Anna Scott

"Now, with expression...": Historically-Informed Practices in the Late Piano Music of Johannes Brahms.

The tenets of the historically-informed performance practice movement have begun to be used to free later repertoires from both the mannerist excesses and positivistic rigidity of 20th century mainstream pianism. With specific reference to the late piano pieces of Johannes Brahms, what have been the musical results of both mainstream practices (those that evolve from generation to generation without input from outside movements) and those practices based on the intervention of ethical principles such as authenticity? I propose that while important musicological, editorial and instrument-based work has been done, each movement has been shaped by unconscious shifts in taste, resulting in performances that are stylistically discordant with those evidenced by the historical recordings of Brahms´ pupils and the personal writings of members of the composer´s inner circle.

While both mainstream and historically-informed Brahmsian approaches are based on some notion of authenticity, the historical letters and recollections have been largely neglected despite the fact that they contain a multitude of references to some of the most potent themes in the authenticity debate: period vs. modern instruments; the authority of score, composer and performer; Brahms´ own performing style and that of his pupils; original inspirations and metaphorical associations for the late piano pieces; and thousands of performative directions concerning expression, tempo, rubato, phrasing, fingering and tone. On the other hand, the recordings of Brahms´ pupils leave no doubt of the drift in taste that has occurred, yet they too have been dismissed - perhaps because they raise a number of sonic possibilities quite at odds with both mainstream and historically-informed approaches. Thus, what insights may be gained by a close examination of the historical letters and recordings, and do the recordings evidence the performing practices described in the letters? Can a comparative analysis of performances of those works found on the historical recordings reveal the origins and consequences of stylistic drift? And ultimately, can this information be of any use to mainstream performers today?

My methods will include comparative recordings analyses, a thorough investigation of the letters and recollections of Brahms´ circle, practice journals detailing my trial-and-error approach to testing this information at the piano, recordings of my style-copying experiments, as well as public performances and lecture-recitals.