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8/9/2019 Guest Editorial: Performance and Analysis of Music
1/17
Guest Editorial: Performance and Analysis of MusicAuthor(s): Jonathan DunsbyReviewed work(s):Source: Music Analysis, Vol. 8, No. 1/2 (Mar. - Jul., 1989), pp. 5-20Published by: Blackwell PublishingStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/854325.
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2/17
JONATHAN
UNSBY
GUEST
EDITORIAL:
PERFORMANCE
AND
ANALYSIS
OF
MUSIC
I
Even
within
relatively
mall, tentative,
solated areas
of
music-analytical
activity,
here s
much hat
s
contentious,
nd
this
s
certainly
rue n the
rea
of
performers'
iews
n
analysis' analysis
s
represented,
or
nstance,
y
the
journals
f that
discipline.*
he
area of
performance
nd
analysis
f music
s
examinedhere within he confines f Western-Europeanonal music and
modern
Western-European
nalytical esponses
o it. Without
pology
for
dealing
only
with
old
music,
and
for
dealing
only
with
received,
Germanic
view
of
analysis,
henarrowness
mustbe admitted.
here
are ofcourse enses
in
which he
hallenges
f
performing
ost-tonal
music,
whichmust
e
a
central
modern
preoccupation,
re different
n
kind,
just
as there
are
other,
sophisticated
musical societies
n which the
very oncept
of
performance
s
different societies
n
which here
s no
notation,
ocieties
n
which
what
we
would
call
a
performance
s in factmore
a sortof
game,
societies
n which
everyone
s a
performer.
There seems to be a growingwarenessn music-theoreticalircles f the
potential
or
deeper
nvestigation
f the connections etween
ontemplating
music
nd
actually resenting
t. Indeed
a
number
f
recent
ublications
ave
rushed
n
-
wheremost heorists
ave,
n the
recent
ast,
feared
o
tread
with
little
vert ttention
o
underlying
ssues,
especially
he
ssue of the extent
o
which unified
ocus n
performance
nd
analysis
s
even
desirable,
et
alone
possible.
Within
narrow
rame
f
reference,
hen,
hisbrief iscussion
egins
with ome
of
the eedsof
our
thinking
bout
performance,
nd
proceeds
with
few ase-studies
n
non-technical
anguage.
Finally,
here s modest omment
on a moral o be drawn rom
authentic',
istoricist
erformanceractice.
*This
essay
s therevised ersion f n address o
the
First
Annual
Encounter
f the
NationalAssociation
or
Research
nd
Graduate
tudies
n
Music,
Salvador,
Brazil,
21-4 November1988.
Travel
funding
rom
he
British
ouncil
s
gratefully
acknowledged.
also
thank
James
llis for
ointing
me n
one ofthe
directions
akenhere.
MUSIC
ANALYSIS
8:1-2,
1989 5
8/9/2019 Guest Editorial: Performance and Analysis of Music
3/17
JONATHAN
DUNSBY
II
Many will assume that thegreatestmusic-theoreticalnd music-analytical
impact
on
present-dayperformance
ractices
has
emanated
from
the
Schenkerian
chool,
of which
morewill
be said
in
due
course. Yet
it can
be
argued
that
at least as much
has been
inherited
rom
hose whose musical
education
temmed
irectly
r
indirectly
rom
Arnold
Schoenberg;
or t s a
Schoenbergian ssumption
hata
thorough onceptual
nderstanding
f the
musical
score is the
prerequisite
f
adequate
performance.
he course
of
twentieth-century
usic
has
surely
shown
this to be true in the area
of
dodecaphonic
music.
Despite
the nsistence
f
he
Second-Viennese
omposers
that t s howthemusic oundswhichmatters,othow twasmade, verybody
now
accepts
hat
sensitive
erformance
f
these
post-tonal
cores,
specially
perhaps
f
Webern's,
s
unlikely
o
occur
unlessthe
performer
s
thoroughly
familiar ith he nterval
roperties
f
thetonerow
or
rows nd the
rhythmic
structure f their
presentation. very
detail
of
the score
and all
the
interrelationships
re
considered
ital
study
forthe
performer.'
t is
hardly
surprising
hat
this belief
n
the essential ole of
analysis
s
preparation
or
performance
f new music
became the
byword
among Schoenbergians
regardless
fwhether he
repertoire
as newor
old,
and that hiswidecircle
f
performance
deology
as ncluded
many
f
hemost nfluential
igures
nworld
music frecent imes.
