I would open a discussion that will surely never end, but...
How should an interpreter behave when faced with a score that appears like a new flower discovered in the forest?
Michelangeli used to say... thank the composer, not me... or rather, he tried to "restore" the score with all the intentions of the one who had written and created it, but is that the only direction?
Personally, as I have already written, towards every score and in every piece, I feel an incredible attraction.
Until I am able to master and perform the piece, I have the idea that someone has stolen a piece of me. In fact, I immediately try to make it mine again... it is a very strange thing but... I have never felt a piece that I studied or performed by ear quite like the creation of someone else... is it possible? The pieces I play are mine and they are not different from me.
Perhaps my conception is absurd, but seriously, sometimes I would feel like modifying them as I please on certain details.
The question is... so... how many types of approaches are there to a score? And where does interpretive freedom end? Since the interpreter is the soul of a "dead" page... a page of mere paper... isn't it the music itself? That is to say... that music? Is the interpreter not the music? Don't we choose a piece to play because that one... and not another... is "our piece"?
On this interesting discussion, I feel I can answer you with expert knowledge, having played some compositions by composers who are members of the forum as well as those who are not. Today we can interact with composers; for those of yesterday, alas, it is not possible. For me, this is certainly an interesting experience because I can try to make other people's intentions my own, with the possibility of receiving feedback from the person who wrote that thing... Being able to interact with the composer makes it possible to let them hear what we have played and receive indications regarding the intentions in return. "Did I understand correctly what you wrote? Was that also what you thought when you composed it? Is the tempo shift correct?". Composers usually write all the necessary information for interpretation in the score; then, obviously, we are not machines, so at the time of performance, there will also be something of me, otherwise it becomes a MIDI performance.
Many considerations also arise from the composers themselves... Some give you free rein, others pull the reins a little. Some call you to compliment you because you gave a sense that they had not considered, others suggest changing some things in certain passages. There are points where the composer's intentions are very clear, especially when there are particular harmonic tensions; in other cases, it is not so immediate and one tries to find a convincing nuance while always staying within the tracks laid down by the composer... In the end, it is simply about interacting and finding common ground, a great advantage that was not possible for the music of the great composers of the past. I have played some pieces by Frank, one by GPR, a couple of Piccinesco, and some by composers not registered to the forum. It would be interesting to hear especially their opinion on this subject.
T
ttw
Member
Reply 3 by ttw
Posts
277
... as Michelangeli and Ciccolini used to say: "The applause belongs to the Author. We come in second place and disappear. The Author remains."
Z
Zazza
Member
Reply 4 by Zazza
Posts
250
The most virtuoso results have always been obtained from the cohesive work between composer and performer, and in the past it happened to coincide with a single person....Paganini, Liszt, Chopin himself, but also later with Berio and his wife, Messiaen and his wife, etc.
S
stefano
Member
Reply 5 by stefano
Posts
205
I was expecting some comments from Frank and the other composers. It seems to me like open ground that leaves room for many considerations. Certainly, the title is not very satisfying... Comparing the pianist to the Butler...
N
nancy
Member
Reply 6 by nancy
Posts
521
In my opinion, a composition can have different interpretations that give it value! A score and therefore the composer's ideas come to life thanks to the performer who, while respecting them, can in any case enhance them with their own sensitivity. Composer-performer have complementary roles and are not subordinate to one another.
