An Approach to Romantic cello playing in Brahms's time

María Cadenas Rodríguez

The revolution of sound recording at the beginning of the 20th century influenced classical performance practice, setting definitive interpretations and eradicating more personal approaches to music-making. Many fundamental expressive devices were lost over the years and thus Romantic musical performance was no longer understood in the same way. This is why my research tries to look backwards in time with the aim of exploring the main attributes of Brahms’s Romantic style in music for string instruments. My research aims to: (1) understand lost Romantic expressive devices and how they worked, and (2) explore ways of using them today. I first analysed primary and secondary literature to establish context. Then I examined historical edited cello scores by Brahms, using them to show the different fingerings and slurrings provided by the main cellists of the period, which give us a clear idea about the use of portamenti, for example. Finally I listened to cello and string quartet early recordings to hear sonic evidence of these techniques, before applying them in Brahms's chamber music for cello. The main outcome I found is that diverse and emotional approaches to music-making made the Romantic period unique. I hope these tools can encourage today’s cellists and string players in general to create new, more personal, freer and more creative approaches to playing Romantic repertoires.

LIST OF SOURCES

Becker, H; Rynar, D.(1929): Mechanik und Aesthetic des Violoncellospiels, Universal Edition Wien-Leipzig.

Brown, C.(2004): Classical and Romantic Performing Practice 1750-1900,Oxford University Press.

Brown, C.; Da Costa, N.P.; Wadsworth, K.B. (2016): Performing Practices in Johannes Brahms' Chamber Music, Germany: Bärenreiter-Verlag.

Burton, A.(2004): A performer’s Guide to Music of the Romantic Period, London: The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music.

Butt, J.(2002): Playing with history: the historical approach to musical performance.Cambridge University Press.

da Costa, N.P.(2012):Off the record: performing practices in romantic piano playing, USA:Oxford University Press.

Davydov, K.(1888): Violoncello Schule, Leipzig: Edition Peters.

Dorian, F. (1986): Historia de la ejecución musical. El arte de la interpretación musical desde el Renacimiento hasta nuestros días.Madrid: Taurus. [ed. or. 1942; R. González-Arroyo, trad.].

Ginsburg, L.(1983): History of the Violoncello, Paganiniana Publications.

Harnoncourt, N.(1995): Baroque Music Today: Music As Speech. Ways to a New Understanding of Music. Portland [Oregón]: Amadeus Press. [ed. or. 1983; M. O’Neill, trad.].

Haynes, B.(2007): The End of Early Music: A Period Performer’s History of Music for the Twenty-First Century. USA: Oxford University Press.

Johnstone, D. Johnstone-music.com

Kennaway, G. (2014): Playing the cello, 1780-1930, UK: University of Leeds, Ashgate.

Musgrave, M.; Sherman, B.D.(2003): Performing Brahms: Early Evidence of Performance Style, New York: Cambridge University Press, 3^rdedition.

Spohr, L.(1932): Violinschule,Vienna: Hasslinger.

Stam, E. (2019): In Search of a Lost Language: Performing in Early-Recorded Style in Viola and String Quartet Repertoires, Universiteit Leiden: PhD.

Peres Da Costa, N. (2001): Performing Practices in Late 19th Century Piano Playing: Implications of the Relationships between Written Texts and Early Recordings,University of Leeds, PhD Diss.

Philip, R. (1992): Early Recordings and Musical Style: Changing Tastes in Instrumental Performance, 1900-1950, Cambridge University Press.

Piatti, A. (1911): Violoncello Method, ed. W.E. Whitehouse and R.V. Tabb, London: Augener, vol. 2.

IMSLP:

Sonata for Violoncello and Piano in E minor op. 38 edited by Julius Klengel. Editorial C.F.Peter, Leipzig (c.a.1925).

Sonata for Violoncello and Piano in E minor op. 38 edited by Hugo Becker. Editorial B.Schott's Söhne, Mainz 1922.

Piano trio n.2 in C dur, edited by Ossip Schnirlin (1874-1939) (Joaquim’s student) and Robert Kahn (1865-1951). Editorial Berlin: N.Simrock, Ed.648, 1927

Horn trio Es dur (cello version), edited by Ossip Schnirlin (1874-1939) (Joaquim’s student) and Robert Kahn (1865-1951). Editorial Berlin: N.Simrock, Ed.648, 1927

Piano quartet n.1, Op.25 in g moll, edited by Ossip Schnirlin (1874-1939) (Joaquim’s student) and Robert Kahn (1865-1951). Editorial Berlin: N.Simrock, Ed.648, 1927

Piano quartet n.2, Op.26 in A dur, edited by Ossip Schnirlin (1874-1939) (Joaquim’s student) and Robert Kahn (1865-1951). Editorial Berlin: N.Simrock, Ed.648, 1927

Tip

Tip