The
position
s
stated
directly y
violinist udolf
Kolisch,
who maintained
that he
tudy
f score
has oreachmuch urther
han
sual tructural
nalysis.
t has o
penetrate
so
deeply,
hatwe are
finally
ble to retrace
very
houghtrocess
fthe
composer. nly
uch
thorough
xamination
ill nable storead
he
igns
to their
ull xtent
nd
meaning
nd to define he
bjective erformance
elements,
specially
hose
eferring
o
phrasing,
unctuation
nd
nflection,
the
peechlike
lements.2
An
equally
tringent
ealization
f
this
pproach
s to
be found
n
Erwin
tein's
book
Form
nd
Performance,
n
which
we are toldthat
The
performer'saramount
oncern
s torealize
he
haracter
f
he
music;
it s the
urpose
or
which hemusic
waswritten.
e
should
ot
egin
ith
preconceived
deas boutmoods
remotions
obe
expressed,
ut eek
he
character
n
the
music's ormal
eatures.t is the
tructuref
the
music,
resulting
romts
melodic, armonic,
hythmical
nd
dynamic
omponents,
that etermines
ormnd haracter
t
he ame
ime.
he
character
s
given
by he tructure.nfullyealizinghe econd ewill onveyhe irst,ut y
pulling
hemusic bout
e will
ontort
oth.He
must ake ccount f he
features
f
he tructure
nd,
n
combining
hem,
ecide
heir
recedence
according
ohis ense f
proportion
nd
udgement
f
balance.3
6
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PERFORMANCE
AND
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The Second-Viennese
pproach
o
performance
as much n common
with
the
Schenkerian radition hich ends o claim
priority
n thesematters.
oth
rest nmusical dealism: hemusical core, t shoped,offershemost omplete
possible
evidence
f whatthe
composer
ntended,
nd the
performer
as
the
responsibility
f
decoding
his
nformation
nd
representing
t to the ast
detail
in
musical
performance.
he
reality
s
different,
f
only
because
musical
notation
tself,
n skilled
ompositional
ands,
s
so economicalwith he
ruth,
but n
general
ecause
of
the
nescapable
halo of historical
ontingency
n
the
playing,
inging
r
conducting
fother
eople's
music.Within either f
these
dominant
forces which have
shaped
our
preconceptions
bout
musical
performance
s
there
systematiclace
for he
pragmatism
f
he
rehearsaloom
or
the
teaching
tudio,
n
which aural
and verbal tradition s the
essential
currency. here snotevenplacefor hepragmatismfthe
musicologist,
ho
can
discover
ne
day
thedocument hat
hallenges
ome
aspect
of
yesterday's
interpretation.
To
underestimatehe
high
musical
achievement,
e
it
Schoenbergian
r
Schenkerian,
hat
came
from
n
inspired
reative dealismwould
be
quite
without rtistic
ntegrity.
evertheless,
he
performer
eeds some mediation
between he
spiritual
nd the
actual,
without
ndermining
ither.This
can
begin
o
be achieved
y
making
rather
imple
distinction,
ne which s
often
overlooked,
etween
nterpretation
nd
performance.
particular
nalysismay
well ead tothe conviction hat particular indof nterpretations essential,
but
how o
convey
hat
nterpretation
o
the istenern
performance
s
a different
matter.
epending
on
instruments,
coustics,
venfactors
uch as thetime
f
day,
t
may
be
necessary,
or
nstance,
o
grossly
xaggerate
musical
details n
order o
get
the
message
cross:
vidence fthis s
the areer f
one of
themost
highly-valued
odern
nterpreters,
he
ate Glenn
Gould,
who
withdrew
rom
public
concertwork
ltogether
ecause ofthe
musically
alse
performance
hat
he believed t
imposed
between
nterpreter
nd
listener.4
Without
doubt,
a
sociological
understanding
f
performance
s a
much
less
pure
kind
of
knowledge
han
he
analytical
nderstanding
f
nterpretation
hich
has
been
an ideal ofthiscentury.As a consequence,performersho do not think f
themselvesas
analysts
cannot
expect
too
much from
those who
do.
Understanding
nd
trying
o
explain
musical
tructures not
the
amekindof
activity
s
understanding
nd
communicating
usic.There s a
genuine
verlap
between
hese
poles
of
activity,
ut t
cannot
e a
complete
verlap.
A
few emarks
re
required
t
this
tage
n
how
heviews
ust
xpressed
elate
to
the
Schenkerian
osition
n
musical
erformance.
chenker imself
sed
the
word
'interpretation'
s a
pejorative
erm to
signify
he
imposition
f a
performer's
wn,
personal,
idiosyncratic
musical
ideas on
those
of
the
composer.
Here it
is
used
differently,
o
mean
the
understanding
f
a score
derivedprincipally rom he internal vidence of thatscore. The present
distinction
etween
nterpretation
nd
performance
oes not
substantially
contradict
chenker's
wn
formulation,
n
which
t s claimed
hat ll
evidence
needed
to
assimilate
composition
s to
be
found
n
a
score;
but what
the
MUSIC
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JONATHAN
DUNSBY
composer
does
not offer he
performer
s
a
guide
to
the means
of
actually
producing
he
required
ffect.
