Guest Editorial: Performance and Analysis of Music

Guest Editorial: Performance and Analysis of Music Author(s): Jonathan Dunsby Reviewed work(s): Source: Music Analysis, Vol. 8, No. 1/2 (Mar. - Jul., 1989), pp. 5-20 Published by: Blackwell Publishing Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/854325 . Accessed: 31/07/2012 03:03 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

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JONATHANDUNSBY

GUEST EDITORIAL: PERFORMANCE AND ANALYSIS OF MUSIC

I Even withinrelativelysmall, tentative,isolated areas of music-analytical truein thearea and thisis certainly thereis muchthatis contentious, activity, forinstance,bythe viewson 'analysis'- analysisas represented, ofperformers' and analysisof musicis journalsof thatdiscipline.*The area of performance examinedhere withinthe confinesof Western-Europeantonal music and modernWestern-Europeananalyticalresponsesto it. Withoutapologyfor dealingonlywithold music,and fordealingonlywitha received,Germanic mustbe admitted.Thereare ofcoursesenses viewofanalysis,thenarrowness inwhichthechallengesofperforming music,whichmustbe a central post-tonal modern preoccupation,are differentin kind, just as there are other, is sophisticatedmusical societiesin whichthe veryconceptof performance - societiesin whichthereis no notation,societiesin whichwhatwe different is in factmore a sortof game, societiesin which would call a performance is a everyone performer. circlesof the There seems to be a growingawarenessin music-theoretical of the connections between for contemplating potential deeper investigation musicand actuallypresenting it. Indeed a numberofrecentpublicationshave rushedin- wheremosttheorists have,in therecentpast,fearedto tread- with littleovertattentionto underlying issues, especiallytheissue of theextentto and analysisis even desirable,let alone whicha unifiedfocusin performance then,thisbriefdiscussionbegins possible.Withina narrowframeofreference, and proceedswitha withsomeoftheseedsofourthinking aboutperformance, fewcase-studiesin non-technical language.Finally,thereis modestcomment on a moralto be drawnfrom'authentic',historicist performance practice.

*This essayis therevisedversionofan addressto theFirstAnnualEncounteroftheNationalAssociationforResearchand GraduateStudiesin Music, Salvador,Brazil,21-4 November1988. TravelfundingfromtheBritishCouncilis gratefully acknowledged.I also thankJamesEllis forpointingme in one ofthedirectionstakenhere.

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II and music-analytical Many will assume that the greatestmusic-theoretical impact on present-dayperformancepractices has emanated from the Schenkerianschool,of whichmorewill be said in due course. Yet it can be argued thatat least as much has been inheritedfromthose whose musical educationstemmeddirectlyor indirectly fromArnoldSchoenberg;forit is a of the Schoenbergianassumptionthata thoroughconceptualunderstanding musical score is the prerequisiteof adequate performance.The course of music has surelyshown this to be true in the area of twentieth-century music. dodecaphonic DespitetheinsistenceoftheSecond-Viennese composers thatitis howthemusicsoundswhichmatters,nothowitwas made,everybody now acceptsthata sensitiveperformance ofthesepost-tonalscores,especially of is to unlesstheperformer is thoroughly occur Webern's, perhaps unlikely familiarwiththeintervalpropertiesofthetonerowor rowsand therhythmic structureof their presentation.Every detail of the score and all the are consideredvital studyforthe performer.'It is hardly interrelationships surprisingthatthisbeliefin the essentialrole of analysisas preparationfor performanceof new music became the byword among Schoenbergians was neworold, and thatthiswidecircleof regardlessofwhethertherepertoire inworld performance ideologyhasincludedmanyofthemostinfluential figures musicofrecenttimes. The positionis stateddirectlyby violinistRudolfKolisch,who maintained thatthestudyofa score thanusualstructural Ithastopenetrate hastoreachmuchfurther analysis. so deeply,thatwe arefinally abletoretrace processofthe everythought such a will enable us to readthesigns examination composer. Only thorough and to definetheobjective to theirfullextentandmeaning performance thosereferring tophrasing, andinflection, elements, punctuation especially thespeechlike elements.2 An equallystringent realizationofthisapproachis to be foundin ErwinStein's in whichwe are toldthat bookFormandPerformance, ofthemusic; istorealizethecharacter concern Theperformer's paramount He shouldnotbeginwith itis thepurpose forwhichthemusicwaswritten. butseekthe tobe expressed, ideasaboutmoodsoremotions preconceived ofthemusic, features. It is thestructure in themusic'sformal character anddynamic from itsmelodic, components, harmonic, rhythmical resulting atthesametime.Thecharacter isgiven form andcharacter thatdetermines he will the butby the second In structure. the first, convey fully realizing by both.He musttakeaccountofthe pullingthemusicabouthewillcontort ofthestructure features them,decidetheirprecedence and,incombining ofbalance.3 andjudgement tohissenseofproportion according 6

