Miaoyin Qu - PHD EThesis

Piano Playing in the German Tradition, 1840-1900: Rediscovering
the Un-notated Conventions of Performance
Miaoyin Qu
Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy
The University of Leeds

School of Music
May, 2015
The candidate confirms that the work submitted is her own and that appropriate credit has
been given where reference has been made to the work of others.
This copy has been supplied on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no
quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement

i

Acknowledgements
This thesis would not have been possible without the invaluable help of my supervisor,
Professor Clive Brown, who insightfully guided me during every stage of my research.
I express my thankfulness to the recording engineers and friends Kerry-Anne Kubisa,

Nektarious Rodosthenous, Philip Hardman and the staff at the school who assisted me
in my recordings. I would also like to thank my advisor, Dr. Bryan White, for his kind
suggestions; Daniel Gordon for supporting my topic; and Dr. Michael Allis and Dr.
Stephen Muir for commenting on my writing.
I am indebted to my Master’s supervisor at the Leeds College of Music, Marion Raper

and Martin Pickard, for helping me shape my thoughts and clarify my aims in my
preparation for the PhD. It has been an honour to receive instrumental tuition from my
supervisor, Clive Brown, and from my teachers, Marion Raper, Julian Cima and Renna
Kellaway.
I would also like to give thanks to staff of the various libraries I visited: The Leeds
University Library; the British Library, London; and the Royal College of Music
Library, London.
I would like to express my sincere appreciation to my parents, Jiewen and Guiyu, for
their support, both moral and financial, and for raising me to become the person I am
today. I am thankful to all my friends for their companionship and their encouragement
during the years of my study, especially George Rodosthenous.
Finally, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my husband, Ilias Devetzoglou,

without whose support it would never have been finished.
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Abstract
This practice-based project investigates performing practices in German piano

repertoire in the period 1840-1900, when a style of playing with distinctive qualities
dominated the pianistic scene and music making in general. That style can be heard in
early recordings and piano rolls, but is now long forgotten. Modern players, even those
who embrace the newly emerged field of Historically Informed Performance (HIP) and
claim to perform and record Classical and Romantic repertory in a historically-informed
manner, mostly avoid the employment of that style. This project seeks to discover
through practical experimentation how that style of playing, which speaks a musical
language unfamiliar to us, might be reinstated in the repertoire with which it was
originally associated. In this way, a new interesting dimension will be given to piano
works, which have nowadays seen countless approaches, most of which, however, may
be far removed from anything their composers might have expected. This is attempted
by means of a process of testing ideas through practice that aims to explore potential
hidden meanings of the notation.
More specifically this study investigates the use of Arpeggiation, Dislocation and
Tempo Rubato in piano rolls and historical recordings in conjunction with scholarly
studies and general theoretical writings of the period in question. The first chapter
presents the research context, as well as the methodology followed. The second chapter
discusses performing practices of the period in question as they are manifest in
historical recordings, in the notation, and as they are commented upon by nineteenth-
century theorists. The third chapter is a detailed analysis of the rationale behind my
performances of piano repertoire by important German composers. The ultimate aim of
this project is to produce performances that embody the research and are in line with the
documented concepts and the interpretations of the composers and performers of the
period in which the music was written.
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Contents
Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................i
Abstract ..............................................................................................................…...ii
Contents......................................................................................................................iii
List of musical examples .......................................................................................v
List of figures .........................................................................................................xii
Abbreviations and signs .........................................................................................xiii
Chapter 1. Introduction ............................................................................................1
1.1. General introduction…..........................................................................................1
1.2. Research questions, rationale and methodology……………………………........6
Research questions……………………………………………………………….6
Research Rationale……………………………………………………………….6
Methodology……………………………………………………………………..8
1.3. The German piano playing tradition…………………………………..……………9
1.4. Reinecke ............................................................................................................12
1.5. Notation: its un-notated conventions and the modern literal approach…………18
1.6. Piano rolls………………………………………………………………………..22
Pre-1905 rolls…………………………………………………………………....23
Post-1905 rolls…………………………………………………………………..25
1.6.1. The role and use of piano rolls in this project…………………………………26
1.7. Process and progress…………………………………………………………….28
1.8. Repertoire………………………………………………………………………..31
Chapter 2. Nineteenth-century pianism and music notation: rediscovering its un-
notated conventions...................................................................................................33
2.1. Dislocation………................................................................................................33
2.2. Arpeggiation.........................................................................................................41
2.3. Tempo Rubato.....................................................................................................47
2.4. Other notational issues………............................................................................57
2.4.1. Over-dotting………………………..................................................................57
2.4.2. Unnotated crescendo and diminuendo.............................................................60
2.4.3. Equal notes unequalised .................................................................................65
2.4.4. Portato signs or dots under slurs……………………………………………….68
2.4.5. Grace notes…………………………………………………………………….69
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2.4.6. Hairpin………………………………………………………………………….70
Chapter 3. Commentary of recordings …………………………..........................72
First phase: imitation of Reinecke’s style…………………………………………….72
Field Nocturne No. 4…………………………………………………………….73
Beethoven Ecossaisen Woo 83………………………………………………….76
Field Nocturne No. 5…………………………………………………………….82
Reinecke Ballade Op. 20………………………………………………………..85
Mozart Fantasia K. 475…………………………………………………………87
Second phase: experimental recordings………………………………………………91
Schumann Kreisleriana Op. 16…………………………………………………91
Schumann Romance Op. 28 No. 2……………………………………………...109
Brahms Three Intermezzi Op. 117………………………………………………112
Mendelssohn Rondo Capriccioso Op. 14……………………………………….118
Mendelssohn Prelude and Fugue Op. 35 No. 1…………………………………120
Third phase: mature recordings……………………………………………………….122
Schumann Kinderszenen Op. 15…………………………………………………122
Brahms Capriccio Op. 76 No. 1…………………………………………………138
Schumann Warum? Op. 12 No. 3.........................................................................143
Mendelssohn Op. 102 No. 4, 5, 6……………………………………………….146
Brahms Op. 118…………………………………………………………………151
Beethoven Sonata Op. 110………………………………………………………166
Chapter 4. Concluding remarks................................................................................177
Bibliography...............................................................................................................179
Discography................................................................................................................187
Appendix I: CD recordings........................................................................................188
▪ CD 1: Imitative recordings
▪ CD 2: Experimental recordings 1
▪ CD 3: Experimental recordings 2
▪ CD 4: Mature recordings
Total time of recordings: 209’38”
v

List of musical examples
Ex. 2. 1a. Mozart, Fantasia K. 475, bars 1-5. Reinecke, 1905……..………………….38
Ex. 2. 1b. Mozart, Fantasia K. 475, bars 1-5. Leschetizky, 1905……………………..38
Ex. 2. 2. Mozart, Rondo Alla Turca, bars 1-8. Reinecke, 1907.………………….…....39
Ex. 2. 3. Field, Nocturne No. 4, bars 1-8. Reinecke, 1907……………………,,.……40
Ex. 2. 4. Field, Nocturne No. 4, bar 11. Reinecke, 1907……………………..….…..…44
Ex. 2. 5. Field, Nocturne No. 4, bar 14. Reinecke, 1907…………….……..….……..44
Ex. 2. 6. Field, Nocturne No. 4, bars 19-20. Reinecke, 1907……………….….…..…45
Ex. 2. 7. Field, Nocturne No. 4, bar 25. Reinecke, 1907……………..…..…..….…..…45
Ex. 2. 8. Field, Nocturne No. 4, bars 41-43. Reinecke, 1907……………..….…...……46
Ex. 2. 9. Reinecke, Ballade Op. 20, bars 12-26……………………………........……47
Ex. 2. 10. Beethoven, Ecossaisen Woo 83, bars 7-8. Reinecke, 1905..………………52
Ex. 2. 11. Beethoven, Ecossaisen Woo 83, bars 97-112. Reinecke, 1905……………53
Ex. 2. 12. Reinecke, Ballade Op. 20, bars 86-99. Reinecke, 1907……………....……..54
Ex. 2. 13. Reinecke, Ballade Op. 20, bars 63-78. Reinecke, 1907……………....…..…55
Ex. 2. 14. Schubert, ‘Erstarrung’ Die Winterreise………...…………….….........……59
Ex. 2. 15. Mendelssohn, Lied ohne Worte, Op. 85 No. 1..……..………..….........……59
Ex. 2. 16. Brahms, Intermezzo Op. 118 No. 6, bars 74-78 ..……..…….….......……..60
Ex. 2. 17. Brahms, Romanze Op. 118 No. 5, bars 30-32 ..……..…….…….........……60
Ex. 2. 18a. Field, Nocturne No. 4, bars 16-18………….……………………….……...65
Ex. 2. 18b. Field, Nocturne No. 4, bars 16-18. Reinecke, 1907…..………………….65
Ex. 2. 19a. Mozart, Larghetto, Reinecke’s edition, bars 13-17………….……...…….67
Ex. 2. 19b. Mozart, Larghetto, Reinecke’s edition, bars 13-17. Reinecke, 1904 Welte-
Mignon piano roll…………………………………….……………..…....67
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Ex. 2. 20a. Mozart, Larghetto, Reinecke’s edition, bars 30-35………….………..…68
Ex. 2. 20b. Mozart, Larghetto, Reinecke’s edition, bars 30-35. Reinecke, 1904 Welte-
Mignon piano roll…………………….……..……..………......….…….68
Ex. 3. 1. Field, Nocturne No. 4, bar 13. Reinecke, 1907..……..………..........……73
Ex. 3. 2. Field, Nocturne No. 4, bar 14. Reinecke, 1907..……..…….….........……74
Ex. 3. 3. Field, Nocturne No. 4, bars 45-48. Reinecke, 1907..……..…………...……74
Ex. 3. 4. Beethoven, Ecossaisen Woo 83, bars 1-2. Reinecke, 1905..……..…….........77
Ex. 3. 5. Beethoven, Ecossaisen Woo 83, bars 14-16. Reinecke, 1905..……..….........77
Ex. 3. 6. Beethoven, Ecossaisen Woo 83, bars 17-32. Reinecke, 1905..……..…..........78
Ex. 3. 7a. Beethoven, Ecossaisen Woo 83, Reinecke’s edition, bars 33-38.…..……....78
Ex. 3. 7b. Beethoven, Ecossaisen Woo 83, the original edition, bars 33-37.…............78
Ex. 3. 8a. Beethoven, Ecossaisen Woo 83, Reinecke’s edition, bars 65-68.…..…........79
Ex. 3. 7b. Beethoven, Ecossaisen Woo 83, the original edition, bars 65-68.……..........79
Ex. 3. 9. Beethoven, Ecossaisen Woo 83, bars 97-112. Reinecke, 1905..…………......79
Ex. 3. 10. Beethoven, Ecossaisen Woo 83, bars 121-128. Reinecke, 1905..….…….....80
Ex. 3. 11a. Beethoven, Ecossaisen Woo 83, Reinecke’s edition, bars 161-176…......80
Ex. 3. 11b. Beethoven, Ecossaisen Woo 83, the original edition, bars 161-176. ..….....81
Ex. 3. 12. Beethoven, Ecossaisen Woo 83, Reinecke’s edition, bars 239-252….…......81
Ex. 3. 13a. Field, Nocturne No. 5, the original edition, bars 1-2…….……..…….....83
Ex. 3. 13b. Field, Nocturne No. 5, Reinecke’s edition, bars 1-2……………..…….....83
Ex. 3. 13c. Field, Nocturne No. 5, Liszt’s edition, bars 1-2………………..…….....83
Ex. 3. 14a. Field, Nocturne No. 5, the original edition, bars 22-24…………..…….....84
Ex. 3. 14b. Field, Nocturne No. 5, Reinecke’s edition, bars 22-24…………..…….....84
Ex. 3. 14c. Field, Nocturne No. 5, Liszt’s edition, bars 1-2………..……..………......84

vii

Ex. 3. 15. Reinecke, Ballade Op. 20, bars 67-74…………….………………..…….....86
Ex. 3. 16. Reinecke, Ballade Op. 20, bars 141-150…………….……………..…….....87
Ex. 3. 17. Mozart, Fantasia K. 475, bars 19-20…………..…………………………...88
Ex. 3. 18. Mozart, Fantasia K. 475, bars 23-26…………..…………………………...88
Ex. 3. 19. Mozart, Fantasia K. 475, bars 36-41…………..………………………..…...88
Ex. 3. 20. Mozart, Fantasia K. 475, bars 127-138………..……………….………..…90
Ex. 3. 21. Schumann, Kreisleriana Op. 16 No. 1, Clara Schumann’s edition, bars
1-8………………………………………………………………………..92
Ex. 3. 22. Schumann, Kreisleriana Op. 16 No. 1, Clara Schumann edition, bars
25-32………………………………………………..……………………92
1-8………………………………………………………………………..93
31-37..………………………………………………….…………………94
100-111……………………………………..……………….……………95
Ex. 3. 26. Schumann, Kreisleriana Op. 16 No. 3, Clara Schumann’s edition, bar
11……………………………………………………………….………..96
33-36...…….……………………………………………………………96
1-11……………..…………………………………………………………97
1-14….……………………………………………………………………98
49-81………………………………………………………………………99
82-112..…………………………………………………………………100
1-5…………………………….………………………………………..…101
15-16……………………………………………………………………..102
19-34…………………..………………………………………………..103
Ex. 3. 35. Schumann, Kreisleriana Op. 16 No. 6, Haslinger’s edition, bars 19-35…104
viii

Ex. 3. 36a. Schumann, Kreisleriana Op. 16 No. 6, first edition, bars 36-39………..106
Ex. 3. 36b. Schumann, Kreisleriana Op. 16 No. 6, Clara Schumann’s edition, bars
35-39.…………………………………………………………………...106
Ex. 3. 36c. Schumann, Kreisleriana Op. 16 No. 6, Paderewski’s edition, bars
37-39……………………………………………………..…………….106
Ex. 3. 37a. Schumann, Kreisleriana Op. 16 No. 1, first edition, bars 1-2…………....106
Ex. 3. 37b. Schumann, Kreisleriana Op. 16 No. 1, Clara Schumann’s edition, bars
1-2….………………………………….………………………………107
Ex. 3. 37c. Schumann, Kreisleriana Op. 16 No. 1, Paderewski’s edition, bars 1-2…107
86-116.…………..………………………………………………………..108
1-4………………………………………………………………………….108
Ex. 3. 40. Schumann, Romance Op. 28 No. 2, bars 1-17……………………………..111
Ex. 3. 41. Brahms, Intermezzo Op. 117 No. 1, bars 1-4………………………………112
Ex. 3. 43a. Brahms, Intermezzo Op. 117 No. 2, bars 24-38…………………………..115
Ex. 3. 43b. Brahms, Intermezzo Op. 117 No. 2, bars 24-38. Freund, 1953……........115
Ex. 3. 44a. Brahms, Intermezzo Op. 117 No. 3, bars 1-10………………………….117
Ex. 3. 44b. Brahms, Intermezzo Op. 117 No. 3, bars 1-10. My recording, 2013……117
Ex. 3. 45a. Mendelssohn, Rondo Capriccioso Op. 14, bars 1-8……………….……...119
Ex. 3. 45b. Mendelssohn, Rondo Capriccioso Op. 14, bars 1-8. My recording, 2013..119
Ex. 3. 46. Mendelssohn, Rondo Capriccioso Op. 14, bars 130-143………………….120
Ex. 3. 47. Mendelssohn, Prelude and Fugue Op. 35 No. 1, bars 1-5…………………121
Ex. 3. 48. Mendelssohn, Prelude and Fugue Op. 35 No. 1, bars 9-11……………….121
Ex. 3. 49. Schumann, Kinderszenen Op. 15 No. 1, bars 1-8.........................................122

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Ex. 3. 51. Schumann, Kinderszenen Op. 15 No. 2, bars 17-20.....................................124
Ex. 3. 53. Schumann, Kinderszenen Op. 15 No. 4, bars 1-17.......................................127
Ex. 3. 54. Schumann, Kinderszenen Op. 15 No. 5, bars 1-9……………….…………128
Ex. 3. 58. Schumann, Kinderszenen Op. 15 No. 7, bars 1-24…………………….….132
Ex. 3. 64. Schumann, Kinderszenen Op. 15 No. 11, bars 1-8………………………..137
Ex. 3. 65. Brahms, Capriccio Op. 76 No. 1, bars 1-13………………………………139
Ex. 3. 66. Brahms, Capriccio Op. 76 No. 1, bars 14-22…………………………….140
Ex. 3. 67. Brahms, Caproccio Op. 76 No. 1, bars 32-51…………………………….141
Ex. 3. 70. Schumann, Warum?, Clara Schumann’s edition………………………….145
Ex. 3. 71. Schumann, Warum?, First edition, bars 41-42……………………………145
Ex. 3. 72. Mendelssohn, Op. 102 No. 4, bars 1-7……………………………………146
Ex. 3. 73. Mendelssohn, Op. 102 No. 4, bars 8-11…………………………………..147

x

Ex. 3. 74. Mendelssohn, Op. 102 No. 4, bars 34-40…………………………………147
Ex. 3. 75. Mendelssohn, Op. 102 No. 5, bars 1-30…………………………………..148
Ex. 3. 76. Mendelssohn, Op. 102 No. 5, bars 31-73…………………………………149
Ex. 3. 77. Mendelssohn, Op. 102 No. 6, bars 1-8……………………………………150
Ex. 3. 78. Brahms, Intermezzo Op.118 No.1, first edition, bar 1……………………151
Ex. 3. 79. Czerny, Op. 599 No. 30, Ruthardt’s edition, bars 1-5…………………….152
Ex. 3. 80. Brahms, Intermezzo Op. 118 No. 1, bars 4-6……………………………..152
Ex. 3. 81. Schumann, Op. 68 No. 1, bars 1-10……………………………………….153
Ex. 3. 82. Brahms, Intermezzo Op. 118 No. 2, bars 1-8……………………………..154
Ex. 3. 83. Brahms, Intermezzo Op. 118 No. 2, bars 33-48…………………………..155
Ex. 3. 84. Brahms, Intermezzo Op. 118 No. 2, bars 49-56…………………………..155
Ex. 3. 85. Brahms, Ballade Op. 118 No. 3, bars 1-10………………………………..156
Ex. 3. 86. Brahms, Ballade Op. 118 No. 3, bars 10-11………………………………157
Ex. 3. 89. Brahms, Ballade Op. 118 No. 3, bars 65-72……………………………..160
Ex. 3. 91. Brahms, Intermezzo Op. 118 No. 4, bars 45-62……………………………161
Ex. 3. 92. Brahms, Intermezzo Op. 118 No. 4, bars 98, 117………………………….162
Ex. 3. 93. Brahms, Romanze Op. 118 No. 5, Bars 1-16………………………………163
Ex. 3. 94. Brahms, Intermezzo Op. 118 No. 6, bars 41-60……………………………165
Ex. 3. 95. Beethoven, Sonata Op. 110, Brahms’s edition, bars 11-20………………..167
Ex. 3. 96. Beethoven, Sonata Op. 110, 1st movement, Bülow’s edition, bars 19-24…168
xi

Ex. 3. 97. Beethoven, Sonata Op. 110, 1st movement, Brahms’s edition, bars 25-28..168
Ex. 3. 98. Viotti, Violin Concerto No. 19, bars 294-305……………………………170
Ex. 3. 99a. Beethoven, Sonata Op. 110, 2nd movement, Bülow’s edition, bars
67-74….……………………………………….………………………….171
Ex. 3. 99b. Beethoven, Sonata Op. 110, 2nd movement, Brahms’ edition, bars
67-74……….…………………………………………………………….171
Ex. 3. 100a. Beethoven, Sonata Op. 110, 3rd movement, Bülow’s edition, bars 4-7..173
Ex. 3. 100b. Beethoven, Sonata Op. 110, 3rd movement, Brahms’ edition, bars 4-7..173
Ex. 3. 101. Beethoven, Sonata Op. 110, 3rd movement, Brahms’ edition, bars
116-119…….………………………………………………………….176
xii

List of figures
Fig. 1. 1. Genealogical tree of German tradition in the period 1840-1900…………..12
Fig. 3. 1. Tempo comparison (counted in crotchets)………………..………………..89
Fig. 3. 2. Tempo comparison (counted in quavers)………………..…………………109
Fig. 3. 3. Tempo comparison (counted in quavers)…………………………………164

xiii

Abbreviations and signs
p. ................................................................................................................... ...page
pp. .....................................................................................................................pages
’ ....................................................................................................................minute
” ...................................................................................................................second
vol. ..................................................................................................................volume
vols. ...............................................................................................................volumes
edn. .................................................................................................................Edition
arr. ...........................................................................................................arrangement
Ch. ..............................................................................................................,...Chapter
Ex. .................................................................................................................Example
Fig. ................................................................................................................. ...Figure
A.....................................................................................................................Ascending
D......................................................................................................................Descending
1

1. Introduction
1.1 General introduction
This practice-based project investigates performing practices in German piano repertoire in

the period 1840-1900. It seeks to discover through practical experimentation how a style of
playing that speaks a musical language unfamiliar to us might be reinstated in the repertoire
with which it was originally associated. This music still constitutes a major part of
contemporary piano repertoire. Conservatoires around the world use this repertoire as a
primary source of teaching material. It has seen countless interpretations in recent years,
which have been made widely known thanks to the recording industry. Recent scholarly
literature reveals a slow increase of interest in exploring the stylistic characteristics of
nineteenth-century piano performance. However, the performing background and the
idiomatic performing practices of that period have made scarcely any impact on the way
this repertoire is performed nowadays, even on period instruments, as will be discussed
later. Although most modern performers rely upon the principle of engaging with and
executing the composer’s written instructions in an attempt to realise what is commonly
called ‘the composer’s intentions’, they fail to recognise that the notation alone may not be
able to provide all the necessary information for that purpose. This project thus aims to
reassess the way nineteenth-century repertoire is performed nowadays, by bringing forth
new theoretical and practical aspects related to it. This is attempted by means of a process
of testing ideas through practice that aims to explore potential hidden meanings of the
notation to produce performances that are in line with the documented concepts and the
interpretations of the composers and performers of the period the music was written in,
which may help shaping performing ideas and styles in the future.
In the past two decades significant scholarly studies of nineteenth-century performing

practice have been written in which piano works by Brahms, Schumann, Mendelssohn, and
other important composers have been analysed and performed. In this literature there is no
clear mention of schools with national identity that have specific characteristics which
distinguish them from other national schools. The same cannot be said for the violin
playing schools of the nineteenth century, where the polarization and antipathy between the

2

progressive and exuberant Franco-Belgian and the conservative German schools have
provided rich soil for debate.1 In piano playing, national schools are formed as a result of
the activity of specific people, not nations: i.e. composers and performer-teachers who
contributed valuable additions to the repertory and pedagogy of the instrument. Robert
Philip, David Rowland and others mentioned those important names that shaped piano
playing in Europe in the late nineteenth century: the ‘Chopin school’ in Paris and the polish
pianist-teacher Theodore Leschetizky in Vienna, the ‘Schumann school’ in Frankfurt with
Clara Schumann, Anton Rubinstein in Russia and Germany, and Liszt and Thalberg who
were travelling virtuosos. As Philip asserted however, ‘pupil–teacher relationships are very
varied, and recordings do not reveal a simple pattern of influences.’2 According to
Crutchfield, ‘if everyone played as he was taught, musical style would never change at all.
Pupils play not as their teachers did, but as their reactions to their teachers (imitative,
rebellious, progressive, myriad), and to their musical environments, dictate.’3 There is no
clear picture portrayed in the early acoustic recordings or piano rolls suggesting specific
features of national schools of piano playing. It is certain, however, that there are affinities
in their understanding of style and their pedagogic principles. Furthermore, unlike violin
playing or singing where different national schools applied different practices or different
use and amounts of the same practice, in piano playing there is no obvious pattern of
influences that can differentiate a school from another to the same degree. Therefore, as
will be explained in detail in due course, this project does not divide its material according
to national schools but it explores older performing practices that were used in the period
under examination by certain German composers, their wider music circles, which include
key players dominating the pianistic scene of their time and the early twentieth century.
Several scholarly studies in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century historical performing

practice have been written in the past few decades.4 More specifically, writers have
approached the challenge by analysing notational, stylistic and technical matters. Early
recordings and their impact on our understanding of late nineteenth- and twentieth-century

1
David Milsom, Theory and Practice in Late Nineteenth-Century Violin Performance: an Examination of
Style in Performance, 1850-1900 (Aldershot, 2003), p. 25.
2
Robert Philip, ‘Pianists on Record in the Early Twentieth Century’, in The Cambridge Companion to the
Piano, ed. David Rowland (Cambridge, 2000), pp. 75-95 (pp. 85-86).
3
Will Crutchfield, ‘Brahms by Those Who Knew Him’, Opus, 2, 5 (1987), pp. 13-21, 60 (p. 14).
4
Robin Stowell, Colin Lawson, Clive Brown, and many others (see Bibliography).

3

performing styles have also been another keenly-debated topic.5 Others have written
revealing books, reviews and articles on Classical and Romantic piano practice.6 Neal Peres
Da Costa’s and David Milsom’s studies of nineteenth-century practice, although the latter’s
is focused on the violin, are valuable for their methodological approaches and philosophy,
which are based on an insightful distinction between aural and theoretical sources. In-depth
historical accounts of rubato have also been made, with enlightening information about its
use in the nineteenth century,7 as well as discussions of philosophical implications arising
from the study of historically informed performance in our times and its impact on our
traditional conception of western music.8 Moreover, interesting psychological, social and
historical accounts of performance have been provided in recent scholarly writing.9 Further
to those general studies, more specific projects have been completed recently by Heng-
Ching Fang and Ilias Devetzoglou, which investigate historical performance through
practice, focusing on German, British and French string works in the performing context in
which they were composed.10 Peres Da Costa explored piano rolls, early recordings, as well
as theoretical sources, revealing a fascinating distinction between what was written about
performance and what was actually done.11 This project bears similarities with Peres Da
Costa’s scholarly study. However, this project approaches the topic from a different
perspective using practice and its different aspects (live and aural) not only as a research
object but primarily as research itself. In purely theoretical projects, there is mostly verbal
description of practice. This project establishes and tries to answer its research questions
using not only verbal methods, but also practice in the form of live and documented
performances. Furthermore, the writing is structured and worded in a way so that it reflects
the use of practice as research.
Some forty years ago Newman wrote: ‘The study of Performance Practices is the study of
how to play or sing a particular piece in accordance with the styles of its time,’ adding that:

5
David Milsom, Robert Philip, Neal Peres Da Costa and others (see Bibliorgaphy).
6
Charles Rosen and Neal Peres Da Costa, for example.
7
Richard Hudson (see bibliography).
8
John Butt (see Bibliography).
9
John Rink (see Bibliography).
10
Heng-Ching Fang; Ilias Devetzoglou (see Bibliography).
11
Neal Peres Da Costa, Off the Record: Performing Practices in Romantic Piano Playing (New York, 2012);
Peres Da Costa, Neal, ‘Performing Practices in Late-Nineteenth-Century Piano Playing: Implications of the
Relationship between Written Texts and Early Recordings’ (University of Leeds, 2001).

4

In recent years this kind of study has attracted an ever-increasing number of

musicians, both scholars and performers. In fact, it is proving to be the one most
successful means of bridging what too often becomes a dichotomy of scholar and
performer.12
Forty years later there is still a gap to be bridged. Performers have embraced the idea of
using a period instrument for nineteenth-century piano music, but many of the implications
raised by our growing understanding of the historical practices relevant to performing the
music, and the ways in which these might fundamentally affect our perception of the
musical works, are not manifest in their performances, although they might be known to
them. A possible reason for this might be inhibitions triggered by the opposition and
criticism against them from those who dominate the contemporary music scene, and this, in
turn, might be because of the radical experimentation and rejection of well-established
contemporary performing traits that comes with ‘period’ performance. Moreover, another
possible reason might be that the knowledge contained in scholarly studies is not
communicated to practitioners. Words alone are perhaps not enough to describe matters of
such practical and technical complexity. Therefore, the information practitioners may
gather by studying that literature cannot be practically utilised to the point where it can
have an impact on their performances. As a result, those performances sound nothing like
early recordings.13 Furthermore, the influence of the recording industry in the artists’
training and in their very creative process is such that, consciously or not, modern
performers, even those who claim to perform and record Classical and Romantic repertory
in a historically-informed manner, mostly avoid the use of historical practices we hear in
early recordings and piano rolls. Thus, the aim of this project is to help bridge the gap
between theory and practice, by providing evidence and hypothetical demonstrations of a
piano-playing style which is the immediate offspring of the early nineteenth-century
tradition and at the same time predecessor of the modern style. This research is as important
as any kind of historical research, although its object, i.e. practice, is quite different from
that of other fields and historical facts are realised here through practice due to their

12
William Newman, Performance Practices in Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas – An Introduction (London, 1972),
p. 13.
13
Clive Brown, ‘Performing 19th-Century Chamber Music: the Yawning Chasm between Contemporary
Practice and Historical Evidence’, Early Music, 38 (2010), pp. 476-480.

5

practical nature and not only through traditional research methods. As Crutchfield
effectively put it, ‘history is its own reward’:
I think one must face the possibility that for performers in the 1980s [historical
performance] may very well not be [of any useful purpose]. But neither has a
shattered Minoan vase any useful purpose in 1986; history is its own reward. The
rewards in the case of early recordings are rich, and the question of composers and
their interpreters - if pursued narrowly - is well worth investigation.14
From Mendelssohn’s early works until Brahms’s compositional maturity important

pianists, such as Carl Reinecke (who was also an admired composer), Theodore
Leschetizky, Clara Schumann, their pupils and others, established a pianistic status quo of
great influence on their musical surroundings. Robert Schumann’s famous saying:
‘[Reinecke] knows what I am going to write before I do’15 delineated the magnitude and
praise of those pianists by their contemporaries and specifically by the composers. Their
style and musical approaches must have been key elements able to affect and perhaps shape
the composers’ writing for piano. On the other hand, composers themselves, e.g. Brahms,
Reinecke and others, played within this tradition and were in many cases renowned also as
pianists, the style of whom must have greatly influenced the playing style of their time.
Whether theoretician, practitioner or composer, ‘the experience of live or recorded
performance is a primary form of music’s existence, not just the reflection of a notated
text.’16 The style heard in early recordings and piano rolls is therefore crucially important in
the quest for a better understanding of the repertoire of the period in question. How and to
what extent these characteristics differ from modern practice is an area in need of urgent
attention. Piano works from that period are nowadays approached by performers and
analysts in ways that may, in many cases, be far removed from anything their composers
might have expected. This is the setting in which this project may put its contribution
forward.

14
Cruchfield (1986), p. 17.
15
http://www.editionsilvertrust.com/reinecke-3-pieces-vc-pno-op.146.htm, accessed in April 2011.
16
Nicholas Cook, Beyond the Score: Music as Performance (New York, 2013), p. 1.

6

1.2. Research questions, rationale and methodology
Research Questions
The project investigates the relation between the repertoire of the period in question and the
individual styles of players born in the nineteenth century. Using this theoretical starting
point as well as general, shared practices, it explores the connection between specific piano
playing practices of the period in question and the reading of the notation of the chosen
repertoire. In particular, it tries to find ways to extract meanings encoded, but not
specifically indicated in the notation, in order to enrich our understanding of the style of the
period by studying the notation in parallel with nineteenth-century keyboard treatises and
early acoustic recordings and piano rolls. Finally, it tackles the practical question of how
the study of the aforementioned sources affects our views and specifically our performance
approaches to the chosen repertoire; as a result, it suggests a performance style for the
chosen repertoire, i.e. a synthesis of ‘period’ and personal elements by a player who
hypothetically lived in, was influenced by and learned and performed during the period in
question. The manner in which this style differs radically from modern mainstream
practices will be identified in the following text.
Research Rationale
This project involves three research methods:
a) An intratextual analysis of the works: their notation, the composers’ performance

markings and those of various early editors. This aims to decode and understand as much
information as possible from the score itself (i.e. musical meanings and implications,
phrasing and practical preparation).
b) A historical investigation of how this repertoire was received by analysts and the public
and performed by players of the period in question
c) A personal account of its impact on me as a pianist.
The combined outcome of these three methods is:

7

1) To present a set of instructions for the reader, the listener and me, the researcher, on how
to understand the notation and its implied meanings in a historical context.
2) To evaluate the effect the chosen repertoire has on players, if the performing practices
that the notation implies are used. This evaluation takes place in the commentary (chapter 3
and, partly, in chapter 2) and is presented in a narrative way, as well as in the form of
recorded performances on the accompanying CDs.
3) Consequently, to bridge the gap between theory and practice mentioned earlier. The
three research methods involve objective and subjective approaches to the repertoire. The
insights offered by both approaches are interrelated and presented in parallel in the written
part of this project.
The accompanying CDs embody that philosophy and methodology as there is a progression
showing how knowledge is increasingly incorporated into my own performances, while the
written part directs the attention of the listener to the elements necessary for understanding
the recordings, the style of which differs dramatically from modern ones.
The sources and evidence for this research, both aural and written, are treated with the same
rationale: theoretically and through practical experimentation. Those sources are: different
editions of the repertoire; eighteenth and nineteenth-century theoretical treatises on
performing practice; modern writings (articles, dissertations and books); historical and
modern recordings; and film.
In this project, performance is both the means and the object of research. As a research
object it needs to be defined and divided into categories in order to be analysed adequately.
Performance, within the framework of this project, is the playing style of a set historical
period which has its own identity and is manifest with idiomatic practices unusual to the
ears of a modern listener. There are three types of deviation from the current performing
practice:
a) timing in the succession of notes on the piano, what we call rubato; namely,
arpeggiation, dislocation and deviations from the vertical hierarchy of the notation.

8

b) phrasing and accentuation, which involve the ability to distinguish the more important
from the less important notes when executed and to outline autonomous groups of notes in
order to build a logical construction to be perceived by the listener;
c) pedalling, the way in which notes are sustained.
The first variable suggests the main focus of this project. Pianists, unlike other
instrumentalists who can manipulate the timbre of the sound for expressive purposes, have
their expressivity based almost exclusively on the strength and speed of striking the keys
and the way they time it. As Otto Klauwell insightfully noted: ‘Now, in my opinion, what is
usually termed the Art of Execution consists in apprehending and carrying out these
necessary deviations, this rubato of manifold variety, which of course is to be read only
between the lines.’17 Reading ‘between the lines’ is much easier when the players/readers
are artistically nurtured in the performing environment of their time. Reading works written
a long time ago does not invoke the same ideas and performing practices to modern pianists
as it did at the time those works were composed. Therefore no matter how much written
evidence we might have about that time, it is not enough for a modern performer/researcher
to reconstruct those old practices and performing style, even if this were desirable. They
might suggest means to direct the attention of the performer towards certain decisions, but
do not provide him with a complete picture of the style required. Luckily and thanks to the
invention of piano rolls and acoustic recordings, many pianists have bequeathed us with
detailed accounts of how they performed (see paragraph: 1.5 Piano rolls).
Methodology
Performance as a means of research must be employed in a way that will help scholarly
performers to learn the idiomatic style described above to such a high level that they will be
able to deliver it at will through their own performance. In a practice-led project this is
crucial, and the chosen methods will determine its success. As with other learning

17
Otto Klauwell, On Musical Execution: an Attempt at a Systematic Exposition of the Same Primarily with
Reference to Piano-Playing (New York, 1890), p. 2.