The
modern
music-theory
ommunity
as been
unwilling o acknowledge, owever, he iteralnessf Schenker's elief hat
only
n the o-called
Meisterwerk'
an that
magical
ontinuity
e found
n which
every
etail
f
tonal nd
rhythmic
tructures interrelated
ith
very
ther,
n
themusical
urface,
t the
deepest
evels f
prolongation
nd
between
hose nd
intervening
evels
ftonal
hierarchy.
A number
f
commentatorsave asked
how
Schenkerian
enets an
be used
in
the
nalysis,
ot
only
f
masterpieces',
utofwhat
might
e
called
ordinary
good
music.6
Ordinary
ood
music
might
displaymany
of
the
voice-leading
features
f he onal
masterpiece,
ut
t
s
not
n essence
rganic,
o that here
s
no
goldenkey
to
explaining
ts structure
nd
there
an be no
golden
key
o
ts
interpretation.
t sprobably idely ssumed hat he essons obe learned rom
interpreting
he
structure f a
masterpiece
annot
fail
to enhance
our
subsequent
pproach
o
ess
organic
music
that
he killed
nterpreter
f,
ay,
Mozart's
Piano
Sonata
n
A
minor,
K.310,
will
do well
n
playing
sonata
by
Dussek
or Pinto.Yet evenhere here
s
a
danger
f
over-theorising,
danger
f
performing
ess
tautly-structured,
nformal
music
as if it were in
the
masterpiece
radition.
he wholesale
doption
n music
heory
f Schenkerian
analytical
echniques
without
rigorous
pplication
fSchenkerian
esthetics
has
consigned
he
distinctionetween
masterpiece
nd
non-masterpiece
o the
safety f the touchline: f this endsa moreacceptablefaceto thezealotof
Schenkerian
heory,
t
may
also
create
unnecessary
difficulties or the
performer,
ho
has
to
contendwith
kind of
pan-Schenkerism
hat
arries
none
of
he rtistic
ompulsion
f he
riginal
deal.
That
being
o,
one can
only
recommend
orking
s
positively
s
possible
n
the
post-idealistic
nvironment.
It seems
to follow
hatthe
most
helpfulway
to characterize
nalysis
or he
performer,
hich
s bound
to be at
the
very
east
Schenker-influenced,
s not
s
some
form f bsolute
ood,
but
as
a
problem-solving
ctivity.
There
lready
xists
traditionf
kind
n this
espect,
een
n
the nteraction
of
pedagogy
nd
performance
hrough
arious
pproaches
o the
oncept
f he
musical dition. ometimeshe esult f heurge orecord erformanceisdom
took
he
form
f echnical
nd
spiritual
dvice,
fwhich
Alfred ortot's
ditions
of
Chopin
are
probably
he best-known
xamples.
An
especially
nteresting
group
s formed
y
the ditors
f
Beethoven's
iano
sonatas,
on
Billow
1894)
and
Schnabel
1935) tending
owardsmatters
f
expression,
ovey
1931)
and
Schenker
1934)
more
oncerned
ith
ddressing
hat
we
might
owadays
all
analytical
ssues,
butall
of
hem
ecognizing
hat
othhistorical
nowledge
nd
intense,
etailed
tudy
f ll
aspects
f he
core re
required.'
The
very
istory
of
nineteenth-century
ditorial
ractice
may
be viewed
s
part
f he
pre-history
of
wentieth-century
nalysis
as
is the
history
f
programme-note
riting
n
the
late nineteenthentury, specially n Britain, n whichthorough esearch
remains
o be
even
begun):
it moved
from
he
stage
of awareness
of
the
inadequacy
of the
musical
score as a
guide
to
interpretation,
o the
late-
Romantic
taste
for
imposing
personal'
readings,
or
'interpretations'
n
8
MUSIC
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PERFORMANCE AND
ANALYSIS
Schenker's ense
of theword one ronic
highpoint
fthis econd
phase
being
FerruccioBusoni's
desire
o
make
whathe
thought
f
as
a concert ersion
f
Schoenberg's hree Piano Pieces, Op.ll, of 1909,muchto thecomposer's
consternation. he reaction which set
in,
expounding respect
for
the
composer's
ext,
nd
study
f t
per
e,
made
t
inevitable hat he
theory
nd
analysis
ftonal
musicwould
become
mportant,
or he
essence
f
that
tudy,
which s
themeans nd terms f
understanding
usical
tructure,
ameto
be
at
a
premium.
It was
also
inevitable that this would
raise difficulties
f
communication.
he more
ophisticated
he
nalysis,
he ess
comprehensible
t
is
to the
non-specialist,et
ne
might
are
to
say
hat t s
the
non-specialist
ho
has
greatest
eed
of
the
analysis.
However
ffectively
hese
difficulties
an
be
overcome
n
the
ong
erm,
we should
void
being
entimental
bout
chimeric
unity fpurposebetweenmusicians'
iffering
bjectives.
III
Some
questions
f
nterpretation
re
easily
esolved
y analysis'
f
one form r
another.
When
they
re
not,
t
may
be that
he
nalysis
s
poor,
but t s
equally
possible
hat
he
performer
s
asking
ll-considered
uestions.
he
following
s a
simple
ase
in
point.
n
the
hird ection
f
Brahms's
antasie
Op.
