> Most of us, I believe, are weary - maybe even wary -
> of such mythic slavish adherence to historical practice
> as THE ANSWER to how any given work is to be
> performed. No piece of music performed in our time
> can ever be "an authentic historical reproduction" and
> it's high time that more people realize the fallacy
> behind such ideas. Lately, the terminology more
> favored refers to "historically informed performance"
> which at least carries a certain truth-in-labelling.

I'd hope that most are not wary of the search for composers'
intentions for their music.

In my view, there are things about interpretation that are a
matter of opinion and those which are based on rather firm
assumptions. At any given time, the balance of opinion and
assumption is different from other times, places, and people.

Slavish adherence to what someone assumes to be the "one and
only" approach is not only boring, but often proves to be
wrong in time. And yet, in my opinion it is equally disrespectful
to composers not to attempt to come to the center of their
intentions, and play from there. It depends on the composer.
If someone is playing Liszt, it's expected that they will use the
music as a medium to show off their technique. Bach, on the
other hand, seems to have wanted a modest discipline applied
to his obviously joyful displays of technique.

To me, interpretation of a piece from the past involves a
disciplined search to find the assumptions of a given time, and
the limits placed on personal freedom. I believe there is no such
thing as a definitive performance. I also believe that in his
lifetime, Bach would have changed his mind and played his
pieces differently. He certainly changed his mind enough times
on the composition of his own pieces.

And yet, there are things which are much less a matter of
opinion, such as articulated playing. Now the question of HOW
articulated is another matter. Touch is something that will and
would have varied with every person. But we can be pretty sure
that they did not play the way I did when I was young, from
the Dupre editions. Is that kind of playing valid? Yes, but it's
of a different mindset. Having since learned the beauty of
articulated playing of early music on trackers tuned in non-equal
temperaments,
I would not go back to what I did 25 years ago.

One thing is for sure, the "authentic" performances that have no
personality at all are pretty deadly. My own search is to have the
discipline of a historian but the personality of a real performer
(Virgil Fox comes to mind, though I would not at this time want
to play using the same techniques.)

Thomas Dressler

http://www.thomasdressler.com

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