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The Second-Vienneseapproachto performance has muchin commonwith the Schenkeriantraditionwhichtendsto claimpriority in thesematters.Both reston musicalidealism:themusicalscore,itis hoped,offers themostcomplete of what the and evidence the has the possible composerintended, performer of information this and it to the last detail responsibility decoding representing in musical performance.The realityis different, if only because musical notationitself,in skilledcompositional hands,is so economicalwiththetruth, but in generalbecause of theinescapablehalo of historicalcontingency in the playing,singingor conductingofotherpeople'smusic.Withinneitherofthese dominant forces which have shaped our preconceptionsabout musical is therea systematic oftherehearsalroom performance placeforthepragmatism or the teachingstudio, in which aural and verbal traditionis the essential ofthemusicologist, who currency.Thereis notevenplace forthepragmatism can discoverone day thedocumentthatchallengessome aspectofyesterday's interpretation. To underestimate the high musical achievement,be it Schoenbergianor that froman inspiredcreativeidealismwould be quite came Schenkerian, withoutartisticintegrity. needs some mediation Nevertheless,the performer betweenthe spiritualand the actual, withoutundermining either.This can one whichis often beginto be achievedby makinga rathersimpledistinction, and performance. A particular overlooked,betweeninterpretation analysismay well lead to theconvictionthata particularkindof interpretation is essential, buthowtoconveythatinterpretation tothelistenerinperformance is a different matter.Dependingon instruments, acoustics,evenfactorssuchas thetimeof day,it maybe necessary,forinstance,to grosslyexaggeratemusicaldetailsin orderto getthemessageacross:evidenceofthisis thecareerofone ofthemost moderninterpreters, thelate GlennGould,who withdrew from highly-valued concert work because ofthemusicallyfalseperformance that public altogether he believedit imposedbetweeninterpreter and listener.4Withoutdoubt, a sociologicalunderstandingof performanceis a much less pure kind of ofinterpretation whichhas been knowledgethantheanalyticalunderstanding an ideal of thiscentury.As a consequence,performers who do not thinkof themselvesas analysts cannot expect too much from those who do. and tryingto explainmusicalstructure is notthesamekindof Understanding as understanding and communicating music.Thereis a genuineoverlap activity betweenthesepolesofactivity, butit cannotbe a completeoverlap. A fewremarksarerequiredatthisstageon howtheviewsjustexpressedrelate totheSchenkerian Schenkerhimselfusedthe positionon musicalperformance. word 'interpretation' as a pejorativeterm to signifythe impositionof a performer'sown, personal, idiosyncraticmusical ideas on those of the to mean the understanding of a score composer.Here it is used differently, derived principallyfromthe internalevidence of that score. The present distinctionbetweeninterpretation and performancedoes not substantially contradictSchenker'sownformulation, in whichitis claimedthatall evidence needed to assimilatea compositionis to be foundin a score; but what the MUSIC