116,
No.
2,
we hearnew,contrasting aterial, heopening ndmiddle ection nminor
givingway
o
major-mode
elody
with o
down-beat
epeated
otes
see
Ex.
1).
The
performer
ight
sk:
what s
the
relationship
etween
hese wo
melodies?
The
answer
s
that,
with
characteristic
ngenuity,
rahms
s
using
the
ong-
standing
echnique
f
varied
wo-part
ouble
counterpoint
t the
octave,
s
Ex.
2
illustrates. et
there s no
serious
roblem
or
he
performer
n
any
ase n the
presentation
f
hese
hemes. he
melodies re
clearly
esigned
o
contrast,
nd
the
underlyingnity
may
not ven
need
to
be
perceived
irectly
y
the
istener:
any
pointing-up
ere
by
the
pianist,
or
nstance
y
bringing
ut
the
middle
voice of
the
opening
n
order to
show
the
derivation f
the
subsequent
contrastingheme,wouldhardly eappropriate;twoulddestroyhebalance f
contrastnd
unity
o which
Brahms
as,
as
always, iven
areful
ompositional
thought.
Some kinds of
problem-solving
re,
on
the
other
hand,
necessary
nd
effective.
n
interesting
ase is
that
of Maurizio
Pollini's
one-time
nter-
pretation
f the
first
movement
f
Beethoven's
Waldstein
onata,
n
which
he
second
themewas
offeredn
the
exposition
with an
unusual dull
tone,
the
mostly
hree-note
hords
n
each
handmore
r
ess
equally
weighted; et
n
the
reprise
he
heme
was
played
with
he
uminously
inging op
ine
hat s
usually
expected
f master
ianist.
This
was
doubly
ffectiveor
eingperformed
na
large uditorium, here uchdevices fcontrastreespecially oticeable. he
problem
Pollini
was thus
solving,
consciously
or
unconsciously,
was
presumably
ne of
harmony.
he second
theme n
the
exposition
s in
the
mediant
major, major,
ollowing
heC
major
pening.
he
first
eprise
f
his
MUSIC
ANALYSIS 8:1-2,
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JONATHAN
DUNSBY
Ex.
1
Brahms,
ntermezzo,
p.
116,
No.
2
Andante
...
. .rI
Ir
Por
.. .
,,
-c -
a
]
P l'I.I
.it mr i i i--l l
Ex.
2
theme
s
not n
the
tonic,
ut
n
A
major,
he ubmediant
major.
Although
his
is
a
logical
ranspositional
elationship,
t
s
a bold
and
temporary
ariation f
sonata
convention,
s
Beethoven onfirms
y
repeating
he theme n the
submediant
minor,
hen t ast
thetonic.
How
can the
performer
apitalize
n
this
process,
ender t as
articulate
s
possible
for he
istener? ne
very
ood
solution,Pollini's,
is
to draw sonic
attention
o
this
point
in
the musical
architecture
y
dding
n
unprecedentedxpressive
dge
o the
econd heme
n
the reprise,focusing he listener's oncentrationt a special moment n
Beethoven's armonic
arrative. n
analysis
an
explain
he
pecialquality
f
the harmonic
prolongation
ere,
but
only
the
performer
an make
the
judgement
hat his
hould
have
expressive
ffect
n the
nterpretation.8
10
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PERFORMANCE AND
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Ex. 1
cont.
G
I
-
I*-
A
I-
IAre
I
TIMMi
Ex.
2
cont.
t
l
IV
It
is
appropriate
t
this
tage
to
introduce ome
concrete,
hough
necessarily
tentative,
xamples
fthe
pecific
nteraction
etween
nalytical
nterpretation
and
actual
performance,
llustrated rom
he
Prelude n
G
minor,
p.
28,
No.
22,
of
Chopin.
To
provide
some
initial
orientation,
x. 3
presents
wo
summaries
f
the
first
wenty-four
ars.
System
1
shows
a
simplerhythmic
reduction f
this
music:
the
rhythmic
eduction s
hardly
ontroversialn
general,given
that
he
piece
is in
an
elaborated-chorale
tyle,
aking
ts ead
from
he
famous
wentieth
relude n
C
minor,
which s an
unelaborated
ock-
chorale.System is a transcriptionfthe nformaleductionn Schenkerian
voice-leading
otation
it is not
really
necessary
o be
familiar
with
the
symbology
f
his
notationn
order o
follow
he
perceptions
t
records
bout
he
music.
MUSIC
ANALYSIS
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JONATHAN
DUNSBY
Ex.
3
Chopin,Op.
28,
No. 22
(bs
1-24)
rhythmicreduction
A 1.
k
j
I;-j
JTIj
I
fI..H.15L
'v'
6
6
4
3
4
3
'voice
eading
,j
1
NIN
It s
probably
ll-too-obvious
rom
he
very
eginning
ow ome
f
hedetails
of Ex.