9

processes, learners need to have models to follow or imitate. This method is viable for the
second half of the 19th century thanks to a plethora of historical piano rolls and recordings
dating from as early as 1889, preserving the individualistic performances of pianists who
were born in the first half of the nineteenth century. For reasons mentioned later (see 1.4.1.
last paragraph) Reinecke is the model after which I tried to shape my own performances in
the early stages of this project. I started imitating his performances and documenting the
results with my own performances of short pieces recorded by the master in piano rolls.
This stage was the stepping stone to the discovery of a new world of performing
possibilities. Further research was enriched by the study of the different aforementioned
sources, as well as by discussion with supervisors, peers and colleagues. This promoted my
practical realisation of the playing style in question to a synthesis of elements exemplified
in documented performances of larger works, both in duration and impact to the piano
repertoire. It became not merely a copy of Reinecke’s style, but a personal, idiosyncratic
and at the same time completely historically-orientated style. These elements were the
product of a deep practical understanding and the experience gained in studying styles of
players from Reinecke’s generation, such as Leschetizky, and a generation younger, such as
Freund, Eibenschütz, Friedberg and led to a subsequent spontaneous response to the hidden
meanings of the notation. The process of learning, and in extension the methodology of this
project, is best described by a recurring pattern of progress. Reinecke’s style was the
incentive which set in motion a chain of learning new material, testing it through practice,
discussing it with peers, enriching it with more theory, reviewing it and documenting it in
recorded performances of more complicated repertoire, for which there were no early
models, leading back to a similar cycle of theory and practice, which finally leads to the
composition of the writing at hand and a selection of recordings arranged in four Compact
Discs.
1.3. The German piano playing tradition
The concept of one or other national schools of instrumental playing is a generalisation

which can be used in research for the purpose of categorising a playing style, its origins and
characteristics. The term ‘School’ of piano or, generally, keyboard playing was used by

10

eighteenth- and nineteenth-century piano masters in their writings and refers to the art of
teaching piano. As Oscar Bie stated in 1898, ‘every great pianist had already written his
“School” or wanted to write it.’18 Nowadays the idea of a school usually implies a
pedagogical genealogy of players with common stylistic features and beliefs about playing
style. A playing style, however, with its multitude of fashions and influences from all the
different individuals involved in shaping it, is not a one-sided entity that can be given set
values and qualities in an attempt to analyse it, as perhaps happens in scientific research. It
is an ever-changing and developing phenomenon which cannot be, and perhaps should not
be, precisely defined. For this reason, concepts of schools have been both criticised by
some writers such as Wechsberg as methods with scholarly value, and adopted by other
modern scholars as valid means for research.19 Specifically, the latter used the concept of a
school in a way that may help direct our focus onto certain styles of playing.20 However, for
reasons mentioned earlier, this project, due to the nature of its topic, does not conform in a
strict sense to a type of analysis based on national schools. There have been attempts to
categorise pianists according to the cities in which they performed in the middle of the
nineteenth century, however, that distinction was related mainly to the actual instrument
and specifically the city in which it was manufactured, eg. Vienna, London or Paris.21 In
addition, scholars and practitioners have tended to link playing styles and schools with
specific composers. Czerny, for example, provided general stylistic guidelines on
performing music from Bach and Scarlatti to his own time.22 Bie linked Schumann’s
compositional style and the style of other composers of his time with the playing style of
that period. Furthermore, he assigned only very general features to national schools, i.e.
‘special kind of sensuously charming touch’ to the Parisian school, ‘brilliant playing’ to the
Viennese, and ‘emotional style’ to the English school, similar features to those described by

18
Oscar Bie, A History of the Pianoforte and the Pianoforte Players, trans. Ernest Edward Kellett and
Edward Woodall Naylor (London, 1899), p. 234.
19
Joseph Wechsberg, The Violin (London, 1973), p. 196.
20
Milsom is among those scholars.
21
David Rowland, The Cambridge Companion to the Piano (Cambridge, 2000), pp. 22-35.
22
Carl Czerny, Letters to a Young Lady on the Art of Playing the Pianoforte, trans. James Alexander
Hamilton (London, 1851), pp 45-46; Czerny, Carl, Vollständige theoretische-practische Pianoforte-Schule,
Op. 500, 3 vols (Vienna, 1839); trans. as Theoretical and Practical Pianoforte School, Op. 500, 3 vols
(London, 1839), III, pp. 99-100.

11

Kalkbrenner in 1830, seventy years before Bie.23 Bie also claimed the preeminence of the
Viennese style assigned to Beethoven and Czerny over the other styles.24 Another form of
categorisation of schools is based on famous pedagogues and their disciples, such as
Leschetizky and his school who were based on Czerny’s teachings.25 In addition, there
seems to be a uniform approach to nineteenth-century piano playing by writers. Among
them is the critic Harold Schönberg who divided the whole nineteenth-century piano school
into those players who demonstrate rhythmic flexibility in their playing and those who do
not.26 These and other sources envisage a division of players according to their attitude
towards certain performing practices. As this project will show, rhythm and time are the
most prominent factors influencing playing style. Therefore, the main focus of the writing
at hand is a certain period and its performing practice, rather than national schools of piano
playing. Finally, by ‘German’ tradition it must be assumed that a rough geography is taken
into consideration. In that belong pianists whose pedagogical ancestry leads back to
Czerny, not necessarily Germans, but individuals whose style is associated with German
piano works. Czerny, the ‘king among teachers,’27 who was Beethoven’s junior by twenty
years and a generation older than his student Theodore Leschetizky, is a key pianist-scholar
in this project. His writings are major evidence of the style analysed here. Leschetizky and
Reinecke, with their writings and most importantly their piano rolls, are close links to
Czerny’s and Beethoven’s time as well as to a younger generation of pianists who are in
turn associated with Clara Schumann and her circle, which includes performers and
composers. Fig. 1. 1. shows a diagram of players who are connected, but are not necessarily
in a master-pupil relationship or in a certain school of piano playing. These players are
among the most important figures of the German tradition and specifically in the period
1840-1900, as illustrated in Fig. 1. 1. (line refers teacher-student relationship; broken line
refers friends):

23
Friedrich Kalkbrenner, Méthode pour apprendre le pianoforte (Paris, 1830); trans. Sabilla Novello
(London, 1862), p. 10.
24
Bie (1899), pp. 190-1, 206.
25
Peres Da Costa (2012), p. 51.
26
Harold Schonberg, [Sleeve Notes] The Complete Joseph Hofmann: Volume One The Chopin Concertos
(Vai Audio/International Piano Archive, 1002, 1992), unpaginated 2.
27
Bie (1899), p. 216.

12

Fig. 1. 1. Genealogica
G al tree of German tradiition in the pperiod 1840
0-1900.
Carl Reineecke, the im

mportant of w
whom will be mentionned in due co
ourse, was the
t oldest
player we have on reccord and is directly link
ked to impoortant composers and players of hiis
time, a gen
neration oldder as well aas younger.
1.4. Rein
necke
Fritz von Bose,

B a Professor at thee Leipzig Conservatory
C y who was taught
t by Reinecke,
R
showed hiis esteem with the folloowing wordds:
W the deaath at Leipzic [sic] on March

With M 10 off Carl Reineecke, the lasst noteworth
hy
reepresentativve of the Meendelssohn--Schumann period, a ch
hapter of musical
m histo
ory
h been closed […]. Thhe thought alone
has a that he
h first saw the
t light of the world
w
when Beethooven, Schubbert and Goethe were still
s among the
t living, and
a that he was
w
in
n personal contact
c withh Mendelssoohn, and Schumann, in
nspires a cerrtain feeling
g of
reeverence foor him […] He
H was an artist
a of trully aristocrattic and fine feeling, onee
w as pianiist and condductor invarriably made his own peersonality suubordinate to
who t
th
he work he was interprreting. All who
w have heeard him in his best yeaars play a
M
Mozart conccerto, or the C minor off Beethovenn, or have seeen him con
nduct a

13

classical symphony in the Gewandhaus, must have received an impression never to

be forgotten.28
Reinecke was born in 1824 in Altona, a borough which now belongs to Hamburg,
Germany, but was under Danish occupation until 1864. He was solely a pupil of his father
J. P. Rudolf Reinecke, who trained him to become an accomplished performer from a very
young age. At the age of twelve, he appeared in public and performed Hummel’s ‘La
Sentinelle’ and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto in C. He played and toured in Scandinavia,
until at the age of nineteen he turned south. At Leipzig he met Mendelssohn and Schumann,
playing in the former’s ‘Serenade and Allegro’ Op. 43, and the latter’s Piano Quintet Op.
44. In Leipzig he met Liszt who made a deep and lasting impression on Reinecke with his
performances. Liszt’s admiration of Reinecke was summarised in his phrase ‘un pianist de
plus distingués.’29 Several concerts at Bremen, in which also Liszt and Clara Schumann
appeared, helped Reinecke gain fame and money and enabled him to go to Paris. After
several years of wandering, Reinecke received an invitation from Ferdinand Hiller to join
the teaching staff of Cologne Conservatorium. He remained in the city until 1854. From
there he went to Barmen, where he became musical director, and in 1860 settled in Leipzig
as conductor of the Gewandhaus concerts.30 In the same year he was employed as a
Professor of Piano and Composition at the Leipzig Conservatory and became its director in
1897. During his tenure, many important musicians studied there, including Edvard Grieg,
Leoš Janáček, Arthur Sullivan and Max Bruch. Among pianists whom he trained, and who
have made a name, may be mentioned Rafael Joseffy, James Kwast and Fanny Davies.
Von Bose’s words showed not only admiration, but also acceptance of the fact that
Reinecke belonged to a bygone generation of historical significance. His style sounds
unfamiliar to modern ears and far removed from modern mainstream piano practice. His
connection with contemporaneous composers and his role as a protagonist in the music
scene of the second half of the nineteenth century add historical depth to his playing,
placing him among the first priorities for scholarly examination in this project. When
Reinecke was in his artistic maturity, most of the nineteenth-century piano music that forms

28
Fritz von Bose, ‘Carl Reinecke: An Appreciation’, The Musical Times, 51 (1910), p. 302.
29
Martin Krause, ‘Carl Reinecke’, The Monthly Musical Record, 29, 344 (1899), pp. 173-4 (p. 174).
30
Fuller Maitland, John Alexander, Masters of German Music (London, 1894), p. 208.

14

the core of the modern repertoire was contemporary. His style is a product of reading
‘between the lines’ of the notation delivering information and performing practices that
were contemporary in his time and that no player can convey nowadays. Furthermore,
Reinecke in his letters asserted that there was much to the notation that ‘no composer can
convey by signs, no editor by explanations.’31 His understanding of how Beethoven’s
sonatas must be performed is based on an intricate relationship between the text and a
performing idiom practised in Beethoven’s time. In discussing the possibility of adding a
ritardando at a place where the composer did not mark it, he wrote in his letters:
‘Beethoven knew very well that every genuine musician will here do what is necessary
without directions, and that a direction would drive the majority of players to
exaggeration.’32 The origins of most of the core piano repertory were within living memory
when Reinecke was alive. His writing also shows that he was concerned about preserving
the performing tradition of that repertory and of the Classics. He wrote in his ‘Letters to a
Lady’:
I am very glad, my dear lady, that my five authorities for “playing well in time” –
Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, Hummel, and Chopin – have so impressed you;
but nevertheless, a slight doubt is apparent through your question, How it was
possible that, in spite of this, the tempo rubato has so much gained ground
nowadays, with players as well as conductors? To which I can only answer, as
Moritz Hauptmann once replied to a similar question, with the words: - “yes, you
see, health is not infectious; it is diseases which are infectious!” If I recollect
aright, I have already mentioned to you once before that a mathematically uniform
tempo throughout an entire Sonata-movement is as inconceivable as unlovely. But
there is a vast difference between the obtrusive changes of tempo which those
masters condemn, and an imperceptible introduction of a faster or slower time,
such as every sensitive artist will make a practice of, at the proper place […].
The timing in which the keys are struck is one of the factors – perhaps the most important
one – able to shape and give individual character to a performance. Fanny Davies’

31
Carl Reinecke, The Beethoven Pianoforte Sonatas: Letters to a Lady, trans. E. M. Trevenen Dawson
(London, 1897), p. 139.
32
Ibid., p. 92.

15

commented about Brahms’ playing is in tune with Reinecke’s thoughts about tempo: ‘a
strictly metronomic Brahms is as unthinkable as a fussy or hurried Brahms in passages
which must be presented with adamantine rhythm.’33 Tempo modification is a main
expressive element and at the same time of utmost importance for the piano as an
instrument (both its earlier versions and the modern one), at least compared with other
instruments. Specifically, strings are equipped with more expressive means; players are
able to apply different shades, colours and speeds with the bow. They are also able to
choose between different strings for a passage or phrase to be played on. Therefore, timing,
on which tempo rubato depends, as well as nearly every aspect of piano technique (the rest
being dynamics, touch and pedalling), must be taken seriously into account when analysing
early piano rolls. Understanding Reinecke’s performing style is a key element of this study.
His compositional activity, combined with his recordings and his notation generate
fundamental questions as to how the notation of his period may be understood. Like
Leschetizky, Saint-Saëns and other pianists of his generation, Reinecke demonstrated
elements of ‘freedom’ in his performance that are untypical of the twentieth and twenty-
first centuries. Especially in Reinecke’s style, this characteristic seems to contradict his
description of the correct tempo rubato, i.e. being employed with what were described as
imperceptible tempo fluctuations. There seems to be significant difference between the way
we nowadays perceive tempo rubato and the way Reinecke did. In his piano rolls we hear
perceptible tempo fluctuations which sound extreme by modern standards. Furthermore,
Reinecke’s criticism of contemporaries may imply that there were musicians whose tempo
modifications Reinecke found extreme and in bad taste. Already at the end of the
nineteenth century he was regarded by Fuller Maitland as a pianist of the older school, ‘a
school unaffected by the pyrotechnics of a generation that is now in its turn passing
away.’34 The writer specifically emphasised the appropriateness of Reinecke’s
performances of Mozart’s music. He was without a doubt referring to Reinecke’s tempo
rubato, ornamentation and general tempo fluctuations, as these are the most striking
features of his style.

33
Fanny Davies, ‘Some Personal Recollections of Brahms as Pianist and Interpreter’, Cobbett’s Cyclopedic
Survey of Chamber Music, ed. Walter Cobbett, 2 vols (London, 1929), I, p. 182.
34
Maitland (1894), p. 206.

16

It is apparent that in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries there was a stylistic
shift as a new generation of pianists dominated the pianistic scene. As this project will
show, although not completely dissimilar to Reinecke’s style, there are fundamental
differences between his style and most pianists a generation or more younger, whose style
bears more similarities to our modern mainstream style. As mentioned earlier, those
pianists, who lived and performed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries
tended to eliminate older performing practices when they played older works. This may
account for those differences. Reinecke’s piano rolls made in the first decade of the
twentieth century are of great importance. Although he was in his eighties when he made
these piano rolls, there is no reason to doubt that his playing preserves a style of
performance that is characteristic of the mid nineteenth century, and may well retain
important aspects of earlier practice.35 There is good reason to believe that he saw himself
as a champion of the performing practices of Classical and Romantic music. As R. Seitz
aptly stated, Reinecke was regarded as a ‘representative and guardian of tradition’36 and
‘one of the most influential musicians in the nineteenth century.37 In the middle of the
nineteenth century Reinecke was greatly respected in Leipzig as a pianist. As mentioned
earlier Schumann thought that Reinecke understood his music really well. Liszt praised
Reinecke’s ‘beautiful, gentle, legato and singing touch’, and employed him as his
daughter’s piano teacher.38 For three decades, he was considered one of the finest pianists
performing before the public. Mendelssohn, Schumann and Liszt, were all very favourably
impressed, not only with his playing, but also his own compositions.
For all the reasons mentioned and thanks to the fact Reinecke recorded a substantial amount
of music which provided me with enough and diverse material to work on, he holds a key
role in this study. The way Reinecke interpreted the notation is so different from the present
day performance that it seems imperative that we understand what his style represents and

35
Clive Brown, ‘Performing Classical Repertoire: the Unbridgeable Gulf between Contemporary Practice and
Historical Reality’, Basler Jahrbuch für Historische Musikpraxis XXX (Winterthur, 2006), pp. 31-44 (pp. 36-
9).
36
Reinhold Sietz, ‘Carl Reinecke’, The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie, 1st
edn. 15 (London, 1980), pp. 718-9.
37
‘The Passing of Carl Reinecke’, Etude Magazine, May (1910), < http://scriabin.com/etude/1910/05/the-
passing-of-carl-reinecke.html>, [Accessed 15 May 2011].
38
Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart - Allgemeine Enzyklopädie der Musik, ed. Friedrich Blume, 17
vols, (Kassel, 1963), I, pp. 187-8.

17

try to discover how to utilise it in order to understand nineteenth-century piano practice, as

no modern piano method, recording or instruction book can provide us with information for
this task. The method followed is a concept of discipleship, using Reinecke’s recordings of
short piano pieces to create the stimulus a pupil might gain in studying with a master. This
helped me understand Reinecke’s style through practice. I thus noted down all the places
Reinecke used dislocation and arpeggiation in his recordings; then I tried to practise,
perform and record in his style. The next and main stage of the study was based on
gathering theoretical information to enrich my viewpoints in stylistic matters and beginning
to study the recordings of other early pianists to acquire a broader appreciation of the style
of the period in general.39 For that reason I analysed and recorded a selection of works by
Mendelssohn, Schumann and Brahms.
This process forms the basis of the reconstruction and practical realisation of a style which
is long eclipsed. Experimentation and broader research helped me apply the findings of the
process and extend it to a wider repertoire, still within the period in question, but of a
larger-scale, such as piano sonatas by Beethoven and big works by Brahms, Mendelssohn
and Schumann. Beethoven’s sonata op. 110 that I recorded, although written in 1821 which
is twenty years earlier than the period considered in this project, is a major work with great
influence on players and teachers and belongs to the core of the piano repertoire. I also
compare Reinecke’s and Leschetizky’s (a very important pianist and pedagogue of
nineteenth-century) performing style with the style of younger pianists in order to observe
the extent of influence of the older generations on the younger one, as well as to observer
the stylistic evolution between the generation in an effort to capture all the diversity of the
period and to describe the style in its entirety. Ilona Eibenschütz and Carl Friedberg, who
had direct connection with Clara Schumann and Brahms, and Willy Rehberg, who studied
with Reinecke, are indicative examples of this younger pianists. Eibenschütz applied
dislocation for expressive effects in Brahms’s Waltz Op. 39 No. 15 in a 1962 recording.40
Friedberg, in his recording of Brahms Intermezzo Op. 117 No. 1 in his 1953 recording, also

39
Ilias Devetzoglou, Violin Playing in France 1870-1930: A Practice-basted Study of Performing Practices
in French Violin Music From Faure to Ravel (University of Leeds, 2010), 78: this part of my methodology
was inspired by Ilias Devetzoglou’s thesis, in which he used a similar practical approach in order to analyse
and understand violin performing practice of the same period.
40
The Piano G & Ts volume 4, Louis Diemer, Ilona Eibenschütz, Josef Hofmann, Wilhelm Backhaus (APR,
APR5534, 2006).

18

employed dislocation and arpeggiation (although the recordings mentioned here seem
rather late, it is important to understand that the pianists mentioned are directly linked with
key composers under investigation and their circle).41 However, after a first observation,
younger pianists seem to use expressive effects, such as dislocation and arpeggiation, more
cautiously and mostly as an embellishment in their style, similarly to violinists of the period
in question, who used portamento and rubato in a more judicious manner than older
generations of violinists.42 As will be mentioned later, however, there are exceptions. Some
younger pianists and violinists were more extreme in their use of those effects. The violinist
Toscha Seidel, for example, who was born in 1899 and was an Auer pupil, made use of a
modern type of continuous vibrato, but retained in his style old-fashioned portamento and
rubato, both in terms of quantity and the way of execution.43
1.5. Notation: its un-notated conventions and the modern literal

approach.
For most of the nineteenth century there was a growing trend towards performing older
music in a style suitable to the period it was composed in. Spohr, according to his pupil
Alexandre Malibran:
‘[…] was absolutely adamant that one should not play all composers in the same
way; on the contrary, he wished the artist to adhere to the true tradition; so to say, to
deny himself, and reproduce the composition just as it is. “But they,” he exclaimed
“care neither about the style of the man nor about the instrument, which in the time
of the composer was an entirely different one than now; they depict Frederick the
Great with a haircut à la Titus, in a black coat and trousers!”’44
That situation began to change by the end of the nineteenth century however. Carl Flesch,
the influential pedagogue, for instance, believed that:

41
Carl Friedberg: the Brahms/Schumann Tradition, Carl Friedberg (Marston, 52015-2, 2003).
42
Milsom (2003), p. 138.
43
Toscha Seidel - the RCA Victor Recordings and Franck Sonata in A, Toscha Seidel and Erich Wolfgang
Korngold (Biddulph Lab, 138, 1999).
44
Alexandre Malibran, Louis Spohr (Frankfurt am Main, 1860), p. 208.

19

‘[…] If we are to recall Spohr’s compositions to life again, we must employ present
day means of expression in their reproduction. […] It is only that which is essential,
the Spohrian spirit, that we must try to save and carry over without injury into our
own time.’45
Ernst Pauer, the world-renowned pianist and pedagogue, appeared to have been an
exponent of the early nineteenth-century approach to older music.
Anachronism in feeling is another great mistake. No player has a right to introduce

into a piece a feeling incompatible with the period in which it was written. If we
were to play a simple, unpretentious, yet charming Gavotte of Sebastian Bach with
the same fire, energy and dash which it is quite right to infuse into the execution of
Weber's brilliant Polacca in E major if we were to play Handel's "Harmonious
Blacksmith " in the same style as Thalberg's " Home, sweet home " this would be
anachronism; because we should be employing certain means which the state of the
instrument in Bach's time did not admit, and therefore those effects could not have
possibly entered into the composer's mind and intention.
In another passage, however, he appears to disapprove of every aspect of pianism we hear

in early recordings and piano rolls and he adopts the twentieth-century text-based attitude:
The faults most frequently found in pianoforte-playing consist in exaggeration of

feeling and expression, in too strong or even vehement accentuation, and in want of
rhythmical feeling, indistinctness of execution, a continual change of time, hurrying
or dragging the time; slurring, an indiscriminate use of the pedal, thumping, want of
evenness in the movements of the hand, the habit of throwing the body about and of
flinging the hands into the air; lack of accuracy and faithfulness in interpreting the
original text, interpolation of strange passages, changing the terms of expression
given by the composer; unnecessary doubling of the notes where the author desires
single notes, playing in octaves the notes with the little finger indistinctly, and last,
not least, playing chords in the arpeggiando manner where firm chords are

45
Carl Flesch, Die Kunst des Violinspiels, 2 vols (Berlin, 1923); trans. as The Art of Violin Playing (London,
1924), 2nd edn (London, 1939), II, p. 193.

20

inddicated. All these are faaults worthyy of serious censure, annd should bee carefully
oided. 46
avo
Therefore the words ‘‘feeling’ annd ‘energy’ he

h is using in the first excerpt
e - beeing quite
general - do
d not seem
m to imply annything abo
out older peerforming prractices. Th
hose practicees,
and speciffically ‘arpeeggiando’ onn chords thaat are not inndicated witth a sign, arre clearly
despised by
b the writer. Furtherm
more, his scieentific thinkking about the
t differentt stages of
evolution of the keybboard instrum
ments reminnds us of hoow we nowaadays underrstand
performinng practice. Pauer
P also m
made an intteresting point regardinng rhythm modification
m n:
Alll exaggeratiion in feelinng leads to caricature;

c a by the repeated
and r appplication off the
sam
me mode off expressionn to differennt subjects thhe style deteriorates intto mannerissm.
Ann exaggerateed accent may
m entirely spoil the beeauty of a fiigure; for innstance, if th
he
folllowing passage of the Finale of Beethoven's
B Sonata, Op. 26, were recommende
r ed
by the teacherr to be playeed, for the sake
s of distinctness, witth a gentle accent
a on th
he
firsst note of thhe group of four, thus
and w to perform it thuss

d the pupil were
this would be exaggeratioon. The reall beauty andd effect of thhe crescenddo and
deccrescendo, the
t acceleraando and rittenuto, conssist in their well-define
w d and

46
Ernst Pauer, The Art off Pianoforte Pllaying (Londoon, 1877), p. 70.
7

21

carefully-weighed gradations, in their regulated growth and decline, in their

increasing animation, and almost imperceptible return to calmness and quiet.47
The above commentary shows not only a tendency towards a twentieth-century-like literal
approach to the musical text, but also that in the last few decades of the nineteenth century
there were many pianists who probably modified rhythms in a way that sounded old-
fashioned, exaggerated and anachronistic to younger players. On the other hand, Peres Da
Costa showed that many pedagogues were very cautious when it came to writing
instruction books, but did not follow some of their own instructions in practice. Therefore,
written texts ‘do not always convey what happened in reality.’48 In any case, those players
were applying practices that were not indicated by the composers. Theodore Leschetizky, in
discussing pedalling, was reported as having emphasised that ‘it would give the composer
too much trouble to indicate between the notes all the fine, brief details of pedalling; these
are left to the pianist himself.’49 The same writer reported that he taught that we should
apply other practices, not indicated by the music text, such as arpeggiation and dislocation;
arpeggiation, if a delicate, tender, energetic, or polyphonic effect is required, and
dislocation if a softer tone is required.50 Otto Klauwell expressed similar beliefs, that ‘our
present system of notation […] can indicate […] only measurable quantities, multiples and
fractions of a fundamental unit; and no more can be expected of any system of notation
which may be invented hereafter.’51 The same writer specifically believed that, as the
composers leave the artistic application of nuances in tempo and dynamics to the player, in
the same way they expect them to apply additional arpeggiation on chords not specifically
indicated with a sign. Interestingly, Klauwell regarded - though not namely - dislocation as
a form of arpeggation. He mentioned that: ‘the arpeggio appears to me the best means of
securing due prominence to certain tones of high pitch, in piano, accompanied by a deep
bass without middle parts’:

47
Ibid., p. 67.
48
49
Malwine Brée, Die Grundlage der Methode Leschetizky (Mainz, 1902); trans. Dr. T.H. Baker as The
Groundwork of the Leschetizky Method (New York, 1902), p. 62.
50
Ibid., pp. 72-3.
51
Klauwell (1890), p. 1.

22

Schumann ment: 52
n, Phantasiee, 3rd movem
The effectt created herre is certainnly that of tyypical disloccation we hear

h in pianoo rolls and
historical recordings
r (the asteriskk placed abo
ove the F inn bar 3 of thhe example indicates
i
arpeggiation, in which case is noo different th
han a disloccation effectt; see parag
graph 2.1). In
addition, the
t writer hiighly recom
mmended arppeggiation: a) on full chords
c undeer a fermata in
order to atttain great breadth,
b b) w
with chords to be struckk ff or sfz arrpeggiation is desirablee to
soften the hardness off touch, andd, c) on disssonances to be played sfz.
sf A very different
d
approach to
t the notatiion is depiccted in this and
a other exxamples.
1.6. Pian
no rolls
ow they were used in th

Before prooceeding to a discussioon of Reineccke’s piano rolls and ho his
project, soome generall informatioon as well ass their evideential naturee must be prresented heere.
Piano rollss are perforrated paper m
music rolls used in the operation of
o a piano fiitted with a
self-playinng mechanissm, normallly pneumatiic.53

52
Ibid., pp. 110-1.
53
‘Piano Rooll’, Grove Muusic Online, <http://0-
www.oxforddmusiconline.com.wam.leeds.ac.uk/subsccriber/article/grove/music/448416>, [Acceessed 13 Apr
2013].

23

Pre-1905 rolls
An early version of the pianos fitted with those mechanisms is called player piano. Player
pianos saw great development during the last few decades of the nineteenth century.
Several makers, including Needham & Sons, Wilcox & White of Meriden, Edwin Scott
Votey, Hupfeld, Theodore P. Brown and others, built player pianos able to play rolls
preserving the performances of many great pianists. Those performances are believed to
carry the players’ individuality thanks to the fact that they reproduce precisely the timing of
the player’s key strokes. However, as Leikin noted,54 the exact process of recording was a
guarded secret by every company and most commonly dynamics and pedalling were not
integrated automatically into the roll at the time of its creation, but were added later by
technicians who were in close collaboration with the artist. Another disputable aspect of
dealing with Hupfeld pre-1905 piano rolls is the input of the player-pianist, the operator of
the mechanical instrument, who may significantly alter and even perfect the performance
on the roll beyond what was originally executed.
It has been argued […] with a strong measure of certitude, that a good player-piano
operated by a talented player-pianist might produce music as good as, if not better
than, that played by a top pianist. The reason and judgement behind this sweeping
statement is that the player-pianist, having all the mechanics of “aiming” and striking
his notes done for him, could concentrate all his faculties into the subtle nuances of
phrasing, tempi and accentuation attainable from his controls.55
Knowing how to operate the player-piano is not an easy task. ‘It takes about three years to
make a good player-pianist of a man or woman of an average musical intelligence,’56 as the
requirement of reading the dynamics and tempo instructions on the roll while it unfolds
requires a great deal of experience and practice. It only takes some browsing of online
sources with filmed performances of player-piano rolls for one to find good examples of
dubious executions of rolls as a consequence of the player-pianist’s shortcomings. In a
different light, if player-pianists are indeed able to affect a roll dramatically with their

54
Anatole Leikin, The Performing Style of Alexander Scriabin (Surrey, 2011), p. 9.
55
Arthur Ord-Hume, Clockwork Music (London, 1973), p. 257.
56
Ibid., p. 257.

24

‘interpretations’, they would be worth an extensive study. In fact it could be informative if

we could hypothetically hear early twentieth-century player-pianists ‘executing’ rolls as
this would widen our views of dynamics and pedalling, valuable knowledge when dealing
with old pianos. As described later, older pianos require different degree of pedal
employment and their responsiveness is also different from modern pianos. We are bound,
however, to modern player-pianists’ performances, therefore we have to be cautious in
judging pedalling and dynamics in modern reproductions of pre-1905 Hupfeld rolls played
on player-pianos. Furthermore, rolls made in the first few years of the twentieth century
played on Aeolian’s Metrostyle instruments should also be studied cautiously, as it is up to
the operator what tempo manipulations and dynamics will be followed: ‘The finer tonal
nuances cannot be indicated in [an Aeolian] roll.’57 Player pianists’ input is an integral part
of the ‘performance’ of a roll. Also, the player-piano as an instrument has particularities.
As Grew explained, as far as dynamics are concerned:
If the change is abrupt from loud to soft, we draw in the levers with the first soft
chord. If it is from soft to loud, we draw in the levers towards the end of the soft
passage, build up power, and release the levers upon the first loud chord […]. The
levers have to be skilfully manipulated in order to avoid soft tone on the first loud
beat, or loud tone on the last soft beat.58
And on general tone production using the power pedals:
In music of the character which permits of short, frequent pedal-strokes [here the
writer refers to power pedals, not sustain pedal], and which by crowded notes
constantly absorbs power, we may effect sudden changes of tone by direct touch
[without the use of control-levers][…] for the player-piano has a curious property
of immediate response and of apparently spontaneous recovery; when supplied
with just enough power to produce what is wanted, a single second of time is all it
requires to drop from loud to soft or to rise from soft to loud. […]59

57
Sydney Grew, The Art of the Player Piano (New York, 1922), p. 68.
58
Ibid., p. 68.
59
Ibid., p. 69.

25

Aeolian rolls in particular are to be approached with some degree of cautiousness. As Grew
pointed out:
Pieces are often unnecessarily melodised. The device is defective in the respect
that it compels a slight delay in the striking of the melodised note and this is
unpleasant at times, causing a splitting of the chord. (The worst instances of
unnecessary melodising I have observed, are the end of the slow movement of
Beethoven's Sonata Pathétique and certain Bach fugues and preludes.) Melodising
takes notes out of the influence of the Control-levers, and so we cannot alternate
rapidly in the melody between loud and soft.60
As a concluding remark, pre-1905 rolls, instruments, and actual performances by player-

pianists are all to be judged cautiously.
Post-1905 rolls
We can safely assume that piano rolls are historical documented evidence that can help us
study and understand the artistic choices of pianists of a long bygone generation.
Specifically, we can find out how exactly nineteenth-century pianists executed different
practices. Tempo rubato is based on the order of key strokes and this is what piano rolls are
best at, i.e. revealing the time relationships between notes. Dislocation, arpeggiation and
tempo rubato are all different manifestations of such relationships. Rolls made after 1905
by Welte-Mignon and Hupfeld, such as those with Leschetizky’s and Reinecke’s
performances, were played on the instrument called a reproducing piano, which was the
successor of the player-piano. Those rolls are meant to be more exact representations of the
pianists’ key-stroke timing than rolls made before 1905. Also, the instruments used for
recording the master roll were able to record to a greater extent dynamics and pedalling in
real time.
However, even the more advanced rolls developed in the 1920s by Welte-Mignon have
been subjected to criticism and doubt by writers as to whether they are indeed able to

60
Ibid., p. 69.

26

record and reproduce the original pedalling and dynamics.61 Therefore, it might be doubted
whether the rolls reproduce a performance precisely from every respect. As Peres Da Costa
explained, the amounts of post-performance editing on the rolls in combination with the
limitations of the technique in capturing dynamic, shading and pedalling at the time of the
recording,62 led some to believe that piano rolls are ‘insensitive distortions of the noble
playing of the individual pianists presented.’63 Piano roll editors corrected wrong notes and
added missing notes, evened out rhythmical irregularities and manipulated the dynamics of
passages and sections creating recorded performances that the performers did not play but
would like to have played.64 As Leikin revealed, Hupfeld rolls were heavily edited by their
engineers.65 Welte-Mignon’s philosophy was based on accuracy rather than perfection in
contrast to Hupfeld rolls. It is therefore unsafe to assume that Reinecke’s Hupfeld rolls
were not edited; however there are passages in Reinecke’s performances with rhythmical
irregularities that would not have gone unnoticed by the engineers. The artist’s final word
was taken seriously into account before the release of a roll. Finally, further investigation of
piano rolls as a recording medium will not take place here, as this would exceed the
purposes of this project.
1.6.1. The role and use of piano rolls in this project.
Reinecke recorded seven Welte-Mignon rolls and twenty Hupfeld rolls, all of which do not
require an operator’s input in order to be reproduced; in other words, they are more
accurate representations of the player’s performance.66 Through Reinecke’s piano rolls we

61
Leikin (2011), p. 12.
62
Peres Da Costa (2012), pp. 27-28.
63
Denis Hall, ‘The Reproducing Piano – What Can it Really Do?’ The Pianola Journal: The Journal of the
Pianola Institute, 14 (2001), pp. 3-26 (p. 7).
64
Arthur Ord-Hume, Pianola: The History of the Self-Playing Piano (London, 1984), p. 35.
65
Leikin (2011), p. 10.
66
‘The Reproducing Piano’, The Pianola Institute,
<http://www.pianola.org/reproducing/reproducing_dea.cfm>, [Accessed 3 October 2013]; in the following
paragraph one may deduce that all Reinecke’s piano rolls do not require an operator to be reproduced: ‘Back
in 1905, as an initial reply to the Welte-Mignon, and as a first step towards developing a reproducing piano of
its own, Hupfeld published its Künstlermusikrollen (Artists' Music Rolls), which it began to record in the
autumn of that year. Pianists visited the Hupfeld studios in central Leipzig, in similar fashion to those who
were recording for the Welte-Mignon, at the Popper salon a few streets away. Although the resulting hand-
played rolls were immediately available for the Phonola, with printed dynamic markings for the player to

27

learn how he applied dislocation and chord spreading. We also realise that the locations of
the employment of those devices are set by choice, as, if they were not, they would have
been removed during the editing process. Therefore, the model of discipleship between
myself and Reinecke described earlier is supported and intensified by the study of rolls.
Due to them having been edited, I am being taught the ideal way of applying performing
practices in my quest for learning the style practically. Furthermore, the sound clarity of
piano rolls is of unsurpassable value for this project. Made at approximately the same time
the first mechanical recordings were made, they offer a much clearer sound and easily
noticeable rhythmical nuances even in softer dynamics, an area where sound recordings
fail. If Reinecke had made a sound recording, that would have been in the pre-electric
acoustic era due to his age. He would have had to play in loud dynamics throughout a piece
which would have disturbed the musical use of the expressive devices, as Gerald Moore
described reflecting on his own experience of being recorded.67
Piano rolls are used as historical documented evidence to be analysed to gain an

understanding of the period in question and as proof that the pianists in consideration
played the way they did. Studied in conjunction with written sources, they form a guide of
stylistic possibilities and limitations for those interested – including myself – in performing
nineteenth-century repertoire in the way it would have been performed in that era. For
example, on his rolls we hear Reinecke spreading chords and in Czerny’s treatise we find
detailed instructions on where to do so. In addition to that, Czerny’s explicit criticism of his
contemporaries’ excessive spreading of chords generates great interest in investigating and
perhaps resolving practical questions, such as how much arpeggiation is too much when a
modern player like me is trying to acquire a period style. That may be achieved by
comparing Reinecke’s and other players’ piano rolls with Czerny’s writing on where and
how much arpeggiation to apply. The same comparison is effective when trying to resolve
practical matters on rubato. Piano rolls are similarly used in this project to reveal

follow, they were also designed with Hupfeld's recent Phonoliszt in mind, an expression piano powered by an
electric suction pump, with three levels of automatic dynamics, and variable speed crescendos between the
levels. The grand piano used for recording was linked pneumatically to the machine that marked the master
rolls, and an additional five tubes allowed for limited dynamic information to be recorded in real time. It is
not yet clear whether there were separate sets of dynamic tubes for the treble and bass, since the Phonola had
a divided mechanism, whereas the Phonoliszt did not’.
67
Gerald Moore, Am I Too Loud (London, 1962), p. 53.

