Page 115 - Weiss, Jernej, ur. 2018. Nova glasba v “novi” Evropi med obema svetovnima vojnama ?? New Music in the “New” Europe Between the Two World Wars. Koper/Ljubljana: Založba Univerze na Primorskem in Festival Ljubljana. Studia musicologica Labacensia, 2
P. 115
work and performance ...
yet, and cannot be, a subject of admiration. For a parallel to this claim we
can look into the theory of the theatre. In 1931 Otakar Zich wrote in his
work The Aesthetics of Drama:
“The dramatic text is the beginning of a long and difficult march
through which the dramatic work in the form of theatre perfor-
mance is executed”.4
But back to the music, is the artist really a mere executor of the musical
text? Hardly, after all, the musical writing has to be realized. The score is a
guide to action, however, it does not choose the means by which the action
is carried out. There is a freedom of choice concerning the musical instru-
ments and this detailed specification is missing from the notation. For ex-
ample fingering and the way of realization of technical and execution spec-
ifications (espresivo, legato etc.) belong into the arsenal of viable means.
The similar case are the passages of the same prescribed dynamics, for ex-
ample in prescribed forte not all tones of a passage may be played with the
same intensity.
Criteria of the quality of musical interpretation are seen in relatively
perfect execution of notation, perfect delivery, the level of virtuosity and in-
dividuality of expression. This is associated with both, capturing the com-
poser’s individuality and also the exercise of the performers own approach.
I also owe you an answer to a comment stated in the beginning. The
task of my colleagues from the “Technical faculty“ was to prepare suita-
ble software that would note down tempo and dynamics of a musical re-
cord and then convert them into a clear chart. They didn’t yet achieve it. It
is therefore necessary to be patient. Probably it is not necessary to create so-
phisticated software; much more important is the method of reading the
results. Register necessary data is one thing, searching for the meaning in
them is second and justifying them as an performance style of certain time
period is third.
Bibliography
Bowen, José Antonio. “Tempo, duration, and flexibility: Techniques in the
analysis of performance.” Journal of Musicological Research 16, 2 (1996):
111–156.
Cook, Nicholas. “The Conductor and the Theorist: Furtwängler, Schenker, and
the irst Movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony“. In The Practice of
4 Otakar Zich, Estetika dramatického umění (Praha: Spupraphon, 1986), 59.
113
yet, and cannot be, a subject of admiration. For a parallel to this claim we
can look into the theory of the theatre. In 1931 Otakar Zich wrote in his
work The Aesthetics of Drama:
“The dramatic text is the beginning of a long and difficult march
through which the dramatic work in the form of theatre perfor-
mance is executed”.4
But back to the music, is the artist really a mere executor of the musical
text? Hardly, after all, the musical writing has to be realized. The score is a
guide to action, however, it does not choose the means by which the action
is carried out. There is a freedom of choice concerning the musical instru-
ments and this detailed specification is missing from the notation. For ex-
ample fingering and the way of realization of technical and execution spec-
ifications (espresivo, legato etc.) belong into the arsenal of viable means.
The similar case are the passages of the same prescribed dynamics, for ex-
ample in prescribed forte not all tones of a passage may be played with the
same intensity.
Criteria of the quality of musical interpretation are seen in relatively
perfect execution of notation, perfect delivery, the level of virtuosity and in-
dividuality of expression. This is associated with both, capturing the com-
poser’s individuality and also the exercise of the performers own approach.
I also owe you an answer to a comment stated in the beginning. The
task of my colleagues from the “Technical faculty“ was to prepare suita-
ble software that would note down tempo and dynamics of a musical re-
cord and then convert them into a clear chart. They didn’t yet achieve it. It
is therefore necessary to be patient. Probably it is not necessary to create so-
phisticated software; much more important is the method of reading the
results. Register necessary data is one thing, searching for the meaning in
them is second and justifying them as an performance style of certain time
period is third.
Bibliography
Bowen, José Antonio. “Tempo, duration, and flexibility: Techniques in the
analysis of performance.” Journal of Musicological Research 16, 2 (1996):
111–156.
Cook, Nicholas. “The Conductor and the Theorist: Furtwängler, Schenker, and
the irst Movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony“. In The Practice of
4 Otakar Zich, Estetika dramatického umění (Praha: Spupraphon, 1986), 59.
113
