Exposition

Unraveling Musical Relativity: Following in the Footsteps of 19th-century Conductors (2021)

Andreas Hansson
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About this exposition

When listening to early orchestral recordings, we are immediately confronted with a musical reality far detached from our own. Many aspects of these recordings sound quite alien to modern listeners and performers alike. Yet, the same recordings are often remarkably expressive and display great freedom which breathes fresh life into works which we now sometimes tend to take for granted. This expressiveness and freedom seems to a great degree to stem from a very different, more fluent, concept of musical time. In this research I wanted to understand these recordings better, to see what can be learned from them and how it can be applied in modern practice. I asked the question: how can analyses of recordings by Felix Weingartner, Willem Mengelberg and Pierre Monteux aid the use of 19th-century stylistic traits in modern orchestral performance practices? This research question was answered by first conducting detailed quantitative analysis on unnotated use of tempo flexibility and portamento on recordings made by these conductors. This was followed by an experimental practice-based phase where these findings were applied. The most striking finding of my analyses is the ways in which all three conductors used un-notated tempo flexibility. Using the structuralist and rhetorical terminology of Nicholas Cook (2013), in slightly altered form, their interpretations all exhibit rhetorical tendencies, with Weingartner being the most structuralist, Mengelberg the most rhetorical, and Monteux somewhere in the middle. Additionally, several concrete style elements connected to the use of unnotated tempo flexibility were identified, internalized, and applied in the practice-based phase. Having engaged deeply with the interpretations of these three conductors, I now feel freer to make my own interpretations without feeling restricted by traditions or modern performance practices. Most importantly, this takes the form of my increased use of un-notated tempo flexibility as an expressive tool.
typeresearch exposition
keywordsconducting, 19th century, orchestra, Aesthetics & Cultural Discourse
date08/03/2021
published31/05/2021
last modified31/05/2021
statuspublished
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
urlhttps://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/1185138/1185150
doihttps://doi.org/10.22501/koncon.1185138
published inKC Research Portal
portal issue1. Master Research Projects