28

performing particularities of pieces executed by the composer himself. Reinecke’s roll of

his Ballade helps us resolve some discrepancies found in the notation. Moreover, piano
rolls make the comparison between older pianists like Reinecke and younger pianists like
Eibenschütz possible.
As a concluding remark, the only method used to analyse the performances in the piano roll
performances is multiple and careful listening sessions, in other words the method of
observation. No machinery or music technology equipment was used, apart from close
examination of actual reproducing pianos, one of which is in the possession of the
University of Leeds. This would go beyond the scope and the ethos, not only of my
classical training where judgment and musical sense is strongly required, but also of the
project itself, as the use of technology in analysing piano rolls suggests a research topic in
its own right. Finally, taking all the words of caution described above into account, I chose
to approach them open-mindedly and avoid dogmatisms; I tried to unlearn as many of the
conventions of modern playing as I could and re-learn based on the ‘spirit’ of those
beautiful performances which cannot be shadowed or hindered by practicalities, such as
editing and other limitations.
1.7. Process and progress
Before proceeding to the main part of the commentary, a few words must be said about the
process followed in preparing and recording the repertoire and my progress in learning the
style. As partly mentioned in the section on methodology (1.2.), this project due to its dual
nature, i.e. practical and theoretical, has a timeline, whereby events take place
progressively. As one may deduce by reading the third chapter, the repertoire analyses
appear in the order they were practised and performed, forming three distinct phases of
development in my progress. In these sections one finds, not only conventional scholarly
writing, but also discussions with intense subjectivity. This style of writing is a result of the
particular nature of the object being examined, i.e. practice. As Scott Harrison explains,
‘music performance is particularly amenable to practice-based methods since musicians
typically engage in regular, daily practice that can be recorded easily so as to provide an

29

objective behavioural record of their activity […].’ Furthermore, ‘Practice-based research

enables practitioners to reflect on what they do and share it with others.’68 Therefore, this
aspect of research involves subjectivity which is manifest as self-criticism, which, in turn,
creates further need for discussion and re-evaluation of practice, and specifically style. The
changes adopted through this process are presented progressively (see Chapter 3) as the
discussion unfolds, leading ultimately to the desired stylistic result. Due to the fact that this
progression takes place in time, the desired playing style was achieved during the last year
of the project.
The first, the imitative stage, is the one during which a first encounter with the style in
question took place. As mentioned in detail earlier on, Reinecke and his performances were
the models after which I prepared the recordings found on CD 1. The stage progressed
smoothly, without serious obstacles, as it was mostly a straightforward process of learning;
Reinecke’s piano roll of each piece was the main learning and teaching material.
Furthermore, different instruments were used for different styles, i.e. period and modern, as
well as combinations of instruments and styles, all of which were documented, in order to
test the extent of the influence of period instruments and actual playing styles and,
ultimately, to tackle the question of how certain instruments may affect our approach to
historically-informed performance. This approach abides by the fundamental principle of
any practice-based project, in which practice itself is the research medium.
My first experimentation was with Field’s Nocturne No. 4 and Beethoven’s Ecossaisen. As
discussed later on, further to my learning the style through imitation, I experimented with
different instruments to try and test their role in achieving the desired sound, as well as with
switching between styles in order to enhance my arguments. The latter was a challenging
but a very beneficial process, because it helped me realise more stylistic details that most
modern players take for granted in their playing. Another challenge I faced in this stage was
my effort to play Field’s Nocturne No. 5 à la Reinecke, based on his edition, as there is no
roll with his performance to imitate. This was a progression from the first stage, and
dependent on it. It was a particularly educational process, as it enabled me to use my artistic

68
Scott Harrison, Research and Research Education in Music Performance and Pedagogy (New York, 2014),
p. 82.

30

instinct and try to read ‘between the lines’ of the score. This piece and Reinecke’s Ballade
was my first experience in applying historical practices spontaneously, but in an imitative
fashion, having Reinecke’s style fresh in my mind and hands after having studied the
previous two pieces. This circle of style exploration was closed with Mozart’s Fantasia in C
minor. A comparison of Leschetizky’s and Reinecke’s rolls of the piece not only was a
proof of how diverse the style in question can be, but also served as a link between my
imitative stage and my main recordings, thanks to the large amount of knowledge I
gathered.
The second stage of this project, where most of the stylistic exploration took place, started
with my recording of Schumann’s Kreisleriana. Through the study of different editions I
found enlightening information about pedalling and its effect on old instruments. In this
stage I became more fluent in applying historical practices in appropriate places. There
were however aspects of historical pianism that I had not grasped yet, e.g. dealing with
repetitions, rhythm and above all with different kinds of hairpins.69 Furthermore, my
rubato, especially in my performance of Brahms Intermezzi Op. 117, was not applied as
fluently and freely as in early piano rolls, but more austerely and reservedly, which showed
that I still approached the notation literally. There was much to learn.
The third, more mature, stage includes recordings made near the end of the project when I
had internalised many aspects of the style and developed a kind of familiarity which is
reflected in my spontaneous and free expressive use of the historical practices. In this stage,
I approached Schumann’s Warum?, another short piece that Reinecke had recorded,
without, however, imitating him in detail this time. Instead, I made a fresh start by
capturing the essence of his style and the period in general. My recording of Brahms’s Op.
118 No. 2 was a turning point in this project. By the time I was preparing this work my
understanding of the style had reached its zenith. A first recording attempt in June 2013
was not as effective and convincing as I would have wanted it to be. It was six months later,
in December 2013, after long discussions mainly with my supervisor but also my peers and
after strenuous research, when I realised the importance of the implications of hairpins.

69
David Hyun-Su Kim, ‘The Brahmsian Hairpin’, 19th-Century Music, 36, 1 (Berkeley, 2012), pp. 46-57.

31

Initially, I was not entirely convinced that a new recording was necessary, but after
listening to the new recording, I was convinced by the sound result of the integration of an
artistic and historically-informed use of the hairpins in my playing. Schumann’s
Kreisleriana No. 2 is another one of my recordings which benefited by the study of
hairpins. This is the reason why it recorded twice, the first time in June 2012 (second stage)
and the second time in December 2013 (third stage). My main incentive for the second
attempt was my supervisor’s suggestion to rush and then to slow down while getting louder
in the first bar of the piece, as there are hairpins on top of the right hand. After research and
further understanding of the notation, I produced a very convincing second recording,
compared with my first one, where I only sped up in the first bar on the crescendo.
Beethoven’s Sonata Op. 110 was the last piece I recorded. That recording is the most
complete representation of my collective work in theory and practice that spanned the
whole duration of the project.
1.8. Repertoire
Imitative recordings
Field - Nocturne No. 4
Beethoven - Ecossaisen
Field - Nocturne No. 5
Reinecke - Ballade Op. 20
Mozart - Fantasia K. 475
Experimental recordings
Schumann - Kreisleriana Op. 16
Schumann - Romance Op. 28 No. 2

32

Brahms - Three Intermezzi Op. 117
Mendelssohn - Rondo Capriccioso Op. 14
Mendelssohn - Prelude and Fugue Op. 35 No. 1
Mature recordings
Schumann - Kinderszenen Op. 15
Brahms - Capriccio Op. 76 No. 1
Schumann - Warum? Op. 12 No. 3
Mendelssohn - Songs without Words Op. 102 No. 4, 5, 6
Brahms - 6 Klavierstücke Op. 118
Beethoven - Sonata Op. 110

33

2. Nineteenth-century pianism and music notation:

rediscovering its un-notated conventions.
Dislocation between melody and accompaniment,70 arpeggiation, and rubato are striking
features in early recordings. In the last few decades of the nineteenth century there were
many pianists who modified rhythms in a way that probably sounded old-fashioned,
exaggerated and anachronistic to younger players. Those older players were applying
practices that were not indicated by the composers. As mentioned earlier, that was common
in their generation. To find out more about how exactly they did that, one should turn to
early piano methods, other writings about piano performance and early recordings and rolls.
2.1. Dislocation
In his review of Philip’s Performing Music in the Age of Recording, Charles Rosen pointed
out: ‘Mozart and his contemporaries called dislocation rubato, and it was a Central
European expressive form of decoration.’ He also wrote:
My childhood memory of Paderewski’s performance on the radio is that his

employment of it [dislocation] was unrelenting. I also once heard, long ago, a
beautifully poetic recording by Harold Bauer of Schumann’s Des Abends (“In the
Evening”) in which, as I remember, his two hands never coincided even once.
Harold Bauer’s performance is indeed permeated with dislocation which assigns a poetic
quality to it.71 While Bauer in his performance is making use of this early practice, he
applied it in a homogenous and refined manner that does not sound like the extensive
rhythm flexibility we hear in early twentieth-century rolls. To complicate the situation
more, Bauer’s dislocation seems completely dissimilar to the form of dislocation described

70
Referred to as ‘rhythmic dislocation of melody from accompaniment’ in Philip, Robert, Early Recordings
and Musical Style: Changing Tastes in Musical Performances, 1900-1950 (Cambridge, 1992), p. 47; In
Hudson, Richard, Stolen Time: the History of Tempo Rubato (Oxford, 1994), p. 334, Hudson refers to this as
the ‘breaking of hands’.
71
The Piano Masters: Ignaz Paderewski - Harold Bauer (1911-1942), Harold Bauer (Presto Classical,
203170, 2011), CD 2, track 1.

34

by Mozart in a letter to his father. In particular, Mozart referred to a form of rubato where
the left hand keeps a steady accompaniment and the right hand executes the melody with
rhythmical freedom: ‘what […] people cannot grasp is that in tempo rubato in an Adagio,
the left hand should go on playing in strict time. With them the left hand always follows
suit.’72 This effect would inevitably cause the melody to be dislocated in relation to the
steady accompaniment and, in cases where both hands have similar note values, the effect
would resemble the nineteenth-century dislocation that Rosen mentions and one hears in
performances such as Bauer’s. A kind of dislocation effect is also described and used in the
oeuvre of French Baroque composers. They call it ‘suspension’ and it is an emphatic
device. In contrast to Mozart’s description, suspension in French Baroque keyboard music
is not necessarily applied to the whole phrase or section, but rather sparingly to individual
places requiring dynamic expression, emphasis, highlighting of dissonance, and other forms
of expressivity.73 In early recordings and rolls, however, the rationale of application does
not always seem to be the same. Rosen in his description of dislocation using the
performance by Hoffmann (born in 1876, two generations after Reinecke) as an example
does not make any reference to Mozart’s description:
[…] in a recording of Chopin’s Waltz in C-sharp minor, Opus 63, [Hoffmann] plays
the beginning and ending sections very soberly with his hands always together, but
when he comes to the slower and more lyrical episode in D-flat Major, the bass is
always slightly in advance of the right hand, and this invests the section with a
sonority that is less hard-edged and more relaxed, more poetic. Hofmann is following
here the older tradition, in which the dislocation is not used throughout a piece but is
a special effect intended to distinguish and set in relief a particular episode.74
On the contrary, he assigned emphasis, variety and harmonic facilitation to the primary
purposes of dislocation in the style of old players:

72
‘Letter to His Father From Ausburg, 23 Oct. 1777’, trans. Carol MacClintock, Readings in the History of
Music in Performance (UIP, 1979), p. 381.
73
74
Charles Rosen, ‘Playing Music: The Lost Freedom’, The New York Review of Books (2005),
<http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2005/nov/03/playing-music-the-lost-freedom/>, [Accessed 3 May
2011].

35

[…] a note can be given expressive quality [i.e. emphasis] and importance by making
it appear not too easy to produce, for that is the unconscious logic behind the most
traditional use of delaying its appearance. […] Playing the bass note in the left hand
before the melody note in the right allows the melody note to enter into an already
prepared harmonic frame and also allows the bass string’s overtones or harmonics to
be reactivated sympathetically [i.e. harmonic facilitation] when the right hand enters a
split second later. […]The third purpose of dislocation, which comes into play when
it is used systematically over a long passage, is to vary [i.e. variety] the texture by
making it more lively […]75
Thus according to Rosen, nineteenth-century dislocation serves not quite the same purpose
as the one described by Mozart, i.e. it is more of an emphatic mechanism, an
embellishment, rather than a form of rubato. Mozart’s rubato seems to have survived
through the generations, as Dalcroze (Ysaÿe’s regular accompanist) pointed out:
In rubato melodic passages, he [Ysaÿe] instructed me not to follow him meticulously

in the accelerandos or ritardandos, if my part consisted of no more than a simple
accompaniment. ‘It is I alone’, he would say, ‘who can let himself follow the emotion
suggested by the melody: you accompany me in strict time, because an
accompaniment should always be in time. You represent order and your duty is to
counter-balance my fantasy. Do not worry, we shall always find each other, because
when I accelerate for a few notes I afterwards re-establish the equilibrium by slowing
down the following notes, or by pausing for a moment on one of them.’ In the train
he would try to make up violin passages based on the dynamic accents...of the
wheels, and to execute ‘rubato’ passages, returning to the first beat each time one
passed in front of a telegraph pole.76
As one may deduce, written sources do not provide clear descriptions of the type of
dislocation pianists of the period in question applied in their performances and therefore
aural sources are necessary to throw light on this topic. I have noticed that there are indeed

75
Charles Rosen, ‘Playing Music: The Lost Freedom’, The New York Review of Books (2005),
<http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2005/nov/03/playing-music-the-lost-freedom/>, [Accessed 3 May
2011].
76
Émile Jaques Dalcroze, ‘Quelques notes et souvenirs’, La Revue Musicale, 188 (1930), pp. 30-1.

36

moments where Reinecke in his rolls applied Mozart’s ‘rubato’ literally, i.e. he kept a very
steady accompaniment while he rushed the right hand and then slows it down (e.g. in bars
7-8 of Mozart’s Alla Turca;77 or in bar 3 of Field’s Nocturne No. 4).78 There are, however,
other places where he applied dislocation in a freer and more spontaneous way to the whole
texture of a phrase or episode (e.g. bars 1-2 of Field’s Nocturne No. 4 etc). After careful
listening to the recording that Rosen mentioned (Hoffmann playing Chopin’s Waltz in C-
sharp minor, Op. 63), I confirmed that his dislocation has more of an emphatic and
embellishing role and it is applied to the whole texture of the passage. It does not follow
Mozart’s description of rubato-dislocation. As a much younger pianist, it is almost definite
that Hoffmann would not have used the device in exactly the same manner as Reinecke.
Interestingly, Hudson pointed out that:
It is not surprising that many, if not most, keyboard players could not manage this
dual feat [left hand steady/right hand free]. When their left hand followed their right,
they produced, instead of the earlier type of tempo rubato, a general modification in
the tempo of the entire musical texture […]. The two types of rubato then co-existed
in keyboard music until at least the middle of the nineteenth century.79
It is apparent that parallels can be drawn between certain aspects of tempo rubato and
dislocation. As Hudson confirmed, there is some dislocation hidden in tempo rubato. This
type of dislocation is exhibited by older pianists like Reinecke, while younger pianists like
Bauer most likely did not use it. Peres Da Costa’s thorough research in historical recordings
provides a more general and quantitative account of dislocation, which was a great aid in
my practical experimentations (see Chapter 3):
In piano playing, dislocation occurred much more often in slow expressive music than
in fast music. Often in compositions of varying characters, it was reserved for the
most expressive part. Some pianists, however, applied it universally. Typically,
dislocation occurred at: a) the beginnings of phrases; b) beginnings of bars; and c)
moments which are harmonically strong or dissonant. In some cases, it can be heard

77
Mozart Alla Turca, Carl Reinecke (Hupfeld piano roll, 50318, 1907).
78
John Field Nocturne No.4, Carl Reinecke (Hupfeld piano roll, 51831, 1907).
79
Hudson (1994), p. 113.

37

on every beat in a bar. Dislocation occurred in a variety of combinations shown

below, the main underlying criterion being the separation of the hands.80
RIGHT HAND LEFT HAND
Single melody note Single accompaniment note
Single melody note Chord (notes struck together)
Single melody note Chord (notes arpeggiated)
Chord (notes struck together) Single accompaniment note
Chord (notes arpeggiated) Single accompaniment note
Chord (notes struck together) Chord (notes struck together)
Chord (notes arpeggiated) Chord (notes struck together)
Chord (notes struck together) Chord (notes arpeggiated)
Reinecke applied dislocation, arpeggiation and rubato much more often in slower pieces
than in faster ones. For instance, in his Hupfeld roll (1905) of Mozart’s ‘Fantasia’ K. 475,
in the first five bars he employed dislocation four times and arpeggiation another four times
(Ex. 2. 1a.).81 Reinecke played some bass notes in bars 1, 2 and 5 (circled) ahead of the
remaining two notes in the chord. He joined the upper note of the bass with the melody note
(in brackets). He also split the first and the second quavers in bar 3 and played both of the
left-hand notes ahead of the melody notes. Leschetizky recorded this piece with Welte in
1906.82 He also applied dislocation in his performance (Ex. 2. 1b.). There are some places
that both Reinecke and Leschetizky employed dislocation or arpeggiation. Both the
recordings show that the pianists applied more dislocation when the music is soft. When

80
81
Mozart Fantasia K.475, Carl Reinecke (Hupfeld piano roll, 53916, 1905).
82
Mozart Fantasia K.475, Theodor Leschetizky (Welte piano roll, 1192, 1905).

38

there are octaves

o in thhe bass and there is thee same note in the meloody as in thee bass, the
pianists teend to play the
t lowest nnote ahead of
o the higher notes.
Ex. 2. 1a. Mozart, Fanntasia K. 4775, bars 1-5

5. Reinecke,, 1905.
Ex. 2. 1b. Mozart, Faantasia K. 4775, bars 1-55. Leschetizkky, 1906.
On the oth
her hand in the first eigght bars of Mozart
M Ronddo Alla Turrca, a fast piiece, which
h
Reinecke recorded
r wiith Hupfeldd in 1907, hee employedd dislocationn twice onlyy and he
delayed thhe left hand slightly insstead of the melody nottes in both these
t instances. In the
repeat, he added a note c1 on the top of the first
f bass a ((circled) and splits the interval
Ex. 2. 2.). Inn his piano roll
created (E r with Weelte of this same
s piece, he played strictly
s as itt is
written.

39

Ex. 2. 2. Mozart,
M Ronndo Alla Turrca, bars 1--8. Reineckee, 1907.
Reinecke recorded
r Joohn Field’s N
Nocturne No.
N 4 on pianno roll withh Hupfeld inn 1907. In th
his
slow piecee, he appliedd dislocatioon in almostt every bar. 83 In most cases,
c notes played with
h
the right hand
h are dellayed (Ex. 22. 3.). Theree is only onee exception in bar 6, wh
here he play
ys
the bass noote with thee left hand ((squared) affter the notee of the melo
ody. He hollds the first
quaver of the melodyy in bar 4 forr one beat and t c2-sharp
a plays thhe second quuaver note, the p,
together with
w the e inn the left hannd (circled).

83
Peres Da Costa (2001),, p. 28.

40

Ex. 2. 3. Field,
F Noctuurne No. 4, bbars 1-8. Reeinecke, 19007.
84
The recorddings of Reinecke, Lesschetizky, Brahms,
B annd other plaayers born inn the period
d in
85
question show
s that diislocation w
was definitelly ‘a speciall characterisstic of the period’.
p

84
As per Peres Da Costa’s research, othher players whho demonstratte prominent dislocation
d are: Camille Saint-
Saëns (18388-1921), Edvaard Grieg (18443-1907), Lanndon Ronald (1873-1938), RaoulR Pugno (1852-1914),
(
Alfred Grünnfeld (1852-19924), Francis Planté
P (1839-1934), Ricarddo Viñes (18755-1943), Vladdemir de
Pachmann (1848-1933), Ignacy
I Jan Padderewski (18660-1941), Johnn Powell (188 82-1963), Frannk la Forge (b
b.
1879), Moriiz Rosenthal (1862-1946), F Fanny Davies (1861-1934), Ilona Eibenscchütz (1873-1967), Adelinaa de
Lara (1872-1961), Mark Hambourg
H (18879-1960), Joseph Hofman (1876-1957),, Walter Gieseeking (1895-
1956,) Ferucccio Busoni (11866-1924), Carl
C Friedbergg (1872-1955), Etelka Freunnd (1879-19777). Pianists wh ho
made occasiional or infreqquent use of diislocation are: Emil Sauer (1862-1942),
( M
Maurice Raveel (1875-1937),
Sergei Rachhmaninov (18773-1943), Ernnö Dohnanyi (1877-1960), Wilhelm
W Back khaus (1884-1969), Alfred
Cortot (18700-1962), Haroold Bauer (18773-1951), Ellyy Ney (1882-11968), Ignaz Friedman
F (18882-1948), Ben
nno
Moiseiwitscch (1890-19633), Ethel Leginnska (b. 1890)), Severin Eiseenberger (18779-1945), Myrra Hess (1890--
1965), Olga Samaroff (18880-1948), Osssip Gabrilowiitsch (1878-19936), Edwin Fischer
F (1886--1960), Alexan
nder
Brailowski (1896-1976),
( L
Leopold Godoowsky (1870--1938) and Aleexander Goldenweiser (18775-1961).
85
Hudson (11994), p. 334.

41

2.2. Arp
peggiation
n
Likewise, arpeggiatioon was as fuundamental to piano plaaying as disslocation at the turn of the
twentieth century. Coomposers nootated arpegggiation witth a wavy orr curved lin
ne on the lefft
side of a chord.
c As Brrown explaiined, howevver, ‘there is
i no reasonn to think thaat composerrs
troubled too mark everry place they might havve expectedd, or been haappy to have heard
arpeggiation, or that they
t e.’86 Early recordings
specifiied every asspect of its performance
p r
show that many pianiists, ‘whosee career reacched the peaak in the seccond half off the
nineteenthh century’, 87 frequentlyy made arpeeggiation, where
w not sppecifically indicated
i inn
the musicaal text. In The
T Romantiic Generatioon (1995), Charles
C Rossen wrote
…arpeggiateed most choords when hee played’88 although hee told Florennce May noot
‘Brahms…
to do it!89 Leschetizkyy also consiidered unnootated arpegggiation imp
portant accoording to
Brée.90 Czzerny wrote rules of whhere to and where
w not tto apply arpeggiation inn his
Vollständiige theoretissche-practissche Pianofforte-Schulee (translateed as Theoreetical and
Practical Pianoforte
P School):91
1. All
A chords consisting
c oof very shorrt notes, shoould be strucck firmly annd at once,
wheen the Compposer has noot expresslyy indicated the
t contraryy.
[…]

86
Clive Brown, Classicall & Romantic Performing Practice,
P 17500-1900 (Oxforrd, 1999), p. 610.
87
Peres Da Costa
C (2001), p. 214.
88
Charles Rosen,
R The Rom mantic Generration (Cambrridge, 1998), p.
p 413.
89
M The Lifee of Johannes Brahms, 2 vools (London, 1905), I , p. 188.
Florence May,
90
Brée (19002), pp. 72-3.
91
Czerny (1839), III, p. 55.

42

2. Such chords as require to be played with very great power, particularly when they
form the commencement or the close of a piece, or of any considerable portion of
one, almost always produce the best effect when they are struck plain; as arpeggioing
always diminishes and destroys some part of the Forte. The same rule applies when
two or more chords follow one after another very quickly […]
3. Passages in several parts, which form a connected melody, or which are written in
the syncopated or strict style, must always be played with firmness and exactly as
written; and it is only occasionally, that a single, slow, and full chord, on which a
particular emphasis is required, may be played in Arpeggio […]
On the other hand, arpeggio is employed:
1. In all slow and sustained chords which do not form any melody […].
2. When after a long and smoothly connected chord, several others occur which are
quicker, only the first one must be arpeggioed.
3. In arpeggioing, the single notes may not only be played so extremely fast, that the
arpeggioed chord shall almost resemble a chord struck plain; but they may also be
played slower and slower […]
Czerny criticized his contemporaries’ overuse of arpeggiation:
Many players accustom themselves so much to Arpeggio chords, that they at last
become quite unable to strike full chords or even double notes firmly and at once;
though this latter way is the general rule, while the former constitutes the exception.92
It is hard to know from this text to what extent Czerny thought that his contemporaries
overused the device. What seems definite, however, is that players of his time routinely
applied arpeggiation on chords and intervals where the composer did not mark it. Cramer’s
words from the previous generation come to verify this hypothesis:
Chords may be played in two different ways, first in an abrupt manner striking all the
Notes at once, which is done chiefly at the end of a piece or a sentence. 2.dly In
Arpeggio sounding successively the Notes of which the chord is composed, and

92
Czerny (1839), III, p. 55.

43

keepping them doown until thhe time of th

he chord bee filled up. When
W a chord is to be
played in Arpegggio this maark is generrally placed by the sidee of the Choord,
somee Authors make
m use off a stroke across the Chhord.93
As Peres Da
D Costa asstutely obserrved, Cramer’s explanaations are im
mportant beecause he
assigned abruptness
a t non-arpegggiated chords, implyinng perhaps that arpeggiation is to be
to b
applied on
n legato passages or at least not onn short and staccato
s choords; and, most
m
importantlly, by usingg the word ‘generally,’ Cramer sugggested thatt arpeggiatioon is not
always notated by com
mposers. A typical exaample is Cleementi’s son
natas, first published
p in
n
Vienna. When
W Clemeenti republisshed them inn London he o signs, which
h added maany arpeggio
supports Cramer’s
C claaim.94 Finallly, Czerny in his rules about suitaable places for
f
arpeggiation associateed firm, nonn-arpeggiateed, chords with
w brillianncy. On the other hand,
h Méthodee de violon sstated the exxact opposiite.95 This sh
Bériot in his hows that arrpeggiationn is
a versatilee artistic technique withh more than
n one possibble use.
Interestinggly, Klauweell, Reineckke’s student,, as mentionned earlier, regarded unnnotated

n as a form of arpeggattion.96 Klauuwell’s sugggestions forr unnotated arpeggiatio
dislocation ons
are more inclusive
i thaan Czerny’ss. Czerny soounded as iff he was tryying to forew
warn playerrs
against ex
xtensive appplication of aarpeggiationn and not too encouragee artistic freeedom in thee
use of the device. Thiis may also suggest thaat arpeggiatiion was at its height wh
hen Czernyy
wrote his Pianoforte-
P -Schule, andd when Klauuwell wrotee his treatisee it was decllining. As
discussed later, his viiews are thee same with regard to teempo flexibbility.
Like otherr pianists off his generattion, Reineccke not onlyy applied unnnotated arp
peggiation but
b
also he useed it for diffferent purpooses. Peres Da Costa analysed sevveral pianistts’
arpeggiation from a melodic,
m o view.97 In
harrmonic, texttural and soound point of n Reinecke’s
performannce of Field’s Nocturnee No. 4 we find
f distincttive stylisticc elements of
o his periodd:

93
Johann Baaptist Cramer, Instructions ffor the Pianofforte (Londonn, 1812), Appeendix, part 4, p. 42.
94
Muzio Cleementi, Introdduction to the Art of Playingg on the Pianooforte (Londoon, 1801).
95
Charles-A
Auguste Bériott, Méthode dee violon diviséée en trois parrties, Op. 102 (Paris, 1858), p 86.
96
See end of paragraph 1.4.
97
Peres Da Costa (2001),, pp. 105-6: ‘[…] Brahms, Saint-Saëns,
S R
Reinecke, Lescchetizky, Ronnald, Pugno,
Pachmann, Paderewski,
P P
Powell, La Forrge, Rosenthal, and others […]
[ arpeggiatted various chords in order: to
emphasise melody
m notes bby delaying thhem and settin
ng them apart from the harm monic accomppaniment; to

44

a) the left hand has doouble notes to accompaany a singlee-note melodic line; thiis effect
instills em
mphasis:
Ex. 2. 4. Field,
F Noctuurne No. 4, bbar 11. Reinnecke, 19077.
The same effect appeears in bars 15, 28, 70, 71.

7 In thesee places therre is intensee harmonic
nd Reineckee broke the chords. Mo
activity an oreover, arpeeggiation inn the above examples
enriches thhe melody, which in tuurn enhances the harmoonic developpment.
b) chords in both hannds to signify

fy texture ch
hanges and prepare
p a caadence:
Ex. 2. 5. Field,
Here, the splitting

s of the chord oon the third beat
b followed by a littlle cadenza-llike passagee
emphasisees the imporrtance of thee dominant chord and pprepares forr the cadencce.
c) chords in
i both hands for enhanncing chrom
maticism:

provide a geentle cushion oof sound suppporting the meelody note; to give poignantt harmonies a softened or a
strengthenedd effect; to enlliven the mommentum and prropel the music forward; too enrich the soound or texturee of
the musical material; to mark
m the limitss of phrases; too delineate coompound meloodies played simultaneously
s y in
one hand’.

45

Ex. 2. 6. Field,
F Noctuurne No. 4, bars
b 19-20. Reinecke, 1907.
d) to estabblish the endd of an episoode:
Ex. 2. 7. Field,
F Noctuurne No. 4, bar
b 25. Reinnecke, 19077.
Here we encounter
e ann interestingg phenomennon that cann only be unnderstood thhrough
practice annd experimeentation usiing differennt instrumennts: in this caase a period
d piano
(Erard) annd a modernn one (Steinw
way). The melody
m starrts in the rigght hand and
d finishes in
n
the left. Th
he last chorrd has high nnotes in thee treble part of the pianoo. Even witth the
sustainingg pedal, the treble
t chordd on the Eraard cannot have
h the sam
me warmth and
a depth
as on a moodern pianoo. In this casse, splitting the chords and slowingg down at th
he same
time can create
c a warrm and rich sound withh the Erard, and end thee piece with a delicate
‘crystal’ sound (CD 11, track 1, 2’05’’). The same effectt appears inn bar 72 (CD
D 1, track 1,,
5’25’’).

46

e) here thee arpeggiation is applieed to facilitaate variety aand avoid reepetitivenesss, as the
right handd has conseccutive repeaated patternss:
Ex. 2. 8. Field,
F Noctuurne No. 4, bbars 41-43. Reinecke, 1907.
In the sam
me performaance Reineckke ignored the diminueendo in bar 42 and keepps the samee
volume unntil the begiinning of baar 43, whichh is the end of the phrasse, and he ‘ccalms’
down and changes thee mood for the next secction with a different teexture. Heree the
emphatic role
r of the arpeggiation
a n is evident.
In the scorre of his ow

wn piece, Baallade Op. 20,
2 he clearlly indicated the arpeggiiating of
some chorrds. In his ppiano roll off the same piece
p he madde with Huppfeld in 19007,
however, he
h applied much
m more than the nootated.98 In the
t followin
ng example,, he marked
d
‘arpeggiattion’ on the chords in bbars 14-17, while
w in hiss roll, he em
mployed arpeeggiation in
n
bars 14-222 (Ex. 2. 9.)). He did thee same whenn the texturre is broadlyy harmonic (bars 113-
144, 178-1191, 200-2008).

98
Carl Rein
necke Ballade Op. 20, Carl R
Reinecke (Huupfeld piano rooll, 50349, 1907).

47

Ex. 2. 9. Reinecke,
R Ballade Op. 20,
2 bars 12--26.
It is intereesting to notte that arpegggiation in Reinecke’s

R playing nevver occurs on
o very shorrt
markings, or on quickly repeated chhords, but itt is applied
notes withh or withoutt staccato m
mostly durring legato passages, oor on slurredd motives thhat contain chords,
c and mainly for
emphasis. These styliistic elemennts comply with
w both Czerny’s
C andd Cramer’s general
guideliness.99
2.3. Tem
mpo rubatto
Tempo moodification was

w consideered an esseential expressive practiice throughoout the
eighteenthh and nineteeenth centurries. Scholarrs, composeers and playyers of this period
p all

99
Czerny (1839), III, p. 55-6.

48

embraced it as a necessary aspect of their musicianship. One of the most important

composers among them, C. P. E. Bach, commented in the middle of the eighteenth century:
‘whoever either does not use these things [tempo modification] at all, or uses them at the
wrong time, has a bad performance style.’100 Also, at the end of the eighteenth century,
Türk provided locations for possible tempo modifications in great detail.101 Czerny in his
1839 Pianoforte School exclaimed that time changing is ‘perhaps the most important means
of Expression.’102 Schindler wrote in his book Biographie von Ludwig van Beethoven that
Beethoven ‘would certainly have wanted the symphonies performed in a more flexible
manner.’103 Moreover, according to Frances C. Robinson: ‘there must be the right use of
rubato; we must know when to accelerate and when to slacken the time, so that the
composer's meaning may be fully brought out.’104 All these show that tempo modification
was an indispensible part of nineteenth-century performing practice, in which a metronomic
interpretation of classical works was unthinkable.
As a practice that is not always notated in the score of the music, it belongs to the hidden
meanings of the notation. As mentioned already, composers used signs that may imply
tempo or rhythm modifications, such as crescendo-diminuendo signs meaning acceleration
followed by immediate slowing down. More discussion is found in the commentary
(Chapter 3) and especially wherever hairpin signs are concerned (see also paragraph 2.4.6).
Tempo rubato, however (It., ‘robbed or stolen time’), is a practice which involves tempo
modification, but must be considered separately as it is standardised, and, depending on the
era concerned, it is applied in specific ways. Tempo Rubato is:
the expressive alteration of rhythm or tempo. In an earlier type the melody is altered
while the accompaniment maintains strict time. A later type involves rhythmic

100
Carl Philip Emanuel Bach, Versuch über die wahre Art das Clavier zu spielen, 2 vols, vol. 1 (Berlin,
1753), vol. 2 (Berlin, 1762); trans. and ed. William Mitchell as Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard
Instruments (New York, 1949), I, p. 3.
101
Daniel Gottlob Türk, Klavierschule oder Anweisung zum Klavierspielen für Lehrer und Lernende mit
kritischen Anmerkungen (Leipzig and Halle, 1789); 2nd enlarged edn. (Leipzig and Halle, 1802), pp. 65-9.
102
Czerny (1839), III, p. 31.
103
Anton Schindler, Biographie von Ludwig van Beethoven (Münster, 1840), pp. 242-3.
104
Frances Robinson, ‘Musical Taste or Expression’, Etude Magazine, April (1904),
<http://etudemagazine.com/etude/1904/04/musical-taste-or-expression.html>, [Accessed 15 May 2011].