3
may mpingeupon
an ideal
interpretation.
or
instance,
here
s
a
difficulty
f
voicing
n the
tempestuous
nd
forceful
pening.
The
neighbour-
note
figure
G-F#
G
in the
left-hand
melody,
nd the
leading-note-to-tonic
motion f he
upper
ine,
both end o trick he ar
nto
hearing
he econd
bar
s
a tonicharmonyseeEx. 4).
Ex.
4
0000
tit
WE@@
The
harmonic keleton
f
the
opening
llustrated
n Ex.
5, however,
Ex. 5
0000
3 3 3 3
G)~
S
demonstrates
hat
b
n
the
ight
and
of
b.2
is
vital othe
voice-leadingattern;
and
there
s
every
eason or
he
pianist
o consider
iving
t a
special
larity
f
articulationn someway,ofwhichEx. 6 is simply theoreticalllustration
Chopin
eems
o have
set
problem
erefor he
nterpreter,
ut
t
may
fter
ll
result
rom he
relative
ack
of
clarity
n
themodern
iano
compared
with
he
composer's
mid-nineteenth-century
rench nstrument:
12
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PERFORMANCE AND
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Ex.
3 cont.
15
x0
0
[ocoJ
6
'aT
r
+8II I
I
oo1
6
6f+0
i6
6
[+801
+80]
Ex. 6
SJ'
Ex.
>-sf
Parenthetically:
he
best
ctual echnical
olution
or
he
E6
is
probably
o
play
it
fractionally
efore
he other
notes of the
right
hand
-
but the
particular
solution
epends
n which
tyle
f
piano
playing
he
performerepresents.
Further nto thepiece anotherkind ofproblem-solvings possible,hard
though
t s to
describe
erbally.
he main
melody
s
in
the
bass,
butthe
right-
hand
melody
s also active
hroughout
ost
f
hefirst ection. n
bs 15 and
16,
however,
he
right
and settles n
E6
and threatenso
be heard s an
awkward
patch
n
the melodic
nvention. he
bracketsmarked
x'
on Ex. 3
indicate,
though,
hat
Chopin
s
using
a familiar
onnective evice
to move
the music
from ectionA
into he
contrasting
iddle
ection: nce
the
E6
is
heard
n
this
way,
as
a
tense,
orward-moving
elodic
upbeat
n
themotion
o
A6
in
b.
18
-
not s a
melodic
acuum,
utas a
prolongation
eld n
check
hat s
straining
o
continueto its
immediate
goal
-
there s
no
longer any problem
here
in
performance.he analysis stablishes, s itwere,belief n whatChopinhas
written,
f
his
were
necessary
though
here
re
many
hought-provoking
ases
of uch
necessity,
f
which
further
xample
will
be offered
n
due course.
The
performer
onscious f
the
connection nder
discussionwill
nstinctively
lace
MUSIC
ANALYSIS
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JONATHAN
DUNSBY
and voice
F in
the
ight
andof
b.
17 tomake t
sound,
not
nly
he
beginning
f
a new
section,
ut also
part
f
an
ongoing
ine.9
The connectinginearpatterns etween ectionsA and B oftheTwenty-
Second Prelude can determine he
nterpretation
f the entire
hape
of the
middle ection.The
bracketsmarked
y'
on Ex. 3 show that he
nterval
f
a
sixth,
filled
by stepwise
motion,
s
important
n
the
motivicmenu of
the
composition.
he
interval
f a sixth
ppears
below
the evel
of the mmediate
foreground
n
a
long
prolongation
oving
rom
.
13,
which s the
egistraleak
of he eft and
of
hewhole
piece,
o
what an
be
considered he
gestural
limax
of
ection
,
the
octave-spaced
b
in
bs
22
and
23. Each
preceding
ote
f
his
overallmotion f sixth
s
connected
irectly
ith ts
uccessor,
nd
the
gap
that
opensupat thebeginningfb.21 sespeciallyffectivenexposinghefinal tep
from
middle
C to B
.
From
the
point
fviewof
voice-leadingheory,
t should
be
noted hat his
progression,
hich
might
uide
the
performer
n
shaping
he
middle
ection,
s
part
f
he
middleground
evel f he tructure
f he
piece.
n
theory,
he nevitable
movementso
the
dominant,
n bs
24,
then
2,
34
and the
penultimate
ar,
are
perhaps
f
deeper ignificance
or hetonal
oherence
f
thePrelude.
And this
xemplifies
n earlier
oint,
hat
we
should
not
expect
complete
verlap
between
heory
nd
practice.
A
theory
f
which he
central
aim is
to demonstrate onal coherence
may
be
of
great mportance
o
the
performer,
ut the
performer
s concernedwith
much lse besides.