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composerdoes not offertheperformeris a guide to the means of actually has been community producingtherequiredeffect.The modernmusic-theory that of belief the literalness Schenker's to unwilling acknowledge,however, in which be found in the so-called can that 'Meisterwerk' magicalcontinuity only witheveryother,on structure is interrelated everydetailoftonaland rhythmic and betweenthoseand themusicalsurface,at thedeepestlevelsofprolongation levelsoftonalhierarchy. intervening A numberofcommentators haveaskedhow Schenkeriantenetscan be used butofwhatmightbe calledordinary in theanalysis,notonlyof'masterpieces', good music.6Ordinarygood music mightdisplaymanyof the voice-leading butitis notin essenceorganic,so thatthereis featuresofthetonalmasterpiece, its structure and therecan be no goldenkeyto its no goldenkeyto explaining assumed thatthelessonstobe learnedfrom It is interpretation. probablywidely structure of a the masterpiececannot fail to enhance our interpreting to less of,say, organicmusic- thattheskilledinterpreter subsequentapproach Mozart'sPiano Sonatain A minor,K.310, willdo well in playinga sonataby a dangerof Dussek or Pinto.Yet evenherethereis a dangerofover-theorising, it were in the as if music informal less tautly-structured, performing of Schenkerian in music The wholesale tradition. theory adoption masterpiece analyticaltechniqueswithouta rigorousapplicationof Schenkerianaesthetics to the betweenmasterpieceand non-masterpiece has consignedthedistinction safetyof the touchline:if thislends a more acceptableface to the zealot of Schenkeriantheory,it may also create unnecessarydifficultiesfor the thatcarries who has to contendwitha kind of pan-Schenkerism performer, one can only noneoftheartisticcompulsionoftheoriginalideal. Thatbeingso, environment. in the as possible recommend post-idealistic workingas positively It seems to followthatthe mosthelpfulway to characterizeanalysisforthe is notas whichis boundtobe at theveryleastSchenker-influenced, performer, someformofabsolutegood,butas a problem-solving activity. ofa kindinthisrespect,seenintheinteraction Therealreadyexistsa tradition ofpedagogyand performance throughvariousapproachesto theconceptofthe wisdom musicaledition.Sometimestheresultoftheurgetorecordperformance tooktheformoftechnicaland spiritualadvice,ofwhichAlfredCortot'seditions of Chopin are probablythe best-knownexamples.An especiallyinteresting groupis formedby theeditorsofBeethoven'spianosonatas,vonBillow(1894) and Schnabel(1935) tendingtowardsmattersofexpression,Tovey(1931) and Schenker(1934) moreconcernedwithaddressingwhatwe mightnowadayscall thatbothhistorical knowledgeand analyticalissues,butall ofthemrecognizing intense,detailedstudyofall aspectsofthescorearerequired.'The veryhistory editorialpracticemaybe viewedas partofthepre-history ofnineteenth-century inthe ofprogramme-note oftwentieth-century writing analysis(as is thehistory research on which in nineteenth late thorough century,especially Britain, remainsto be even begun): it moved fromthe stage of awarenessof the to the lateinadequacyof the musical score as a guide to interpretation, in Romantic taste for imposing 'personal' readings, or 'interpretations' 8

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Schenker'ssenseoftheword- one ironichighpointofthissecondphasebeing FerruccioBusoni's desireto make whathe thoughtof as a concertversionof Schoenberg'sThree Piano Pieces, Op.ll, of 1909, much to the composer's consternation.The reaction which set in, expounding respect for the composer'stext,and studyof it perse, made it inevitablethatthetheoryand fortheessenceofthatstudy, analysisoftonalmusicwouldbecomeimportant, whichis themeansand termsofunderstanding musicalstructure, cametobe at a premium. It was also inevitablethat this would raise difficultiesof communication. The moresophisticated theanalysis,thelesscomprehensible it is tothenon-specialist, who yetonemightdaretosaythatitis thenon-specialist has greatestneed of theanalysis.Howevereffectively thesedifficulties can be overcomein thelongterm,we shouldavoidbeingsentimental abouta chimeric unityofpurposebetweenmusicians'differing objectives.