49

flexibility of the entire musical substance. Both originated as a part of unnotated

performing practice, but were later sometimes indicated in scores.105
Hudson’s definition refers to two different concepts, the strict earlier one and the freer later
type. The common factor in both is time. The way time is dealt with and specifically the
time loss by slowing down or accelerating define each different approach. Pierre Baillot,
the violinist and pedagogue of the French school of violin playing, analysed the way of
applying the device with music examples. He maintained that the time lost by slowing
down must be compensated with acceleration in order for the music to retain its pulse:
There is a way of altering or breaking the pulse which derives from syncopation and
is called tempo rubato or disturbato, stolen or troubled time. This stolen time is very
effective but it would become by its very nature tiring and unbearable if it were used
often. It tends to express trouble and agitation and few composers have notated or
indicated it; the character of the passage is generally sufficient to prompt the
performer to improvise according to the inspiration of the moment. He must only
make use of it in spite of himself, as it were, when, carried away by the expression,
it apparently forces him to lose all sense of pulse and to be delivered by this means
from the trouble that besets him. We say that he only appears to lose the sense of
pulse, that is he must preserve a sort of steadiness that will keep him within the
limits of the harmony of the passage and make him return at the right moment to the
exact pulse of the beat. This is a case where we may make the following
observation: Often a beautiful disorder is an artistic effect. This disorder will thus
be of such a nature as to be pleasing and even to be found beautiful; it will become
an artistic effect if it results from effort and inspiration and if the artist can use it
without being forced to think of the means he is employing.
Up to a certain point this device can be notated, but like all impassioned accents it
will lose much of its effect if executed literally. We give examples of this kind of

105
Richard Hudson, ‘Rubato’, Grove Music Online, Web, <http://0-
www.oxfordmusiconline.com.wam.leeds.ac.uk/subscriber/article/grove/music/24039>, [Accessed 11 Jun
2014].

50

acccent here sim

mply in ordder to shed light
l on its use
u and to prevent
p any misuse thatt
might be made of it.
Viootti, Violin Concerto N 9 (White I:19), 1st mov

No. 19 in G Minor, G. 91 vement, barrs.
3844-99, Passaage as notateed by the co
omposer:
Ann indication of the manner in which the passagge can be played:
Viootti, Violin Concerto N

No 18 in E Minor,
M G. 900 (White I:118). 3rd movvement, barss 1-
8:
Ann indication of the manner in which the passagge can be played the laast time it
is repeated
r in this Rondo:106

106
Pierre-M
Marie-Francois de Sales Bailllot, L’art du Violon.
V Nouveelle Méthode Dédiée
D à
Ses Élèves (Paris, 1835); trans.
t as The Art
A of the Viollin by Louise Goldberg (Illiinois,
1991), pp. 136-7.

51

This specific concept of metrical rubato which involves compensation for the time loss
caused by slowing down has a long historical precedent dating back to the fourteenth
century.107 Reinecke’s approach to rhythm complies with Baillot’s suggestions and
radically differs from modern mainstream practice. This practice is non-existent in modern
playing. In fact, it gradually started disappearing in the first few decades of the twentieth
century. As Joachim’s student Karl Klingler commented, it ‘did not need to be explained to
the average musician from Rode’s time until the turn of the twentieth century. Today,
however [in the middle of the twentieth century], it is often forgotten that, with such notes
of nominally equal value, an agreeable, imperceptible hastening that makes up for what was
lost, was self-evident.’108 Reinecke was one of the last representative examples of his time,
along with Joachim, Brahms and Ysaÿe, to employ the device to such a great extent and the
oldest pianist we have on record (piano rolls) featuring it. Manuel Garcia (born 1805), a
singer and pedagogue, who was older than Reinecke by twenty years, wrote:
By tempo rubato is meant the momentary increase of value, which is given to

one or several sounds, to the detriment of the rest, while the total length of the
bar remains unaltered. This distribution of notes into long and short, breaks the
monotony of regular movements, and gives greater vehemence to bursts of
passion.109
Similarly, in his stylistic analysis of different ways to approach a phrase expressively

through rhythm manipulation, Czerny described the same device. He also regarded rubato
as ‘the most important means of Expression’.
He put forward four approaches to an expressive phrase:

107
108
Karl Klingler, Über die Grundlagen des Violinspiels und nachgelassene Schriften (Hildesheim, 1990), p.
171.
109
Manuel Garcia, Traîté complet de I'art du chant, 2 vols, vol. 1 (Paris, 1840); vol. 2 (Paris, 1847); rev. and
trans. Beata Garcia as Garcia's New Treatise on the Art of Singing (London, 1857), pp. 51-2.

52

Thhe first one is

i to play inn strict time.. The secondd way is to slow down on the seco
ond
barr and keep slowing
s dow
wn to the en
nd of the phhrase. The thhird way is to
t play the
firsst two bars with acceleeration and delay
d the last two bars.. The fourthh way is to
app
ply molto riitardando fr
from the thirrd bar onwaards. He claiims that thee third way is
i
‘beest suited too the… charracter of thee pieces. It gives
g to the two first asscending barrs
mo
ore life and warmth, annd the rallen
ntando whicch follows makes
m the laast two barss so
uch the morre pleasing.’’110
mu
The oldestt verbal testtimony of coompensatorry rubato inn connectionn with the reepertoire
consideredd in this prooject is the oone quoted earlier,
e duriing the discuussion of diislocation,
which cam
me from Moozart. The stteady left haand automaatically impllies that the freedom off
the right hand
h will bee compensatted in order to be able tto join the left hand onn time. In thee
piano roll he made with Hupfeldd in 1905 off Beethovenn’s Ecossaisen Woo 83,, Reinecke
used the device
d in thee same way: he accelerrated in bar seven (Ex. 2. 10. the arrrow) and
slowed doown in bar eight
e (Ex. 2.. 10. the waave).111
Ex. 2. 10. Beethoven,, Ecossaisenn Woo 83, bars

b 7-8. Reeinecke, 19005.

110
Czerny (1839), III, p. 332.
111
Beethoveen Ecossaisen, Carl Reineckke (Hupfeld piano
p roll, 500018, 1905).

53

This very example deescribes Reiinecke’s appproach to ruubato, which

h is a promiinent elemeent
of his stylee. Flexibilitty of rhythm
m is a characcteristic of R
Reinecke’s style, whichh appears
throughouut the piece (bars: 46-488, 97-102, 105-111,
1 2225-230, 233--238). Therre are
moments of
o compenssatory rubatoo. These mo n last morre than two to three barrs.
oments do not
Such figurres appear individuallyy or in groupps. After thee duration of
o the effect, the tempo
comes bacck to the oriiginal. Thuss, there is a tendency
t too ‘pay off’ for
f the time lost from
slowing do
own.
In the fourrth dance off Ecossaisenn, Reineckee rushed sligghtly when he did cresccendo and
slowed doown at diminnuendo placces to createe a kind of ‘swinging’
‘ and ‘floatinng’ feeling. He
also delay
yed the first melody notte of the seccond phrasee (Ex. 2. 11. circled) an
nd applied a
richer sounnd to emphasise the beeginning of the new phrrase.
Ex. 2. 11. Beethoven,, Ecossaisenn Woo 83, Reinecke’s

R Edition, barrs 97-112. Reinecke,
R
1905.
Ex. 2. 12. thee arrow) aftter slowing down (Ex. 2.

In his Balllade, Reineccke also acccelerated (E
12. the waave) in the bars
b 87-98 inn order to regain the teempo.

54

Ex. 2. 12. Reinecke, Ballade

B Op.. 20, bars 866-99. Reineecke, 1907.
Although Ecossaisen and this Baallade are off a somewhhat more liveely characteer than
Czerny’s example,
e Reeinecke appplied Czernyy’s third appproach exteensively throoughout thee
piece. This may sugggest that in ppieces of a slower,
s morre tender andd more exprressive natuure,
Reinecke may
m use thee device eveen more exttensively. Inn any case thhis is what his rolls
confirm.
ore, Czerny encouragedd rhythmic variation

Furthermo v annd diversity on repeatedd passages. On
such occassions ‘the pplayer is nott only at libeerty to emplloy each tim
me a differennt style of
execution,, but it is evven his dutyy, to avoid monotony;
m aand he has only
o to conssider, what
what preceddes or to whhat follows.’112
sort is most proper inn respect to w

112
Czerny (1839), III, p. 33.

55

Ecossaisenn is based on
o repetitionn. This is peerhaps the reeason why Reinecke
R m
might have
used the practice
p so extensively:
e to avoid monotony
m annd instil vivaacity in the piece.
Additionaally, on the roll
r of his B
Ballade, Rein
necke accellerated mom
mentarily so
o as to
strengthenn the tensionn of a short motive (Exx. 2. 13. the arrows). Hee applied th
he same later in
bars 234-2244.

B Op.. 20, bars 633-78. Reineecke, 1907.
As explainned, this rubbato is very different frrom the moddern freer ruubato. Thesse differencees
are summaarized by Phhilip. Accorrding to him
m, in the couurse of the twentieth
t ceentury

56

The most basic trend of all was a process of tidying up performance: ensemble
became more tightly disciplined; pianists played chords more strictly together, and
abandoned the old practice of dislocating melody from accompaniment; the
interpretation of note-values became more literal, and the nature of rubato changed,
becoming more regular and even. Acceleration of tempo was more tightly
controlled, and the tempo range within a movement tended to narrow […]113
It was not until the first decade of the twentieth century when the freer concept started
gaining ground over the older one and when the idea of ‘what is lost is lost’ appeared.114
The compensatory type of rubato gave way to a simple slowing down and rarely speeding
up. That is also heard in every modern performance, by both amateurs and professional
players. In modern mainstream practice players have associated rubato exclusively with the
freer later type. In nineteenth-century practice too, however, there are occasions where the
slowing down is not followed or preceded by hurrying. As Lussy suggested,
the most common [un-notated] rallentando is that at the end of soft and expressive
phrases. […] There must be rallentando: 1. on a long note preceding the final note,
especially if it includes a shake, 2. on a note exceptionally repeated several times, 3.
on the highest note at the end of the penultimate bar, especially if it is syncopated,
prolonged, or chromatic, 4. on the higher auxiliary note at the end of the
penultimate bar, 5. on the reiterated notes at the end of the penultimate bar, 6. On
the penultimate note, if the last one is a reiterated note: that is to say, preceded by an
anticipation, 7. On the repetition of short figures in the penultimate bar, especially if
it contains higher auxiliary notes, 8. On crotchets occurring by exception in the
penultimate bar, 9. on short notes or groups occurring by exception, and containing
reiterated notes or higher auxiliary notes, &c., introduced at the end of a phrase
[…].115
According to Lussy, in every situation rallentando alone (without speeding up) is to be

placed at the end of a phrase. This is significantly different from the modern intra-phrase

113
Robert Philip, Performing Music in the Age of Recordings (New Haven, 2004), p. 232.
114
Milsom (2003), p. 160.
115
Mathis Lussy, Musical Expression, Accents, Nuances, and Tempo, in Vocal and Instrumental Music, trans.
M. E. Von Glehn (London, 1892), p. 186-91.

57

slowing do
own. Furtheermore, Klaauwell, in thhe section ‘M
Modificatioons of the tem
mpo’ in hiss
book, infoormed us off many possiibilities for tempo moddification baased on stru
uctural criterria;
they are in
n fact too many
m to be m
mentioned here, howeveer they will be mentionned in the
relevant an
nalyses of rrepertoire inn Chapter 3 (commentaary), whenevver a speciffic practice is
i
concernedd.116 What we
w need to kkeep from thhis is that Klauwell
K folllows a methhodical
approach to
t performaance convenntions that are
a not usually explaineed in books and treatisees,
not in such
h detail at leeast, this is why it is soo interestingg and imporrtant. It is ann attempt to
o
put an ordder in the ‘diisorderlinesss’ describedd by Philip,, which is inn accordancce with the
rational, critical and analytical
a G
German thinnking of the nineteenth century.
2.4. Other notatioonal issuees
As modern
n writers haave shown, there have been
b serious inconsisteencies betweeen differen
nt
composerss - and also within the oeuvre of a single com
mposer - as to
t what certain symbolss
mean. Theese writingss represent aan autonom
mous field off research. The
T knowleddge which
they proviide is taken account of in this projeect where necessary,
n inn order to un
nderstand th
he
potential range
r of meeanings of thhe notation in the reperrtoire under consideratiion. The maajor
notational issues withh immediatee impact on performingg style are discussed
d heere.
2.4.1 Over-dotting
Over-dottiing of single dotted figgures ( ), Philip sugggests, ‘was the

t most strriking
rhythmic practice
p of tthe 1920s.’1117 As Milsoom pointed out, in the second
s halff of the
nineteenthh century peedagogues and
a writers rarely
r recom
mmend overr-dotting whhere the
ms.118 However, it is oftten heard inn historical
composer had writtenn normal dootted rhythm
recordingss and piano rolls, e.g. inn Reinecke’s piano roll of his Balllade (bars 27-32,
2 98-10
01,
and 213-217). Weinggartner, in 18895, criticissed this com
mmon practiice which shhows not on
nly
that in his time many players maade extensivve use of it, but also thaat attitudes towards
t it

116
Klauwelll (1890), pp. 99-58.
117
Philip (19
992), p. 77.
118
Milsom (2003),
( p. 161.

58

were channging.119 Wooof and Dollmetsch alsoo spoke cauutiously of over-dotting

o g. Specificallly,
Woof in 1920 suggessted the pracctice of overr-dotting ass a ‘cure’ to students whho tended to
o
shorten the long notess in dotted rhythms,
r wiithout howeever recomm
mending thee general
employmeent of over-dotting. 120 Furthermorre, Dolmetscch considerred over-dottting a rare
nly applicabble to militaary marchess.121 Similarrly, Bachmaann, a friendd and studen
practice on nt
of Ysaÿe’ss, whose vieewed are also in line with
w the late nineteenth--century inccreasing
strictness of performaance, in his 1925 Encycclopedia addvises against over-dottting providing
an examplle from the second movvement of Saint-Saëns’
S ’ Violin Conncerto No. 3 in B minoor,
Op. 61, whhich, as he said, is ofteen played ovver-dotted:
Ass regards to the beginniing there exxists a controoversy among violinistts which
desserves to bee explained:: the secondd note of meeasure 1 is often
o playedd as though it
weere a thirty-ssecond notee, as followss: 122
Insstead of beinng played inn this wise:
ng and confuusions are caused when

The situation becomees even morre perplexin n dotted
rhythms arre placed ovver triplets aand specificcally by the placing of the semiquaaver. It is
often the case
c that a ccomposer diid not give clear
c indicaation on how
w he wanted
d the dotted
rhythm to be perform
med. Writingg the semiquuaver on topp of the thirrd triplet maay suggest
tripletisatiion of the dootted rhythm
m, which is exactly whhat Löhlein suggested
s in
n the secondd
half of thee eighteenthh century in his Clavier-Schule.123 Subsequenttly, if the seemiquaver and
a

119
Felix Weeingartner, Übber das Dirigieeren (Leipzig,, 1895); trans.. Ernest Newmman as On Conducting
(Leipzig, 19906), p. 14.
120
Rowsby Woof,
W Techniique and Interp
rpretation in Violin-Playing
V g (London, 1920), p. 97.
121
Arnold Dolmetsch,
D The Interpretatioon of the Mussic of the XVIII and XVIII Ceenturies (Londdon, 1915), p. 53.
122
Alberto Bachmann,
B An
n Encyclopediia of the Violin n (New York, 1925), p. 2599.
123
Georg Simon Löhlein, Clavier-Schu ule (Leipzig, 1765),
1 p. 68.

59

the third quaver

q of the triplet aree aligned thiis probably means that the semiquaver ought not
to be overrdotted:
Ex. 2. 14. Schubert, ‘Erstarrung’’ Die Winterreise.
In the folloowing exam

mple, the sem
miquaver iss aligned wiith the sixthh semiquaveer of the
sextuplet, which clearrly means thhat it must be
b overdotteed:
Ex. 2. 15. Mendelssohhn, Lied ohhne Worte, Op.

O 85 No. 1.
Writers haave analysedd this notatiional issue in

i Schubertt, Beethovenn, Schuman
nn, Chopin,
Brahms, Liszt,
L and otthers.124 Thiis is partly because
b com
mposers exppected the players
p and
readers to know how to execute ttriplets overr dotted rhyythms, i.e. in
n many casees under-
owever, the reason for such inconssistencies may
dotted. Ho m lie prim
marily in the fact that in
this case thhere are maany possiblee executionss of the sam
me pattern. Philip’s
P studdy of early
twentieth--century aurral material,, establishess an idea off ‘disorderlin
ness’ and chhaos in the
way of thee execution of the devicce and a moore practicall realisationn of the factt that the

124
Gwilym Beechey,
B ‘Rhhythmic Interppretation: Mozzart, Beethoveen, Schubert annd Schumannn’,
Music Revieew, 33 (1972),, pp. 233-48; F
Ferguson, How ward, Keyboaard Interpretattion from the1
14th to the 19tth
Century (Loondon, 1975), p. 97; Shawe--Taylor, Desm mond, ‘Schubeert as Written and Performeed’, Musical
Times, 104 (1963),
( pp. 6226-8; Eibner, F
Franz, ‘The Dotted
D Quaver and Semiquavver Figure witth Triplet
Accompanim ment in the Works
W of Schubbert’, Music Review,
R 23 (19962), pp. 281-44.

60

period in question
q is ppermeated w
with inform
mality as far as rhythm and
a its mod
dification is
concernedd.125 This kinnd of ‘disorrderliness’ is
i also depiccted in the following
f exxamples,
where note values aree ambiguous causing grreat confusiion to the piianist as to whether
w
he/she shoould follow a schematicc interpretattion of the values,
v i.e. play
p the nottes in order of
appearancce in the scoore, or applyy a mathemaatical arranggement of notes
n accord
ding to theirr
exact valuues:
Ex. 2. 16. Brahms, Inntermezzo Op.

O 118 No. 6, bars 74-78.
Here the right-hand

r n f1 is plaaced under c2-flat, althoough mathematically sh
note hould be
placed jusst after c2-flaat.
Ex. 2. 17. Brahms, Roomanze Op. 118 No. 5, bars 30-322.
Here the leeft-hand noote B shouldd be placed between

b d1 and a1.
2.4.2 Unn
notated cresscendo and
d diminuend
do
In the sam
me way com
mposers wouuld have exppected playeers to be fam
miliar with the
t nineteen
nth-
century noorm of assocciating decrrescendo wiith slowing down and crescendo
c with
w speedin
ng
up. Klauw
well, instructted that ‘eveery ascendinng, and likeewise every
y acceleratedd passage,
should in general
g be taken
t somew
what cresceendo [and] every
e retardded passage somewhat

125
Philip (19
992), pp. 92-33.

61

decrescenddo.’126 Huggo Riemann also describ

bed both prractices as ‘n
natural’ and
d considers
them desirrable.127 Büülow suggessted this praactice in the following passages
p (seee his footn
note
‘c’) in his 1891 editioon of Beethooven’s pian
no Sonata Op. 106 (3rd mvt, bars 52-57):
5
12
28
We must not
n forget thhat wheneveer tempo modification is concerneed, it is all a question of
degree. Thhere are signnificant diffferences in the
t degree oof tempo modification
m between
different inndividuals. This practice, however, may be better undersstood as parrt of the
general latte nineteentth-century teendency forr tempo modification (w
which is alsso extreme by
b
modern standards). Czerny’s
C stattements thaat strict timee keeping haas almost beeen ‘entirely
y
forgotten’ and that tem
mpo changees are ‘oftenn employedd to caricatu
ure’ summarrised the

126
Klauwelll (1890), p. 600.
127
Hugo Rieemann, Katech hismus des Kllavierspiels (L
Leipzig, 1888)); trans. as Ca
atechism of Piaanoforte Playing
(London, 18892), p. 79.
128
Ludwig Van
V Beethoveen, Sonate für das Pianofortte Op. 110, edd. Hans Von Bülow B (Stuttgaart: J. G. Cottaa,
1875), p. 45.

62

individualistic playing style of the period in question.129 Czerny’s criticism viewed in

parallel with his meticulous guidance on where to apply ritardando and accelerando
specifically, may enhance the idea of a schism between conservatism and artistic freedom
in the use of tempo modification in the period in question described by Peres Da Costa.130
Specifically, Czerny approved the use of unnotated ritardando in the following occasions:
a. In those passages which contain the return to the principal subject.

b. In those passages, which lead to some separate member of a melody.
c. In those long and sustained notes which are to be struck with particular emphasis,
and after which quicker notes are to follow.
d. At the transition into another species of time, or into another movement, different
in speed from that which preceded it.
e. Immediately after a pause.
f. At the Diminuendo of a preceding very lively passage; as also in brilliant passages
when there suddenly occurs a trait of melody to be played piano and with much
delicacy.
g. In embellishments, consisting of very many quick notes, which we are unable to
force into the degree of movement first chosen.
h. Occasionally also, in the chief crescendo of a strongly marked sentence, leading
to an important passage or to the close.
i. In very humorous, capricious, and fantastic passages, in order to heighten the
character so much the more.
k. Lastly, almost always where the Composer has indicated an espressivo, as also
diminuendo.
l. At the end of every long shake which forms a pause or Cadenza, and which is
marked diminuendo.131
Interestingly, only in three occasions, i.e. f., k. and l., ritardando is associated with
diminuendo. The fact that Czerny did not encourage a universal application of ritardando
on diminuendo, but on the contrary he was very specific about where ritardando may be

129
Carl Czerny, The Art of Playing the Ancient and Modern Piano Forte Works (London, 1846), p. 29.
130
131
Czerny (1839), III, pp. 33-4.

63

applied in connectionn with diminnuendo, mayy imply thaat he is moree conservatiive. Similarr
views are expressed in
i Liszt’s Auu Bord d’unne Source. The
T composser devised specific sig
gns
132
for accelerrando and ritardando,
r w
which he placed occasiionally on hairpins:
h
g to Czerny,, acceleranddo should bee much lesss frequently applied, as it is much

According
more ‘likeely to disfigure the charracter of thee piece.’133 Furthermor
F re, crescenddo with
acceleranddo is only suuggested in two exampples and nott universallyy.134 Anotheer example is
i
found in Bülow’s
B 18991 edition oof Beethovenn’s Piano Sonata Op. 106
1 in bars 36-44
3 (see his
h
footnote ‘aa’):135

132
Franz Lisszt, Album d’uun voyageur, S.
S 156, Book I:I Impressionss et poésies, éttude de vélociité – 2b. Au bo
ord
d’une sourcee, ed. Schillerr (Paris: Simonn Richault, 18
841).
133
Czerny (1839), III, pp.. 33-4.
134
Ibid., pp. 32, 35.
135
Beethoveen, ed. Bülow (1875), p. 44.

64

In any casse, as Cook stated, seveeral nineteennth-century writers succh as Lindsaay, Christianni,
Bherke annd Pearce, suupported thhe connectioon of ‘meloddic and phraase arching’’ in principaal,
i.e. an incrrease in tem
mpo and dynnamics on ascending
a paassages.136 Such
S generiic rules wou
uld
have undooubtedly beeen used exteensively by players of a more openn-minded arrtistic naturre
in the nineeteenth centtury, hence the criticism
m of more conservative
c e writers. Accelerando
A
and ritardaando in the case of repeetitions mayy be seen ass means of making
m an interpretatio
i on
interesting
g by avoidinng monotonny and by en
nhancing styylistic diverrsity. Lussy associated
ritardandoo with repetiition severaal times in his
h writing, sshowing hoow importannt variety is in
style.137 Moreover,
M K
Klauwell insttructed the player
p to appply a broadder tempo on
o the
immediatee repetition of a sectionn, providingg Schumannn’s ‘Bittendees Kind’ (K
Kinderscenenn)
as a fine example.
e Thhat is a piecee consistingg of sixteen bars with blocks
b of tw
wo bars, wheere

136
Cook (20013), p. 180.
137
Lussy (18892), pp. 186,, 190, 193-4.

65

one repeatts the other in the flowiing pattern: a-a, b-b, c--c, a-a (See Chapter 3. Schumann
Kinderszenen Op. 15 No. 4)
ual notes un
2.4.3 Equ nequalised
Unequal notes,
n especially in grouups of consecutive quaavers or sem
miquavers, are
a a striking
g
feature of early pianoo rolls. A typpical exampple is Reinecke playingg the notes in
i the
accompanniment of a m
melodic linee in a swingging patternn, almost as if they weree dotted
rhythms with
w an apprroximate rattio of 2:1:
Ex. 2. 18aa. Field, Noccturne No. 44, bars 16-18.
The origin
nal score is:
4 bars 16-118. Reinecke, 1907.

Ex. 2. 18bb. Field, Noccturne No. 4,
This form of rhythm modificatio

m on appears inn several roolls and recoordings by Reinecke
R annd
other artisst from his ggeneration, ssuch as Sain
nt-Saëns, Jooachim, andd Leschetizkky. It dates
back to at least the sixxteenth centtury. As Perres da Costaa explainedd, the writerss Caccini
(1551-16118), Couperin (1668-17733), Quantz (1697-17773) and Bérriot (1802-1870) provid
ded
useful infoormation onn this effect. Here howeever only Quantz’s
Q and
d Bériot’s writings
w willl be
mentioned
d because thhey explain specific perrformance issues
i relateed to Reineccke’s
performannces. In the above exam
mple Reineccke adopted the conceppt of good annd bad notees

66

outlined by Quantz or of ‘syllabation’ encouraged by Bériot. Both writers advised an

artistic prolongation of notes that hold a more important role in a phrase. This prolongation
is not only unnotated, but also the way of its application must be based upon the feeling or
the artistic instinct of the player. More specifically Beriot advised:
In very soft music, composers do not always mark the long and short notes, for fear
that the song could take too rhythmical a form. In such cases they leave to the singer
the care of marking the syllables with that infinite delicacy that lends so great a
charm. So, for instance, if we sang with absolute equality the two quavers that begin
each bar of the following Romance [Hérold’s Pré Aux Clers], our diction would be
flat and cold. But if the composer had written those notes as dotted notes this sweet
song would be too jerky in effect and would agree only little with the sentiment of
its poem. It is here that a medium form is required, which the feelings alone can
understand, and which no sign can express. It is sufficient for the first quaver to be a
little longer than the second and that the small interval which separates them should
be almost insensible.138
Similarly, a hundred years earlier, Quantz emphasised that the player:
Must know how to make a distinction between the principal notes, ordinarily called
accented or in Italian manner, good notes, and those that pass, which some
foreigners call bad notes. Where it is possible, the principal notes always must be
emphasised more than the passing. In consequence of this rule, the quickest notes in
every piece of moderate tempo, or even in the Adagio, though they seem to have the
same value, must be played a little unequally, so that the stressed notes of each
figure, namely the first, third, fifth, and seventh, are held slightly longer than the
passing, namely the second, fourth, sixth, and eighth, although this lengthening
must not be as much as if the notes were dotted.139
Reinecke demonstrated this effect in his roll of Field’s Nocturne no. 4 (bars 45-48). Also
both Reinecke and Saint Saëns, as Peres da Costa mentioned, use inequality in the way

138
Bériot (1858), p. 211: trans. by Peres Da Costa in Off the Record (2012), p. 221.
139
Johann Quantz, Versuch einer Anweisung die Flöte Traversiere zu spielen (Berlin, 1752); trans. Edward
Reilly as On Playing the Flute (London, 1966), p. 123.

67

described by Bériot. Specifically

S y, Reinecke,, in his pianno roll of Moozart’s Largghetto,
lengthened
d and shorteened adjaceent notes in various com
mbinations in
i an approx
ximate
proportion
n of 3:2. Mooreover, Broown provideed enlightenning exampples from thiis specific
performannce demonsttrating the eextent of Reeinecke’s minute
m alteraations of equual notes:1400
Ex. 2. 19aa. Mozart, Larghetto,

L R
Reinecke’s edition,
e barss 13-17.
Ex. 2. 19bb. Mozart, L

Larghetto, R
Reinecke’s edition,
e barss 13-17. Reeinecke, 19004 Welte-
Mignon piiano roll (ass per the autthor’s comm
ment: ‘the trranscription
n has been made
m by earr
and repressents as closse an approxximation ass could be acchieved witthout excesssively comp
plex
notation.’)).

140
Clive Broown, ‘Readingg between thee Lines: the Nootation and Peerformance off Mozart’s Chaamber Music
with Keyboaard’, in Mozarrt’s Chamber Music with Keyboard,
K ed. Martin
M Harloww (Cambridgee, 2012), pp. 235-
2
64 (pp. 256--7).

68

Ex. 2. 20aa. Mozart, Larghetto,

L R
Reinecke’s e
edition, barss 30-35.
Ex. 2. 20bb. Mozart, L

Larghetto, baars 30-37. Reinecke,
R 19904 Welte-M
Mignon piaano roll (seee
author’s comment in previous exxample set.)).
Finally, Saaint-Saëns also

a lengtheened and shoortened nottes in a sequuence of chrromatically
rising sem ns with inequuality.141
miquavers, aassociating pportato sign
2.4.4. Porrtato signs or

o dots und
der slurs
Inequalityy is not the only

o practice that may be
b applied on
o notes witth dots undeer slurs. As
Brown notted, ‘there has
h been a ttendency forr nineteenthh-century keeyboard plaayers to

141
Peres Daa Costa (2012)), pp. 223-4.

69

employ a type
t of arpeeggiation inn portato passsages.’142 Adam
A mentioned this expressive
e
device in 1804.143 Pollini suggessted that nottes of meloddic lines witth portato siigns may bee
delayed inn relation to the accomppaniment, creating a diislocation efffect.144
Furthermo
ore, Ignaz Moscheles
M n only recoommended a reductionn of notes to
not o three quartters
of their vaalue, but also encourageed the appliication of arrpeggiation:145
Portato maay receive several

s diffeerent explannations. It certainly carrries hidden meanings that
t
are lost in modern perrformances. Nineteenth
h-century written
w sourcces and auraal evidence
show that on notes marked
m portaato keyboardd players arre given the chance to become
b morre
expressivee, by playing more freeely in a rubaato manner or by modiffying rhythm
ms. The
situation described
d inn the keyboaard literature, however,, is differentt from strinng playing, as
a
dots underr slurs are closely related to slurred staccato, an indispennsable techn
nique in
virtuosic playing.
p Alsso, as Brownn explainedd, the wide variety
v of arrticulation possibilities
p s
with the bow may acccount for thhe ambiguitiies in interppreting the dots
d under slurs in strin
ng
playing, which
w will nnot be mentiioned furtheer here.146
2.4.5. Gra
ace notes
The execuution of gracce notes bellongs togeth

her with othher practicess to the hidd
den meaning
gs
of the notaation, speciffically the question
q of whether
w theey are to be played on the
t beat or
before. Ass Brown shoowed, Frencch writers suuch as Fétiss and Mosch
heles adviseed keyboard
d
players to employ a pre-beat
p exeecution of grrace notes.1147 Howeverr, Andreas Moser
M in hiss

142
Brown (11999), p. 248.
143
Louis Ad dam, Méthodee du piano du cconservatoiree. (Paris: Consservatoire imppéral de musiqque, 1804/5), p.
p
156.
144
Francesco Pollini, Mettodo per Claviicembalo (Millan, 1811), p. 59.
145
Ignaz Mooscheles, 24 Studies
S for the Piano Op. 700, ed. Ernst Paauer (New Yorrk: Schirmer, 1916), p. viii..
146
Brown (11999), p. 249.
147
Ibid., p. 480.
4

70

1905 treatise claimed that in his time keyboard players favoured a more old-fashion on-beat
execution.148 Furthermore, Spohr supported an on-beat execution.149 Writers of the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, who will not be mentioned here as they were discussed
by Brown in detail, endorse either one or the other execution. However, all of them seem to
have something in common, i.e. they expected grace notes to be executed stylishly enough
to be able to keep the listener unconscious of whether the note is played before or on the
beat.150 Finally, grace notes may be directly linked to arpeggiation. As Peres Da Costa
suggested, Schumann’s notation includes a plethora of grace-notes figures that imply
arpeggiation.151 This is indeed a radically different approach to grace notes from the
modern literal approach to the notation and metronomic way of execution. In this case
specifically and in arpeggiation generally, the issue of the on-beat or before-the-beat
execution of the arpeggiation arises. Czerny suggested that arpeggiation ‘must always agree
with the time prescribed, and with the duration of the notes’ and ‘should not disturb the
harmony.’152 This means that the arpeggiation may only precede the beat, as otherwise the
tempo would change.
2.4.6. Hairpin
Hairpins in Schumann, Brahms and other German composers’ time were not meant to
indicate only changes in dynamics. They were associated with ‘rhythmic inflection,’ as well
as arpeggiation, dislocation, accent and dynamics in general.153 All these possibilities,
together with the hairpin pair or messa di voce ( < > ) on which an expressive, warm but not
too powerful agogic accent might be applied,154 are explored in numerous occasions in the
commentary that follows (Chapter 3). Fanny Davies’ words alone will be mentioned here:

148
Joseph Joachim and Andreas Moser, Violinschule, trans. by Alfred Moffat, 3 vols (Berlin, 1905), III, p. 28.
149
Louis Spohr, Violinschule, trans. John Bishop as Louis Spohr’s Celebrated Violin School (London, 1843).
p. 159.
150
Brown (1999) p. 480-5.
151
152
Czerny (1839), III, p. 55.
153
Hyun-Su Kim (2012), pp. 46, 56.
154
Brown (1999), p. 126.

71

The sign “< >,” as used by Brahms, often occurs when he wishes to express great
sincerity and warmth, applied not only to tone but to rhythm also. He would linger
not on one note alone, but on a whole idea, as if unable to tear himself away from its
beauty. He would prefer to lengthen a bar or phrase rather than spoil it by making
up the time into a metronomic bar. 155

155
Davies, in Cobbett’s Cyclopedic… (1929), I, p. 182.

72

3. Commentary of recordings
This chapter presents the repertoire considered and recorded during the different phases of
this project (see paragraph 1.6. on the process and progress). Here one finds the intratextual
type of analysis mentioned earlier, as well as an account of the impact the repertoire had on
players, both old and modern, and ultimately on me as a pianist. A bar-by-bar model of
analysis is employed on the most important parts of the works. In this way, repetition is
avoided while the attention is directed to those places that will explain the motivations for
the style heard in the recordings.
First Phase: imitation of Reinecke’s style
This phase includes my recordings of pieces that Reinecke recorded in the beginning of the
twentieth century. I performed all the pieces on an 1855 Erard piano and repeated part of
Field’s Nocturne No. 4 and Beethoven’s Ecossaisen on a modern concert Steinway piano.
The recordings on these two pianos differ significantly in terms of sound and, more
importantly, style. On the Erard, I tried to imitate Reinecke’s style by applying similar
dislocation, arpeggiation and tempo rubato. On the Steinway, I played the piece with my
earlier training. Through the employment of the above mentioned historical practices, I
tried to emphasise important stylistic differences between the modern practice and that of
the period in question. I finally experimented by playing Field’s Nocturne No. 4 in a
modern style on the Erard, in order to investigate the aesthetic result, after consciously
eliminating the historical practices from my playing (see next paragraph). The purpose of
that attempt was an evaluation of the expressive possibilities of a period instrument, a
practical realisation of the question: ‘does the technique of playing music ‘‘authentically’’
simply mean using the appropriate instrument?’156

156
Melvyn Tan, ‘The Technique of Playing Music Authentically Does Not Mean Simply Using the
Appropriate Instruments’, Early Music, 13, 1 (1985), pp. 57-8, <http://www.jstor.org/stable/3137977>,
[Accessed 28 May 2011].

