Music Practice Commons^™

“Transports Of Delight”? Reviews Of Clarinet Performance In Paris And London, C. 1770 – C. 1810, Catherine J. Crisp

Performance Practice Review

Reviews of clarinet performance in Paris and London, c. 1770 – c. 1810 make specific reference to 18^th-century performance ideals, as identified by the contemporary writer Charles Burney who described the “principal excellencies of perfect execution”. The performance qualities described by Burney and their inclusion in contemporary reports is particularly valuable in assessing performances featuring the newest woodwind instrument, the clarinet. References to many of these performance qualities combine to form detailed accounts of the sonorities, technical execution and expressive qualities evident in performances given by clarinet players in Paris and London.

This article draws upon a wide …

"The Cambridge Companion To Percussion," Edited By Russell Hartenberger, John Michael Cooper

Performance Practice Review

Book Review: Hartenberger, Russell, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Percussion. Cambridge Companions to Music. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. ISBN 978-1-107-09345-4.

John Michael Cooper discusses this 2016 work published by Cambridge University Press and edited by Russell Hartenberger.

Not Set In Stone: Mikhail Pletnev's Rewrite Of Scriabin's Piano Concerto, Anatole Leikin

Performance Practice Review

Not Set in Stone: Mikhail Pletnev’s Rewrite of Scriabin’s Piano Concerto

Scriabin’s Piano Concerto in F-sharp minor, Op. 20 (1897), was initially met with harsh criticisms. Then, in 1899, the critics’ and the public’s reaction suddenly changed from disparaging to admiring. Subsequently, Scriabin’s performances of the Concerto continued to consistently gather highest accolades throughout Russia, Western Europe, and the U.S.

The only credible explanation for such a remarkable metamorphosis is that Scriabin somehow modified (and improved) the piano part in his performances. No written corrections of the piano score exist, which is not at all surprising. Scriabin never revised his …

Score Review: Rameau, Jean-Philippe. "Les Indes Galantes" And "Daphnis Et Eglé.", Geoffrey Burgess

Performance Practice Review

Score review: Rameau, Jean-Philippe. Les Indes galantes: Symphonies, RCT 44 ed. Sylvie Bouissou, ed. no. BA 7568. Paris: Société Jean-Philippe Rameau; international distributor: Bärenreiter, 2017; Rameau, Jean-Philippe. Daphnis et Eglé, RCT 34, ed. Érik Kocevar, piano reduction François Saint-Yves. Paris: Société Jean-Philippe Rameau; international distributor: Bärenreiter, 2017.

Geoffrey Burgess discusses this 2017 edition of Jean-Philippe Rameau's works.

"Beethoven's Piano Sonatas: A Handbook For Performers," By Stewart Gordon, David Rowland

Performance Practice Review

Book review: Gordon, Stewart. Beethoven’s Piano Sona­tas: a Handbook for Performers. Oxford: Oxford Univer­sity Press, 2017. ISBN: 978-0-19-062917-5.

David Rowland discusses Stewart Gordon's 2017 work.

"Composers’ Intentions?: Lost Traditions Of Musical Performance," By Andrew Parrott, Colin Lawson

Performance Practice Review

Colin Lawson discusses Andrew Parrott's 2015 work.

Parrott, Andrew. Composers’ Intentions?: Lost Traditions of Musical Performance. Suffolk: Boydell and Brewer, 2015. ISBN 978-1-783-27032-3.

"Performance Practice In The Music Of Steve Reich," By Russell Hartenberger, Pwyll Ap Siôn

Performance Practice Review

Pwyll ap Siôn discusses Russell Hartenberger's 2016 work.

Hartenberger, Russell. Performance Practice in the Music of Steve Reich. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. ISBN 978-1-107-15150-5.

"The Accompaniment In 'Unaccompanied' Bach: Interpreting The Sonatas And Partitas For Violin," By Stanley Ritchie, David Schulenberg

Performance Practice Review

David Schulenberg discusses Stanley Ritchie's 2016 work.

Ritchie, Stanley. The Accompaniment in “Unaccompanied” Bach: Interpreting the Sonatas and Partitas for Violin. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2016. ISBN 978-0-25-302198-4 (ebook: 978-0-25-302208-0)

"Performance Practices In Johannes Brahms's Chamber Music" By Clive Brown, Neal Peres Da Costa, And Kate Bennett Wadsworth, Michael Musgrave

Performance Practice Review

Michael Musgrave discusses Clive Brown, Neal Peres da Costa, and Kate Bennett Wadsworth's 2015 work.