III Somequestionsofinterpretation areeasilyresolvedby 'analysis'ofone formor another.Whentheyarenot,itmaybe thattheanalysisis poor,butitis equally is askingill-considered is a possiblethattheperformer questions.The following simplecase in point.In thethirdsectionofBrahms'sFantasieOp. 116,No. 2, we hear new, contrasting material,the openingand middlesectionin minor givingwaytomajor-mode melodywithno down-beatrepeatednotes(see Ex. 1). The performer betweenthesetwomelodies? mightask: whatis therelationship The answeris that,withcharacteristic ingenuity,Brahmsis usingthe longdoublecounterpoint at theoctave,as Ex. standingtechniqueofvariedtwo-part 2 illustrates. Yet thereis no seriousproblemfortheperformer in anycase in the ofthesethemes.The melodiesareclearlydesignedtocontrast, and presentation theunderlying unitymaynotevenneedtobe perceiveddirectly bythelistener: any pointing-uphereby the pianist,forinstanceby bringingout the middle voice of the opening in order to show the derivationof the subsequent theme,wouldhardlybe appropriate;itwoulddestroythebalanceof contrasting contrastand unityto whichBrahmshas,as always,givencarefulcompositional thought. Some kinds of problem-solving are, on the other hand, necessaryand effective.An interestingcase is that of Maurizio Pollini's one-timeinterpretationofthefirstmovementofBeethoven'sWaldstein Sonata,in whichthe second themewas offeredin the expositionwith an unusual dull tone, the chordsin eachhandmoreor lessequallyweighted;yetin the mostlythree-note reprisethethemewasplayedwiththeluminously singingtoplinethatis usually forbeingperformed ina expectedofa masterpianist.This was doublyeffective wheresuchdevicesofcontrastareespeciallynoticeable.The largeauditorium, problem Pollini was thus solving, consciously or unconsciously,was presumablyone of harmony.The second themein the expositionis in the mediantmajor,E major,following theC majoropening.The firstrepriseofthis MUSIC

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Ex. 1 Brahms, Intermezzo, Op. 116,No. 2

Andante

E,,

.. .

-c a

,.it mr

... . .rI Ir

-

Por ]

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i

i i

P!l'I.I

l

Ex. 2

themeis notin thetonic,butin A major,thesubmediantmajor.Althoughthis is a logicaltranspositional it is a bold and temporary variationof relationship, sonata convention,as Beethovenconfirmsby repeatingthe themein the submediantminor,thenat lastthetonic.How can theperformer capitalizeon thisprocess,renderit as articulateas possibleforthelistener?One verygood solution,Pollini's, is to draw sonic attentionto this point in the musical architecture byaddingan unprecedented expressive edgetothesecondthemein the reprise,focusingthe listener'sconcentrationat a special momentin Beethoven'sharmonicnarrative.An analysiscan explainthespecialqualityof the harmonicprolongationhere, but only the performercan make the judgementthatthisshouldhave expressiveeffectin theinterpretation.8

10

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Ex. 1 cont.

G A I

-

A

IAre

I

I*-

ITIMMi

Ex. 2 cont.

t

l

IV It is appropriateat thisstageto introducesome concrete,thoughnecessarily betweenanalyticalinterpretation tentative, examplesofthespecificinteraction and actualperformance, illustrated fromthePreludein G minor,Op. 28, No. 22, of Chopin. To provide some initial orientation,Ex. 3 presentstwo summariesof the firsttwenty-four bars. System1 showsa simplerhythmic reductionof this music: the rhythmicreductionis hardlycontroversial in that the is in an elaborated-chorale its lead general,given piece style,taking fromthefamousTwentiethPreludeinC minor,whichis an unelaborated mockchorale.System2 is a transcription of the informalreductionin Schenkerian voice-leadingnotation- it is not reallynecessaryto be familiarwith the ofthisnotationinordertofollowtheperceptions itrecordsaboutthe symbology music. MUSIC ANALYSIS 8:1-2,1989

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Ex. 3 Chopin,Op. 28, No. 22 (bs 1-24) rhythmicreduction

A

I

1.

fI..H.15L

k -I;-j 'v'

'voiceleading

6

4

6

3

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NIN

howsomeofthedetails fromtheverybeginning It is probablyall-too-obvious For instance,thereis a of Ex. 3 may impingeupon an ideal interpretation. ofvoicingin thetempestuousand forceful opening.The neighbourdifficulty note figureG-F#-G in the left-handmelody,and the leading-note-to-tonic motionoftheupperline,bothtendtotricktheearintohearingthesecondbaras a tonicharmony(see Ex. 4). Ex. 4