73

Field Noccturne No. 4
Reinecke’s roll of this piece provvides a fine example off his style. By
B studyingg some of hiis
peculiaritiies and tryinng to reprodduce them thhrough expeerimental prractice, I took a step
further in my practicaal understannding of the period in question.
q Thhe very first issue in need
of discussion which aarises from llistening to the piano roll
r is tempoo. Specifically, it is a sllow
piece withh many posssibilities forr applying expressive
e d
devices, wheere Reineckke’s stylisticc
particulariities are easy to be idenntified and analysed.
a
Reinecke recorded
r r for Hupfeld in 19077. The temppo marking of
thhis Nocturnee on piano roll
the piece is
i Poco Adaagio. Howevver, judging
g how fast Reinecke
R reccorded it on
ne century ago,
a
is a task beset with am he person whho operates the
mbiguities, as the speedd highly deppends on th
roll. Furthhermore, it is possible, aalthough lesss likely, thhat Reineckee’s choice of
o tempo might
have been
n affected byy his techniccal capabilities at that ttime, since he
h was eigh
hty-three yeears
old when he
h made thiis piano rolll.
As mentiooned earlier,, Reinecke aapplied disllocation in almost

a everyy bar in thiss slow piecee.
Besides thhe example I presented in the introoductory parrt, in bar 5 he
h plays thee bass note
before thee split chordds of the righht hand and
d the same effect
e appears in bar 13. A logical
execution would be too play the bbass and the written-outt arpeggiateed chord as a unified
i his execuution giving the feeling that this is a
arpeggiateed chord, buut Reinecke took time in
somewhatt different effect. This w
way of execcution soundds like a com
mbination of
o arpeggiattion
and disloccation and ddiffers signifficantly from
m previous instances of
o dislocation.
Ex. 3. 1. Field,
He also pllayed the baass note befo

fore the ornaaments of thhe melody in the right hand,
h
creating a similar effeect:

74

Ex. 3. 2. Field,
Besides diislocation annd arpeggiaation, an inttrinsic elemeent of his ex

xpressive teechnique is
rubato.157 Reinecke frrequently appplied temppo rubato inn various waays. He slow
wed down att
the end off a long, smoooth phrasee; altered thee rhythm orr adds accennts when theere is a
repetitive pattern; andd accelerateed slightly after
a slowingg down.
In bars 16-17 and 66--69, Reineckke tripletiseed the notes of the accoompanimentt when they
y
become doouble. As mentioned
m eaarlier (2.4.33. Unequal notes),
n this is
i a commo
on feature off
Reinecke’s generationn of playerss. I thus connsidered it necessary
n to
o experimennt with and
adopt it inn my own pllaying.
In bars 45 to 48, he leeft a little gaap between the second and the thirrd note of each
sextuplets in the rightt hand and ggives accentts to the thirrd note of each
e sextupllet from thee
second beat of bar 455 (Ex. 3. 3.)..
Ex. 3. 3. Field,
F Noctuurne No. 4, bbars 45-48. Reinecke, 1907.

157
Peres Daa Costa (2001)), p. 218.

75

Reinecke therefore showed great freedom in his rendition of this piece.158 In most places
that he applied dislocations, arpeggiations and rubato, these practices are not notated in
the original score, which shows that Reinecke and evidently other musicians of his time
recognised that there are important elements in the interpretation that need not be
indicated by the composer in the notation. In my recordings, I tried to capture the spirit
of Reinecke’s performance style and applied these expressive devices on the Erard. The
application of the devices themselves facilitated the delivery of those expressive
qualities. Combined with the period sound of the Erard, I tried to create a poetic, sweet
and dreamy sound. On the Steinway, I only did rubato at the end of some long phrases
as most modern pianists would do, and I also synchronised both hands throughout the
performance. It is relatively easy to produce a warm and homogenous sound on that
instrument. However, the Erard sounds more lively and exciting, qualities that both
match the character of the piece and the stylistic informality of the period as a whole.
My attempt to remove the historical practices in CD 1, track 3, taught me some valuable

lessons. I realised that, because of the individual touch of the instrument, it is difficult to
control the balance between the two hands. Synchronising the two hands resulted in a
lack of homogeneity in sound and created a performing sensation which significantly
differs from a Steinway. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why arpeggiation and
dislocation came so naturally to old players, so as to ‘fill the gaps’ that the instrument
created. Furthermore, the nature of the piece with its slow pace and expressive qualities
makes it very difficult for a sensitive pianist to play without arpeggiation and dislocation
in a period performance context of course. Therefore, I put a great effort in trying to
keep myself from employing historical practices in track 3, although there were many
instances where my artistic judgment did not want to let me be monotonous and blunt by
completely abolishing them. Even in those cases I avoided them for the sake of
argument and experimentation. Track 3 shows that a period instrument alone is not
enough to convey the style of the period in question, but the instrument in combination
with historical practices may provide the desired result.

158
Rosen (2005).

76

Beethoven Ecossaisen Woo 83159
This piece is an arrangement by Reinecke. Thus, a comparison with the original piece
provides us with interesting information regarding Reinecke’s performing style and,
additionally, about Reinecke as an editor. No structural analysis is presented here however,
as a lengthy process like this would be no valuable addition to our knowledge about style
and it would exceed the purposes of this study. In general, Reinecke’s edition contains
many more performance indications than the original: very detailed dynamics, pedalling,
tempo, phrasing and ornamentation markings. It is in rondo form, like the original,
consisting of six dances (sections) with a ‘common’ section after each dance. Each dance
has its own character with two symmetrical phrases of eight bars. Reinecke repeated the
second and fourth sections after the sixth section and finishes the piece with short and
powerful broken chords on the tonic and the dominant chords. The final result is a piece
slightly different in structure from the original. Obviously in Reinecke’s time, artists of his
magnitude may have been granted more authority over composers’ original ideas than
modern pianists nowadays. It is also probable that Beethoven would have expected
elaboration in such pieces, as improvisation was a core feature of nineteenth-century
performance. As Samson noted, the early nineteenth century ‘[…] was not yet a work-
orientated culture: the borderlines separating categories such as composition, transcription
and improvisation were by no means clearly demarcated […].’160 Ferdinand David, for
example, also assumed the same kind of freedom to modify a complete section of Mozart’s
Haffner Serenade.161
It is interesting to note Reinecke’s meticulous tempo markings at the beginning of every

section. One could generally argue that tempo is seen as a deciding factor in the stylistic
development of this piece. In my performance I chose tempi that were as close as possible
to Reinecke’s suggestions. The overall result resembles his performance on the roll and

159
Ludwig Van Beethoven, Ecossaisen für Pianoforte [...] für den Concertvortrag frei bearbeitet von Carl
Reinecke (Leipzig: Gebrüder Reinecke, n.d., 1897).
160
Jim Samson, The Cambridge History of Nineteenth Century Music (Cambridge, 2002), p. 15.
161
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozard, Haffner Serenade, ed. Ferdinand David (Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel, 1867),
Rondo; David is taking the liberty to remove whole sections from the original work. For more information,
please refer to the following web link: http://chase.leeds.ac.uk/view/pdf/722/8/#page.

77

provided me
m with a sttylistically iinteresting way
w of varyying the diffferent sectioons of the
Rondo.
Although he indicatedd Vivace at the beginniing of this dance,

d he staarted the pieece
expressiveely by splittting the octaave of the leeft hand andd slightly prrolonging thhe first melo
ody
note of thee right handd. He regainned speed im
mmediately (Ex. 3. 4.).
Ex. 3. 4. Beethoven,
B Ecossaisen Woo 83, baars 1-2. Reinecke, 19055.
E
He slows down
d at thee end of the dance:
B Ecossaisen Woo 83, baars 14-16. Reinecke,
E R 19905.
The ‘comm
mon’ sectioon consists oof two phasees, eight bars each. In the
t first phrrase, there are
a
very poweerful bass inntervals in ooctaves withh ff, while thhe second phrase soundds much soffter.
Reinecke played
p the ffirst octave interval of the left hannd ahead of the
t melody note of the
right handd to emphasiise the channge of the ch
haracter.
Bar 24 hass two tripletts of E-flat m

major brokeen chords thhat link to th
he second phrase.
p
Reinecke did not playy these two triplets as they
t are notated. Insteaad, he gave the
t first cho
ord
(Ex. 3. 6. the
t circle) approximate
a ely a whole beat and fitts the next five
f notes inn one beat.

78

B E
Ecossaisen Woo 83, baars 17-32. Reinecke,
R 19905.
The seconnd dance is gentle

g but nnot static; it has a flowing pace. Reeinecke marrked dolce at
a
the beginn
ning of this section withh sustaining
g pedal all thhe way throough. The leength of thiss
pedal markk shows thaat there is soome need foor unity in phrasing,
p whhich might be
b associateed
with the dolce
d characcter of the seection.
In bar 37, there shoulld be a turn on the notee b2-flat. Thee original eddition show
ws clearly th
he
turn sign. Reinecke on the contraary wrote ann a2 next to the b2-flat (Ex.
( 3. 7a. the
t circle) and
a
simply ignnored the tuurn in his rolll (Ex. 3. 7bb.).
Ex. 3. 7a. Beethoven,, Ecossaisenn Woo 83, Reinecke’s

R edition, barrs 33-38.
t original edition, barrs 33-37.

Ex. 3. 7b. Beethoven,, Ecossaisenn Woo 83, the
The third dance

d is of a graceful aand steady character.
c R
Reinecke waas a prolific and respectted
composer.. This might be the reasson why he shows heree a great undderstandingg of pianisticc

79

and compo
ositional maatters througgh his chan
nging of the thirds of thhe right handd (in bars 677,
wo single-note lines in both handss (Ex. 3. 8a. and Ex. 3. 8b.).
later in baar 75) into tw
Ex. 3. 8a. Beethoven,, Ecossaisenn Woo 83, Reinecke’s

Ex. 3. 8b. Beethoven,, Ecossaisenn, the originnal edition, bars 65-68.
The fourthh dance is of a sweet annd expressivve characterr. Reinecke rushed sligghtly when he
h
winging’ and
does cresccendo and sllowed downn at diminueendo placess to create a kind of ‘sw
‘floating’ feeling. He also delayeed the first melody
m notee of the secoond phrase (Ex. 3. 9. th
he
circle) andd applied a rricher soundd to emphassise the begginning of thhe new phraase.
B E
Ecossaisen Woo 83, baars 97-112. Reinecke, 1905.
1
The texturre of the ‘coommon’ secction after thhis dance is changed inn the secondd phrase of the
t
left hand part.
p There are
a three shhort phrases in the left hand
h that pllays the rolee of a link with
w

80

the right hand.

h In thiss way the nootes sound more
m ‘clingyy’ to each other
o and Reeinecke alw
ways
speeded upp to the endd of the phraase (Ex. 3. 10.).
1
Ex. 3. 10. Beethoven,, Ecossaisenn Woo 83, bars

b 121-1228. Reineckee, 1905.
There is so
ome brillianncy to the chharacter of the fifth dannce. The rep
peated thirdds, fifths and
d
sixths are very much like a duet between tw
wo brass insttruments. Reinecke
R mooved all the
notes in daance VI onee octave higgher which makes
m this section
s soun
nd upliftingg. He also
changed thhe ornamennts in the meelody part which
w relievves its tensioon and makees it more
elegant (E
Ex. 3. 11a. aand Ex. 3. 111b.).
Ex. 3. 11aa. Beethovenn, Ecossaiseen Woo 83, Reinecke’ss edition, baars 161-176
6.

81

Ex. 3. 11bb. Beethovenn, Ecossaiseen Woo 83,, the originaal edition, bars 161-1766.
Reinecke applied the same expreession in thee following repeat of dance II. In the
t last partt, he
did more rubato
r in the right handd and started
d accelerating from barr 239. He thhen played the
t
broken chords faster and
a faster, ending
e withh two powerrful chords. He also plaayed the last
chord one octave highher in the riight hand paart to make the chord soound brightter and fulleer
(Ex. 3. 12.).
Ex. 3. 12. Beethoven,, Ecossaisenn Woo 83, Reinecke’s

I tried to make
m the pieece sound hhappy and elegant with vivid colouur on the Errard. In my
playing th
his piece on the Steinwaay, I simplyy tried to prooduce a neaat, gentle souund with lig
ght
touch as a modern piaanist wouldd have done;; both my hands were carefully
c synnchronised
and I keptt the pulse of
o the piece in a very steady tempoo. The two performance
p es are not on
nly
different inn terms of the
t actual am
mount of peeriod practicces being appplied to theem, but
primarily in that they represent different
d souund worlds. The historiically-inform
med
performannce on the E
Erard is infuused with sppontaneity, interesting
i t
turns and suuspense. The
ming practices has the power to
combination of periodd instrumennt and historrical perform

82

transform the piece into an intense musical experience that is world’s apart from the
modern style of interpreting such works.
Field Nocturne No. 5
After exploring the important practices characterizing late nineteenth- and early twentieth-
century performance practice from emulation of Reinecke’s piano rolls, I applied the
knowledge gained to my performance of Field’s Nocturne No. 5. In my recording,
dislocation, arpeggiation, rubato, sound colouring and pedalling are used in an imitative
way as in the rest of my first recordings. Those expressive devices are concentrated in this
brief and serene piece trying to describe an ‘unmingled happiness, […] the expansion of
felicity and the quiet fruition.’162
Reinecke had his own edition of this piece.163 Although he has not produced a roll with
his own performance, as least we have his edition to use as a stylistic guide for imitation
by combining it with the knowledge gathered from the two previous pieces. The original
edition of this piece only has Cantabile at the beginning. He marked Andante cantabile
at the beginning and remained p in bars 1-2, while Liszt marked Cantabile Nicht zu
geschwind and marked crescendo and diminuendo in bars 1-2. Perhaps, in their time
there was a tendency for pianists to play the piece increasingly faster, thus Liszt felt the
need to forewarn against it by marking Nicht zu geschwind. Furthermore, Reinecke
might have associated cantabile with andante, thinking that the two have a similar
effect. Also, there are no pedal marks in the original edition but both Reinecke and Liszt
gave detailed pedal signs according to the change of harmony (Ex. 3. 13a., Ex. 3. 13b.
and Ex. 3. 13c.).

162
John Field, 18 Nocturnes, trans. Julius Schuberth (Leipzig: J. Schuberth & Co. No.140, 1859); preface by
Franz Liszt.
163
John Field, 18 Nocturnes, ed. Carl Reinecke (Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel, 1889).

83

Ex. 3. 13aa. Field, Noccturne No. 55, the origin

nal edition, bars 1-2.

5 Reineckee’s edition, bars
b 1-2.
Ex. 3. 13cc. Field, Noccturne No. 55, Liszt’s eddition, bars 1-2.
In bars 22-24 (Ex. 3. 14a., 3. 14bb. and 3. 14c.), the chorrds normallly should no
ot be
arpeggiateed, as their abrupt
a and accented
a quuality requirres them to be
b played with
w all the
notes at thhe same time accordingg to earlier discussion
d (see paragraaph 2.2.). It seems that
both the coomposer annd Reineckee were awarre of the rulees of arpegggiation, but
nevertheleess they marrked down aan arpeggiaation only onn the secondd chord of the
t left
hand (Reinnecke) or a slanting linne (composeer), giving tthe feeling that
t this is a decision to
o
‘break’ thee rule for arrtistic purpooses. Liszt preferred
p to break the second and third
t chordss
in both haands. Perhapps Liszt’s inndications arre in the sam
me line as his
h previous Night zu
geschwind
d trying to encourage
e a broad and not
n agitatedd playing. When
W the meelody
appears aggain in the last
l beat of bar
b 22, Reinnecke wanteed it to be played
p in a deeper,
d
richer sounnd by markking crescenndo and mf, while Lisztt used the saame dynamiics as in thee

84

beginning, letting thee player assuume that he may refer back

b to his initial
i markking (i.e.
Night zu geschwind).
g
Ex. 3. 14aa. Field, Noccturne No. 55, the origin

nal edition, bars 22-24.

5 Reineckee’s edition, bars
b 22-24.
Ex. 3. 14cc. Field, Noccturne No. 55, Liszt’s eddition, bars 22-24.
Finally, booth Reineckke and Lisztt agreed to arpeggiate

a tthe last chorrd of the pieece in both
hands.
In the recoording, I trieed to imaginne what Reiinecke wouuld do if he played

p this piece. I
tried to reaad the scoree intuitivelyy and applied all the typpes of expreessive devicces used by
Reinecke at the placees where I thhought theyy should be, based on my
m knowledgge and
experiencee at that stagge of the research. In th
hat task the comparisonn of the edittions was
he speed of the piece.
particularlly helpful inn understandding the chaaracter and choosing th
What is evvident from

m these and oother scoress is that the notation cannnot fully convey
c all
the originaal thoughts of the compposer, or thaat there is a hidden meaaning in thee notation

85

that the composer might have taken for granted at the time he was writing the piece.
Whatever the answer to the question might be, the fact is that there is indeed great need
to understand the relationship between music notation and performing practice
associated with the period 1840-1900. This particularly holds true also for Reinecke’s
Ballade Op. 20.
Reinecke Ballade Op. 20
The greatest challenge of practising and recording this piece was not only the technical
demands of fast passages, but mainly the economy in expressive means, in other words,
distributing the practices discussed earlier in an artistic way. Although Reinecke’s
recording played an important role as an influence in my shaping the piece, its length and
multiple changes of character prompted me to take some initiative and be more
spontaneous in my use of historical practices. My initial performance attempts showed that
mere imitation of the way, the quantity and the locations where Reinecke used
arpeggiation, dislocation and rubato was not enough to produce convincing results. The
changes of character in several instances such as bars 113 - 159, 160 - 199 were so sudden
and abrupt that they required an absolute fluency in the use of expressive devices so that the
transition from a passage that calls for extensive use of rubato to a passage with heavy
arpeggiation, for example, or a combination of them, would sound smooth and not
exaggerated and laborious. Reinecke’s roll of his Ballade has already been used to illustrate
particular historical performing practices (paragraphs 2.2., 2.3. and 2.4.1.), which will not
be mentioned again here.
An important aspect of his playing however, his virtuosity, requires comment, as there is no
other roll demonstrating this feature to this extent. It is truly impressive that he manages
long fast running passages, octave chords in fast tempo and wide spread chords with big
jumps with such a great balance between the two hands at the age of eighty-three. As
mentioned earlier, it was well known that Hupfeld engineers used to edit their rolls heavily,
which means that probably this virtuosic roll will have been edited too. Yet, from listening
to the Ballade, this is not felt immediately; the roll does not sound perfect enough to be

86

heavily eddited. An exxplanation m

might be thaat Hupfeld were
w aware of the valuee Reinecke’s
rolls woulld have for posterity
p annd they mighht have left them unediited for laterr generation
ns
to be able to hear andd appreciate the master’’s style untoouched. In any
a case, his virtuosity, as
heard in thhe roll, is innspiring enoough to makke me want to
t imitate itt. Below aree a few
specific exxamples.
In this passsage (bar 70 onwards) he maintainned great inndependence between hands

h by
playing th
he bass tune very clearlyy and with clean
c phrasing, while the
t right hannd has a
virtuosic chromatic
c ddescend. Thiis passage required
r greeat amounts of practice on my behaalf
to make itt sound as coonvincing as
a Reineckee did:

B Op.. 20, bars 677-74.
It is remarrkable how effectively (bar 145 onnwards) he bbrought outt the middlee voice whicch
is buried in consecutiive passagess and chordds in this exaample:

87


B Op.. 20, bars 1441-150.
Both the examples

e abbove reveal a player whho is concerrned primarily about musicality
m an
nd
not mere virtuosity.
v I embodied tthis principle in my ow
wn playing and
a I adapteed my practice
to adhere mainly
m to m
musical endss rather thann technical.
Mozart Fantasia
F K. 475
This piecee contains fiive sectionss. It starts in

n the key of C minor annd it is moduulating
through seeveral keys:: D major, A minor, G minor, F major, F minoor B-flat maajor, G min
nor
and at finaally C minor. Both Reinnecke and Leschetizky
L y recorded th
his piece onn piano rollss.
The two performance
p es show manny similarities as is to bbe expectedd by pianistss of the sam
me
generation
n. They applied dislocaation and arp
peggiation oon similar occasions
o (ssee Chapter 2).
They rush
hed at the saame places w
when there are
a repeatedd motives. They
T both accelerated
a t
the
ends of eaach beat in bbar 19 to unnderline the accent effecct prescribeed by the dyynamic
marking fp (Ex. 3. 177. the arrowss). Reineckee’s acceleraando is moree drastic thaan
Leschetizkky’s, longerr lasting andd containingg consecutivve hurrying-slowing do
own patterns;
Leschetizkky followedd that patternn but disconntinued it byy the end off bar 19 where his
demisemiq
quavers beccome even aand his speeed regular.

88

Ex. 3. 17. Mozart, Faantasia K. 4775, bars 19--20.
In the firstt section maarked Adagiio, Leschetiizky’s temppo is more unvaried

u thaan Reineckee’s.
In the firstt edition, there is a marrking Calanndo on bar 24.
2 Leschetiizky slowedd down a lott
there and regains
r the original tem
mpo when th
he new them
me starts in bar 26 in D major.
Reinecke kept
k the sam
me speed thhere (Ex. 3. 18.). In my recording, I used Lescchetizky
approach so
s as to achhieve a smoooth transitioon to the new
w key (CD 1, track 8, 2’10’’).
2
Reinecke’s D major section

s was in a flowin
ng steady paace. Leschettizky started
d slowing
down in bar 36 and inn bar 39 he did it, evenn more so ass to highligh
ht the caden
nce (Ex. 3. 19.
1
the circle). In my recoording, I em
mployed Reiinecke’s near-impercepptible tempoo fluctuation
ns
to achievee a similar flowing
fl effect (CD 1, trrack 8, 3’033’’).

89

In the following Allegro section, Reinecke and Leschetizky started in similar speeds. When
the melody enters, they both slowed down but to a different degree. Leschetizky slowed in
bar 68 when the melody reappears and started speeding up in bar 70. Reinecke kept
accelerating from bar 70 onwards, while Leschetizky maintained the new speed from bar 70
until the end of this section. My tempo choices on this occasion are influenced by
Leschetizky’s steadier interpretation, which matches the character of the Allegro section
better in my opinion. It should not be faster, as it is only an Allegro, not Presto or any other
faster marking. In any case, the desired contrast to the first Adagio section has already been
established; therefore, there is no need for an extremely fast speed here.
Fig. 3. 1. Tempo comparison (counted in crotchets).
Reinecke Leschetizky
Bar 42 172 166
Bar 62 156 132
Bar 70 170 144
Bar 83 189 144
In the Più Allegro section, Reinecke sped up every bar where the left hand joins the
demisemiquavers (Ex. 3. 20. the arrows), while Leschetizky played the whole section
steadily. I played in the same way as Reinecke, because more fluctuation in the speed may
create a most desired feeling of concern and agitation (CD 1, track 8, 8’23’’).

90

Ex. 3. 20. Mozart, Faantasia K. 4775, bars 1277-138.
The comparison betw

ween the twoo masters shhows in a veery informaative way th
he true rangee of
possibilitiees within thhe frameworrk of the period style exxamined. Both
B perform
mances sharre
the same ‘genomes.’
‘ They evokee very simillar feelings in the listen
ner, who im
mmediately
identifies them
t as perrformances belonging to
t the same era and style. Leschetiizky and
Reinecke, being true masters of ttheir art, alllow their peersonalities to shine thrrough their
playing. Their
T choicees of speed aand locationns of perform
ming practiices are facttors
determininng their ownn personal sstyle signatuure. Leschetizky with his
h less intennse approacch
to tempo and
a Reineckke with his vvibrant tem
mperament, are
a both expponents of nineteenth-
n
century piiano art.

91

Second phase: experimental recordings
Schumann Kreisleriana Op. 16
It would be a revelation for this project to be able to examine Reinecke’s style in all the
pieces of the Kreisleriana, if he had recorded them. Not only would we know more about
the economy in applying performing practices in a large work, but mainly we would be able
to understand a more complex use of the devices, i.e. being applied in such a manner that
conveys several musical ideas that seem incompatible at first sight. Kreisleriana was based
on Hoffmann’s novel Kater Murr, where events are seen from two contrasting perspectives
due to the fact that one of the narrators is not human, but a cat. Passion blends with satire
which is reflected in music by alternating moods and expression without warning. It would
therefore be interesting to know how Reinecke would have used rubato, dislocation and
arpeggiation to create those contrasts.164
No. 1
This opening piece is in ternary form (A-B-A’). The first part (A) is of a virtuosic character
with a storm-like series of semiquavers arranged in tripletised groups in the right hand and
accompanied by syncopated chords in the left hand. In my recording, I accelerated at the
crescendo and slowed down by the end of the phrase in bars 4 and 8. In this way I
attempted to recreate a similar effect found in Reinecke’s recordings of Ecossaisen, Alla
Turca and Ballade. In those recordings Reinecke accelerated when he plays groups of fast
notes that are marked with crescendo and he slowed down at the end of the phrase (Ex. 3.
21., CD 2, track 1, 0’10’’).

164
Rosen (1995), p. 672-3.

92

Ex. 3. 21. Schumann,, Kreislerianna Op. 16 No.

N 1, Claraa Schumannn’s edition, bars
b 1-8.
The middlle section iss of softer dyynamics annd has a flow

wing pace. Schumann
S s
slurred the first
f
two notes of every grroup of six nnotes. The slurred
s notes are in diffferent directtions, D
(Shorten for
f descendiing) -D-D-A
A (Shorten for
f ascendinng) -D-A-A
A-A-D-A-D--A-A-A-A-A
A. I
took moree time on thee fourth, sixxth, tenth an
nd the last pairs
p of slurrred notes (E
Ex. 3. 22. th
he
circles, CD
D 2, track 1, 1’), so as tto let the muusic ‘breathhe’ and alsoo to emphasiise the
harmonic developmennt, which iss a common
n practice inn historical piano
p playinng.

N 1, Claraa Schumannn edition, baars 25-32.

93

No. 2
This piecee is in rondoo form: A-B

B-A’-C-A’’. In the exprressive sectiion A, I hadd many
chances too apply disloocation (Exx. 3. 23. the arrows) andd appegiatioon (Ex. 3. 233. the zigzaag
line) so ass to highlighht the long m
melodic linee on top andd distinguish
h it from thee thick
harmonic chords underneath. In bars 2, 4 annd 7, Schum
mann wrote the
t bass nottes as a gracce
note beforre the chordds, which maay be seen as
a an effort to notate a practice thaat is usually
y
unnotated. I combined that in myy performannce with arppeggiation so
s as to makke the bass
notes more prominennt. Also, I spped up slighhtly in bars 1 and 3 wheen crescenddo occurs.

b 1-8.
I recordedd this piece in

i June 2012 and Januaary 2014. The reason behind
b this was
w to try annd
improve my
m playing oon the seconnd recordinng. When I listened
l back to my 20112 recording
g, I
was alway
ys left with a feeling off incompleteeness. Althoough the usee of historiccal practicess
and tempo
o flexibility were not m
missing, and although I had internaalised most aspects
a of th
he
style I exaamined, therre was still a variable to
o be appliedd in order too unify the different
d
elements of
o my perfoormance. Thhis may be defined
d u of time and
as thhe ‘artistic use
dynamics’’. By Januarry 2014, I hhad gained some
s additioonal valuable knowledgge on the
crucial nottational issuue of hairpinns and expeerience in appplying it inn practice. Hence,
H in th
he
later recorrding, I playyed this opeening phrasee differentlyy. I acceleraated from th
he second
chord and stayed on G and then slowed dow
wn with incrreasing voluume in the next
n three

94

chords. I emphasised
e the hairpinns in the bracckets on topp as well as the crescenndo in the
middle of the bar, whhich are as m
much an agoogic indicattion as a dynnamic one. I played in a
similar waay when thee same phrases reappeaar later in the piece. By doing this, the
performannce underweent, in my oopinion, a metamorpho
m sis from a historically-
h -informed on
ne
to one witth some aestthetic valuee. Finally, thhis is the reaason why thhe older recoording was not
removed from
f the acccompanyingg CDs; so thhat the listenner may app
preciate thee difference
and my prrogress, andd, perhaps evven learn frrom it (CD 2,
2 track 2 annd track 9).
Schumann
n wrote the bass
b note ass a grace noote in the lasst chord, whhich, again, is probablyy an
implied diislocation thhat I executeed in my recording. I teended to em
mphasise thee key note B1-
flat and inn the meanw
while to highhlight the d a tenth above the B1-fllat so as to show
s the
major key
y character, while
w as a w
whole, Kreissleriana is in
i the relative key, G minor
m (Ex. 3.
3
24. the cirrcle, CD 2, track
t 2, 2’18’’).

b 31-37.
The B section (Interm

mezzo I) hass a differentt texture froom section A.
A It soundss somewhat
like marchhing at the beginning
b annd has the same
s octavee intervals liike in No. 1 in the left
hand. Thee C section (Intermezzoo II) has thrree voices: melody
m on top
t and octaave intervalls
as bass wiith flowing arpeggios inn the middle. It has a big
b dynamicc range, from
m pp to f (w
with
accents). I prolonged the first noote of the phhrase in ordeer to show the
t beginninng of a phraase
and startedd speeding up
u during thhe section with
w crescenndo (Ex. 3. 25.
2 CD 2, trrack 2, 4’52
2’’).
In the restt of the piece I made sim
milar stylisttic choices aas in the firsst two sectioons.

95


b 100-111.
No. 3
h-like rhythhm in a fast speed. The melody in the

This exciting piece sttarts with reegular march t
right handd is hidden in
i the tripletts. The midd
dle note of the
t triplet was
w almost covered
c by the
first triplett at such fasst speed. Thhe bass chorrds in the leeft hand mixxed with thee rests give a
very poweerful pushinng feeling inn the rhythm
m. I played this
t openingg section steeadily. I onlly
slowed doown at the ennd of phrase in bar 22 to prepare for
f the entryy of the nex
xt phrase. I
hord on the left hand inn bar 11 wh
split the ch hen there is a contra tun
ne in the basss to
individuallise the voicces (Ex. 3. 26.
2 the circlee, CD 2, traack 3, 11’’)..

96


N 3, Claraa Schumannn’s edition, bar
b 11.
The seconnd section iss much more soothing. Clara Schuumann gave the metronnome mark
crotchet 92. The textuure in this section is poolyphonic. Inn bar 35, Scchumann gives sf on th
he
highest noote in the phhrase. I appllied dislocattion with sliight force on
o this note. I split the
bass chordd and playedd g1 betweeen the two bass
b notes (E
Ex. 3.27. thee circle and
d the arrows,
CD 2, tracck 3, 37’’).

b 33-36.
No. 4
At the opeening of thiss piece, Schhumann creaated a ‘mistty’ atmosph

here with waarm sound
colours annd consecutiive key-chaanges. I appplied arpegggiation and dislocation
d frequently in
this openin
ng section, again, to ennhance its harmonies annd to delineeate its main
n textural
element, thhe chords. I played thee notes in the left hand ahead of thee melody off the right
hand whenn there are long
l notes iin the right hand
h or durring a key-change (Ex. 3. 28. the
arrows). In wo recitativee-like phrasees in the lefft hand. I sloowed down at
n bars 5-7, tthere are tw

97

the end off both phrases (Ex. 3. 28. the circlees) and spedd up in the second
s phraase (Ex. 3. 28.
2
provisationaal freedom.165
the horizontal arrow, CD 2, trackk 4, 48’’) too create a feeling of imp

b 1-11.
No. 5
No. 4 and No. 5 are pieces

p of verry different character. Schuman
S jooined them cleverly
c witth a
D major chord. No. 4 is mainly iin B flat maj
ajor while Schumann leets it end wiith a D majo
or
chord whiich is the doominant choord of No. 5 which is inn G minor. No.
N 5 is the only piece
among thee eight piecees in Kreisleeriana whicch starts on the first beaat of the barr. The open
ning
section off this piece is
i agitated, ffull of stacccato notes annd dotted rhhythm. All these
t abide by

165
Rosen (1995), p. 675.

98

the centrall idea of Krreisleriana aas a compossition whichh is based onn contrast. I tried to
demonstraate the differences betw
ween No. 5 with
w No. 4 by
b shorteninng the semiiquavers (Ex
x.
3. 29. the circles) andd by turningg the dotted motives intto over-dotted. I also ruushed when the
phrases arre descendinng so as to pproduce a ‘hhurried’ sennsation. Reinnecke, as mentioned
m
earlier (M
Mozart Fantaasia), sped uup often wheen there aree repeated rhhythms.

b 1-14.
When Schhumann repeeated the saame motive in the midddle section, I used rubatto to make it
more interresting. Thee a tempo seection has reepeated twoo-bar phrasees that beginn with threee
chords andd are follow
wed by five quavers andd one crotchhet. I took loonger time on the third
d
chord of each
e phrase and then ruushed the following quaaver notes. On
O the stacccato-marked
first chordds of every phrase
p I toook more tim
me so as to make
m it sounnd more dannce-like (Exx. 3.
30., CD 2,, track 5, 1’12’’).

99


b 49-81.
When Schhumann chaanges the texxture and thhe melody sttarts ascendding in chromatic steps
with cresccendo from bar
b 88, I accelerated a lot and slow
wed down where
w the melody
m startss
ming softer (Ex. 3. 31.,, CD 2, tracck 5, 1’54’’)).
descendinng and becom

100


N 5, Claraa Schumannn’s edition, bars 82-112
2.

101

No. 6
In Reineckke’s perform
mance of this piece we can hear a series of ovver-dotted rhhythmical
n the openinng (Ex. 3. 322. the circlees). This efffect is applieed in the first two bars of
motives in
the theme and every time
t it occuurs (in bars 17-18
1 and bars
b 35-36). The over-ddotting
disappearss in the rem
maining threee bars of thee theme:

b 1-5.
This effect and the juuxtaposition of articulattions createdd as a resultt, facilitate variation
v in
n
the voicing of the sam
me motive. IIt sounds ass if it were played
p by tw
wo differentt instrumentts
in an orchhestral conteext (Ex. 3. 332. the circlees as opposeed to the sqquares). Furtthermore th
his
might hav
ve been the result
r of Reeinecke’s eff
ffort to incorrporate the background
b d of the piecce
with its coontrasts in his
h performaance.
As mentiooned earlier,, Peres Da C

Costa pointeed out that over-dotting
o g is an effecct that appeaars
in early reecordings, but is not inddicated in thhe written teext.166 Löhlein in his Clavier-Schu
C ule
suggested that ‘if therre are manyy dotted figuures in a sadd and, in anyy case, modderate and
pathetic melody,
m the rule
r of perfo
formance styyle demands that one leengthens thee dot by hallf

166
Peres da Costa (2012),, p. 267.

102

its worth and

a perform
ms the follow
wing note when
w it duplicated.’167 Czerny
C and Hummel diid
not refer too this kind of
o rhythm modification
m n in their treeatises, although it wass mentioned
d by
Charles dee Bériot in his
h Méthodee de violon and
a was eviident in manny early reccordings. The
T
above passage matches Löhlein’s descriptioon, as the indication Duurchaus leisse zu halten
and its chaaracter are of
o a patheticc nature. In the second section of the
t piece, where
w the
dotted motives acquirre a light brrisk and a sw
winging chaaracter, Reinnecke did not over-dot
them.
As mentiooned in prevvious discusssion, another importannt feature off Reinecke’ss playing is a

kind of rubbato where there is hurrrying follow
wed by slow
wing down and vice-veersa. In this
piece this effect appears in severral locationss (bars 15-16, 19-20, 21
1-22, 23-26
6, 28-29 and
d
30-34) forr emphasis. In bars 15-16 and 30-3
34, the effecct emphasises the structural
developmeent, i.e. the connectionn of two diffferent sectioons and texttures; and in
n bars 19-20
0,
21-22, 23--26 and 28-229 the effecct enhances the dialoguue between different
d vooices addingg a
contrapunntal ‘hint’ to the passagees:

b 15-16.

