After the golden age: the decline of romantic pianism and the dawn of modern performance

Kenneth Hamilton's Book Engagingly And Lucidly Dissects The Oft-invoked Myth Of A Great Tradition, Or Golden Age Of Pianism. It Is Written Both For Players And For Members Of Their Audiences By A Pianist Who Believes That Scholarship And Readability Can Go Hand-in-hand. Hamilton Discusses In Meticulous Yet Lively Detail The Performance-style Of Great Pianists From Liszt To Paderewski, And Delves Into The Far-from-inevitable Development Of The Piano Recital. He Entertainingly Recounts How Classical Concerts Evolved From Exuberant, Sometimes Riotous Events Into The Formal, Funereal Trotting Out Of Predictable Pieces They Can Be Today, How An Often Unhistorical Respect For The Score Began To Replace Pianists' Improvisations And Adaptations, And How The Clinical Custom Arose That An Audience Should Be Seen And Not Heard. Pianists Will Find Food For Thought Here On Their Repertoire And The Traditions Of Its Performance.^ Hamilton Chronicles Why Pianists Of The Past Did Not Always Begin A Piece With The First Note Of The Score, Nor End With The Last. He Emphasizes That Anxiety Over Wrong Notes Is A Relatively Recent Psychosis, And Playing Entirely From Memory A Relatively Recent Requirement. Audiences Will Encounter A Vivid Account Of How Drastically Different Are The Recitals They Attend Compared To Concerts Of The Past, And How Their Own Role Has Diminished From Noisily Active Participants In The Concert Experience To Passive Recipients Of Artistic Benediction From The Stage. They Will Discover When Cowed Listeners Eventually Stopped Applauding Between Movements, And Why They Stopped Talking Loudly During Them. The Book's Broad Message Proclaims That There Is Nothing Divinely Ordained About Our Own Concert-practices, Programming And Piano-performance Styles. Many Aspects Of The Modern Approach Are Unhistorical-some Laudable, Some Merely Ludicrous.^ They Are Also Far Removed From Those Fondly, If Deceptively, Remembered As Constituting A Golden Age [publisher Description] Great Tradition, Grand Manner, Golden Age -- Creating The Solo Recital -- With Due Respect -- A Suitable Prelude -- A Singing Tone -- The Letter Of The Score -- Lisztiana -- Postlude : Post-liszt. Kenneth Hamilton. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 283-292) And Index. ## Abstract This book dissects the oft-invoked myth of a romantic Golden Age of Pianism. It discusses the performance-style of great pianists from Liszt to Paderewski and Busoni, and delves into the far-from-inevitable development of the piano recital. The book recounts how classical concerts evolved from exuberant, sometimes riotous events into the formal, funereal trotting out of predictable pieces they can be today; how an often unhistorical “respect for the score” began to replace pianists' improvizations and adaptations; and how the clinical custom arose that an audience should be seen and not heard. The book chronicles why pianists of the past did not always begin a piece with the first note of the score, nor end with the last. It emphasizes that anxiety over wrong notes is a relatively recent psychosis, and that playing entirely from memory a relatively recent requirement. The book presents a vivid tale of how drastically different are the recitals of the present compared to concerts of the past, and how their own role has diminished from noisily active participants in the concert experience to passive recipients of artistic benediction from the stage. The book's broad message proclaims that there is nothing divinely ordained about our own concert-practices, programming, and piano-performance styles. Many aspects of the modern approach are unhistorical — some laudable, some merely ludicrous. They are also far removed from those fondly remembered as constituting a Golden Age. "Dissecting the oft-invoked myth of a Great Tradition, or Golden Age, of Pianism, renowned pianist and author Kenneth Hamilton discusses in lively detail the performance style of great pianists from Liszt to Paderewski. He delves deep into the far-from-inevitable development of the piano recital, recounting how classical concerts evolved from exuberant, sometimes riotous events into the formal, funereal trotting out of predictable pieces they can be today, how an often unhistorical "respect for the score" began to replace pianists' improvisations and adaptations, and how the clinical custom arose that an audience should be seen and not heard." "Written both for players and for members of their audience, the book provides pianists with food for thought on their repertoire and the traditions of its performance. Hamilton chronicles why pianists of the past did not always begin a piece with the first note of the score, nor end with the last. He emphasizes that anxiety over wrong notes is a relatively recent psychosis and that playing entirely from memory is a relatively recent requirement. Audience members will find a vivid account of how drastically the recitals they attend today differ from concerts of the past. They will learn also how their own role as audience has diminished - from noisily active participants in the concert experience to passive recipients of artistic benediction from the stage, no longer applauding between movements or talking loudly during them."--Jacket Contents......Page 12 List of Figures and Music Examples......Page 14 ONE: Great Tradition, Grand Manner, Golden Age......Page 20 TWO: Creating the Solo Recital......Page 50 THREE: With Due Respect......Page 90 FOUR: A Suitable Prelude......Page 118 FIVE: A Singing Tone......Page 156 SIX: The Letter of the Score......Page 196 SEVEN: Lisztiana......Page 242 EIGHT: Postlude: Post-Liszt......Page 272 Bibliography......Page 300 B......Page 310 C......Page 312 G......Page 313 H......Page 314 L......Page 315 M......Page 316 P......Page 317 R......Page 318 S......Page 319 U......Page 320 Z......Page 321 Hamilton dissects the oft invoked myth of a 'Great Tradition' or Golden Age of pianism. He then goes on to discuss the performance style great pianists, from Liszt to Paderewski, and delves into the far from inevitable development of the piano recital