Copyrights

nameUnraveling Musical Relativity Following in the Footsteps of 19th century Conductors Corrected
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagespdf
nameAudio clip 3.1.2.1.1, Snippet of Weingartner’s recording of Beethoven’s Symphony No.3, movement 1, showing gradual tempo shift in bars 61-65
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagesaudio
nameAudio clip 3.1.2.1.2, Snippet of Weingartner’s recording of Beethoven’s Symphony No.3, movement 1, showing sudden tempo shift in bar 45
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagesaudio
name(Audio clip 3.1.2.1.3, Snippet of Weingartner’s recording of Beethoven’s Symphony No.3, movement 1, showing early second beat in bars 19-21
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagesaudio
nameAudio clip 3.1.2.1.4, Snippet of Weingartner’s recording of Beethoven’s Symphony No.3, movement 1, showing prolonged third beat in bars 85-89
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagesaudio
nameAudio clip 3.1.2.1.5, Snippet of Weingartner’s recording of Beethoven’s Symphony No.3, movement 1, showing emphasis on accentuation in bars 38-42
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagesaudio
nameAudio clip 3.1.2.1.6, Snippet of Weingartner’s recording of Beethoven’s Symphony No.3, movement 1, showing emphasis on cantabile material in bars 83-98
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagesaudio
name(Audio clip 3.1.2.1.7, Snippet of Weingartner’s recording of Beethoven’s Symphony No.3, movement 1, showing portamento in cello in bar 5
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagesaudio
nameAudio clip 3.1.2.2.1, Snippet of Weingartner’s recording of Beethoven’s Symphony No.3, movement 2, showing prolonged upbeat in conjunction with shortened preceding beat in upbeat to bar 8
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagesaudio
nameAudio clip 3.1.2.2.2, Snippet of Weingartner’s recording of Beethoven’s Symphony No.3, movement 2, showing prolonged upbeat without shortening of the preceding beat in upbeat to bar 1i
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagesaudio
nameAudio clip 3.1.2.2.3, Snippet of Weingartner’s recording of Beethoven’s Symphony No.3, movement 2, showing upbeat stretched over two beats in bar 1i
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagesaudio
nameAudio clip 3.1.2.2.4, Snippet of Weingartner’s recording of Beethoven’s Symphony No.3, movement 2, showing portamento in violins in bar 80
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagesaudio
nameAudio clip 3.1.2.3.1, Snippet of Weingartner’s recording of Beethoven’s Symphony No.3, movement 3, showing sudden tempo shift inversely connected to musical texture in bar 93
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagesaudio
nameAudio clip 3.1.2.3.2, Snippet of Weingartner’s recording of Beethoven’s Symphony No.3, movement 3, showing alternating parts of the orchestra start slow and speed up in bars 127-142
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagesaudio
nameAudio clip 3.1.2.3.3, Snippet of Weingartner’s recording of Beethoven’s Symphony No.3, movement 3, showing rushing to an important beat in bars 101-102
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagesaudio
nameAudio clip 3.1.2.3.4, Snippet of Weingartner’s recording of Beethoven’s Symphony No.3, movement 3, showing a hint of ‘Viennese Waltz’ rhythm in bars 26-27
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagesaudio
nameAudio clip 3.1.2.4.1, Snippet of Weingartner’s recording of Beethoven’s Symphony No.3, movement 4, showing gradual tempo shift inversely connected to musical texture in bars 344-348
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagesaudio
nameAudio clip 3.1.2.4.2, Snippet of Weingartner’s recording of Beethoven’s Symphony No.3, movement 4, showing gradual increase in tempo after slow start in bars 76-83
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagesaudio
nameAudio clip 3.2.2.1.1, Snippet of Mengelberg’s recording of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.5, movement 1, showing gradual tempo shift directly connected to dynamics in bars 80-83
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagesaudio
nameAudio clip 3.2.2.1.2, Snippet of Mengelberg’s recording of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.5, movement 1, showing sudden tempo shift directly connected to dynamics in bar 186
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagesaudio
nameAudio clip 3.2.2.1.3, Snippet of Mengelberg’s recording of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.5, movement 1, showing sudden tempo shift inversely connected to texture in bar 50
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagesaudio
nameAudio clip 3.2.2.1.4, Snippet of Mengelberg’s recording of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.5, movement 1, showing gradual tempo shift inversely connected to texture in bars 31-34
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagesaudio
nameAudio clip 3.2.2.1.5, Snippet of Mengelberg’s recording of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.5, movement 1, showing tempo connected to phrasing over two bars in bars 5-6
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagesaudio
nameAudio clip 3.2.2.1.6, Snippet of Mengelberg’s recording of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.5, movement 1, showing tempo connected to phrasing in multiple bars in bars 22-25
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagesaudio
nameAudio clip 3.2.2.1.7, Snippet of Mengelberg’s recording of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.5, movement 1, showing portamento in first violins in upbeat to bar 60
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagesaudio
nameAudio clip 3.2.2.2.1, Snippet of Mengelberg’s recording of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.5, movement 2, showing prolonged upbeat in conjunction with shortened previous beat in upbeat to bar 9
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagesaudio
nameAudio clip 3.2.2.2.2, Snippet of Mengelberg’s recording of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.5, movement 2, showing prolonged upbeat without shortened previous beat in upbeat to bar 112