167
Georg Simon Löhlein, Clavier-Schu ule, oder kurzee und gründlicche Anweisung
g zur Melodiee und Harmon
nie
(Leipzig andd Züllichau, 1765),
1 p. 18.

103


b 19-34.
The choice of tempo for this movvement is clouded withh controverssy. The 18885 Breitkopff &
Härtel edittion revisedd by Clara S
Schumann in
ndicated a tempo
t , which is the same ass
the 1838 first
f edition by Haslingger (Ex. 3. 35.), while thhe 1915 reisssue of the same
s edition
gives . Reineckke started inn tempo , which is considerabbly faster th
han both
editions. One
O might aassume heree that there might
m be ann issue with the speed of
o the roll. As
A
mentioned
d earlier how
wever, nonee of Reineckke’s Hupfelld rolls requuire the inpuut of the
operator inn regards too speed, as tthey were alll produced after 1905. Therefore, the speed is
the exact representati
r ion of Reineecke’s choicce. The 1838 edition sh
hows Etwass bewegter
from bars 19-34 without any mettronome maark, while thhe 1915 Breeitkopf editiion shows
( Exx. 3. 34.). Thhe multitudee of tempo approaches
a to the diffeerent movem
ments of thee
work in Paaderewski’ss time is perrhaps the reeason why inn his editionn he does no
ot give any
tempo marrkings.

104


N 6, Hasliinger’s editiion, bars 19-35.
The Haslin
nger editionn gives onlyy ritardandoo without ‘aa tempo’, whhile the 19115 Breitkopff
edition alw
ways clearlyy marks ‘a ttempo’ afterr ritardandoo. Most impportantly thhe first edition
has an add
ditional ritardando indiication (in bar
b 20), whiich, if comb
bined with all
a the ritard
d.
markings of both edittions (Haslinger and Brreitkopf & Härtel),
H the whole sectiion is scatteered
with ritardd. indicationns appearing every few
w bars. This is perhaps a written manifestation
m n of
the distincctive practicce we hear iin historical recordings, where the slowing doown is
followed by
b hurryingg, in other w
words a rubaato where thhe time lost from hurryying is
compensaated for by slowing
s dow
wn.
Pedalling is also diffferent betweeen the twoo editions. C

Clara Schum
mann proviided extrem
mely
detailed pedalling maarkings com
mpared with
h the first eddition. Perhaaps she felt that the sou
und
of the pianno of her tim 830s, hence she
me was able to sustainn better thann instrumentts of the 18
meticulouusly instructted where thhe pedal haad to be releeased. Expeerimentationn with an 1855

105

Erard led me to similar conclusions. I had to use the pedal very often and press it for a long
period in order to sustain the sound. Furthermore the responsiveness and degrees of
resonance is greatly decreased in comparison with later pianos. For example the pedal of
the 1855 Erard is rather shallow, not allowing for nuances in resonance by pressing it
lightly, or near-fully etc. These characteristics are what might have made Schumann mark
pedal sparsely meaning that the pianist should use it as often as possible, or as often as
needed in order to prevent dryness in the sound. The fact that there are more pedal marks
on accented notes shows that even a piano of the 1830s would carry the sound enough to
require pedal release in order not to blur the sound. The movement is mainly in pp
dynamic. This is quiet enough to prevent the sound from carrying, which might also
explain why Schumann only uses generalised pedal markings. Therefore the pedal has to be
continuously pressed in soft dynamics (Ex. 3. 36a., Ex. 3. 36b. and Ex. 3. 36c.). Another
example confirming this hypothesis is the lack of pedal marking in Clara Schumann’s
edition on the first and third movements. In her time the piano was resonant enough not to
need pedal on fast and relatively big dynamics, while the first edition (1838) has general
pedal markings found in big sections of the movement, which shows that the pedal needs to
be pressed throughout a section. Interestingly Paderewski’s edition provides very detailed
pedal markings in the first and third movements, which might also mean that later
instruments (later than the 1830s, the time of the first edition) carry the sound to a much
greater degree than older ones, requiring very frequent pedal release especially in fast and
loud passages (Ex. 3. 37a., Ex. 3. 37b. and Ex. 3. 37c.). Gustav Jansen’s comment about
Schumann’s later playing style enhances this hypothesis further: ‘It sounded as if the
sustaining pedal were always halfway down, so that the shapes flowed into one another.
But the melody would softly emerge, a veritable dawning […].168 The comment shows that
the sustaining pedal in older instruments does not affect the clarity of sound to the degree it
does on a modern piano.169 This is a rich topic for discussion, since it involves a great
number of piano makers and areas that require specialised research, e.g. an old instrument
is not always in a physical condition suitable to be examined in the framework of scholarly

168
Gustav Jansen, Schumann Als Clavierspieler” in Die Davidsbundler (Leipzig, 1883), p. 74.
169
Julie Haskell, Notated and Implied Piano Pedalling c. 1780-1830 (Elder Conservatorium of Music,
University of Adelaide, 2011), p. 117: The author here observes that Schumann indicated sustaining pedal
over fast passage-work, showing perhaps that it did not sound blurred as it would on a modern piano.

106

research, or it has been

b modifi
fied throughh time to a state that is far rem
moved from
m its
original. For
F this reasson, this toppic is not gooing to be investigated
i d further, ass it suggestss an
autonomous field of research.
r
Ex. 3. 36aa. Schumannn, Kreisleriaana Op. 16 No. 6, first edition, barrs 36-39.
Ex. 3. 36bb. Schumannn, Kreisleriaana Op. 16 No. 6, Clarra Schumannn’s edition,, bars 35-39
9.
Ex. 3. 36cc. Schumannn, Kreisleriaana Op. 16 No. 6, Padeerewski’s eddition, bars 37-39.
Ex. 3. 37aa. Schumannn, Kreisleriaana Op. 16 No. 1, first edition, barrs 1-2.

107

Ex. 3. 37bb. Schumannn, Kreisleriaana Op. 16 No. 1, Clarra Schumannn’s edition,, bars 1-2.
Ex. 3. 37cc. Schumannn, Kreisleriaana Op. 16 No. 1, Padeerewski’s eddition, bars 1-2.
No. 7
In the secttion markedd Etwas Lanngsmer I redduced the am

mount of arrpeggiation applied on the
t
chords in order
o to maaintain its chhoral texturee. Excessivee arpeggiatiion would create
c a cleaarly
pronounceed instrumental, piano--like effect, which I waanted to avooid, in order to convey the
t
serene chaaracter of thhe section ussing a portaato execution, as Schum
mann writess slurs with
dots (bars 89-103). However,
H I only
o arpegggiated a few
w chords in the
t left handd when the
harmony changes
c (Exx. 3. 38.) annd, generallyy, I applied arpeggiatioon in a very modest
manner, allthough Mooscheles, as mentioned earlier, assoociates porttato execution with
arpeggiation. The reaason for my stylistic decision is thaat I wanted to achieve a choral ton
ne
quality whhich would be
b spoiled bby excessivve arpeggiatiion. Furtherrmore, at thhe time of my
m
performannce, I was not aware off Moscheless’ stylistic suuggestions, as my reseaarch was stiill
in its earlier stages (C
CD 2, track 7, 1’35’’).

108


b 86-116
6.
No. 8
The wholee piece has repeated

r ms throughoout. In bar 2, I lingered on g2, wherre
dootted rhythm
the hairpinn is, to distinguish the oonly slurred
d motive froom the detacched notes (Ex.
( 3. 39.,
CD 2, tracck 8, 3’’).

b 1-4.
As mentiooned earlier,, I should haave evaluated the possiibilities for tempo channges furtherr in
this piece as it has reppetitive rhytthms whichh can becom
me more inteeresting throough variatiion.
I recordedd this piece in
i September 2012 when I had jusst finished im
mitating thee late

109

nineteenth-century performance style and my understanding of the style was still

developing.
Schumann Romance Op. 28 No. 2
The choice of tempo for this piece was not straightforward. Clara Schumann specified a
tempo of quaver = 100. However, an analysis of tempi heard in recordings by pianists
associated with Schumann’s circle and a generation younger than Reinecke, suggests that
the tempo in slower music was already getting slower in the two generations after Clara
Schumann. In the following chart one can get a general idea of the possible tempo
fluctuations in this piece.
Fig. 3. 2. Tempo comparison (counted in quavers).
Ilona Adelina de Carl My My

Eibenschütz Lara Friedberg recording recording
December April 2014
1950 1952 1953
2012
beginning of 76 76 64 84 102
bar 1
the end of 82 92 66 98 116

bar 5
the end of 86 98 67 108 102

bar 9
the end of 112 128 82 146 156

bar 15
beginning of 78 80 60 96 100
bar 18

110

beginning of 100 125 74 124 124

bar 24
Beginning of 85 90 65 86 100
bar 31
De Lara has a wider range of speed in her recording (76-128) than Eibenschütz (76-112)
and Friedberg (60-82). In my 2012 recording I chose tempo based on De Lara’s
performance, with a somewhat wider range of 84-146. It was the stage after I had
exclusively worked on and imitated Reinecke’s style in my own recordings. I was inspired
by existing recordings and combined them with my understanding of performing practice.
In my 2014 recording, I tried to play at the speed Clara Schumann indicated, in order to
make a direct comparison with my 2012 recording. I am trying to show how the underlying
forces of the piece might be affected by that specific tempo choice and also to show how it
might have sounded to Clara Schumann. The tempo, combined with the use of dislocation
and arpeggiation I have learned by studying Reinecke’s style and which are discussed later
on, may account for a unique and historically-informed rendering of the piece.
Friedberg’s recording has modern performance features. He played hands synchronised

almost throughout the piece in a slow and steady pace. He only split a few chords
occasionally and tightly, however he used much less arpeggiation than Eibenschütz (see
Brahms Op. 118 No. 3). De Lara arpeggiated her chords very tightly, especially the bass
chords in bars 7-15, but she applied this practice rather frequently throughout.
Eibenschütz’s playing is between Friedberg and De Lara. She also split bass chords very
slightly in bars 7-15 and she played with hands unsynchronised in bar 28. In general
Eibenschütz’s performance is in a very steady but flowing tempo. Only in De Lara’s rubato
there are hints of a tendency for compensation. She slowed down at the end of some
phrases and rushed up afterwards. Friedberg and Eibenschütz rushed, to a lesser extent, on
crescendi and came back to the original speed afterwards.
In my recording, I applied more dislocation for expressive purpose and very tight
arpeggiation as I played in a fast flowing tempo. In bars 1-4 I slowed down when there are

111

double dotts to emphaasise the dottted note (E

Ex. 3. 40. thee small circlles, CD 2, track
t 10, 5’’’)
k 10, 7’’). In bars 5-8, I
and rushedd back afterrwards (Ex. 3. 40. the thhin arrows, CD 2, track
rushed whhen the samee motive occcurs (Ex. 3. 40. thick arrows)
a andd slowed dow
wn more at the
end of the phrase (Exx. 3. 40. the big circle). Reinecke applies
a similar rubato in
n his
recordingss, for instannce in Kreislleriana no. 6 (see earlier discussioon).
Ex. 3. 40. Schumann,, Romance Op.

O 28 No. 2, bars 1-177.

112

Brahms Three
T Interrmezzi Op. 117
No.1
I recordedd this piece oon three diffferent pianoos in 2013, an 1855 Erard, an 18700s Erard annd a
modern Stteinway. Att that time, I was still exxploring thee style. Brahhms’ tempoo markings in
i
this piece are: Andantte moderatoo, Più Adag
gio and Un poco
p piu Anndante. One can hear
many moddern influennces in my pplaying; for instance, I played thatt middle secction a lot
slower, beeing influenced by moddern playerss who often play the Piiù Adagio seection much
h
slower thaan the other two. As meentioned preeviously, thhere was a teendency forr younger
players to take slowerr tempi thann older playyers did in inndividual seections or whole
w piecess.
Also, I only varied my
m tempo sliightly whenn there was crescendo
c a diminueendo. In other
and
words, rubbato was applied somew
what austerrely in my playing.
p
Carl Frieddberg recordded this piecce in 1953. His rubato is indeed veery free throoughout. Fo
or
instance, he
h rushed thhe second phhrase slighttly to create a ‘dialoguee’ effect (Exx. 3. 41. thee
arrow, CD
D 3, track 1, 5’’).

O 117 No. 1, bars 1-4.
Moreover, he did not slow downn too much in Adagio section. He startted the piece
i the Più A
with a tem
mpo of quavver = 95 andd the middlee section witth 85, reachhing 92 by the end. Hiss
tempo wass varying coonstantly. Occasionally
O y Friedberg delayed thee melody nootes or applied
arpeggiation.
Due to thee different sound of thee Erard pian

nos, my 1855 Erard recoording soun
nds more drry
and percusssive, whilee the one onn the 1870s Erard has more
m resonance with a warmer
w morre
lyrical tonne. I appliedd arpeggiatioon frequentlly on all thrree pianos. My
M purposee in doing soo
on the Steinway was to show whhat it would sound like to use the historical
h deevice on a
modern innstrument. The
T round, ffull and sonnorous tone of the modeern Steinwaay deprives

113

chord splitting of the clarity one hears in old instruments. Those instruments’ fast-fading
tone calls for a device such as arpeggiation, as it is able to prolong it when tonal unity is
required. However, the way I used historical devices in these three recordings revealed
some lack of understanding. I was partly bound to modern stylistic conventions, i.e.
approaching the notation more literally.
No. 2
This intermezzo starts with flowing arpeggios. The melody is in note pairs hiding in the
arpeggios. Etelka Freund, in her 1953 recording, slightly slowed down after the first two
pairs of slurred notes and regained speed at the following accompanying ascending broken
chords. She also played the slurred notes slightly louder than the other voices. By doing
this, she distinguished the voices clearly and at the same time added an artistic dimension to
it with a more elastic tempo (Ex. 3. 42. the short arrows, CD 3, track 4, 4’’). On the third
beat in bar 4 she sped up to guide her phrase to a peak (Ex. 3. 42. the long arrow, CD 3,
track 4, 13’’) and she went quiet and slower on the last note in bar 5 where the motive of
the melody is partly repeated (Ex. 3. 42. the circle, CD 3, track 4, 17’’). By doing so, she
created an echo effect. Significantly, Klauwellstated that repeated material should be
played in a slower tempo on the repetition.170

170
Klauwell (1890), p. 15.

114


O 117 No. 2, bars 1-9.
In bar 24, Freund leanned on the cchord at thee swell of thhe hairpins to
t emphasise its
uniquenesss (Ex. 3. 433b. the circlees, CD 3, trrack 4, 1’08’’). In bars 27-28 and 35-36,
3 she
modified the
t pairs of equal notess to dotted ones
o (Ex. 3. 43b. the brrackets). Ass mentioned
d
earlier, thiis is a typicaal nineteentth-century feature,
f alsoo found in Reinecke’s
R rolls (Chapteer
2).

115

Ex. 3. 43aa. Brahms, Intermezzo

I O
Op. 117 Noo. 2, bars 244-38.
Ex. 3. 43bb. Brahms, Intermezzo

I Op. 117 No
o. 2, bars 244-38. Freundd, 1953.

116

In both of my recordings (on an 1855 Erard and a Steinway), I brought out the paired notes
of the melody. I also rushed the ascending broken chords on the left hand but to a lesser
degree than Freund. I did not prolong the note values on the chords at the swell of the
hairpins, neither did I play equal notes unequalised in the passages Freund did, although I
had just imitated Reinecke’s piano roll of Field Nocturne No. 4 less than a year before
where I reproduced this effect. Finally, at that stage I was not fully aware of how to deal
with hairpins as an expressive device.
No. 3
This intermezzo starts with a melody having the same notes in both hands, single voice in
the right hand and octave chords in the left hand. At the introduction of the theme, I spread
some chords (Ex. 3. 44a. the circles) so as to liven the melody up. In bars 6-9, the melody
repeats with a broken chords pattern in the left hand. I tripletised the paired notes following
Reinecke’s example: I played most of the pairs with the first note quicker than the second
(Ex. 3. 44b. the squares), apart from the last beat of bar 6, where I added a dot on the
second semiquaver and tripletised the paired notes after this, playing the first note longer
than the second (Ex. 3. 44b. the bracket). With this minute rhythm modification I tried to
give life and a rhetorical quality to my phrasing, which is typical of early recordings and
piano rolls.

117

Ex. 3. 44aa. Brahms, Intermezzo

I O
Op. 117 Noo. 3, bars 1-10.
Ex. 3. 44bb. Brahms, Intermezzo

I o. 3, bars 1-10. My reco
Op. 117 No ording, 2013.

118

Mendelssohn Rondo Capriccioso Op. 14
This piece is a popular piano work in Mendelssohn’s oeuvre. Mendelssohn’s tempo term is
Andante at the beginning without any metronome mark. Most modern players start the
piece at around crotchet = 60, Carl Friedberg at 52 (1953 recording), Wilhelm Backhaus at
56 (1956 recording) and Sylvia Kersenbaum 56 (1972 recording). Friedberg had the fame
of playing in a speed ‘never slow enough.’171 August Fraemcke, in his 1910 edition, gave a
metronome mark quaver = 112, which is similar to Backhaus’ and Kersenbaum’s tempo
choice.172
Friedberg, in his recording sustained the chords at the swell of the hairpins to emphasise the
importance of the change of tune or harmony (Ex. 3. 45a. the black circles). He also split
the octave chords in the left hand in bar 3 very gently to be more expressive. Most modern
pianists would not consider dislocation or arpeggiation as valid expressive devices in
general and particularly in this piece. There are however some exceptions. Kersenbaum,
who is a modern player, applied impressively much dislocation in the first 6 bars in her
recording, although she did so by delaying the accompaniment (Ex. 3. 45a. the red circles
attached with red arrows). As mentioned earlier, this is a typical example of a modern
player willing to incorporate historical practices in her style but doing it in a way that her
performance sounds nothing like early recordings. On the other hand Backhaus, who was
only twelve years Eibeschutz’s junior, in his recording played very softly and spread only
one chord mildly in bar 6, (Ex. 3. 45a. the blue circle). Friedberg’s playing has more
features of historical influence. As in the rest of his recordings, he varied the tempo
elegantly and tempo flexibility of his playing was vital part of his artistry.

171
Bernard Sherman, ‘Metronome Marks, Timings, and Other Period Evidence’, in Performing Brahms -
Early Evidence of Performance Style, ed. Michael Musgrave (Cambridge, 2003), p. 113.
172
Felix Mendelssohn, Rondo Capriccioso Op. 14, ed. August Fraemcke (The University Library, 1910).

119

Ex. 3. 45aa. Mendelssoohn, Rondoo Capricciosso Op. 14, bbars 1-8.
I chose a speed
s of crootchet = 72 to begin thee piece so as to have a flowing pacce in the
music. I ap
pplied arpegggiation freeely in the opening
o Anddante and sttayed slightlly longer on
n
the seventth quaver inn bar 1 as Frriedberg didd for the sam
me purpose (Ex. 3. 45b. the oval
circle). I trried to varyy the values of the repeaated chords, following Reinecke’ss example. I
followed Czerny’s
C method of rubbato in my playing
p by rushing
r the third beat in
i bars 2 and
d3
to create a need for sllowing dow
wn on the fouurth beat (E
Ex. 3. 45b. thhe parallel arrows
a with
h
waves). Dislocation
D ssuits the chaaracter of thhis piece. Itss introductioon is quite melodic,
m andd
the texturee and the melody with its ornamenntation sounnd similar to
o Chopin (E
Ex. 3. 45b. thhe
circles witth attached arrows).
Ex. 3. 45bb. Mendelssohn, Rondoo Capricciosso Op. 14, bars

b 1-8. Myy recordingg, 2013.
In bars 133 and 140, Mendelssoh

M hn marked espressivo.
e Both meloddy and acco
ompanimentt
become leegato in bar 133. Friedbberg slowedd down graddually from bar 133 to bar
b 141 to

120

clarify thee change of articulationn and the texxture, and also to add expressivity
e . I slowed
down in thhe first phraase (bars 133-135) and picked up speed
s in thee second phrrase. I pulleed
back in thee third one (bars 137-179) becausee the dynam
mic sign is pp
p and lengtthened its note
values in order
o to reach the seconnd espressivvo smoothlyy (Ex. 3. 466., CD 3, traack 8, 4’03’’).
Ex. 3. 46. Mendelssohhn, Rondo Capriccioso

C o Op. 14, baars 130-143.
Mendelssohn Prelud
de and Fuggue Op. 35 No.
N 1
I recordedd this piece oon two diffeerent pianoss: the Preludde on the 18870s Erard and
a the Fug
gue
on the 185
55 Erard. Thhis did not hhappen by choice,
c but iit was inevitable, as thee key g2
stopped working
w afterr I finished recording the
t prelude. The differeent sound feeatures are
quite distinnctive here as well, as in my recorrding of Braahms op. 11
17 no. 1.
nato song without wordds.’173 A lonng melody iss

This preluude is ‘in thee style of ann appassion
hidden am
mong the resstless brokenn chords. I played
p the fast
f flowing
g broken cho
ords lightlyy
and clearly
y to produce the leggieero effect thhe composerr asks for. At
A the same time, I
emphasiseed the meloddy notes in the middle voice to have the long, lyrical tun
ne highlighteed
(Ex. 3. 47.).

173
Rosen (1995), p. 590.

121

Ex. 3. 47. Mendelssohhn, Preludee and Fugue Op. 35 No. 1, bars 1-55.
The 1855 Erard with its dry and percussive but clear soound, is fit for
f the purpose when itt
comes to the
t fugue. According
A too Rosen this is ‘a masteerpiece’ forr praise.174 I emphasiseed
the entry in
i every occcurrence of the theme by
b adding dislocation. Reinecke
R diid the same in
his 1905 recording
r off Warum?
ue, dislocation was em

In the fugu mployed to highlight
h diffferent voicees. This wass achieved by
b
delaying occasionally
o y the voice that
t has the main theme. Compenssatory rubatto was used in
places where it was easy for the leading voice to be covvered by othher voices. In
I this way,,
the speediing up may add phrasinng fluency and
a articulattion to that voice, while the slowin
ng
down mayy prepare a ssmooth trannsition to the next voicee (CD 3, traack 10, 45’’):
Ex. 3. 48. Mendelssohhn, Preludee and Fugue Op. 35 No. 1, bars 9-111.

174
Ibid., p. 590.
5

122

The composer gave clear

c guidannce that cresscendo is to be accompanied by accceleration; he
marks acccel. three tim
mes: un poco accel. e seempre crescc. from bar 29, cresc. e accel. from
m
bar 38 and
d cresc.---acccel. poco a poco al Alllegro con fuoco
fu from bar
b 56. Perhhaps this is the
t
composer’’s attempt too notate thee practice deescribed earrlier (in Chaapter 2.4.2.)). When the
speed getss faster, I played with hands
h more synchroniseed and withh less rubatoo so as not to
t
disrupt thee intensity oof the momeent. In the ‘Choral’ parrt, I split thee hands on the
t chords to
o
emphasisee the harmonnies and givve them som
me directionn.
Third ph
hase: matture recorrdings
Schumann Kinderszeenen Op. 15
No. 1 ‘Von fremden L

Ländern und Menschenn’ (Of Foreiign Lands and
a Peoples)
This piecee features triiplets juxtapposed with dotted rhythhms mostlyy on phrase endings
e (Ex
x.
3. 49 the circles).
c It pprovides oppportunities for
f rubato on
o the conseecutive brokken chords as
a
well as chhances for exxperimentattion with ov
ver-dotting the
t dotted rhythms.
r
Ex. 3. 49. Schumann,, Kinderszennen Op. 15 No. 1, bars 1-8.
Confusionn is often caaused by thee placing off the semi-quuaver. It is often

o the caase that a
composer does not giive clear inddication on how
h he wannts a dotted rhythm to be
b performeed.
As mentiooned earlier there are innstances wh
here the sem
miquaver is placed
p on to
op of the thiird

123

triplet, which might suggest tripletisation of the dotted rhythm, confusing the situation
further. In this piece however, the composer almost certainly implies overdotting, as the
third triplet precedes the semi-quaver. Therefore, some elongation was applied on the
dotted quaver which is compensated for by shortening the following note (Ex. 3. 49. the
arrows).
On the diminuendo, I slowed down for two reasons: to link the two phrases, following
Czerny’s instruction, i.e. to slow down on passages that lead to the principal theme;175 and
to comply with the nineteenth-century norm of associating decrescendo with slowing
down.176 In my effort to bring out the soft and lyrical character of the piece, I applied
dislocation of melody and accompaniment in most chords, as Reinecke did in his rolls of
Field’s Nocturne No. 4. The variation of the speed of the device heard in my recording is a
spontaneous action affected mainly by the degree of rubato at any given time, for example
the greater the slowing down or speeding up, the slower or quicker the delay between the
two hands becomes.
No. 2 ‘Kuriose Geschichte’ (A Curious Story)
In this playful piece, I employed ‘over-dotted’ rhythms and at the same time slight speeding
up in order to instil agitation and surprise (Ex. 3. 50. the black circles). The chords at the
beginning of a phrase were struck with a slight arpeggio to soften the ‘hardness of touch,’
as suggested by Klauwell.177 The juxtaposition of softness with agitation is the main feature
of this performance and specifically the way I read ‘A Curious Story’ (Ex. 3. 50. the zigzag
lines and the arrows), i.e. a story full of surprises, almost comical. Furthermore, to intensify
that effect, I played the bass notes ahead of the rest of the chords so as to emphasise the
dissonances (Ex. 3. 50. the red circles) and I sped up on the crescendo and slowed down at
the end of the phrase (Ex. 3. 50. the waves), following Czerny’s advice regarding
diminuendo and characterisation (Chapter 2.2.). The same mode of expression is scattered
throughout my performance.

175
Czerny (1839), III, p. 33.
176
Klauwell (1890), p. 60.
177
Klauwell (1890), p. 112.

124

The follow
wing expresssive passagge serves as an interlude to interrup
pt the energgy of the firsst
part. I rushhed the firstt two beats of bar 17 inn order to jooin the two sections
s andd broke the
manner on thhe third beatt by leaningg on the g2, so as to empphasise the
chords in a relaxed m
harmony and
a the ‘turnning point’ of the melo 2 I playedd the note e and the note d
ody. In bar 20,
in left hannd (Ex. 3. 511. the circles) ahead off the same nootes on the right hand. In this way
y, I
could end the phrase gently and bbridge it sm
moothly to thhe next phraase with a contrasting
c
character. I also adoppted the nineeteenth-centtury idea off phrase archhing as an
menon of melodic
epiphenom m archiing (see Ch
hapter 2.4.).

125

No. 3 ‘Hasche-Mann’ (Catch Mee If You Caan)
In this fastt, jolly piece, I started w

with a very tight arpegggiation to emphasise
e thhe tonic and
d
introduce the beginniing of the phhrase (Ex. 3.
3 52. the cirrcles with attached
a arroows). I then
n
accelerated the semiqquavers on tthe right hannd to bring out the lively characterr of the piecce
(Ex. 3. 52. the long arrrows). At tthe end of each phrase, following Czerny’s
C m
model of
compensaatory rubato and severall of his instrructions, I slowed
s dow
wn at the lastt two
semiquaveers so as to let the musiic ‘breathe’ and link too the next phhrase (Ex. 3.
3 52. the
waves). Horowitz
H useed the same expressive means in his
h live conccert recordinng in Vienn
na
in 1987; itt is worth mentioning
m h that Hoorowitz, an older
here o twentieth-centuryy pianist, bo
orn
in 1903, was
w still usinng historical practices in
i his late tw
wentieth-cenntury perforrmances.
Interestinggly, Adelinaa de Lara, thhirty years Horowitz’s
H senior and a Clara Schhumann pup
pil,
m and with hhands perfecctly togetheer.178 Her
played this piece withh a metronoomic rhythm
rendering is by no meeans typicall of her geneeration of pianists, whiich is the reason I did not
n
consider her
h style in my
m approacch to the pieece. In any case,
c as alsoo Crutchfield believed, in
ng ‘the musiical satisfacttion [of the listener] is limited.’ 179
her playin

178
Robert Scchumann – Krreisleriana, A
Adelina De Larra, in The pup
pils of Clara Schumann,
S Fannny Davies, Illona
Eibenschützz, and Adelinaa de Lara (Peaarl, Pavilion Records,
R CLA11000, 1992), cd
c 2, track 2.
179
Crutchfieeld (1987), p. 19.

126

No. 4 ‘Bitttendes Kindd’ (Pleadingg Child)
In this piece there aree four pairs of phrases. Each pair consists
c of tw
wo two-barr sections with
w
contrasts in
i dynamicss, p-pp. I plaayed the ppp slower andd more exprressively thaan the p parrt as
per Klauw
well instruction regardinng repetitionns (see 2.4.22.). The sloowing down
n in the
repetition section is helpful
h in buuilding up a ‘pleading child’
c figuree. Adelina De
D Lara, in
this piece employed the
t same rattionale of sllowing dow
wn on the reppetitions. Horowitz
H too
o
slowed doown, but to a lesser exteent. However, Horowittz played soome chords
unsynchroonised in hiss recording in a free maanner whichh I tried to incorporate
i into my ow
wn
playing foor expressive purposes (Ex. 3. 53. the
t circles with
w attacheed arrows).
There is a slight discrrepancy in bbars 13-14 in

i relation too the ritardaando. It is hard
h to judgee
whether onne should keep
k applyinng ritardanddo after fouur bars of sloowing downn because
n did not maark a tempoo. However, as Rosen reemarked, ‘tthe absence of an
Schumann
180
indicationn a tempo is typical of Schumann.’
S In any case,
c I chosee to return to
o the startin
ng
tempo so as
a to have better
b T is what De
contraast to the following ritaardando (Exx. 3. 53.). This
Lara and Horowitz
H diid too. Theyy generally played
p a lott slower thaan indicated (Schumann
n
marks ) perhhaps due to the characteer of the pieece. In any case,
c the ind
dicated speeed
feels slighhtly too pushhed to show
w a ‘pleading
g child’ figuure, which is
i the reason
n why I also
o
played it slower
s in geeneral. On a different note,
n there iss a controveersy about Schumann’s
S s
metronom
me markingss. Bülow claaimed that Schumann
S u
used a faultyy metronom
me for his
entire creaative periodd.181 This is ppossibly thee reason whhy his metro
onome mark
kings were
revised byy Clara Schuumann, whoo, as Mauricce Hinson pointed
p out, discussed with
w Brahm
ms
her plan foor the revisiion.182 It is, therefore, possible
p thaat the indicaated metronoome markinng
mong those revised by Clara Schu
was not am umann and it was left unnchanged inn the first
edition of the piece, w
which may eexplain whyy the indicaated speed feeels too fastt.

180
Rosen (1995), p. 276.
181
Jean Bapptiste Cramer, Fifty Selectedd Piano-Studiees, ed. Hans von
v Bülow, traans. by Albert Parsons and B.
B
Boekelman, rev. Theodorre Baker, 4 vols (New Yorkk, 1899), I, preeface by Bülow w.
182
Robert Scchumann, At tthe Piano with h Robert and Clara Schuma USA, 1988), p.
ann, ed. Maurrice Hinson (U
10.

127

No. 5 ‘Glüückes Genuug’ (Quite H

Happy)
In this piece the them

me ascends and
a then desscends in a wavy patterrn where thee upwards and
a
downward
ds movemennts blend inn a quasi-cannonic mannner. It soundds as if two voices
v are
chasing eaach other. I rushed wheen the themee ascends with
w crescen
ndo and acceentuated eacch
entry of thhe theme (E
Ex. 3. 54.).

128

At the endd of this piecce, there is D

D.C. sign but
b there is no
n Fine. It is hard to juudge whetheer
Schumann
n just simplyy wants the performer to repeat thhe whole pieece or not (E
Ex. 3. 55.).
Both De Lara
L and Hoorowitz ignoored the sign
n. I also didd the same, as
a I consideer De Lara’ss
approach to
t be accuraate in this reespect, becaause of her cconnection with Clara Schumann.

129

No. 6 ‘Wichtige Begebenheit’ (An Important Event)
The melody of this piece is supported by chords. I broke most of the chords very tightly
following Thalberg’s instruction: ‘The chords that support a melody on the highest note
should always be arpeggiated, but very tight, almost together [presque plaqué], and the
melody note should be given more weight than the other notes of the chord.’183 I did not
follow Czerny’s instruction to arpeggiate only the first chord in a series of chords where the
first is slower than the rest,184 as I believe that in this case Thalberg’s suggestion is more
attuned with the period the piece was written in. As mentioned earlier, Klauwell,
Reinecke’s student, also encouraged the application of arpeggios on loud chords so as to
soften them.185
There are three different accent marks in this piece: ^, > and sf (Ex. 3. 56.). It is well known
that Schumann used accent marks freely in his works.186 According to Brown, these three
accent signs have different interpretation in different eras. The chords with ^ should be
played with power and the pianist should pursue heavy sound, the same as sf, but with
slight detached touch; the > sign is simply an indication of playing with force.187
In bars 9-12, the > sign is marked on the first octave chord of the group of four chords in
the left hand. I emphasised the one with > sign in my recording and rushed it together with
the second chord. I also played those two chords unequally so as to highlight the bass line.
Reinecke’s roll of Field’s Nocturne no. 4 (bars 45-48) demonstrates this effect, which I
tried to imitate. He makes a very artistic use of rhythm manipulation there, which adds
variety at moments of repetition.

183
Sigismond Thalberg, L’Art du chant appliqué au piano, Op. 70, 1st series (Paris, 1853).
184
Czerny (1839), III, p. 56.
185
Klauwell p. 112.
186
Brown (1999), pp. 79, 104.
187
Ibid., pp. 118-20.

130

No. 7 ‘Trääumerei’ (D
Dreaming)
Klauwell used
u this piece as fine example deemonstratingg how and where
w to apply
arpeggiation. He speccifically saidd that ‘the arpeggio
a maay often be employed in a full cho
ord
under a fermata, e. g. in the "Trääumerei" byy Schumannn:’ 188

188
Klauwelll (1890), p. 1111.

131

It is almost certain that a player such as Reinecke would apply more arpeggiation than just
on the chord under the fermata. The serene and dream-like mood of the piece allows
numerous possibilities for arpeggiation and rubato. This is one of those works where
spontaneity and free expression are embodied in my playing. By the time I recorded this
piece, the historical practices were more than ever before an integral part of my style.
In this well-known lyrical piece, the melody appears six times in different forms or
different keys. Three of them start with a crotchet, two of them with a quaver and one with
a passing chord followed by the main note of the melody which is notated by the composer
as a grace note (Ex. 3. 58. the black circles). I played this grace note quicker than the other
starting notes, although it is marked ritard in order to preserve the grace-note feeling to it
(Ex. 3. 58. the red circle). I also applied a generous amount of arpeggiation since grace-
notes may imply it, as often is the case in Schumann’s music (see Kreisleriana No. 2.). As
mentioned, there are controversies in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in regards to
the execution of the grace notes. Here the notation may suggest a pre-beat execution,
because the grace note is separated from the main note by a bar line. However, in my effort
to remove the attention of the listener from the grace note, I tried to soften it and, with some
rubato, to make it sound stylishly vague.
I applied arpeggiation on most of the chords in this piece to create the dreamy atmosphere
that the piece requires. At the places with crescendo, I sped up so as not to make the
listener feel the lengthening after a long note/chord (Ex. 3. 58.).