Brown, Clive, Neal Peres da Costa, Kate Bennett Wadsworth. Performing Practices in Johannes Brahms's Chamber Music. Kassel, Basel, London, New York, Praha: Bärenreiter, 2015 [2nd printing 2016].

"The Art Of Re-Enchantment: Making Early Music In The Modern Age," By Nick Wilson, Geoffrey Burgess

Performance Practice Review

Geoffrey Burgess discusses Nick Wilson's 2013 work.

Wilson, Nick. The Art of Re-enchantment: Making Early Music in the Modern Age. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013. ISBN: 978-0199939930.

"Werke Für Klavier Zu Vier Händen" By Franz Schubert, Kassel: Bärenreiter, 2013, Su Yin Mak

Performance Practice Review

Su Yin Mak discusses Bärenreiter's 2013 edition of Schubert's work.

Schubert, Franz. Werke für Klavier zu vier Händen, Band III, ed. Walburga Litschauer (Nos. 2-5) and Werner Aderhold (No. 1); Urtext of the New Schubert Edition, BA 9645. Kassel: Bärenreiter, 2013.

ISMN: 9790006539871.

"Clavichord For Beginners" By Joan Benson, Bernard Brauchli

Performance Practice Review

Bernard Brauchli reviews and discusses Joan Benson's 2014 work.

Benson, Joan. Clavichord for Beginners. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2014.

ISBN: 978-0253011589

"Beyond The Score: Music As Performance" By Nicholas Cook, Aron Edidin

Performance Practice Review

Aron Edidin reviews and discusses Nicholas Cook's 2013 work. Cook, Nicholas. Beyond the Score: Music as Performance. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013. ISBN: 978-0-19-935740-6.

"The Rameau Compendium" By Graham Sadler, Mary Cyr

Performance Practice Review

Mary Cyr discusses and reviews Graham Sadler's 2014 work.

Sadler, Graham. The Rameau Compendium. Suffolk: Boydell Press, 2014.

ISBN: 978-1-84383-905-1

"The Notation Is Not The Music: Reflections On Early Music Practice And Performance" By Barthold Kuijken, Colin Lawson

Performance Practice Review

Colin Lawson discusses and reviews Kuijken's 2013 work.

Kuijken, Barthold. The Notation Is Not the Music: Reflections on Early Music Practice and Performance. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 2013.

ISBN: 978-0-253-01060-5

"Off The Record: Performing Practices In Romantic Piano Playing" By Neal Peres Da Costa, William Kinderman

Performance Practice Review

William Kinderman discusses and reviews Peres Da Costa's 2012 work.

Peres Da Costa, Neal. Off the Record: Performing Practices in Romantic Piano Playing. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012.

ISBN: 978-0-19-538691-2

Commonality And Diversity In Recordings Of Beethoven’S Middle-Period String Quartets, Nancy November

Performance Practice Review

A widespread opinion in recent research about the performance of Beethoven’s works is that artists need to restore a connection to "tradition," and that recordings from the early twentieth century can help with this. However, these early recordings tell us most about the aesthetics and performance ideals of their day, and hence how Beethoven and his string quartets were received by early twentieth-century audiences. Case studies of early recordings of Beethoven middle-period quartets reveal ways in which these these performances differed, sometimes radically, from the kinds of performances Beethoven would have expected to hear, especially with regard to the use …

"The Performance Of 16th-Century Music: Learning From The Theorists" By Anne Smith, Kenneth Kreitner

Performance Practice Review

Kenneth Kreitner discusses and reviews Smith's 2011 work.

Smith, Anne. The Performance of 16th-Century Music: Learning from the Theo­rists. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011.

ISBN 978-0-19974261-5.

By Word Of Mouth: Historical Performance Comes Of Age, Ingrid E. Pearson

Performance Practice Review

Since Clive Brown’s 1991 accusation that many twentieth-century manifestations of historical performance lacked an appropriate degree of musical sensitivity, the historical performance movement has truly come of age. In the arena of Western Art music, historical performance is now an essential component of musical training and education. Successful performers must be able to seamlessly function across the widest possible range of musical styles, accommodating an equally wide gamut of tastes, both individually and collectively.

