Early Recordings and Musical Style: Changing Tastes in Instrumental Performance, 1900-1950

New
Paperback
2004
$41.13

Until recently, early recordings were regarded as little more than old-fashioned curiosities by musicians. Scholars and musicians now are beginning to realise their importance as historical documents which preserve the performance of composers and the musicians with whom they worked. In this fascinating study, Robert Philip argues that recordings of the early twentieth-century provide an important and hitherto neglected resource in the history of musical performance. The book concentrates on aspects of performance which underwent the greatest change in the early twentieth century, including rhythm, rubato, vibrato, and portamento. The final chapters explore some of the implications of these changes, both for the study of earlier periods and for the understanding of our own attitudes to the music of the past.

Synopsis

Until recently, early recordings were regarded as little more than old-fashioned curiosities by musicians. Scholars and musicians now are beginning to realise their importance as historical documents which preserve the performance of composers and the musicians with whom they worked. In this fascinating study, Robert Philip argues that recordings of the early twentieth-century provide an important and hitherto neglected resource in the history of musical performance. The book concentrates on aspects of performance which underwent the greatest change in the early twentieth century, including rhythm, rubato, vibrato, and portamento. The final chapters explore some of the implications of these changes, both for the study of earlier periods and for the understanding of our own attitudes to the music of the past.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 288
Edition: New Ed
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 19 Aug 2004
ISBN 10: 0521607442
ISBN 13: 9780521607445
Book Overview: Argues that recordings of the early twentieth-century provide an important, and hitherto neglected, resource in the history of musical performance.

Media Reviews

.. .a gold mine of performance-practice source material that he uses not only as a demonstration of how radically performance style has changed in the twentieth century, but also as a case study in the nature of our understanding and interpretation of performance-practice documentation in general. Philip's book is, indeed, nothing short of revolutionary....This is a book that no one with an interest in musical performance style can afford to overlook. Douglas Leedy, Performance Practice Review
.. .a gold mine of performance-practice source material that he uses not only as a demonstration of how radically performance style has changed in the twentieth century, but also as a case study in the nature of our understanding and interpretation of performance-practice documentation in general. Philip's book is, indeed, nothing short of revolutionary....This is a book that no one with an interest in musical performance style can afford to overlook. Douglas Leedy, Performance Practice Review