Inja Stanovic

John Donaldson's name is permanently lodged in the collective musical memory as a Reid Chair of Music; after establishing the world's first purpose-built museum of musical instruments at Edinburgh University, Donaldson founded the Reid Music Library, and became an extraordinary important music figure around the first half of nineteenth-century, proving his excellence in innovative and ambitious teaching methods, as well as leading the Music Department for twenty years. Undoubtedly famous for his contribution to the music profession in Edinburgh, Donaldson was also a composer; this is often forgotten, or overlooked, due to the fact that Sonata for Piano in G Minor is the only remaining composition from his entire opus. Published in 1822, and dedicated to Muzio Clementi, Donaldson's sonata united techniques common to the London Pianoforte School whilst offering a range of highly progressive and Romantic compositional ideas. In this context, it seems surprising to discover that the piece was not publicly available, either as a score or recording, until very recently. This paper considers Donaldson's significance as a composer, and questions how his Sonata in G Minor may be understood relative to the social and cultural context in which it was composed. Excerpts of the sonata, recorded by the author in 2015, are presented and discussed, highlighting the practical challenge of performing Donaldson's work without recourse to precedent or interpretational lineage. The presentation will conclude by offering Donaldson's sonata as one of the most ambitious of a British native composer, and it is therefore crucial that we uphold its place within the legacy and history of Scottish music.

This paper investigates English recordings of classical music, made between 1914 and 1918. It groups research findings in three main areas:
1) a survey of English recordings from catalogues of recording companies of the time, as well as affiliated companies from the other countries which published in England (including: Columbia, Gramophone, Pathe, Odeon, amongst others). Although the acoustic era of recording started around 1877, it lasted until the first microphones were used in 1925. Between these dates, wax cylinders and plates were made with mechanical recording technologies; a fairly simple recording process that became extremely popular. At the advent of the First World War, wax cylinders were less popular than plates or records, although both were in use. These recordings present a broad scope of music-making, involving multiple instruments and various composers. 2) data about the popularity of certain composers and compositions during the period. Most countries in Europe had developed the culture of recording of classical music, mostly because acoustic recording equipment (phonograph) was very mobile. Prior to and during the war, England produced a significant number of recordings, and many foreign musicians would travel there to record, making England a significant case-study on contemporary trends and concerns of the time; by 1914, the fundus of acoustic (or mechanical) recordings was substantial, being filled with most of the important names of the performance world. 3) commentary and observations relating to performance practices of the time. Early sound recordings are of extreme importance nowadays, as they offer a primary source of evidence relating to past performing styles. These recordings are sometimes revealing, as they do not always correspond with their written counterparts. As a consequence, these recordings illuminate stylistic conventions of the time, particularly with regard to performance practices.

The paper concludes with the following observation: Recordings made during this time offer insights into the artistic production and understanding of the recordings as cultural artefacts. In this way, one can observe changes caused by war itself, and assess the influence that war had on recording process, preoccupation and performance.

In recent years, early recordings have become a primary source of musical research with multiple disciplines, including: performance practice, musicology, music technology and music psychology. Such recordings, typically dating from the late 1800s through to the early 1900s, employed mechanical sound-reproduction technologies (wax cylinders and lacquer discs) to capture performances by many of the leading figures of the time. As such, they offer valuable insights into the aesthetic tendencies and preoccupations of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century musicians, capturing and preserving performance styles, traditions and musical approaches of an age that has long-since passed.

Unfortunately, very little research has been done into the production of such recordings; although some anecdotal evidence highlights significant issues involved in  recording processes, we do not know how much performers needed to adjust their approach in response to the recording medium or the broader recording process. As a result, we do not know whether such recordings offer a faithful representation of individual performance styles or, indeed, broader performance concerns; this has serious implications for any research that employs early recordings as a primary source within contemporary musical research.
This paper introduces a Leverhulme-funded research project “(Re)constructing Early Recordings: a guide for historically-informed performance. The first year of the project focuses on wax cylinders made by Julius Block, a music enthusiast and recording pioneer. Between 1889 and 1927, he recorded some of the most eminent musicians and artists, including Anton Arensky, Paul Pabst, Sergei Taneyev, Leo Conus, Jules Conus, and Anna Essipova, among others. This paper will present the pilot study made earlier this year, based on the reconstruction and simulation of the mechanical recording process to capture performances using wax cylinder and digital technologies. Also, it will discuss the value of reconstructions of passed recording techniques, in terms of preserving forms of performance practice, and propose a method for their future analysis and use.

Pianists in training are often told to express the “composer’s intentions”, and to play the musical text “how it is written”. However, treatment of the text as  something sacrosanct developed only around inter-war years of the twentieth century. Negative opinions about changes to the written text have solidified since this time, particularly in respect of Nineteenth and Twentieth Century music, further underlining assumptions about the composer’s intentions and, by association, the ultimate and unwavering authority of composers over their own works. In this context, it is particularly interesting to hear composers of this period performing their own pieces; a significant number of composers from late Nineteenth and beginning of the Twentieth century made recordings of their own works, including E. Grieg, C. Saint-Saëns and E. Granados, among others.