V
It
may
well be thatthe
problem-solving
otential
f
analysis
has
been least
effective
n
the area
of
musical
time
in
questions
f
proportion,
metre
nd
rhythm.
hese neffable
ualities
fmusic
re
ikely
o
be
the east
menable
o
conceptual
crutiny,
nd matters
hat
have been
illuminated
ery
ittle
ven
through
he
musicologist's
microscope
an
barely
be touched
upon
in
this
particular
ommentary.
What
analysis
eems so little
ble to
capture
s that
secret ftheperformer timing which ubsumes o manyfactorsuch as
rubato,
tructural
rticulation
nd
expressive
mphasis,
nd
which s such
a
powerful
lement
n
the
presentation
falmost
ny
omposition.
It
is
perhaps
n the area
of musical
timing
hat the
sharpest
deological
distinction
ecomes
lear
n
the
goals
of he
nalyst
nd the
performer.
onsider
the
performer's
ine
ine between
pointed
rticulation
nd
cheap,
theatrical
effect
n Ex.
7,
where he econd
G,
marked
with n
asterisk,
must
e heard
s:
an
upbeat
to the
following
ote;
the
subsidiary hythmic
ember f
a
dotted-
note
figure;
he
filling-in
f an unattacked
irst eat
after
busy
two-beat
anacrusis;
nd
as
havingmany
urtherunctions.
t s a note verburdened
ith
meanings,
mostofwhichcan be resolved n performanceytheconvenient
introduction
f n
unscripted
ause
on the hird eat
of he irst
ncomplete
ar,
thus
destroying
he
arger
stablishment
f
perception
fmetricalrder
n
the
first
hrase.
14
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PERFORMANCE
AND
ANALYSIS
Ex. 7
Berg,
onata,
p.
1
Missig
bewe
p
accel.
rit.
'n
I ft
/
The
opening
f
Berg's
Sonata,
fine
hough
t
s,
s
what
erformers
ould
all
'problematic',
omething
o
be dealtwith
pragmatically:
here s not
quite
the
magisterial
larity
f
compositional
ntention
nd
intended
xecution hat
ne
finds
n
themature
work f
Beethoven
r
Stravinsky,
carlatti
r
Messiaen.
The
analyst
s
powerless
n
sucha
case.
Analysis
eals,
n
general,
with
he
deology
of
veneration,
he
celebration
f
cultural
erfection,
he
explanation
f how
thingswork nmusic,notofhowtheydon't workquiteas well as onemight
wish.
The
Berg
s the
first fficial
ork fa
young omposer,
ut such
difficulties
are to
be found ven n
masterpieces.
xample
8
shows n
interesting
ase
see
below).
This s
the econd
heme f
Brahms'sD
minor
Violin
Sonata,
Op.
108,
a themewhich
ounds
excellent ater
on
in
the violin
part.
However,
s
first
presented
n
the
piano
solo,
it
is
virtually
nperformable.
t
any
reasonable
speed
thefive
pread
notes,
nd
ndeed six
spread
notes n
the
fifth
ar
of
the
theme,
orce
hiatuswhich
hreatens,
ither
o sound
ugly
because
thechords
are so
abrupt,
r
to
destroy
he
metre
f
they
re
given
nough
ime o unroll
o
thesforzandi.xample8a showsthepassage n Artur chnabel'sedition, n
which
ll the
markings
ncircled n
small
re
by
the
editor
nd the
arge-
markings
re
Brahms's wn.
Schnabel's
olution o
the
rhythmic
roblem
is
to
compensate
y dynamic uance,
nd t
evidently
ests
n
an
analysis
f
he
dissonant
ersus
onsonant tatus f
he
ppoggiaturas.
xample
8b
attempts
o
convey
his
y
matching
chnabel's
ynamics
ith
hierarchical
epresentation
of
thevoice
eading:
he
orrespondences
re
self-evident.
est
this
llustration
seem
an
act of critical
eresy
n
challenging
he
compositional
isdom f
the
maturework f
a
genius,
t
should
be
added
thatBrahms
himself
new
he had
writtenn
mpracticable
dea
here.His own
copy
f
he
printed
music
arries n
emendation n whichthelefthand is not
spread
on thefourth
uaver,
but
repeats
hebass
notes n
the
hird
eat,
moothing
ut
the
rhythm
nd
texture,
as in
Ex. 9.
This
is a
frustrating
ase of
the
omposer's
wn
critical
nalysis;
t
s
of
ittle
MUSIC
ANALYSIS
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JONATHAN
DUNSBY
Ex. 8
Brahms,
iolin
onata,
p.
108/I
PV77..
P.
7'
7
fs
l 0 10
I I,
I-
w" Ir
',
I
"
If:
v-',,
l
I
? M
,
-1i
practical
elp,
for
Brahms
never ltered he
plates
for
ubsequent rinting
f
Op.