0000 WE@@ ti ft

in Ex. 5, however, The harmonicskeletonoftheopeningillustrated Ex. 5

G)~

0000

S

E 3

3

3

3

thatEb intherighthandofb.2 is vitaltothevoice-leading demonstrates pattern; and thereis everyreasonforthepianistto considergivingit a specialclarityof illustration in some way, of whichEx. 6 is simplya theoretical articulation all it after but here for the may interpreter, Chopinseemsto haveseta problem resultfromtherelativelack ofclarityin themodernpiano comparedwiththe Frenchinstrument: composer'smid-nineteenth-century

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Ex. 3 cont.

15

'aT

6 [ocoJ 6 Voo1 6f+0

0

x0

r

T+8IIi6

6

[+801 I

II

+80]

SJ'

Ex. 6 Ex. 6

>-sf

thebestactualtechnicalsolutionfortheE6 is probablytoplay Parenthetically: it fractionally beforethe othernotes of the righthand - but the particular solutiondependson whichstyleofpianoplayingtheperformer represents. Furtherinto the piece anotherkind of problem-solving is possible, hard thoughitis to describeverbally.The mainmelodyis in thebass, buttherighthandmelodyis also activethroughout mostofthefirstsection.In bs 15and 16, to be heardas an awkward however,therighthandsettleson E6 and threatens patch in the melodicinvention.The bracketsmarked'x' on Ex. 3 indicate, though,thatChopinis usinga familiarconnectivedevice to move the music fromsectionA intothecontrasting middlesection:once theE6 is heardin this as a melodic tense,forward-moving way, upbeatin themotionto A6 in b. 18 notas a melodicvacuum,butas a prolongation heldin checkthatis straining to continueto its immediategoal - there is no longerany problemhere in The analysisestablishes,as it were,beliefin whatChopinhas performance. ifthiswerenecessary- thoughtherearemanythought-provoking cases written, ofsuchnecessity, ofwhicha further in due course.The examplewillbe offered consciousoftheconnectionunderdiscussionwillinstinctively performer place MUSIC ANALYSIS

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of and voiceF in therighthandofb. 17tomakeitsound,notonlythebeginning a newsection,butalso partofan ongoingline.9 The connectinglinearpatternsbetweensectionsA and B of the Twentyof the entireshape of the Second Prelude can determinethe interpretation middlesection.The bracketsmarked'y' on Ex. 3 showthattheintervalof a sixth,filledby stepwisemotion,is importantin the motivicmenu of the composition.The intervalof a sixthappearsbelow thelevelof theimmediate in a longprolongation peak movingfromb. 13,whichis theregistral foreground ofthelefthandofthewholepiece,towhatcan be consideredthegesturalclimax ofsectionB, theoctave-spacedBbs in bs 22 and 23. Each precedingnoteofthis withitssuccessor,andthegapthat overallmotionofa sixthis connecteddirectly inexposingthefinalstep of b.21 is at the beginning especiallyeffective opensup frommiddleC to B . Fromthepointofviewofvoice-leading theory,it should in shapingthe whichmightguidetheperformer be notedthatthisprogression, ofthepiece.In levelofthestructure middlesection,is partofthemiddleground tothedominant,in bs 24, then32,34 andthe theory,theinevitablemovements forthetonalcoherenceof bar, are perhapsofdeepersignificance penultimate an earlierpoint,thatwe shouldnotexpecta thePrelude.And thisexemplifies completeoverlapbetweentheoryand practice.A theoryof whichthe central aim is to demonstratetonal coherencemay be of greatimportanceto the is concernedwithmuchelse besides. but theperformer performer,