In 1982, nine years earlier, Walter Ong’s Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word explored differences between oral and literate cultures. Of particular interest to …

"Classical And Romantic Music, The Library Of Essays On Music Performance Practice" Edited By David Milsom And Mary Cyr, Colin Lawson

Performance Practice Review

Colin Lawson discusses and reviews Milsom's 2011 work.

Milsom, David ed. Classical and Romantic Music, the Library of Essays on Music Performance Practice, series editor Mary Cyr. Farnham, Surry, UK, and Burlington, VT, USA: Ashgate, 2011.

ISBN 978-0-754-62859-0.

"Baroque Music, The Library Of Essays On Music Performance Practice" Edited By Peter Walls And Mary Cyr, David Schulenberg

Performance Practice Review

David Schulenberg discusses and reviews Walls' 2011 work.

Walls, Peter, ed. Baroque Music, The Library of Essays on Music Performance Practice, series editor Mary Cyr. Farnham, Surry, UK, and Burlington, VT, USA: Ashgate, 2011.

ISBN 978-0-7546-2882-8.

Polychoral Performance Practice And "Maestro Di Cappella" Conducting, Florian Bassani

Performance Practice Review

This article disputes some basic questions concerning the coordination of seventeenth century sacred music, approaching the phenomenon through a musical species of particular interest, though largely unstudied from a performance practice point of view. Roman polychorality with its specific performing conditions offers an illuminating perspective on principles of musical direction and interaction which differ significantly from our modern access path towards these topics. The inquiry ranges from basics of performance (such as sheet music, rehearsals, direction technics, models and stylistic conditioning of the performers) over the concrete role of the maestro di cappella as well as the tactus as cornerstones …

A Suggested Improvement For The Fisk Organ At Stanford, Mark Lindley

Performance Practice Review

The unequal temperaments of Stanford's Fisk organ should be modified to reflect more accurately the characteristics of Renaissance and Baroque keyboard tunings.

Interpretation Problems Of Ornament Symbols And Two Recent Case Histories: Hans Klotz On Bach, Faye Fergusonon Mozart, Frederick Neumann

Performance Practice Review

The reliance on 17th- and 18th-c. ornament tables in 'authentic' performance often leads to rigid interpretations. A monograph by Hans Klotz (RILM 1984-05515-bm) and a review by Faye Ferguson perpetuate a rigid view of how 18th-c. ornaments should be interpreted.

Stravinsky, Tempo, And Le Sacre, Erica Heisler Buxbaum

Performance Practice Review

In reviews of recorded performances by others of Le sacre du printemps, Stravinsky contradicted his metronome markings and his own recorded performance tempos. His preferred tempos in the reviews encompass a range wider than the markings imply, yet more narrow than his own performance tempos suggest.

The "Not-So-Precisely Measured" Music Of The Middle Ages, Hendrik Van Der Werf

Performance Practice Review

Evidence from medieval writers, musical notation, and variant readings in the sources all suggest that troubadour and trouvere songs were performed in more or less equal note values and in a manner that presented the poetry clearly.

'Back To The Land': Performance Practice And The Classic Period, Malcom S. Cole

Performance Practice Review

Although much valuable work has been done on performance practice in the Classic period, many issues await detailed study.

The Performance Of French Baroque Music: A Report On The State Of Current Research, Albert Cohen

Performance Practice Review

A survey, with a bibliography, of published research on French Baroque performance practice that appeared during the period 1978-88.

"The Music Of Wilhelm Friedemann Bach" By David Schulenberg, David Ledbetter

Performance Practice Review

David Ledbetter discusses and reviews Schulenberg's 2010 work.

Schulenberg, David. The Music of Wilhelm Friedemann Bach. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press, 2010.

ISBN: 978-1-58046-359-1

"The Organ Music Of J.S. Bach. Volume Iii: A Background." By Peter F. Williams, Kimberly Marshall

Performance Practice Review

Marshall reviews and discusses Peter Williams' 1984 work.

Williams, Peter F. The Organ Music of J.S. Bach: A Background. Vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984. viii, 309p.

ISBN 0-521-24412-9