esser, Heribert; Scott, Irene Schreier

• ISBN13: 9780195122541
• ISBN10: 0195122542
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-03-23
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

In this previously unpublished essay by one of the most influential musictheorists of the twentieth century, Schenker takes a critical look at theperformer's role in the realization of musical compositions. He argues that thecult of the virtuoso has led to an overemphasis on technical display anddiscusses specific ways in which performers can better serve the composer'sideas.

Author Biography

Heribert Esser has had a long and distinguished career as a conductor. He was music director of the Braunschweig State Theater and has been a guest conductor on every continent, conducting a wide repertoire of symphonic music as well as opera.
Irene Schreier is a pianist who has performed widely in Europe, Israel, and the Americas. She is Artist-Lecturer at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Music.

Table of Contents

Translator's Introduction	vii
Editor's Introduction	xi
Sources and Editorial Procedure	xvii
Plates	xxiii
Musical Composition and Performance	3	(2)
Mode of Notation and Performance	5	(2)
The Technique of Playing the Piano	7	(12)
Piano Singing	8	(2)
Proximity of the Piano to the Orchestra	10	(9)
Pedal	10	(1)
Hand Pedal	11	(1)
Air Pedal	12	(2)
Dynamic Separation of Individual Fingers	14	(1)
Octaves	14	(1)
Rendition of the Bass	14	(5)
Non Legato	19	(2)
Legato	21	(10)
Held Notes	21	(3)
Articulating Legato	24	(1)
Ways of Dissembling	25	(1)
Change of Finger on the Same Key	26	(2)
Legato of Identical Notes	28	(3)
Staccato	31	(2)
Fingering	33	(6)
Dynamics	39	(14)
piano and forte as Basic Conditions	39	(2)
Specifically Indicated Shadings within piano and forte	41	(1)
Freely Executed Shadings within piano and forte	42	(1)
forte-piano	43	(1)
Rhetorical Accents	44	(5)
Rahmenanchlag	49	(4)
Tempo and Tempo Modifications	53	(12)
Tempo Indication and Meter	53	(1)
Pushing Ahead---Holding Back	53	(4)
Newly Appearing Note Values	57	(2)
Alla breve	59	(2)
sf(p) on the Weak Beat	61	(4)
Rests	65	(4)
The Performance of Older Music	69	(6)
Expression and Freedom in Older Works	69	(1)
Improvisation: Fermatas and Cadenzas	70	(1)
Passagework and Scales	71	(4)
On Practicing	75	(10)
Appendixes
Appendix A: On the Technique of the Piano in Particular	81	(2)
Appendix B: On the Degeneracy of the Virtuoso	83	(2)
Notes	85	(10)
Selected Bibliography with Annotations	95	(4)
Works of Heinrich Schenker	95	(1)
Related Works	96	(3)
Index of Musical Examples	99