132

No. 8 ‘Am At the Firesiide)

m Kamin’ (A
Despite thhe tempo fluuctuation annd the arpeg

ggiation I em
mployed in this
t piece, I played the
quavers unnequally sim
milar to thatt employed by Reineckke (Ex. 3. 599. the circlees) in his 1905

133

piano roll recording oof his arranggement of Mozart’s

M V 537.189 In my
Laarghetto KV m recordin
ng,
I tried to assign
a differrent charactters to the music
m by plaaying the paairs of chord
ds in this waay:
on the firsst pair (bar 26),
2 I arpegggiated the first
fi quaver chord
c tightlly and playeed the secon
nd
quaver cho
ord synchroonised but shhortened to a semiquavver in length
h. I also russhed to the
second pair (bar 26). On the secoond pair, I played
p both chords with
h hands alm
most togetheer
but length
hened the firrst chord sliightly. The third
t pair (bbar 30) was played in a similar way
y
to the firstt pair, whilee on the lastt pair I split both chordds and sloweed down to smooth the
ending.
No. 9 ‘Rittter vom Steeckenpferd’ (Knight off the Hobbyhhorse)
I played thhis piece in a similar way

w to No. 6, due to their closely siimilar featuures. Therefo
ore,
I applied tight
t arpegggiation throuughout, meaanwhile I paaid more atttention to thhe left hand
and broug
ght out the loong bass linne (Ex. 3. 600.).

189
Peres Daa Costa (2012)), pp. 220-4: P
Peres Da Costaa provides a detailed
d analyssis of a passagge played by
Reinecke shhowing the varrious combinaations of lengtthening and shhortening of notes
n employed by the playeer.

134

No. 10 ‘Faast zu ernst’’ (Almost Too

T Serious))
This calm piece has a binary struucture with seven phrasses: A, B, C,

C A1, B, C, A2. Each one
o
of its seveen phrases has
h a rise annd a fall withh ritard. andd a pause siign marked by the
composer at the end. A1 has twoo parts. The first part soounds unfinished whilee its second
part is alm
most identicaal to phrase A. A2 startts with the first
f part of A1 with ann additional
ending secction. Theree is continuoous syncopaation in the melody spaanning the whole
w durattion
of the piecce, which innterestingly does not crreate a swinnging feelingg, as it would actually
sound the same if the melody staarted on the first beat of the bar. Thhe whole piiece sounds
curious annd invokes a feeling of hesitation to
t the listeneer because of
o the rise and
a the fall in
i
each phrasse (Ex. 3. 61.).

135

Ex. 3. 61. Schumann,, Kinderszennen Op. 15 No. 10, barrs 1-16.
No. 11 ‘Füürchtenmacchen’ (Frighhtening)
There are three differrent texturess in this piecce: counterppoint, meloddy and acco
ompanimentt
dy in both hhands. Afterr the contrap
and melod puntal openiing, the mellody appearrs with
descendinng chromaticc thirds (Exx. 3. 62. the thin black circles).
c Whhen the meloody goes to the
lower regiisters, there are chords in sixths inn the right haand (Ex. 3. 62. the thicck black
circle). I used
u dislocaation in my pperformancce which is a particularlly effective in separatinng
the voicess and making them sounnd independdent. In adddition, I acceelerated thee descending
g
thirds and sixths graddually to addd suspense and
a bring out the frighttening charaacter of the
piece.

136

After this section, thee texture chaanges to meelody in the left hand with
w staccatoo chords in the
right handd. The compposer marks Schneller here
h with ann accent on the last notte (as the oth
her
two notes are tied) (E
Ex. 3. 63.). I applied com
mpensatoryy rubato in order
o to faciilitate the
phrasing inndicated wiith long slurrs.
These twoo different teextures com

mbined with
h the quiet ddynamic andd a sudden speed
s chang
ge
with a louud note at the end to exhhibit the ‘friightening’ effect,
e whicch is intensiffied with
compensaatory rubato.
No. 12 ‘K
Kind im Einsschlummernn’ (Child Faalling Asleeep)
The repeatted idea in bboth hands vividly creaates a picturre of a child

d falling asleeep. I rusheed
the phrasee in the rightt hand as it is the respoonse to the left
l hand. I created
c a ‘nneed’ to reacch
the last noote with accent (Ex. 3. 64.
6 the arrows).

137

Der Dichter Spricht’

No. 13 ‘D S (Thhe Poet Speaks)
This piecee is recitativve-like with improvisation featuress. Arpeggiattion was applied

throughouut the piece to convey thhe poetic annd rhetoricaal qualities of
o Schumannn’s musical
language. The multipple fermatas combined with
w the phrrasing slurss and rests th
hat the
composer provides inn detail mayy guide the player
p to a pre-defined,
p , though higghly
mposer’s atttempt to nottate rubato; if
expressivee, way of exxecution. It may be seenn as the com
one decoddes its hiddeen meaningss, one mightt find out more
m about what
w Schum
mann
consideredd as tastefull or proper rrubato. Speccifically, if one accelerrated or deccelerated on the
hairpins, or
o slowed doown before the fermataas and arpegggiated the chords on thhe fermatass as
per Klauw
well’s instruction, and of
o course followed the rest
r of the tempo mark
kings, such as
a
ritenuto ettc., then auttomatically a distinctivee rubato renndering willl have been created. Th
he
aforementtioned featuures, combinned togetherr, are demonnstrated in my
m perform
mance.

138

Brahms Capriccio Op. 76 No. 1
This fast-paced piece has a fairly long introduction. The melody is embedded within the
broad broken chords. Brahms’s characteristic sign, i.e. the hairpin, is used here (Ex. 3. 65.).
The chords with hairpins are also marked with arpeggiation sign. In her 1950 recording,
Etelka Freund took time on the notes found at the point where hairpins meet. She also
delayed the chords with arpeggiation sign (Ex. 3. 65. circled). As mentioned earlier the
double hairpin sign is strongly associated with rhythmic nuance and not only to change
dynamics.190 In bar 5, where the crescendo starts, she accelerated at the last group of broken
chords and landed on the following chords rapidly (Ex. 3. 65. the short arrows). In bar 8,
she rushed the whole bar but gave time and additional strength to the highest note F-sharp
to prepare for the cadence (Ex. 3. 65. the square), as the composer marked sostenuto and rf
there. She accelerated at the descending broken dominant chords in bars 9-11, until she
reached the octave dominant note C-sharp (Ex. 3. 65. the long arrows). Freund’s
performance portrays really well the agitated character of the music. I used the same kinds
of expressive gesture in my recording to achieve the same effect.

190
Hyun-Su Kim (2012), pp. 46-57.

139

Ex. 3. 65. Brahms, Caapriccio Opp. 76 No. 1, bars 1-13.
When the main meloddy appears aand Brahmss marks esppressivo, Freeund applied dislocatio
on
for expresssive purposses on the fiirst note in bars
b 14 and 22 in the beginning off phrase, wh
hich
is a typicaal location for d Costa.191 In my recoording, I
fo dislocatioon accordinng to Peres da
applied dislocation onn the notes oof the first and
a the fourrth beats off each bar. Furthermore
F e, I
delayed thhe melody notes
n more tthan Freundd did (Ex. 3.. 66. the circcles with arrrows, CD 4,
4
track 14, 25’’),
2 in the manner thaat Reineckee would have played a piece
p with similar
s textu
ure.

191
Peres Daa Costa (2001)), p. 28.

140

Brahms marked
m stringg. e cresc. ffrom bar 344 with brokeen line till bar 37 and att bar 38 he
marks in tempo.
t Therre is a discreepancy in thhe score herre. The first edition insttructs in
tempo, whhile Moszkoowski’s and Sauer’s ediition give a tempo. It might
m be arg
gued that bo
oth
t the initial tempo.192 However, itt might alsoo be
terms meaan the same thing, i.e. tto get back to
argued, sppecifically inn this case, that by writting in temppo the compposer instruccts the player
to maintaiin the tempoo he arrivedd at, after a crescendo,
c w
without slow
wing down.. Obviouslyy,
the aforem
mentioned editors felt thhat in tempoo is not appropriate herre and that it
i would cau
use
confusion to the interrpreter. The same happens with edditors of Beeethoven’s music.
m I chosse
to follow Moszkowsk
M ki’s and Sauuer’s markinng and retakke the initiaal tempo, because I
thought thhat the turn from
f semiqquavers to qu
uavers requuire a broadeer playing. I then
followed the
t composeer’s hairpinn marking inn my recording and slow
wed down at
a the end of
bar 41 to prepare
p for the entry off the melodyy in bar 42. Throughouut the work, I tried to
t melody which is hiidden in the middle voiice and playy it with lon
bring out the ng ‘breaths’,,
especiallyy from bars 442 to 51. Brrahms markked cantanddo in bar 42.. To achievee that, I
applied veery frequentt dislocationn. At the sam
me time I acccelerated on
o the cresccendo startin
ng
in bar 45 to
t create a cclimax usingg this historrical practice. In bar 500, Brahms onnly markedd

192
There is no
n mention off a difference in the Oxfordd Dictionary off Music and Musicians.
M

141

the secondd chord withh arpeggiatiion and hairrpins. In ordder to demonstrate diffeerent
gradationss of arpeggiiation and exxpressivity and to facillitate the haarmonic direection, I spliit
the first chhord on the right hand a lot more tightly
t than the second one (Ex. 3. 67., CD 4,
track 14, 49’’).
4

142

The follow
wing sectionn is based on the same motive founnd earlier inn the piece but
b the hand
ds
have chan
nged roles. T
The left hannd holds the core of the harmony with
w long chhords and,
although Brahms
B doees not mark hairpins thiis time, he keeps
k the arrpeggiation marking on
n
specific chhords. I stilll gave slightly longer tiime to the chords
c invollved in sign
nificant
harmonic changes and when the melody souunds like a tturning poinnt (Ex. 3. 688. the circlees).
I also rushhed from baar 58 to the first
f half off bar 60 wheen there is crescendo too guide the
music tow
wards a clim
max (Ex. 3. 68.
6 the arrow
w, CD 4, traack 14, 1’566’’).
At the endd, Brahms reepeated the four-note chromatic

c m
motive three times. In bar 81, it is
reduced too a simpler ttwo-note veersion a sem
mitone apartt which is reepeated in bar
b 82. The
same com
mpositional method
m appears at the end
e of Menddelssohn’s Op.
O 102 Noo. 4. This eff
ffect

143

prolongs the
t listener’s anticipatioon of the tonic, which is
i finally reached in thee major key
y
and emphaatically repeeated at the end in diffe
ferent positioons. I underrlined this detail
d of thiss
piece by spreading thhe last two cchords wideely (Ex. 3. 69., CD 4, trrack 14, 3’0
04’’).
Schumann Warum? Op. 12 No. 3
This reallyy short piece has forty--two bars in

n essentiallyy three voicees. The main
n theme
appears eiighteen timees throughout the piecee in differennt forms andd keys, givinng the
impression
n that the coomposer is ppersistentlyy asking the same questtion: why?
The themee is mainly situated at tthe top two voices. It iss passed to the
t bass voiice only twiice
echoing th
he middle paart. The thirrd voice is in
i the bass and
a is accom
mpanied by syncopated
d
chords in the
t left hand.

144

Reinecke recorded this piece on piano roll in 1905. He highlighted the theme clearly on
every one of its occurrences. At the same time he emphasised the syncopated chords
explicitly by playing them loudly, even during the last note of the theme which he played
softer, almost inaudible, although it is marked with a crescendo hairpin (Ex. 3. 70. the
circles). In the middle section (bars 17-24), Reinecke did not do the crescendo that the
composer marks (these crescendos are in the first edition as well). He played calmly and
sometimes delayed the first quaver in the bar and double-dots the semiquaver to create a
hesitant feeling (Ex. 3. 70. the square).
In my recording, I did not fully imitate Reinecke’s playing as I have done several times. I
recorded this piece in the third year of my research, when my playing had been nurtured by
and matured in the nineteenth-century pianistic language and when I had developed a freer,
more spontaneous style. Having said that, I followed the dynamic marks strictly and at the
same time I brought out the theme whenever it appears. I applied dislocation on the first
note of the theme as Reinecke did. I applied tempo modifications on the hairpins. I used
Clara Schumann’s edition for practising and recording the piece. Finally, the only
difference between her edition and the first edition is the last f2 in the right hand which is
not tied. Reinecke used the first edition, as there is a single F in his recording. In my
recording I played an octave chord in the right hand in my recording, as per Clara
Schumann’s edition (Ex. 3. 71.).

145

Ex. 3. 70. Schumann,, Warum?, C

Clara Schum
mann’s edition.
Ex. 3. 71. Schumann,, Warum?, F

First editionn, bars 41-42.

146

Mendelssohn Op. 1002 No. 4, 5, 6
These threee Songs wiithout Wordds are the laast three piecces in Menddelssohn’s series
s of sho
ort
lyrical piaano pieces. They
T have ddifferent texxtures: in No.
N 4 there is melody annd
accompanniment of reppeated patteerns of brokken chords; in No. 5 chhords in the right hand
with contiinuous syncopated rhytthms in the left hand; and
a in No. 6 chords.
No. 4 is a fast flowingg piece. I appplied very slight disloocation on soome notes with
w long
values (Exx. 3. 72. the vertical thiin arrows) to
o emphasisee their impoortance, alsoo to
distinguish m quicker nootes. Reineccke did the same in his recordings of his own
h them from n
Ballade Op. 20. I variied the temppo especiallly when thee harmony changes
c (Ex
x. 3. 72. the
circles). My
M purpose for doing thhis was to avvoid monottony and insstil vividnesss in my
playing. Specifically,
S , I varied thee movemennt of the broken-chord patterns
p to deal
d with th
he
danger of sounding reepetitive. Inn bar 4, I len
ngthened thee circled nootes to create contrast with
w
the secondd half of thee bar, whichh I also spedd up for the repeated nootes to soun
nd more
g (Ex. 3. 72. the paralleeled thicker arrows).
interesting
Ex. 3. 72. Mendelssohhn, Op. 1022 No. 4, bars 1-7.
In bar 9, when
w the meelody reappears, there is
i no signifiicant change. Again, foor the same
purpose, I played the c2 in the rigght hand as a dotted quuaver and ruushed the tw
wo notes
afterwardss to be moree expressivee and for vaariety (Ex. 3.
3 73. the cirrcle, CD 4, track 16,
24’’).

147

In bars 35-38, I delayyed the meloody notes too a great exttent to draw
w attention too the notes
d the last loong d2 (Ex. 33. 74. the ciircles with arrows).
with sf and a
Op. 102 No.

N 5 is a jollly piece. Bass notes with
w repeatedd syncopated notes playyed by the
thumb of the
t left handd are its maain feature. The
T right haand has choords with thee melody
‘hiding’ inn them. I appplied very sslight arpeg
ggiation on some
s main chords of thhe right han
nd -
for instancce the first chord
c of a pphrase - to show their im
mportance (Ex.
( t circles). In
3. 75. the
bars 6-7, I rushed to gain
g some tiime for bar 8 in order to wn for the caadence (Ex. 3.
t slow dow
75. the arrrows and thee waves). Inn bars 23-266, I played softer,
s as it is a repetition of bars 19-
1
22 withou
ut staccato, in
i order to ddelineate thee differencee in articulattion (Ex. 3. 75. the
brackets, CD
C 4, trackk 17, 21’’).

148

I slowed down
d very little when dimin.
d occurrs as this is a fairly fastt piece and significant
tempo modifications would alterr its characteer (Ex. 3. 766. the thick black circlees). Reineck
ke
did the sam
me in his piiano roll Allla Turca. I arpeggiated
a d the last two
o chords very tightly
following Czerny’s reecommendaation about strong chorrds (Ex. 3. 76.
7 the thin circles).
c

149


150

A choral texture
t gives Op. 102 N
No.6 its speccial charactter. I used arrpeggiation in differentt
ways for different
d purrposes: a) nno arpeggiattion, b) slighht arpeggiattion, c) arpeeggiation inn a
relaxed manner. I starrted the piecce with relaaxed spreadiing as it suiits the seren
ne opening of
o
the piece. I played thee chords without any sp
plitting in tw
wo circumsstances (Ex. 3. 77. the
rectangless):
1) when thhey are on w

weak beats, so that the more imporrtant parts of
o a phrase shall
s be
enhanced.
2) on stacccato chords (see paragrraph 2.2.)
I applied tight
t j before harmonic
arpegggiation on chhords eitherr after a dottted note or just
changes (E
Ex. 3. 77. thhe circles) ppurely for coolouristic puurposes.
Finally, thhe use of no arpeggiatioon also helpped me sepaarate phrases in an artisstic and
spontaneoous way. I did not split the last choord in the firrst phrase (bbar 4) in ordder to
distinguish
h it from thee second phhrase whichh follows verry closely and
a starts wiith chord
spreading..

151

Brahms Op.
O 118
No. 1 Inteermezzo
There are many hairppin signs scaattered throu

ughout this piece. Interrestingly, thhere are two
o
kinds of hairpins
h thatt cannot be executed
e if we are to coonsider them
m as dynam
mics marking
gs,
simply due to limitatiions of the iinstrument.
a) crescenndo on a singgle chord (E

Ex. 3. 78.)
This kind of hairpin appears

a seveen times thrroughout the piece. Alll of them aree placed at the
beginning of a phrasee with f. Thee piano cann
not producee that effect, i.e. to incrrease the
dynamic after
a the nottes are strucck. One mig
ght argue thaat they simpply indicate that the choord
or note aftter the < is louder.
l How
wever, As David
D Hyun--su Kim assserted, thesee hairpins arre
mics signs, bbut ‘Brahmssian’ hairpinns carrying agogic infleections.193 Thus
not dynam T in my
with a slight agogic pause before sttriking the second
recording,, I played w s chord with moree
force and I split both chords so as
a to add exppression, ass usually happpens in moost early piaano
rolls.194
Ex. 3. 78. Brahms, Inntermezzo OP.118

O No.11, first editioon, bar 1.
In Adolf Ruthardt’s
R (1849-1934)) edition of Czerny’s Practical
P Exercises for Beginners
B Op.
O
599, the ed
ditor added the same kind
k of hairppins in bar 4 of exercisee no. 30 (Exx. 3. 79.). This
edition waas publishedd in 1895 inn Leipzig. Itt is clear thaat the editor wanted to have
h an
expressivee tone on G in bar 4. Thhis is a workk of a purelly pedagogic nature aim
ming to teacch
basic technnique and not
n differentt ways of arrtistic expreession. Therrefore, it mig
ght not havee

193
Hyun-Suu Kim (2012), p. 46.
194
Ibid., p. 48.
4

152

been in thee writer’s annd editor’s intentions to

t instruct arpeggiationn and dislocaation.
However, these hairppins, which aare not pressent in the original
o scorre, may impply agogic
accent andd it might bee debatable that they coould even im
mply disloccation.
Ex. 3. 79. Czerny, Opp. 599 No. 330, Ruthardtt’s edition, bars 1-5.
b) < > aboove a same cchord (Ex. 3.

3 80. the ciircle)
The phrase starts esprressivo and the double hairpin is placed

p theree in a ‘Brahm
msian’ mannner
to denote ‘more expreessivity.’1955 For this reaason I starteed this phraase softer annd, in order to
distinguish
h the chord with hairpiins, I added a slight pauuse before thhis chord. The
T chord
itself was executed with
w some deegree of agoogic lengtheening and with
w broaderr arpegiation
n.

O 118 No. 1, bars 4-6.
Another exxplanation is that this m

marking is ‘impracticab
‘ ble’ and ‘m
may have beeen seen as
ical” effect oon the playeer;’196 or it might
having a “psychologi
“ m be th
hat the compposer had in
n
mind an exxpressive liingering on that chord or
o even vibrrato, especially if he haad an
orchestral or strings ttexture in m
mind. Schum
mann used siimilar markkings quite often
o in his
works (Exx. 3. 81.).

195
Ibid., p. 46.
4
196
Brown (11999), p. 89.

153

Ex. 3. 81. Schumann,, Op. 68 Noo. 1, bars 1-110.
No. 2 Inteermezzo
mezzo twice during my research peeriod. The first

I recordedd this interm fi time on an 1870s
Erard in December
D 20013 and thee second tim
me on the18555 Erard in April 2014
4. These two
o
recordingss are meant to demonsttrate my pro
ogress in unnderstandingg the perform
mance
practice off the periodd in questionn. The seconnd half of 2013 to 20144 was a cruccial point in
n
the timelinne of this prroject, in thaat I had not only gatherred knowled
dge through
h nearly threee
years of sttudy, but I had
h time to reflect uponn it and undderstand the use of hairppins.
The 1870ss Erard prodduces a warrmer sound with

w more echo.
e The 1855 Erard has
h greater
clarity. In the first reccording, I pllayed the piiece in a muuch calmer way
w with diislocation an
nd
arpeggiation, while inn the secondd recording,, besides thoose practicees, I realised
d the need for
f
combiningg hairpins w
with other ellements apaart from dynnamics. I accelerated a lot more whhen
there was crescendo and
a stayed oon the note at the peak of hairpins a little longger. Combin
ned
with the cllearer soundd of the pianno, this pracctice heighttens the effeectiveness of
o tempo
fluctuationn.
In both reccordings, I applied

a disllocation on the first notte of bar 2. I played thee a2 in the leeft
hand beforre the f1-shaarp in the riight hand (E
Ex. 3. 82. thhe circle attaached with an
a arrow) annd
played thee top A withh the secondd quaver on the left hannd (Ex. 3. 822. the circlee attached with
w
a line). I prolonged
p thhe F-sharp aand delayed
d the A to reeproduce thee expressivee effect ofteen

154

found in Reinecke’s
R r
rolls. Speciffically, he prolonged
p a quaver turnning it into a crotchet in
n
Field Noctturne No. 4 (see Chaptter 2). In myy second reccording, I sp
ped up on thhe crescend
do
hairpins (E
Ex. 3. 82. aand Ex. 3. 83. the arrow
ws). At the same
s time, I overdottedd the dottedd
quaver to produce a hurrying
h feeeling and finnally pulledd back at thee end of the phrases on the
diminuenddo hairpins (CD 4, track 25, 4’’).

O 118 No. 2, bars 1-8.
In the secoond recordinng, when thhe hairpins become

b more frequent,, I added an
n agogic
lengthenin
ng to the note of the hairpin peak. This facilitaated the nattural swell that
t these
a n from g1-shharp to a1 in
groups of notes createe (Ex. 3. 83. the circless). A slight acceleration n
bars 35 annd 36 was addded to highhlight the co
ontrast betw
ween the two voices (C
CD 4, track 25,
2
1’12’’).
In the firstt recording, in bars 42--44, being innfluenced by

b Glen Gouuld’s record
ding, I
emphasiseed the bass nnotes to clarrify the harm
monic direcction (Ex. 3. 83. the squuares, CD 4,
4
track 25, 1’32’’).
1 How
wever, in thhe second more
m mature recording, I gave priorrity to the
reading off hairpins inn my interprretation. I thhus emphasiised the basss line to a lesser degree,
while atten
ntion was pprimarily givven to the agogic propeerties of thee hairpins.

155


O 118 No. 2, bars 33-48.
In the midddle section (bars 49-566), in both of

o my recorddings, I emp
phasised thee melody in
n
the right hand
h the firsst time and bbrought outt the left hannd during thhe repeat in order to
strengthenn the middlee voice and most imporrtantly to inntroduce agoogic inflectiions on the
dots and hairpins
h (Exx. 3. 84., CD
D 4, track 25
5, 2’16’’).
O 118 No. 2, bars 49-56.


156

No. 3 Balllade
Both Ilonaa Eibenschüütz and Carll Friedberg studied withh Clara Schhumann and
d both of theem
knew Brahhms very well.
w Eibenscchütz’s recoollected thatt Brahms peerformed his later workks,
Op. 118 an
nd Op. 119 to her before they werre publishedd. Eibenschüütz’ 1903 (in red) and
Friedberg’’s 1949 (in black)
b recorrdings are compared
c heere (Ex. 3. 85.).
8
Ex. 3. 85. Brahms, Baallade Op. 1118 No. 3, bars

b 1-10.
Both playeers applied rubato diffeerently in thheir recordinngs. They sttarted with similar speeed:
Eibenschüütz annd Friedbergg . Eib

benschütz sped
s p of a phrase
up at thhe second part
(Ex. 3. 85. bars 3-4, 88-9, red arroows). Her sppeed increasses to in bars3-44. She pulled
d
back slighhtly by delayying the lastt note of thee phrase, thee d1, in bar 5 so as to sttart the seco
ond
phrase at the
t same speed as the bbeginning. There
T is a riit. in bar 10. Eibenschüütz slowed
m the secondd half of baar 9. Friedbeerg ignored it and kept the speed steady, but he
down from h
tended to delay
d the firrst few notees of the meelody. For example,
e in bars 1, 2, 6 and 7 theree is
a little gap
p before the long note w
which has been
b markedd with the siign: . By delaying thhem

157

he underliined the impportance of the long nootes which form

f the muusical idea of
o the piece..
Interestinggly, he syncchronised booth of his haands, unlikee Reinecke in
i similar innstances,
perhaps beecause of thhe late date of the recorrding. Afterr this delay, he immediaately rushed
d
the first annd second quavers
q in thhe left handd (Ex. 3. 85. the black arrows
a in baars 1, 2, 6, 7
and 10). Both
B Eibenschütz and F
Friedberg appplied comppensatory ruubato in theiir playing but
b
in differennt places andd in differennt ways. Thhey played in
i the same way in barss 77-86, whhen
the main theme
t appeaars again.
When the music becoomes softer,, both Eibennschütz and Freidberg chose
c to plaay the chord
ds
arpeggiateed to add exxpressivity. Eibenschütz split the first
fi chord of
o a new phrrase in the
right handd (Ex. 3. 86.), while Friiedberg did not, but he played the a-flat (Ex. 3.
3 86.) ahead
of d1 and f1.

b 10-11.
Eibenschüütz broke the chords in the red circcles (Ex. 3. 87.) in suchh a way thatt forms one
chord: G-cc-e flat-g. S
She did this in order to introduce
i sm
moothly thee next sectioon, which iss of
contrastingg texture, with
w consecuutive brokenn chords andd a melodicc line whichh blends witth
them. Althhough in baars 38-40 thee composer establishedd the new teexture in thee left hand,
Eibenschüütz in the prrevious sectiion (Ex. 3. 87.
8 the red circles)
c ingeeniously an
nticipated thhe
composer’’s thoughts with her arppeggiationss by relatingg them to the forthcomiing broken
chords. Thhis shows thhat arpeggiaation may not only be used
u as an expressive
e d
device, but also
a
as a structtural elemennt.

158


b 32-40.
The seconnd part of thhis Ballade hhas four lyriical phrasess. At the endd of the secoond phrase,
the motivee from the first
f part reaappears (barrs 52-56). At ning of the second phraase
A the beginn
Eibenschüütz and Friedberg both played the first
f chord in
i the right hand beforee the first leeft-
hand note in bar 49 (E
Ex. 3. 88. thhe black andd the red cirrcles with black and red
d arrows),
emphasising the entryy of the phrase.
In bar 52, Eibenschüttz slowed doown before the motive appears (Exx. 3. 88. thee red wave).
her hand, Frriedberg plaayed the basss note A1-sharp in left hand after the
On the oth t middle
t bass note an accent (Ex. 3. 88. the black circle with black
voice notee and gave the b arrow)).
In this wayy he highligghted the haarmonic chaange.
Friedberg added a note and creatted octaves in the bass in bars 53, 54 and 56 (Ex.
( 3. 88. the
t
black squaares) and hee also split tthose and thhe existing octaves
o (Ex. 3. 88. the black
b zippeer
lines). By doing this, he produceed a deep annd vivid souund colour inn the left haand.
Eibenschüütz in her recording plaayed the lastt two quaveers in bar 555 and the first four quav
vers
in bar 56 as S played the first grooup of brokeen
a broken chhords (Ex. 33. 88. the reed circles). She
chords (in
n bar 55) in an
a ascendinng manner and
a the secoond group (iin bar 56) descending.
me effect ass in bars 33 and 35 (Exx. 3. 87.) to create a bridge to the next
Here, she used the sam n
phrase.
Both playeers slowed down

d at thee end of bar 56 so that the
t next phrrase comes in smoothly
y
a the red waves).
(Ex. 3. 88. the black and

159


b 49-56.
In the last section of tthe second part,

p Eibensschütz and Friedberg
F appplied rubatto at differeent
places. Eib
benschütz kept
k the sam
me speed at the
t beginninng of the seecond part and
a slowed
down in bar 67 (Ex. 3.
3 89. the red waves) when
w the melody reachees a long note. Friedbeerg
accelerated from bar 65 until thee first part of bar 67 (Exx. 3. 89. thee black arrow
w) and he
slowed doown at the ennd of bar 688 where dollce is indicaated (Ex. 3. 89. the blacck waves).
They bothh slowed dow
wn in bar 71 where rit.. appears. Itt is not veryy safe to juddge whether
Friedberg’’s intention for rushingg and slowinng down is tto do compeensating rubbato, as dollce
might hav
ve influenced him to sloow down in bar 68 and not the neeed to compeensate for th
he
time loss of
o the previous acceleraated bars. What
W is how
wever clear is
i an inform
mal approach
h to
rhythm in his playingg which reseembles that of Reinecke and Leschhetizky.
Eibenschüütz spread thhe chord in bar 67 afterr she slowedd down (Exx. 3. 89. the red zipper
line). The arpeggiatioon gives moore space to the long noote which lin
nks more sm
moothly to the
t
next phrasse. She splitt the chords as notated on the scoree in bars 699 and 70. Shhe also split the
first chordd in bar 70 ((Ex. 3. 89. thhe red zippeer line) wheen the meloddy arrives on
o a dotted
crotchet, so
s as to keepp the same ffeature as inn bars 69 annd the seconnd dotted crrotchet in baar
70. After slowing
s dow
wn from barr 71, Eibensschütz disloocated the fiirst notes inn both handss in
bar 72 (Ex
x. 3. 89. the red zipper line). Whenn the motivee in part onee turns up, she
s split thee
first chordd and made it sound verry light and
d lively. Am
mong all the places she applied
a
arpeggiation, the one in bar 67 iss slower thaan the otherss. In bar 67,, where the highest notte is

160

(f1-sharp),, she slowedd down and applies arppeggiation, which

w emphhasised the climax
c and
highlights the turningg point. On tthe contraryy, Freidbergg did not appply any arpeggiation evven
where the notation suuggests it (E
Ex. 3. 89. thee black circcles). The freedom withh which he
dealt with the notation also resem
mbles Reineecke’s playiing. In geneeral both plaayers seemeed
to use rubaato and arpeeggiation syystematicallly, althoughh in differennt places andd different
ways, andd make the liistener feel that these practices
p connstitute an integral
i aspect of their
style.

b 65-72.
When the theme in paart one appeears again, Eibenschütz

E z played in a faster speed:
while Frieedberg chose almost thee same speeed .
No. 4 Inteermezzo
In the beginning of thhis piece, Brrahms markked hairpin signs, which I interpretted as gentlle
accents annd also as innstructions ffor unequaliising the tripplets. In this way, a ‘caall-and-
response’ pattern is foormed. I speed up the thhird pair of ttriplets (Ex.. 3. 90. the arrow)
a and
compensaated the timee loss by sloowing down der to create a
n immediateely on the foourth in ord
randomisaation effect and avoid monotony,
m w
which is a grave
g dangerr in this pieece due to its
repetitive nature.

161


O 118 No. 4, bars 1-6.
n semiquavers we hearr in
I played thhe triplets uunequally à lla Reineckee mimickingg the uneven
his piano roll
r of Alla Turca. In thhe second seection the ‘call-and-ressponse’ featture persistss,
but this tim
me metamorphosed intto chords. I played the left
l hand chhord in bar 56
5 with a litttle
breadth to differentiatte it from otther chords (Ex. 3. 91.,, CD 4, tracck 22, 1’05’’) and give the
hairpin ag
gain its Brahhmsian spiriit. I approacched the pp e dolce sem
mpre sectionn with a neeed
for tonal unity,
u whichh I infused w
with broken
n chords to intensify
i its serenity annd endlessneess.
As mentiooned earlier,, dolce is asssociated wiith legato pllaying and tonal
t unity (Chapter
( 3
Eccossaiseen).

O 118 No. 4, bars 45-62.
In the thirdd section, thhe composeer marked arrpeggiation twice. The first is in bar 98 on thee
bass octavve followed with brokenn chords. I split this occtave chord very quicklly to provid
de
the end off the phrase with the reqquired mom
mentum, whhich acts as preparation
p for the più
agitato secction that coomes right after.
a The seecond writtten-out arpeeggiation in bar 117
functions as a vehiclee for clear delivery
d of thhe melodic line (Ex. 3.. 92.).

162


O 118 No. 4, bars 98, 117.
This perfoormace, beinng recordedd in the last phase of myy research, encapsulatees freedom and
a
spontaneitty in employying expresssive devicees. The arpeggiation I did
d is very personal
p andd
the differeence from thhis period annd the begin
nning of thee research iss that I movved from
‘planning’’ which choord to arpegggiate to a naatural and personal
p app
proach.
No. 5 Rom
manze
This piecee has three sections

s in tthe form: A--B-A1. Secttion A has chordal
c textture and it iss
marked esp
spressivo alm
most througghout, with a few bars of
o dolce at the
t end. Onnce again, I
chose to deliver
d the espressivo
e effect with arpeggiation
a n. I played thhe counter voice
v as
noticeablyy as the melody (bars 1-8) to createe a pseudo-orchestral sound
s aiminng to contrast it
with the next
n phrase.
The meloddy in the firrst phrase apppears in thee third phraase (bars 9-112). It startss with p with
h
crescendoo and più esppressivo. Inn general, I varied
v the breadth
b of my
m arpeggiattion to matcch
the markinngs, i.e. cresscendo, esppressivo, più
ù espressivoo. Interestinggly, on the fourth phrase
which is almost
a identtical to the ssecond one, there are no hairpin signs, but onlly a p dolcee
marking. Evidently,
E B
Brahms assoociates esprressivo playying with tem
mpo modifiication, as th
his
is what haairpins mighht be implyiing, i.e. timee inflectionss. I played lightly
l in this phrase an
nd
instead off holding on the notes c2 and a1, as I did in barr 5 (Ex. 3. 93.
9 the circlees, CD 4, track
23, 27’’ annd 29’’), I oonly prolongged slightlyy the g1 in baar 13 (Ex. 3.
3 93. the sq
quare, CD 4,
track 23, 1’08’’)
1 and gently rushhed at the ennd of this baar to preparee for the creescendo in bar
b
14.

163

Ex. 3. 93. Brahms, Roomanze Op. 118 No. 5, Bars 1-16.
In section B, the temppo changes to Allegrettto. A quasi--improvisatiion style is employed

here. I trieed to create an effect whereby
w the left accomppaniment keeeps a steaddy pace whille
the melodyy exhibits elements
e of independennce and impprovisation (see
( paragraaph 2.1.).
Although marked pp and diminuuendo, I playyed my trills influenced
d by early recordings and
a
piano rollss. The generral tendencyy of those players
p and singers wass to execute trills as fasst as

164

possible, which is what I did too.197 Modern players usually slow down in similar cases
following the dynamics markings.
No. 6 Intermezzo
The texture change in the middle section was my main concern in this piece. Modern
players tend to keep the same speed as in the first section, while Freund, who was in
Brahms’s circle, played it a lot faster and accelerated a lot near the end. As a result of this
influence, I played this section faster than the first and tried to establish a heroic marching
character.
Fig. 3. 3. Tempo comparison (counted in quavers).
Etelka Freund Glenn Gould My recording
(1950 recording) (1960 recording) (2014)
Bar 41 86 60 82
Bar 57 110 68 96
Brahms marked arpeggiation sign on a few chords. Freund loyally splits those chords only.
Surprisingly, Gould spreads seventeen chords in this section, including the marked ones
and more, which is not usual for a pianist of his generation. Evidently, remnants of older
practices must have still been alive in his time, perhaps heard in concerts given by older
players, or in records. Surely Gould employed arpeggiation to enhance the epic character of
the section (Ex. 3. 94. the circles, CD 4, track 24, 2’18’’). Gould recorded the piece only
ten years after Freund. However the sound and the general experience of the two
performances feel totally different. There is much freedom to Freund’s tempo choices,
while her sound is much drier. It is difficult to assess whether this is due to the specific

197
Here I am referring to performers such as, Willy Rehberg (specifically to his piano roll of Schumann’s ,
Davidsbundlertanze Op. 6.), Adelina Patti (Bellini’s ‘La Sonnambula’), Marie Soldat (Adagio from Spohr’s
Ninth Violin Concerto), and others.