V It may well be thatthe problem-solving potentialof analysishas been least in the area of musicaltime- in questionsof proportion,metreand effective These ineffable qualitiesofmusicarelikelytobe theleastamenableto rhythm. and conceptualscrutiny, mattersthathave been illuminatedverylittleeven throughthe musicologist'smicroscopecan barelybe touchedupon in this What analysisseems so littleable to captureis that particularcommentary. - timing- whichsubsumesso manyfactorssuch as secretof the performer rubato,structuralarticulationand expressiveemphasis,and whichis such a ofalmostanycomposition. powerfulelementin thepresentation It is perhapsin the area of musical timingthatthe sharpestideological Consider becomesclearin thegoalsoftheanalystandtheperformer. distinction fineline betweenpointedarticulationand cheap, theatrical the performer's in Ex. 7, wherethesecondG, markedwithan asterisk,mustbe heardas: effect memberofa dottedan upbeatto thefollowingnote;thesubsidiaryrhythmic note figure;the filling-inof an unattackedfirstbeat aftera busy two-beat with It is a noteoverburdened functions. anacrusis;and as havingmanyfurther convenient the by meanings,mostof whichcan be resolvedin performance ofan unscripted introduction bar, pauseon thethirdbeatofthefirstincomplete ofa perceptionofmetricalorderin the thelargerestablishment thusdestroying firstphrase. 14

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Ex. 7 Berg,Sonata,Op. 1

Missig bewe

accel.

p 'n

rit.

I ft /

The openingofBerg'sSonata,finethoughitis, is whatperformers wouldcall to be dealt with there is not 'problematic',something pragmatically: quite the of intention and intended execution thatone magisterial clarity compositional findsin thematureworkofBeethovenorStravinsky, ScarlattiorMessiaen.The analystis powerlessin sucha case. Analysisdeals,in general,withtheideology of veneration,the celebrationof culturalperfection, the explanationof how thingsworkin music,not of how theydon't workquite as well as one might wish. The Bergis thefirstofficialworkofa youngcomposer,butsuchdifficulties are to be foundevenin masterpieces.Example8 showsan interesting case (see below). This is thesecondthemeofBrahms'sD minorViolinSonata,Op. 108, a themewhichsoundsexcellentlateron in the violinpart. However,as first At any reasonable presentedin the piano solo, it is virtuallyunperformable. speed thefivespreadnotes,and indeedsix spreadnotesin thefifthbar of the eitherto sounduglybecausethechords theme,forcea hiatuswhichthreatens, are so abrupt,or to destroythemetreiftheyaregivenenoughtimetounrollto the sforzandi.Example 8a shows the passage in ArturSchnabel'sedition,in whichall themarkingsencircledin smallprintare by theeditorand thelargeareBrahms'sown. Schnabel'ssolutiontotherhythmic printmarkings problem is to compensatebydynamicnuance,andit evidently restson an analysisofthe dissonantversusconsonantstatusoftheappoggiaturas. to Example8b attempts conveythisbymatchingSchnabel'sdynamicswitha hierarchical representation ofthevoiceleading:thecorrespondences are self-evident. Lest thisillustration seem an act of criticalheresyin challengingthe compositionalwisdomof the matureworkofa genius,it shouldbe added thatBrahmshimselfknewhe had written an impracticable idea here.His owncopyoftheprintedmusiccarriesan emendationin whichthe lefthand is not spread on the fourthquaver, but outtherhythm and texture, repeatsthebass noteson thethirdbeat,smoothing as in Ex. 9. This is a frustrating case ofthecomposer'sowncriticalanalysis;itis oflittle MUSIC ANALYSIS

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Ex. 8 Brahms, ViolinSonata,Op. 108/I

7'17

ofs PV77..

Iw"

Ir

P.

',

l0

I

I,

10

I

If:IMv-',, " f? ,

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practicalhelp, forBrahmsneveralteredtheplatesforsubsequentprintingof historical evidencethathe actuallymeantthe Op. 108,and thereis no surviving to be revised.'0 passage

VI If thereis a subtexthere,it is thatourproblemsare muchmorewiththepast, thanmaybe casuallyassumedoreven ratherthanthepresentand near-present, tenaciouslyclaimed. For this reason a path has been carved throughthe twentiethcenturyobservingthe bordersonlyof Schoenbergand Schenker, bordermightbe calledStravinskyism, further suspendingothers:an important where'execution'- in whichthedeathis celebrated,notoftheauthor,butof

16

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,1"

~

A -nr

I

I

As

tof -it 7\ p-1

-I

....