108,
nd
there s no
surviving
istorical
vidence
hat e
actually
meant
he
passage
o be
revised.'0
VI
If there s
a subtext
ere,
t s that
ur
problems
re much
morewith he
past,
rather
han he
present
nd
near-present,
han
may
be
casually
ssumed
r even
tenaciously laimed. For this reasona pathhas been carvedthrough he
twentieth
entury bserving
he
borders
nly
of
Schoenberg
nd
Schenker,
suspending
thers:
n
mportant
urther
order
might
e
called
Stravinskyism,
where execution'
in
which he
death
s
celebrated,
ot
ofthe
uthor,
ut
of
16
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PERFORMANCE
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tof 7
....
1"
~
-nr
A I I
As
p-1
it \
-I
t
1
-10)
_ rIn
the performer' supplants nterpretation;nothermightbe called 'taste',
posing
he
question
forwhom
s the
performer
erforming?',question
which
has
not
yet
ccrued
quite
the awesome ense of overthrow
xperienced
n its
current
European counterpart:
for whom
nowadays
is the
composer
composing?'.
Such sins of omission must be minor. For
instance,
the
'execution'
deology,
whether
modern,
rold
n
the
sewing-machine'
pproach
to the ate
Baroque,
has
no
avowedneedof
nalysis
owever
roadly
onceived,
even
f
pretended
xecution
an
never
ruly
ide ts
ack
of
neutrality.
s for
questions
of
reception,
here is no
implication
hat
these are
relatively
'unimportant', nly
that
any
discussionmust
see its own
boundaries nd
recognizetsownovert rcovert rovisionality.
Those who find he
past
ess
troublesomehan he
present
must
ympathize
littlewith hosewho
don't,
ndviceversa
though
heviceversa
may
ften ntail
a
touch of
future-conscience
n
thosewho
worry
bout the
past overmuch).
MUSIC
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JONATHAN
DUNSBY
When the
two
become
smudged,
reative
nergy
s
released.
It is not the
elimination
f
personal
hoicefrom
erformance
hat eal rtists
esire',
writes
Richard aruskin,but ts mprovementnd refreshment'-othgoalsbeing, f
not
reactionary,
evertheless
nherently
eactive,
hough
reative oo.11
This s notthe
place
to hunt o
ground
he
good
and bad courses fhis recent
'The Pastness
f
hePresent
nd thePresence f he
Past', which,
n the
dark
f
print,may
be remembered
y performers
nd
analysts
like
for
rasing
hat
confusing
word
'authentic'
with the
resoundingly straightforward
'authenticist',
most
legant
emantic
ut-down.
et
it
s
intriguing
it must
be,
to
anyone
nterestedn music
nalysis'
that
n
Taruskin's
ong
nd
richly-
referenced
rgument
bout
theunhistorical ature f uthenticist
erformance
hardly
word s said about
analysis,
r even about
theory.
ome of the few
explicit
omments re from ucha
height
hat
they
ound an
earlywarning
against
would-be
guru:
If "structural" as the
sanctified
hibboleth f the
"new
critical"1930s and
1940s,
surely hierarchy"
nd
"unifying"
ere the
sanctified
ordsof
the Schenkerian
950sand
1960s,
t least
n the cademic
bastions f
ogicalpositivism
. .'12
good
poseur
tuff.
What s not aid speaksvolumes, o which hebest ccessmaybe that eal n
the 'real artists'
of Taruskin's
antepenultimatearagraph.
s this not the
musicologically
cceptable
ace
of the
urge
of
pan-Schenkerism',
hat
part
of
thetheory usinesswhich mbodiesTaruskin's ery
wn
horror-category
f
a
'quasi-religiousundamentalism.. : what s not ermittedsprohibited' my
italics)?
f real' in Taruskin's
view
of
performance
s
not a
deeplyprohibitive
critical
erm,
something
must have been
lost
in
translation
American
o
English).
Whether
e thinks hat
n the uthenticist
ebate
heory
nd
analysis
re
ust
not
permitted,
r
are
actually rohibited,
s not it
hardly
eeds
aying
even
raised
n The
Pastness f
thePresent'.
But,
ntellectual
uard
down,
you
have
to be
extraordinarily
anctimonious
o
ignore
hat
what s not
permitted
ne
moment
ecomes
prohibited
t
the
very
next
n
everyday
uman
onduct.
A
subliminal
rohibition
ight xplain
heone weird
prat
aruskin
hrowsn
to
catch,presumably,llbig-headedheory-mackerels'curiousperformersill
always
ind
what
hey
eed n the ources
nd
theorists'14
my
talics).
o
theory
s
solved?
As does
any spect
f
history,
heory-then-and-now
ffersts
hallenges
to the
understanding
eaching
rom he
past
to the
present,
eveals
ontinuing
ambiguities
f
purpose,
always
has
potential
o unnerve
proponents
f
the
settled
musical
iew: re
these nd
all
other ivecharacteristics
o be written
ut
ofthe
cript?
ot
permitted,
r
prohibited?
VII
Either
way,
the bottom
ine
-
even
n thehallowed
ground
f how to
present
music
oothers-
s that heres no
escape
from
heory
n
general
r n
particular,
though
we
may
ach sometimes
eed
to
escape
from
hinking
bout
ttoo
much,
18
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PERFORMANCE
AND ANALYSIS
and some
need to
escape
always,
even
though
there s
no
escape.