165

instrumennt she used oor down to tthe recordinng equipmennt or simply

y a matter of using less
damper peedal. Gould’s recordingg sounds moore resonant and expressive in the middle
section whhere there iss higher conncentration of split chords. I split the
t chords more
m and more
m
rapidly as I was gettinng faster onn crescendoss. The chordds with an indicated arppeggiation
were spreaad more brooadly so as tto be differeent from thee rest.

O 118 No. 6, bars 41-60.

166

Beethoven
n Sonata Op.
O 110
I recordedd this sonataa near the ennd of my ressearch periood, when I had
h internallised the
performinng practices and the stylle analysed in the first two chapterrs. I consultted several
editions annd took account of Reiinecke’s com
mmentary inn my study of the sonaata, but I
mainly praactised and performed the whole piece
p from Brahms’
B ediition, althouugh I
instinctiveely employeed most of Bülow’s
B maarkings for reasons
r thatt will be expplained in due
d
course (seee bibliograpphy for the editions meentioned).
The first movement

m o the sonataa has a song
of g-like meloddy througho
out. Beethovven’s
markings cantabile, m
molto espresssivo, con amabiltà
a andd sanft attesst this and set
s the scenee
for a ‘singging style off performannce.’198 Reinnecke suggeested that inn the accomp
paniment
feature of the left hannd from bar 5: ‘with thee old rule giiven also by
y Hummel in his
Pianofortee School, the bass note of such an accompanim
ment-formuula must alw
ways be held
d
on, thus: -’
199
Further to Reinecke’ss suggestionn, I gave a slight

s accentt on the basss note so ass to display its
importancce and on the followingg three chord
ds I reproduuced the unrrhythmical effect heard
d in
his piano roll
r of Alla Turca.
In bar 12 Reinecke
R suuggested thaat the demissemiquaver broken choords ‘shouldd be rendereed
loudly, […
…] delicatelyy and slighttly acceleratted, […] so that the heaarer may im
magine he heears
somethingg like the following as aan inner parrt:-’
2
200

198
Reineckee (1897), p. 1229.
199
Ibid.
200
Ibid.

167

I acceleratted slightly in bar 17 annd slowed down

d at the end of bar 19 to createe a smooth link
l
to bar 20 where
w the teexture changges (Ex. 3. 95., CD 4, ttrack 26, 500’’).
Ex. 3. 95. Beethoven,, Sonata Opp. 110, Brahhms’s editioon, bars 11-220.
In bar 20 Bülow
B markked molto leegato e tran
nquillo in hiis edition (E
Ex. 3. 96.), while
w Brahm
ms
marked molto legato,, which is thhe same as in
i the first edition.
e I sloowed down from bar 200 to
realise thee tranquillo effect. I plaayed the dottted notes annd the synccopated notees somewhaat
broader too emphasise their imporrtance. Wheen the motivve shrinks to a two-slurrred-note

168

fragment at
a the end of bar 23, I pplayed the note
n pairs unnequally forr some addiitional
nuancing.
Ex. 3. 96. Beethoven,, Sonata Opp. 110, 1st movement,

m B
Bülow’s ediition, bars 19-24.
1
In bars 25-27 on the trills

t situateed in the basss, followedd Reinecke’ss guidance, i.e. I played
d
each bass trill withouut a turn andd the small notes
n in the right hand very quicklly towards the
t
melody nootes. In bar 28, the g1 hhas a staccatto dot. As per Reineckee’s suggestiion, I read thhe
dot as linee in order too create a deetached rath
her than stacccato effect,, as this wouuld be moree
suitable fo
or the end of the phrasee and staccaato would make
m it sound dry (Ex. 3.
3 97., CD 4,
4
201
track 26, 1’23’’).
1
Ex. 3. 97. Beethoven,, Sonata Opp. 110, 1st movement,

m B
Brahms’s eddition, bars 25-28.
The development of this

t movem
ment (startingg on bar 40)) is based onn a two-barr motive tak
ken
from the main
m theme which is reepeated eighht times. Reiinecke was very speciffic when it
comes to speed
s at thiss point:

201
Reineckee (1897), p. 1330.

169

In order to obviate the threatened danger of monotony, the rendering of just this
Development must not only follow the author’s directions very faithfully, but ought
to be made the most of by a discreet accelerating of the tempo during the first 14
bars, while an equally discreet ritardando has then, with the entry of the principal
Subject, to lead again into the original tempo.202
Also, this section is permeated with various dynamics and musical moments which allow
for a ‘Brahmsian’ treatment of hairpins: there is a counter tune in the left hand with the
double hairpin signs, where I accelerated at the crescendo and slowed down at the
diminuendo. In this way I tried to assign the ‘lingering’ and ‘accelerating’ qualities to the
hairpin as suggested by Hyun-su Kim, as well as the required rhythmic nuance.203 Before
the main theme, there is trill in the right hand which I slowed down following Lussy’s
advice (See end of paragraph 2.3) before entering the main subject in the original speed. As
a result, I did not adhere to Reinecke’s suggestion to apply a single progressive
accelerando, not only because I considered the treatment of hairpins a more fruitful
expressive device for that section, but mainly because at the stage when I recorded this
piece my musical instinct guided me towards that choice.
The scherzo-like second movement starts with two ‘humorous’ phrases with a six-note
descending-scale motive. Beethoven uses contrasting dynamics, i.e. groups of four bars of
piano followed by four bars of forte, to have an antiphonal result. In this passage I tried to
create an intense dialogue. I played the first phrase quietly and rhythmically to make it
sound like a question and I rushed the second phrase loudly to create an eager response. As
Cooper informs us, this largely humorous moment derives from Beethoven’s use of folk
songs as source of inspiration for his themes.204
The movement is in A-B-A form in the keys of F minor, D-flat major and F minor
respectively. In the middle section B, there are six phrases with irregular broken chords in
the right hand part. Bülow provided detailed fingering in this section and mentions in the
footnote: ‘Our fingering, with the utmost possible avoidance of the use of the thumb, will

202
Ibid.
203
Hyun-Su Kim (2012), p. 48.
204
Martin Cooper, Beethoven: the Last Decade, 1817-1827 (Oxford, 1970), pp. 190-1.

170

promote a more “flueent” legato.’205 Howeveer, althoughh not expliciitly indicateed, one may
y
judge from
m the fingerring that he only allowss the player to use the thumb
t on thhe black keyy of
g1-flat in bar
b 74, as thhere is no otther possible finger to go
g on that note
n (Ex. 3. 99a. the
circle). Thhe first editiion containss no fingerinng. There iss only one finger
fi mark in Brahms’
o d2 in bar 73. Interesttingly, only the thumb can be usedd on the notee
edition, i.ee. finger 4 on
before d2 (Ex.
( 3. 99b.. the circle).. It is hard to
t tell howevver whetherr Brahms minds
m the
thumb beiing used on black keys - in this casse on the e2-flat (Ex. 3.. 99b.). Brah
hms’ edtion
n,
being earlier than Büllow’s, mighht have beenn studied byy the latter and
a perhapss his
commentaary might bee a reaction against thee former’s fiingering. It was widelyy known thaat
Brahms was field, ‘a passsionate, big-
w not a ‘poolished techhnician,’ butt, accordingg to Crutchfi
yer,’206 whoo, as Schum
boned play mann said, ‘tturns the piaano into an orchestra.’207
2
Perhaps this
fingering might
m be a written
w mannifestation of
o that part oof his artistiic characterr. Other edittors
like Max Pauer,
P Heinnrich Schenkker and Fred
deric Lamond mark fin
nger 1 on soome black
keys. Alfrredo Casellaa marks fingger 3 on the c2- flat in bar
b 73, whicch shows th
hat he appliees
r as Büloow. Czerny only alloweed the use of
the same rule o the thumbb on black keys
k at big
intervals. Even
E in passsages with sixths in keeys with maany sharps or
o flats, ‘thee thumb musst
occasionallly be placeed on the blaack keys.’2008 It was verry common in the ninetteenth centu
ury,
not only inn keyboard but also in string playiing, for the players
p to strive
s for tonnal unity in
their perfoormances. B
Baillot in hiss L’art du violon
v used llong slurs in
n passages, such as thee
following,, to achieve tonal unityy:209
Ex. 3. 98. Viotti, Violin Concertoo No. 19, baars 294-3055.

205
Beethoveen, ed. Bülow (1875).
206
Crutchfieeld (1987), p. 14.
207
As quoted in Crutchfieeld (1987), p. 14.
208
Czerny (1839), II, p. 44.
209
Baillot, trrans. Goldberrg (1991), p. 125.

171

In early reecordings, sttring playerrs’ long phrasing is infuused with portamento for
f
homogeneeity of sound colour and tonal unitty. Czerny aassociated leegato playinng with the
smoothnesss of the human voice or nstrument.2110 In my perrformance I did not maake
o a wind in
strenuous efforts to avvoid the usee of thumb on
o black keeys as, due to
t the small size of my
hands, thiss would nott only be a qquestionablee way of suupporting leg
gato playing
g, but it would
also disturrb it. Finallyy, I refrained from appllying arpegggiation and dislocationn in order to
o
prevent fraagmenting the
t phrases and to inten
nsify the virrtuosity.
Ex. 3. 99aa. Beethovenn, Sonata Op.

O 110, 2ndd movementt, Bülow’s edition,
e barss 67-74.
Ex. 3. 99bb. Beethovenn, Sonata O

Op. 110, 2ndd movementt, Brahms’ edition,
e barss 67-74.
In the thirdd movemennt there are sseveral inteeresting diffferences betw

ween Bülow
w’s and
Brahms’ editions.
e In bar
b 5, Bülow
w adopted a notation which
w aims to
t clarify what
w Beethovven
envisagedd here, i.e. a syncopation effect. In contrast to that, Brahm
ms remained
d faithful to the
composer’’s original notation,
n whhich, howevver, creates ambiguitiess as to whatt the
appropriatte executionn should be.. The compo
oser markedd fingers 4 and
a 3 on thee tied notes, as
if he had wanted
w to crreate note ppairs with nuuanced slurss. Reineckee pointed ou
ut the
mony in regaards to whatt the actual execution
ambiguityy and providded a fascinaating testim
might hav
ve been in Beethoven’s
B time:

210
Czerny (1839), III, p. 119.

172

That Beethoven wished the second note struck is difficult to believe, because then
the tie would be quite superfluous, and because by striking the note again the
character of the syncopation is disturbed; and Beethoven has made use of this
direction at syncopations only. I have heard that on the old Vienna pianos still a
slight after-pressure has been possible even though the key had been pressed down
already once, and it is quite conceivable that in this manner a particular effect of
sound has been producible. As such a thing, however, is not feasible on modern
instruments, I am of opinion that one should put a repetition of the note with the
third finger out of the question, in order not to disturb the syncopation.211
Therefore, Bülow’s notation probably acts as a warning to the player not to disturb the
syncopation effect. It would have been intriguing to be able to try this effect in practice on a
Viennese piano, however, that was not possible in this project due to limited means and to
the fact that it suggests a topic on its own right, i.e. period instruments and their features.
Badura-Skoda, Schnabel and Schenker seem to be unaware of that particularity of Vienese
instruments mentioned by Reinecke, as they all unequivocally discard the fingering as
superfluous, ‘something between real and imagined’ or as ‘a silent change for expressive
reasons.’212 Jonathan Del Mar, who in his article reviewed and evaluated Badura-Skoda’s
ideas, mentioned the possibility of making the second note audible when two notes are tied
and marked with different finger numbers, using Czerny’s testimony as evidence (see
further discussion). However, Del Mar did not make any remark on the Vienese pianos (Ex.
3. 100a. and Ex. 3. 100b.).213

211
Reinecke (1897), p. 117.
212
Paul Badura-Skoda, ‘A Tie is a Tie is a Tie – Reflections on Beethoven’s Pairs of Tied Notes’, Early
Music, 16 (1988), pp. 84-8 (pp. 87-8).
213
Jonathan Del Mar, ‘Once Again: Reflections on Beethoven’s Tied-Note Notation’, Early Music, 32 (2004),
pp. 7-26.

173

Ex. 3. 1000a. Beethoveen, Sonata O

Op. 110, 3rd
d movemennt, Bülow’s edition, barrs 4-7.
Ex. 3. 1000b. Beethoven, Sonata O

Op. 110, 3rd movemennt, Brahms’ edition, barrs 4-7.
Bülow asssertively excclaimed in his

h footnotee marked ‘b)’ that:
It is
i absolutelyy inconceivvable how thhe corrupt presentation
p n of the text found in alll
preevious editioons has beeen able to hoold its own undisputed for so longg a time. Thee
dirrection to brring about hhere a “nervvous vibratioon”-see upoon this pointt our Remarrk
to the analogoous place in the coda off the Adagioo of Op. 1066_has a practical mean
ning
onlly, when thee note just tto be struckk enters as syyncope, on an unaccen
nted part of the
t
meeasure. Thiss is so evideent that we do
d not need to point to the examplle just
O 69. Whence arose th
meentioned, orr to Scherzoo in the Sonaata with viooloncello, Op. he
con
nfusion in thhe manuscrript is easilyy explained,, viz:_ From
m the changee of the

174

siggnature occuupying a larrge space th

herein. By thhe way: anddante, i.e. molto
m meno
adaagio
This discuussion, howeever, is not as clearly expressed

e ass in the folloowing one (footnote
( ‘cc’),
found in his
h edition of
o Beethovenn’s Piano Sonata Op. 106,
1 which is
i revelatory
y and mightt
confirm Reinecke’s
R c
claims aboutt the individdualities of older Viennnese instrum
ments (bar
165):214
Influencedd by the idea that thosee Viennese instruments

i had such ann interesting property, I
tried to im
mitate it by pplaying the rrepeated seccond note of
o each tie sllightly softeer. Reineckee
considers this type off execution tto be ‘out of
o the questiion’ as far as
a instrumennts of his tim
me
are concerrned (CD 4,, track 28, 447’’).215 How
wever, mostt modern piianists, inclu
uding olderr
twentieth--century-borrn ones, succh as Horow
witz, Gould and Brendeel, did makee the repeateed
second note audible. Finally,
F Czeerny inform
med us of Beeethoven’s wish
w for thee second note

214
Ludwig Van
V Beethoveen, Sonate für das Pianofortte Op. 106, edd. Hans Von Bülow
B (Stuttgaart: J. G. Cottaa,
1875).
215
Reineckee (1897), p. 1117.

175

of the pair of tied notes in the opening of the cello sonata Op. 69 (2nd movement; piano
part) to ‘be repeated in an audible manner,’ showing that this practice is used by Beethoven
and his circle.216 This is clearly a grey area where personal taste dominates. Interestingly,
Reinecke chose his words carefully on this issue, i.e. ‘I am of opinion.’
At Adagio, ma non troppo I played the left-hand chords with an orchestral sound colour in
mind, with somewhat more volume and clarity than we hear in modern recordings. This
was possible due to the Erard’s native quality, i.e. clear shaping and articulation in bass
registers that modern pianos are lacking, which also helps intensifying the harmonic
direction and development in the subtle bass line of this section. In any case, as Bülow
instructed, to convey this ‘deeply and tenderly passionate’ section, one has to adhere to the
composer’s marking ‘tutte le corde’ which clear denotes increased volume.217
Later on, when the same texture returns a semitone lower (in G minor), this time titled
Arioso, I played the left-hand chords a lot softer than the right hand following the
composer’s indication: ‘Ermattet, klagend, perdendo le forze, dolente’ (wearied, plaintive,
losing strength, with grief).218 Furthermore, I tried to convey the feeling of relief that this
section needs according to Bülow.219 I intentionally disturbed the natural nuanced-slur-like
execution of some paired notes in bar 118 by playing the second note stronger than the first
in order to enhance the crescendo effect and to push the phrase to create the required
sobbing feeling (Ex. 3. 101. the circles, CD 4, track 28, 5’54’’). In bar 119, I held the note
d2 longer and rushed the following two notes for the imperfect cadence following two of
Klauwell’s suggestions, i.e. diminuendo passages and cadences to be slightly decelerated
(Ex. 3. 101. the square, CD 4, track 28, 5’59’’).

216
Carl Czerny, On the Proper Performance of All Beethoven’s Works for the Piano, ed. Paul Badura-Skoda
(Vienna, 1970), p. 3.
217
Beethoven, ed. Bülow (1875), p. 108.
218
Reinecke (1897), p. 132.
219
Beethoven, ed. Bülow (1875), p. 108.

176

Ex. 3. 101. Beethovenn, Sonata Op. 110, 3rd movement, Brahms’ edition, barss 116-119.

177

4. Concluding remarks
Understanding one’s own technique and musicality as an artist is very important in a

practice-based project, as performance is both a tool and an object of and for research.
Using practice to carry out research in musical phenomena that were established by practice
a long time ago automatically puts the researchers into a state of self-analysis that will help
them distinguish aesthetic results originating in their own character from elements in their
playing that constitute products of their scholarly approaches to a work of art. Reinecke’s
performance preserves distinct Romantic qualities: the feeling of ‘fantasy’ together with a
colouristic, personal and sensual synthesis which ‘invite’ the players to be creative; to
dismiss themselves from strict and logical structures and trust his instincts. The results from
the research process followed here do not have an absolute outcome, in the sense that they
may instruct a single correct way of performance. They are suggesting historical practices
that have a direct impact in the style of playing, but, most importantly, may be used in
many different ways of interpretation. They suggest a different palette of colours to be used
in countless different combinations and create performances that belong to a distant sound
world which has little in common with our modern one. One’s own personal input and its
amalgamation with the historical practices discussed here may facilitate the creation of a
personal and interesting performance.
The style analysed here is codified in the notation of the pieces examined. Reinecke’s
performances exemplify this style to a highly artistic degree. It is a style that influenced
composers, players and whole eras of music making. It was, however, lost in the course of
time for several reasons. The analysis of those reasons may suggest an interesting topic in
its own right and, therefore, does not take place here, as it is not directly related to this
project. It is thus very worthwhile to try to recover some of this lost information.
Furthermore, passing it to those whom it may concern more, i.e. the practitioners, is not just
worthwhile but necessary. A project like the one at hand may assist those concerned to be
able to reassess the way they understand and perform Romantic music, or at least a part of
it.

178

This writing is structured in a way so that the different stages of the style pursued may be
pointed out clearly and in a progressive manner. While the three stages of my own
development in the project provide specific practical aids in achieving a proper execution
of the devices, they however underline the importance of personal effort in trying to
achieve a personalized period performance. There is no magical way to reach the goal of
stylizing one’s own playing according to nineteenth- and early twentieth-century principles
and this project is not suggesting any; as in every performing art, strenuous practice and
study may bring that desired result. On the contrary, the project presented a journey which
started with my mimicking old recorded performances and developed to a state of
internalization and spontaneous reproduction of performing elements, all embodied in my
recorded performances, where they were combined with my own personality. My efforts,
even some with less successful aesthetic results, were recorded and presented together with
the most successful ones in the form of sound recording media (CD), as well as in the
written thesis at hand, in order for the readers to immerse themselves in the dual topic of
theory and practice in the late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century piano performing
practice. Those semi-successful recording attempts were purposely included in the CDs so
that the readers may compare them in order to realise and participate in the creative way of
thinking that is required in order for a project like this to progress.
The notation of the repertoire considered here provided plenty of opportunities for creative
thinking. It is permeated with implications, hints and indirect instructions, the awareness of
which requires creative and ‘forensic’ thinking, equal to the one found in detective novels.
Only then they can be identified, fully appreciated, finally understood and ultimately be
utilised in practice. In this way theory will be exemplified by practice. Historical
performance as a field of research will become richer by a certain degree, as the gap
between scholars and performers will be shortened. Information that was not accessible
before to me and players in general, now becomes available as it is communicated in a level
that is not only aural or theoretical, but fundamentally practical. The process of acquiring
this information, however, has not only made a contribution to the research field, both by
itself directly and indirectly as an incentive for exploration of related topics, but it has also
made me a better player.

179

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182

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183

Journal articles and book chapters

Badura-Skoda, Paul, ‘A Tie is a Tie is a Tie – Reflections on Beethoven’s Pairs of Tied
Notes’, Early Music, 16 (1988), 84-8.
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Supplement – Instrument – Musik, No.302 (Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel, 1862-1890).
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Pianoforte, ed. Theodor Leschetizky (Leipzig: D. Rahter, 1880).

186

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& G. Bock, c. 1890).
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the Fingering and Marks of Execution Critically Revised with Instructive Notes by Dr.
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Execution and Explanatory Notes by Hans von Bülow, trans. Constance Bache, 3rd
enlarged and improved edn. (Munich: Jos. Aibl., 1889).
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Theodor Leschetizky (Hamburg und Leipzig: D. Rahter; trans. London: Alfred Lengnick,
1883).
__________Nocturne No. 5, arr. Carl Reinecke (Leipzig: Gebrüder Reinecke, n.d., 1889).
Liszt, Franz: Au Bord d’une Source, Album d’un Voyageur, S. 156, Book I: Impressions et
poésies, étude de vélocité – 2b. Au bord d’une source, ed. Schiller (Paris: Simon Richault,
1841).
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Library, 1910).
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1916).
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Pianoforte solo zum Concertvortrage bearbeitet [...] von Carl Reinecke (Leipzig: Breitkopf
& Härtel).
__________Wolfgang Amadeus Mozarts Werke, Serie XX: Sonaten und Phantasien für das
Pianoforte, Op.331 (Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel, 1878).
__________Wolfgang Amadeus Mozarts Werke, Serie XX: Sonaten und Phantasien für das
Pianoforte, Op.475 (Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel, 1878).
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1867).
Reinecke, Carl: Ballade Op.20 (Leipzig: Gebrüder Reinecke, n.d.).

187

Discography
Beethoven Ecossaisen, Carl Reinecke (Hupfeld piano roll 50018, 1905).

Carl Friedberg: the Brahms/Schumann Tradition, Carl Friedberg (Marston, 52015-2,
2003).
Carl Reinecke Ballade Op.20, Carl Reinecke (Hupfeld piano roll 50349, 1907).
John Field Nocturne No.4, Carl Reinecke (Hupfeld piano roll 51831, 1907).
Theodor Leschetizky Les deux Alouettes, Theodor Leschetizky (Welte piano roll 1203).
Mozart Alla Turca, Carl Reinecke (Hupfeld piano roll 50318, 1907).
Mozart Piano Sonata K.331, A 3rd Movement, ‘Rondo ά la Turque’, Carl Reinecke (Welte
piano roll 182).
Mozart Fantasia K.475, Carl Reinecke (Hupfeld piano roll 53916, 1905).
Mozart Fantasia K.475, Theodor Leschetizky (Welte piano roll 1192, 1905).
Mozart Larghetto, Carl Reinecke (Hupfeld piano roll 50774, 1905).
Robert Schumann – Kreisleriana, Adelina De Lara, in The pupils of Clara Schumann,
Fanny Davies, Ilona Eibenschütz, and Adelina de Lara (Pearl, Pavilion Records, CLA1000,
1992)
Toscha Seidel - the RCA Victor Recordings and Franck Sonata in A, Toscha Seidel and
Erich Wolfgang Korngold (Biddulph Lab, 138, 1999).
Schumann Kreisleriana Op.16 No.2, Carl Reinecke (Hupfeld piano roll 51247, 1905).
The Adelina de Lara (1872-1961) – Anthology, Adelina de Lara (Archive Documents,
ADCD, 2002).
The Piano G & Ts volume 4, Louis Diemer, Ilona Eibenschütz, Josef Hofmann, Wilhelm
Backhaus (APR, APR5534, 2006).
The Piano Masters: Ignaz Paderewski - Harold Bauer (1911-1942), Harold Bauer (Presto
Classical, 203170, 2011).

188

Appendix I CD Recordings
CD 1
Imitative recordings:
Short pieces performed in late nineteenth-century German style.
1. John Field: Nocturne No. 4 (1855 Erard historical style) [5’36’’] Recorded in April
2011
2. John Field: Nocturne No. 4 (Steinway) [2’30’’] Recorded in April 2011
3. John Field: Nocturne No. 4 (1855 Erard modern style) [2’20’’] Recorded in April
2011
4. Ludwig van Beethoven: Ecossaisen Woo83 (1855 Erard) [2’29’’] Recorded in April
2011
5. Ludwig van Beethoven: Ecossaisen Woo83 on (Steinway) [2’31’’] Recorded in
April 2011
6. John Field: Nocturne No. 5 (1855 Erard) [3’07’’] Recorded in April 2011
7. Carl Reinecke: Ballade Op. 20 (1855 Erard) [7’25’’] Recorded in April 2011
8. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Fantasia K. 475 (1855 Erard) [11’56’’] Recorded in
June 2011
Total timing: 37’54’’
The pieces were recorded in the Clothworkers Centenary Concert Hall, School of Music,
University of Leeds.
The pianos used for this recording are an 1855 Erard (Paris) and a Steinway & Sons
Concert Grand, Model D (274cm in length) owned by the University of Leeds.
Tracks 1 - 6: Recording Engineer: Kerry-Anne Kubisa. Recording Equipment: Apple -

MacBook Pro, Digidesign - Pro Tools LE, Alesis - HD24 Hard Disk Recorder, Mackie -
1402 VLZ Mixing Desk
Track 7: Recording Engineer: Philip Hardman.

189

CD 2
Experimental recordings 1:
Piano works by Schumann in late 19th-century German style.
1-8. Robert Schumann: Kreisleriana Op. 16 (1855 Erard) [31’18’’] Recorded in June
2012
9. Robert Schumann: Kreisleriana Op. 16 No. 2 (1855 Erard) [8’39’’] Recorded in
January 2014
10. Robert Schumann: Romance Op. 28 No. 2 (1855 Erard) [3’02’’] Recorded in
December 2012
11. Robert Schumann: Romance Op. 28 No. 2 (1855 Erard) [2’55’’] Recorded in
April 2014
The piano used for this recording is an 1855 Erard (Paris) owned by the University of
Leeds.
Tracks 1-2, 4-7, 10: Recording Engineer: Kerry-Anne Kubisa. Recording Equipment:
Apple - MacBook Pro, Digidesign - Pro Tools LE, Alesis - HD24 Hard Disk Recorder,
Mackie - 1402 VLZ Mixing Desk
Tracks 3, 8: Recording Engineer: Nektarios Rodosthenous.
Tracks 9, 11: Recording Engineer: Philip Hardman.

190

CD 3
Experimental recordings 2:
Brahms and Mendelssohn: piano works in late 19th-century German style.
1-3. Johannes Brahms: Three Intermezzi Op. 117 (1855 Erard) [15’32’’] Recorded
in April 2013
4-6. Johannes Brahms: Three Intermezzi Op. 117 (Steinway) [16’10’’] Recorded in
April 2013
7. Johannes Brahms: Intermezzo Op. 117 No. 1 (1870s Erard) [4’52’’]
Recorded in April 2013
8. Felix Mendelssohn: Rondo Capriccioso Op. 14 (1855 Erard) [6’23’’]
Recorded in December 2013
9-10. Felix Mendelssohn: Prelude (1870s Erard) and Fugue (1855 Erard) Op. 35 No.
1 [9’03’’] Recorded in December 2013
Total timing: 52’
The pianos used for this recording are an 1855 Erard (Paris), an 1870s Erard (London) and
a Steinway & Sons Concert Grand, Model D (274cm in length) owned by the University of
Leeds.
Recording Engineer: Kerry-Anne Kubisa. Recording Equipment: Apple - MacBook Pro,

Digidesign - Pro Tools LE, Alesis - HD24 Hard Disk Recorder, Mackie - 1402 VLZ
Mixing Desk

191

CD 4
Mature recordings:
Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schumann and Brahms: piano works in late 19th-

century German style.
1-13. Robert Schumann: Kinderszenen Op. 15 (1855 Erard) [17’09’’] Recorded in

January 2014
14. Johannes Brahms: Capriccio Op. 76 No. 1 (1855 Erard) [3’23’’] Recorded in
January 2014
15. Robert Schumann: Warum? Op. 12 No. 3 (1855 Erard) [2’06’’] Recorded in
January 2014
16-18. Felix Mendelssohn: Songs without Words Op. 102 No. 4, 5, 6 (1855 Erard)
[5’09’’] Recorded in June 2014
19-24. Johannes Brahms: 6 Klavierstücke Op. 118 [22’19’’] No. 2 (1870s Erard), No.
3 (1855 Erard) Recorded in December 2013, No. 1, 4, 5, 6 (1855 Erard)
Recorded in April 2014
25. Johannes Brahms: Intermezzo Op. 118 No. 2 (1855 Erard) [5’36’’] Recorded in
April 2014
26-28. Ludwig van Beethoven: Sonata Op. 110 (1855 Erard) [18’01’’] Recorded in
June 2014
The piano used for this recording is an 1855 Erard (Paris) owned by the University of
Leeds.
Tracks 1-15: Recording Engineer: Kerry-Anne Kubisa. Recording Equipment: Apple -

MacBook Pro, Digidesign - Pro Tools LE, Alesis - HD24 Hard Disk Recorder, Mackie -
1402 VLZ Mixing Desk
Tracks 16-29: Recording Engineer: Philip Hardman.

Miaoyin Qu - PHD EThesis

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Piano Playing in the German Tradition, 1840-1900: Rediscovering

the Un-notated Conventions of Performance

Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of

The University of Leeds

I express my thankfulness to the recording engineers and friends Kerry-Anne Kubisa,

I am indebted to my Master’s supervisor at the Leeds College of Music, Marion Raper

Finally, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my husband, Ilias Devetzoglou,

This practice-based project investigates performing practices in German piano

List of musical examples

Ex. 2. 1a. Mozart, Fantasia K. 475, bars 1-5. Reinecke, 1905……..………………….38

Ex. 2. 1b. Mozart, Fantasia K. 475, bars 1-5. Leschetizky, 1905……………………..38

Ex. 2. 2. Mozart, Rondo Alla Turca, bars 1-8. Reinecke, 1907.………………….…....39

Ex. 2. 3. Field, Nocturne No. 4, bars 1-8. Reinecke, 1907……………………,,.……40

Ex. 2. 4. Field, Nocturne No. 4, bar 11. Reinecke, 1907……………………..….…..…44

Ex. 2. 5. Field, Nocturne No. 4, bar 14. Reinecke, 1907…………….……..….……..44

Ex. 2. 6. Field, Nocturne No. 4, bars 19-20. Reinecke, 1907……………….….…..…45

Ex. 2. 7. Field, Nocturne No. 4, bar 25. Reinecke, 1907……………..…..…..….…..…45

Ex. 2. 8. Field, Nocturne No. 4, bars 41-43. Reinecke, 1907……………..….…...……46

Ex. 2. 9. Reinecke, Ballade Op. 20, bars 12-26……………………………........……47

Ex. 2. 14. Schubert, ‘Erstarrung’ Die Winterreise………...…………….….........……59

Ex. 2. 15. Mendelssohn, Lied ohne Worte, Op. 85 No. 1..……..………..….........……59

Ex. 2. 18a. Field, Nocturne No. 4, bars 16-18………….……………………….……...65

Ex. 2. 18b. Field, Nocturne No. 4, bars 16-18. Reinecke, 1907…..………………….65

Ex. 2. 19a. Mozart, Larghetto, Reinecke’s edition, bars 13-17………….……...…….67

Ex. 2. 20a. Mozart, Larghetto, Reinecke’s edition, bars 30-35………….………..…68

Ex. 3. 1. Field, Nocturne No. 4, bar 13. Reinecke, 1907..……..………..........……73

Ex. 3. 2. Field, Nocturne No. 4, bar 14. Reinecke, 1907..……..…….….........……74

Ex. 3. 3. Field, Nocturne No. 4, bars 45-48. Reinecke, 1907..……..…………...……74

Ex. 3. 4. Beethoven, Ecossaisen Woo 83, bars 1-2. Reinecke, 1905..……..…….........77

Ex. 3. 5. Beethoven, Ecossaisen Woo 83, bars 14-16. Reinecke, 1905..……..….........77

Ex. 3. 6. Beethoven, Ecossaisen Woo 83, bars 17-32. Reinecke, 1905..……..…..........78

Ex. 3. 9. Beethoven, Ecossaisen Woo 83, bars 97-112. Reinecke, 1905..…………......79

Ex. 3. 13b. Field, Nocturne No. 5, Reinecke’s edition, bars 1-2……………..…….....83

Ex. 3. 13c. Field, Nocturne No. 5, Liszt’s edition, bars 1-2………………..…….....83

Ex. 3. 14b. Field, Nocturne No. 5, Reinecke’s edition, bars 22-24…………..…….....84

Ex. 3. 14c. Field, Nocturne No. 5, Liszt’s edition, bars 1-2………..……..………......84

Ex. 3. 15. Reinecke, Ballade Op. 20, bars 67-74…………….………………..…….....86

Ex. 3. 16. Reinecke, Ballade Op. 20, bars 141-150…………….……………..…….....87

Ex. 3. 17. Mozart, Fantasia K. 475, bars 19-20…………..…………………………...88

Ex. 3. 18. Mozart, Fantasia K. 475, bars 23-26…………..…………………………...88

Ex. 3. 19. Mozart, Fantasia K. 475, bars 36-41…………..………………………..…...88

Ex. 3. 20. Mozart, Fantasia K. 475, bars 127-138………..……………….………..…90

Ex. 3. 41. Brahms, Intermezzo Op. 117 No. 1, bars 1-4………………………………112

Ex. 3. 42. Brahms, Intermezzo Op. 117 No. 2, bars 1-9………………………………114

Ex. 3. 43a. Brahms, Intermezzo Op. 117 No. 2, bars 24-38…………………………..115

Ex. 3. 44a. Brahms, Intermezzo Op. 117 No. 3, bars 1-10………………………….117

Ex. 3. 45a. Mendelssohn, Rondo Capriccioso Op. 14, bars 1-8……………….……...119

Ex. 3. 46. Mendelssohn, Rondo Capriccioso Op. 14, bars 130-143………………….120

Ex. 3. 49. Schumann, Kinderszenen Op. 15 No. 1, bars 1-8.........................................122

Ex. 3. 50. Schumann, Kinderszenen Op. 15 No. 2, bars 1-8.........................................124

Ex. 3. 51. Schumann, Kinderszenen Op. 15 No. 2, bars 17-20.....................................124

Ex. 3. 52. Schumann, Kinderszenen Op. 15 No. 3, bars 1-8.........................................125

Ex. 3. 53. Schumann, Kinderszenen Op. 15 No. 4, bars 1-17.......................................127

Ex. 3. 54. Schumann, Kinderszenen Op. 15 No. 5, bars 1-9……………….…………128

Ex. 3. 55. Schumann, Kinderszenen Op. 15 No. 5, bars 19-24.....................................128

Ex. 3. 56. Schumann, Kinderszenen Op. 15 No. 6, bars 1-16.......................................130

Ex. 3. 57. Schumann, Kinderszenen Op. 15 No. 7, bars 1-2.........................................130

Ex. 3. 58. Schumann, Kinderszenen Op. 15 No. 7, bars 1-24…………………….….132

Ex. 3. 59. Schumann, Kinderszenen Op. 15 No. 8, bars 25-33.....................................133