AND ANALYSIS

t 1

-10)

_ rIn

- supplantsinterpretation; the 'performer' anothermightbe called 'taste', a questionwhich posingthequestion'forwhomis theperformer performing?', has not yetaccruedquite the awesomesense of overthrow experiencedin its current European counterpart:'for whom nowadays is the composer composing?'. Such sins of omission must be minor. For instance, the 'execution'ideology,whethermodern,orold in the'sewing-machine' approach to thelateBaroque,has no avowedneedofanalysishoweverbroadlyconceived, even ifpretendedexecutioncan nevertrulyhide its lack ofneutrality. As for of there is no that these are questions reception, implication relatively 'unimportant',only that any discussionmust see its own boundariesand recognizeitsownovertor covertprovisionality. Those who findthepastless troublesomethanthepresentmustsympathize littlewiththosewhodon't,andviceversa(thoughtheviceversamayoftenentail a touchof future-conscience in thosewho worryabout the past overmuch). MUSIC ANALYSIS 8:1-2,1989

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When the two become smudged,creativeenergyis released. 'It is not the ofpersonalchoicefromperformance elimination thatrealartistsdesire',writes RichardTaruskin,'butitsimprovement and refreshment'bothgoalsbeing,if notreactionary, nevertheless creative too.11 reactive,though inherently This is nottheplace to hunttogroundthegoodand bad coursesofhisrecent 'The PastnessofthePresentand thePresenceofthePast',which,in thedarkof and analystsalike forerasingthat print,maybe rememberedby performers word with the 'authentic' confusing resoundingly straightforward - itmust a mostelegantsemanticput-down.Yet it is intriguing 'authenticist', in 'musicanalysis'- thatin Taruskin'slongand richlybe, to anyoneinterested natureofauthenticist referenced performance argumentabouttheunhistorical hardlya wordis said about analysis,or even about theory.Some of the few explicitcommentsare fromsuch a heightthattheysound an earlywarning againsta would-beguru: 'If "structural"was the sanctifiedshibbolethof the "new critical"1930s and 1940s, surely"hierarchy"and "unifying"were the wordsof the Schenkerian1950sand 1960s,at leastin theacademic sanctified bastionsoflogicalpositivism.. .'12- good poseurstuff. Whatis notsaid speaksvolumes,to whichthebestaccessmaybe thatrealin the 'real artists'of Taruskin's antepenultimate paragraph.Is this not the thatpartof of the of face urge 'pan-Schenkerism', acceptable musicologically ofa thetheorybusinesswhichembodiesTaruskin'sveryownhorror-category is what is not fundamentalism : permittedprohibited'(my 'quasi-religious ... is nota deeplyprohibitive italics)?If 'real' in Taruskin'sviewofperformance criticalterm,somethingmust have been lost in translation(Americanto English). debatetheoryand analysisarejust Whetherhe thinksthatin theauthenticist is not- ithardlyneedssaying- even or areactuallyprohibited, notpermitted, raisedin 'The PastnessofthePresent'.But,intellectual guarddown,youhave to ignorethatwhatis not permittedone sanctimonious to be extraordinarily momentbecomesprohibitedat theverynextin everydayhumanconduct.A subliminalprohibition mightexplaintheone weirdspratTaruskinthrowsin to will - 'curiousperformers all catch,presumably, big-headedtheory-mackerels So theorists'14 and need in the sources what (myitalics). theoryis alwaysfind they offers itschallenges solved?As does anyaspectofhistory, theory-then-and-now reveals the to the from to theunderstanding continuing present, past reaching ambiguitiesof purpose,alwayshas potentialto unnerveproponentsof the out tobe written settledmusicalview:aretheseand all otherlivecharacteristics or prohibited? ofthescript?Not permitted,

VII Eitherway,thebottomline - even in thehallowedgroundofhow to present musictoothers-is thatthereis no escapefromtheoryingeneralorinparticular, aboutittoomuch, needtoescapefromthinking thoughwe mayeachsometimes 18