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagesaudio
nameAudio clip 3.2.2.2.3, Snippet of Mengelberg’s recording of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.5, movement 2, showing portamento in double basses in bar 30
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagesaudio
nameAudio clip 3.2.2.3.1, Snippet of Mengelberg’s recording of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.5, movement 3, showing portamento in first violins in bars 1-6
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagesaudio
nameAudio clip 3.2.2.4.1, Snippet of Mengelberg’s recording of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.5, movement 4, showing portamento in violins in bars 98-105
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagesaudio
nameAudio clip 3.3.2.1.1, Snippet of Monteux’s recording of Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps, showing gradual tempo shift directly connected to dynamics in the first to the third bar in 62
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagesaudio
nameAudio clip 3.3.2.1.2, Snippet of Monteux’s recording of Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps, showing sudden tempo shift directly connected to dynamics in the upbeat to the first bar in 60
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagesaudio
nameAudio clip 3.3.2.1.3, Snippet of Monteux’s recording of Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps, showing sudden tempo shift inversely connected to texture in the first to the fourth bar in 19
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagesaudio
nameAudio clip 3.3.2.1.4, Snippet of Monteux’s recording of Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps, showing gradual tempo shift inversely connected to texture from 43 to 44
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagesaudio
nameAudio clip 3.3.2.1.5, Snippet of Monteux’s recording of Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps, showing tempo connected to phrasing in the third beat of bar 1 to the second beat of bar 3
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagesaudio
nameAudio clip 3.3.2.1.6, Snippet of Monteux’s recording of Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps, showing emphasis on accentuation at the first bar in 47
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagesaudio
nameAudio clip 3.3.2.1.7, Snippet of Monteux’s recording of Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps, showing emphasis on cantabile material from the first to the fourth bar in 25
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagesaudio
nameFigure 3.1.2.1, Tempo graph, with vertical axis indicating bpm, of Weingartner’s recording of Beethoven’s Symphony No.3, movement 1.
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagespicture
nameFigure 3.1.2.2, Tempo graph, with vertical axis indicating bpm, of Weingartner’s recording of Beethoven’s Symphony No.3, movement 2.
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagespicture
nameFigure 3.1.2.3, Tempo graph, with vertical axis indicating bpm, of Weingartner’s recording of Beethoven’s Symphony No.3, movement 3.
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagespicture
nameFigure 3.1.2.4, Tempo graph, with vertical axis indicating bpm, of Weingartner’s recording of Beethoven’s Symphony No.3, movement 4.
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagespicture
nameFigure 3.2.2.1, Tempo graph, with vertical axis indicating bpm, of Mengelberg’s recording of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.5, movement 1.
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagespicture
nameFigure 3.2.2.2, Tempo graph, with vertical axis indicating bpm, of Mengelberg’s recording of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.5, movement 2.
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagespicture
name.Figure 3.2.2.3, Tempo graph, with vertical axis indicating bpm, of Mengelberg’s recording of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.5, movement 3.
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagespicture
nameFigure 3.2.2.4, Tempo graph, with vertical axis indicating bpm, of Mengelberg’s recording of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.5, movement 4.
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagespicture
nameFigure 3.3.2.1.1, Tempo graph, with vertical axis indicating bpm, of Monteux’s recording of Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps, Part 1, Introduction.
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagespicture
nameFigure 3.3.2.1.2, Tempo graph, with vertical axis indicating bpm, of Monteux’s recording of Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps, Part 1, The Augurs of Spring: Dances of the Young Girls.
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagespicture
nameFigure 3.3.2.1.3, Tempo graph, with vertical axis indicating bpm, of Monteux’s recording of Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps, Part 1, Ritual of Abduction.
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagespicture
nameFigure 3.3.2.1.4, Tempo graph, with vertical axis indicating bpm, of Monteux’s recording of Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps, Part 1, Spring Rounds.
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagespicture
nameFigure 3.3.2.1.5, Tempo graph, with vertical axis indicating bpm, of Monteux’s recording of Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps, Part 1, Ritual of the Rival Tribes.
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagespicture
nameFigure 3.3.2.1.6, Tempo graph, with vertical axis indicating bpm, of Monteux’s recording of Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps, Part 1, Procession of the Sage and The Sage.
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagespicture
nameFigure 3.3.2.1.7, Tempo graph, with vertical axis indicating bpm, of Monteux’s recording of Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps, Part 1, Dance of the Earth.
copyrightAndreas Hansson
licenseAll rights reserved
usagespicture

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