Off the Record: Performing Practices in Romantic Piano Playing

In "Off the Record", author Neal Peres Da Costa provides the first comprehensive study of key performing practice of late-Romantic pianism as preserved in early sound recordings. Examining piano roll reproductions as well as acoustic and electrical recordings, he reaches back through the past century and a half a performances by Carl Reinecke, Theodor Leschetizky, Camille Saint-Saëns, Johannes Brahms, and other pianists of this musically diverse and dynamic era. More than mere historical artifacts or curiosities, the recordings preserve evidence of the creative milieu in which they were made, and provide significant information about both general practices of the second half of the nineteenth century and the idiosyncrasies of individual playing styles.

Through these recordings, Peres Da Costa defines undocumented practices in piano playing of this previous era that differ radically from those generally accepted at present. From dislocation (or asynchrony of the hands) to tempo modification, he details these earlier expressive devices throughout the book, placing each alongside its corresponding "modern" practice, offering as a result an essential guide to recreating the style that was envisioned by many great pianists of the Romantic era. Numerous audio examples housed on the book's Oxford Web Music companion website, including tracks of Peres Da Costa's own playing, accompany the discussion. A unique contribution to the study of applied musicology and the historical performing practice, "Off the Record" ultimately lays bare the strinking contradiction that often exists between theory and practice.

CONTENIDO:

Foreword
Preface
About the Companion Website

Introduction
1. Early Recordings: Their Value as Evidence
2. Playing One Hand After The Other: Dislocation
3. Unnotated Arpeggiation
4. Metrical Rubato and Other Forms of Rhythmic Alteration
5. Tempo Modification
Conclusion

Bibliography
Discography
Index