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and some need to escape always, even though thereis no escape. 'Performance and Analysis' people know it does not feelquite like thiswhen you are on stage - thus, again, the 'partial overlap'. Yet there is no epistemological reason for analysis and its theoriesto work in fearof what it feels like on stage. NOTES 1. For an excellentdiscussionofthesematters,see Christopher Wintle,'Webern's ConcertoOp. 24/II', Music Analysis,Vol. 1, No. 1 (March 1982), pp.74-81: 'Performing'. Portrait 2. Quoted in JoanAllenSmith,Schoenberg andHis Circle:A Viennese (New York: Schirmer,1986), pp.105-6. See also Rudolf Kolisch, Zur Theorieder Vol. 29/30(January1983). Musik-Konzepte, Auffiihrung, 3. FormandPerformance (London: Faber, 1962),p.20. 4. A wide-ranging pictureof thisartist'sviews can be foundin The GlennGould Reader,ed. Tim Page (London: Faber, 1987). 5. A concise and well-documentedstudyof this aspect of Schenker'swork is published in William Rothstein,'Heinrich Schenker as an Interpreterof Beethoven'sPiano Sonatas',Nineteenth-Century Music,Vol. 8, No. 1 (Summer 1984),pp.3-28. 6. WilliamA. Pastille,'HeinrichSchenker,Anti-Organicist', in Nineteenth-Century Vol. No. that thereare continuing 1 (Summer1984),pp.29-36,argues Music, 8, in Schenker's of the 'Meisterwerk' and concludeswiththe challenges concept 'If fundamental Schenker's question: theoryproperlyappliesonlyto theworksof how does it relate to the works ofnon-geniuses?' geniuses, (myitalics)- thephrase 'works of genius' would have been more felicitousfora numberof obvious reasons,and Pastille'sturnof phraseheremayyethelp to perpetuatethevery trendhe is arguingagainst.CharlesBurkhartmuseson whethertherewas indeed a process of developmentbut subsequentretractioneven in the fieldof the betweendynamicand masterpiecein Schenker'sthinkingabouttherelationship levels- whichat one timeSchenkersupposedmustcorrespond, pitch-structural though'one wondersifperhapsit was notan idea that[he] eventually dropped': see 'Schenker's Theory of Levels and Musical Performance',in Aspectsof Schenkerian ed. David Beach (New Haven: Yale University Theory, Press,1983), pp.95-112(p. 112n). 7. For a briefdiscussionofthehistoryand currentstateofeditionsofBeethoven's piano sonatas,see WilliamDrabkin, 'The BeethovenSonatas',Musical Times, Vol. 126,No. 1706(April1985),pp.216-20. 8. The Waldstein repriseis discussedbyKonradWolffinSchnabel'sInterpretation of Piano Music(London: Faber, 1979),witha different solutionto thesameissue: 'The modulation. . . is . . . a major structuralevent. This becomes clear accordingto Schnabel,ifthethemehereis moresimply- thatis, lessexpressively - presented;somewhatin the styleof an improvisedmodulationon theorgan . '(p.134). MUSIC

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Bar 21 confirmsthatone of the multiplefunctionsof F in the righthand is to initiateprogression. Sucha roleforthispitchclasshasalreadybeenexposedinthe harmonicreversal(flatside)it initiatesin the lefthand melodyin b. 14 - an comment. inescapablyorganicist 10. All theinformation givenhereabout theBrahmsrevisionis drawnfromRobert 'Brahms and theDefinitiveText', inBrahms:Biographical, Pascall, Documentary and AnalyticalStudies,ed. RobertPascall (Cambridge:CUP, 1983), pp.59-75 (p.74). Pascall argues that we should have no reservationsin actuallyusing Brahms'sprivateemendations. andEarly 11. 'The PastnessofthePresentandthePresenceofthePast',inAuthenticity ed. Nicholas Kenyon(London: OUP, 1988), pp. 137-210 Music: A Symposium, (p.206). 9.

12. Ibid.,p.168. 13. Ibid.,p.181. 14. Ibid., p.214.

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