'Performance
and
Analysis'
people
know
it
does
not feel
quite
like this when
you
are on
stage
- thus, again, the 'partial overlap'. Yet there is no epistemologicalreason for
analysis
and
its theoriesto work n fear of what it feels ike on
stage.
NOTES
1.
For an
excellent
iscussion
f these
matters,
ee
Christopher
intle,
Webern's
Concerto
Op.
24/II',
Music
Analysis,
Vol.
1,
No.
1
(March
1982),
pp.74-81:
'Performing'.
2. Quoted nJoanAllenSmith, choenbergnd
His Circle:A
Viennese
ortrait
New
York:
Schirmer,
986),
pp.105-6.
See
also Rudolf
Kolisch,
Zur Theorie er
Auffiihrung,
usik-Konzepte,
ol. 29/30
January
983).
3. Form nd
PerformanceLondon:
Faber,
1962),p.20.
4. A
wide-rangingicture
f
this rtist's iews can be
found n The
GlennGould
Reader,
d. Tim
Page London:
Faber,
1987).
5.
A
concise and well-documented
tudy
of
this
aspect
of
Schenker's
work s
published
in
William
Rothstein,
Heinrich Schenker
as an
Interpreter
f
Beethoven's
iano
Sonatas',
Nineteenth-Century
usic,
Vol.
8,
No.
1
(Summer
1984),
pp.3-28.
6. WilliamA. Pastille,Heinrich chenker, nti-Organicist',nNineteenth-Century
Music,
Vol.
8,
No.
1
Summer
984),
pp.29-36, rgues
hat here re
continuing
challenges
n
Schenker's
oncept
of the Meisterwerk'nd
concludeswith the
fundamental
uestion:
If
Schenker's
heory roperly pplies
only
o theworks
f
geniuses,
ow
does t relate o theworks f
non-geniuses?'my
talics)
the
phrase
'works of
genius'
would
have been
more
felicitous or
a
numberof obvious
reasons,
nd
Pastille's
urn
f
phrase
here
mayyethelp
to
perpetuate
he
very
trend
e s
arguing gainst.
CharlesBurkhart
muses n whether
here
was
ndeed
a
process
of
development
ut
subsequent
retraction ven
in
the field
of
the
masterpiece
n
Schenker's
hinking
bout
the
relationship
etween
ynamic
nd
pitch-structuralevels which t onetime chenkerupposedmust orrespond,
though
one wonders f
perhaps
t was notan
idea that
he]
eventually ropped':
see 'Schenker's
Theory
of
Levels and
Musical
Performance',
n
Aspects
f
Schenkerian
heory,
d. David
Beach
New
Haven: Yale
University
ress,
1983),
pp.95-112 p. 112n).
7.
For a
brief
iscussion f
the
history
nd
current tate f
editions f
Beethoven's
piano
sonatas,
ee William
Drabkin,
The
Beethoven
onatas',
Musical
Times,
Vol.
126,
No.
1706
April1985),
pp.216-20.
8.
The Waldstein
eprise
s
discussed
y
KonradWolffn
Schnabel's
nterpretation
f
Piano Music
London: Faber,
1979),
with
different
olution o the ame
ssue:
'The modulation
.
.
is
. .
. a major structural vent. This becomes clear
according
o
Schnabel,
f
he
heme ere s
more
imply
that
s,
ess
expressively
-
presented;
omewhat n
the
style
f an
improvised
modulation n
the
organ
.
'(p.134).
MUSIC
ANALYSIS 8:1-2,
1989
19
8/9/2019 Guest Editorial: Performance and Analysis of Music
17/17
JONATHAN
DUNSBY
9. Bar 21 confirmshatone
of
the
multiple
unctions
f
F in the
right
and s to
initiaterogression.ucha rolefor his itch lasshasalready eenexposedn the
harmonic eversal
flatside)
t initiates
n
the left
hand
melody
n b.
14
-
an
inescapably rganicist
omment.
10. All the nformation
iven
here bout the
Brahms evision
s
drawn
romRobert
Pascall,
Brahms nd theDefinitive
ext',
n
Brahms:
iographical,
ocumentary
and
Analytical
tudies,
d. Robert
Pascall
(Cambridge:
CUP,
1983),
pp.59-75
(p.74).
Pascall
argues
that we should
have no reservations
n
actually
using
Brahms's
rivate
mendations.
11. 'The Pastness
f hePresent
nd
thePresence
f he
Past',
n
Authenticity
nd
Early
Music: A
Symposium,
d.
Nicholas
Kenyon
London:
OUP,
1988), pp.
137-210
(p.206).
12.
Ibid.,
p.
168.
13.
Ibid.,
p.181.
14.
Ibid.,
p.214.
20
MUSIC ANALYSIS
8:1-2,
1989
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