Classical performance practice in the ’30s
Posted in Music on December 14th, 2010 by admin – Be the first to comment
Drawing of Furtwangler by Lisl Steiner
Drawing of Furtwangler by Lisl Steiner
Notes from an eyewitness
Theses, monographs and books have been written about orchestral and instrumental performance practice in the Baroque, Classical, and even the Romantic eras. Indeed, the entire authentic performance and authentic instrument movement, the ‘period performance’ movement, is an attempt to recreate performances of the past. This movement exploded into academic and musical popularity in the ’60s and early ’70s, and resulted in a great deal of textual research and, on the whole, progress in the authentic recreation of historical instruments.
The recreation of performance practice, however, was disappointing. Thousands of recordings were made by ‘academically informed’ conductors and soloists. Too many were thin, metronomic, and dry as dust. read more »
