Exposition

Interpretation of Schumann's 'Humoreske' in B flat major, op. 20, within the context of Jean Paul Richter's romantic concept of 'humor' (2023)

Elisha Kravits
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open exposition

About this exposition

This research began with the realization that Schumann's idea of "humor" (which the title of his work implies) might be very different from our own, and should be understood within the cultural and philosophical context of his time. To this end, I decided to base my research on the writings of celebrated author Jean Paul Richter, whom Schumann idolized, and who devoted a large section of his "Introduction to Aesthetics" to the subject of humor; the profound psychological connections between Schumann and Jean Paul, which I point out, are also very revealing. I went on to summarize some concepts within Jean Paul's definition of humor which seemed the most naturally analogous with the act of musical interpretation, such as romantic irony, "the Absurd" and "humorous sensuousness". In the final part of the research I put these ideas to use by experimenting with the interpretation of different sections of the "Humoreske"; in the written exposition I provided recordings to demonstrate the different possibilities which arise from this analogy, as well as a written explanation of the thought process behind each one. For the presentation I will demonstrate this at the piano. These recordings are the "final" result of my research in the sense that they represent a clear answer to the research question. However, while the process of conscious experimentation was illuminating- and can be repeated with any other work by the composer!- I believe that the most important result of this research would be impossible to document or present here: that is, the more subtle, subconscious way in which understanding Schumann's connection with the spirit of his time will continue to influence my playing.
typeresearch exposition
date11/12/2017
published13/07/2023
last modified13/07/2023
statuspublished
share statusprivate
licenseAll rights reserved
urlhttps://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/393773/580862
published inKC Research Portal
portal issue1. Master Research Projects


Simple Media

id name copyright license
530650 recording 1a e.kravitz All rights reserved
530658 recording 1b e.kravitz All rights reserved
579601 schumann elisha kravitz All rights reserved
580879 schumann google All rights reserved
581430 recording 1a. elisha kravitz All rights reserved
581436 nach und nach immer lebhafter und starker elisha kravitz All rights reserved
581493 part 2 transition elisha kravitz All rights reserved
581494 part 2 transition elisha kravitz All rights reserved
581503 הקלטה 035 elisha kravitz All rights reserved
581509 הקלטה 036 elisha kravitz All rights reserved
581515 הקלטה 038 elisha kravitz All rights reserved
581529 einfach und zart transition transition to section 3 (bars 491/505-521) rec. 39- In this recording I played the transition similarly to the way I play the previous one between sections 1 and 2: with a gradual "fade out" release of last chord, a long pause, and an uncertain tempo in the beginning of section 3, still "searching". I'm not convinced it works as well in this instance- as the ending of section 2 is extremely halting and uncertain (including 4 fermatas and 4 ritardandos in the last 15 bars!) perhaps the transition at least would benefit from being more straightforward. rec. 41- here I played a more abrupt release of the last chord and a shorter pause, beginning the next section clearly in the new tempo. This works better in my opinion- section 3 being the most consistently "simple" and melodic of the work ("singing from the heart", earnest through and through), it benefits from being immediately characterized as such. Also, this transition and the one before "Mit einigem pomp" are the only ones with a rest before the following section, implying that the previous chord shouldn't be too much prolonged (and therefore emphasized). There is also no fermata! The change occurs almost instantly, during the rest, emphasizing the contrast between the two sections. Perhaps what holds this transition together is the concealed A to B-flat which closes section 2 and then appears as the upbeat of section 3 (albeit already in the minor key, as we discover when the base G appears on the downbeat) All rights reserved
581531 einfach und zart transition elisha kravitz All rights reserved
581538 הקלטה 039 elisha kravitz All rights reserved
581545 הקלטה 041 elisha kravitz All rights reserved
582203 einfach und zart ending elisha kravitz All rights reserved
582233 הקלטה 071 elisha kravitz All rights reserved
582243 הקלטה 072 elisha kravitz All rights reserved
582424 schneller elisha kravitz All rights reserved
582433 הקלטה 045 elisha kravitz All rights reserved
582445 הקלטה 046 elisha kravitz All rights reserved
582455 הקלטה 047 elisha kravitz All rights reserved
583284 innig ending elisha kravitz All rights reserved
583289 הקלטה 050 elisha kravitz All rights reserved
583292 הקלטה 073 elisha kravitz All rights reserved
583370 mit einigem pomp transition elisha kravitz All rights reserved
583375 הקלטה 051 elisha kravitz All rights reserved
583380 הקלטה 052 elisha kravitz All rights reserved
583398 opening elisha kravitz All rights reserved
583426 הקלטה 053 elisha kravitz All rights reserved
583435 הקלטה 054 elisha kravitz All rights reserved
583521 rising transitional motive elisha kravitz All rights reserved
583524 הקלטה 059 elisha kravitz All rights reserved
583528 הקלטה 058 elisha kravitz All rights reserved
583711 noch rascher elisha kravitz All rights reserved
583720 הקלטה 056 elisha kravitz All rights reserved
583723 הקלטה 074 elisha kravitz All rights reserved

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