This paper examines a range of these early sound recordings, suggesting that they offer invaluable insights into the ways composers read their own musical texts, as well considering how changing stylistic conventions in performance practice, rarely identifiable from either written documents or musical scores, influenced the sonic result. Focusing on a cross-examination of articulation, tempo fluctuation, tempo rubato, and portamento between the recordings and the written sources, the paper demonstrates some of the many ways in which composers’ recordings suggest degrees of fluidity and flexibility in respect to the written text, determined relative to personal and historical stylistic conventions. This suggests that contemporary notions of the music text, as something sacrosanct, often depart from historic understandings of the same; composers allowed themselves substantial freedoms, when performing their own works, and this implies that contemporary assumptions about intentionality and authority are more likely to have been authored in the present than the past. The paper reaches the following conclusion: the relationship between composers’ recordings and their works prove important in the context of rethinking notions of authorship, and early recordings viewed in this way may ultimately serve as a model, or exemplar, for contemporary performances of works.

Historically-informed performance practice is inherently complex; not only are instruments and playing styles relative to specific cultural, social and historical contexts, literary sources are often highly subjective and, as with the performances that they describe, a product of their own time. Fortunately, practice may be informed by the existence of early recordings, which serve to illuminate stylistic conventions of past eras; through their examination, the principles of previous                performances and interpretations can be systematically studied and understood. Despite this, contemporary performers should not merely copy and paste what they hear through recordings but strive to grasp broader stylistic conventions common to performance traditions of the past.

This lecture-recital focuses upon late nineteenth-century pianistic practices, with particular reference to Frédéric Chopin’s compositions. The presentation is divided into three parts: part 1 shortly considers how various text-based sources serve to illuminate aspects of nineteenth century pianism. Considering the limitations of such sources, Part 2 considers various recordings of Chopin’s compositions, made between 1890 and 1930. Analysis of these recordings is a part of the Leverhulme-funded research project “(Re)constructing Early Recordings: a guide for historically-informed    performance”. A range of expressive pianistic techniques are then showcased in Part 3, through a    performance which clarifies and contextualises central points of this lecture-recital.

Suggested programme of Chopin repertoire, includes Sonata No. 2, Op. 35 (excerpts); Etude Op. 10 No. 9;  Nocturnes Op. 27 No. 2 and Op. 9 No.1; Mazurka Op. 67 No. 2.

Julius Block was a music enthusiast and recording pioneer. Between 1889 and 1927, he recorded some of the most eminent musicians and artists, including Anton Arensky, Paul Pabst, Sergei Taneyev, Leo Conus, Jules Conus, and Anna Essipova, among others. This paper, part of Leverhulme-funded research project “(Re)constructing Early Recordings”, explores Block’s cylinders through: 1) reconstruction and simulation of the mechanical recording process to capture performances using wax cylinder and digital technologies, and 2) analyse captured performances. The paper makes an argument for the value of early recordings, in terms of preserving forms of performance practice, and proposes a method for their future analysis and use.

Research questions
What is the value of early recordings in performance practice research? How can such recordings be used in research and to what extent might they be relied upon as research sources?
How might one reconstruct an early recording process, using a wax cylinder, to understand how the original recording was made? Does such a reconstruction allow for a greater understanding of the original recording process?
Are there certain methods for the analysis of early recordings, derived from the process of reconstruction, that allow performer-researchers to develop a greater understanding of other recordings, and the types of performances they preserve?
Aims
1) To understand and illuminate the practicalities of the mechanical recording process used by Julius Block, from the perspective of both recording engineer and performing musician.
2) To elaborate a robust method for the analysis and understanding of wax cylinders, involving a reconstruction of the original recording process.
3) To produce a range of distinct analytical studies that contextualise Block’s recordings, provide comparative analysis of the original recordings with their reconstructions, and offer approaches that might be used elsewhere.
Summary of content

In 2017, the author made a series of reconstructions of a mechanical recording process, modelled on that used by Block, to make a range of wax cylinders. These recordings were captured by both a phonograph and digital technologies. This paper introduces the recordings, briefly, and then considers what one might discover through this process. It reveals various challenges facing the performers when making phonograph cylinders. It also provides an in-depth account of the many ways in which performers needed to adjust their performance styles to account for the medium, and the context in which recordings were made.

The paper introduces: 1) a range of sonic visualisation tools are used to analyse the mechanical recordings, allowing for a detailed and exhaustive representation of key musical features; 2) a comparative analysis between mechanical and contemporary recordings will allow for significant differences to be identified and discussed.


Significance
Early recordings are a valuable primary source within various musical research disciplines. This paper, on Block’s wax cylinders and mechanical recording process, is focussed on the production of such recordings; through a simulation of mechanical recording methods, this paper shows how reconstructions of early recording processes have been captured, analysed and made available to the international community of musical researchers. Results, which integrate creative practice and theoretical research, illuminate both performance and recording practices of the past, and elaborate a method for future research in this area.

Historically-informed performance practice is inherently complex; not only are instruments and playing styles relative to specific cultural, social and historical contexts, literary sources are often subjective and, as with the performances that they describe, a product of their own time. Practice can also be informed by examination of early recordings, which serve to illuminate stylistic conventions of past eras. By studying such recordings, the principles of previous performances and interpretations can be systematically studied and understood. These recordings do not merely offer a window into the sound-world of past performances, however; they also offer a wealth of information about the physical nature of performance itself. As such, they may serve as a model, or exemplar, for contemporary performances of the same works. Despite this, contemporary performers should not merely copy and paste what they hear through such recordings; the interpretative choices made by recording musicians were likely to have been specific to both the recording medium and the instruments of the time; since many of the physical, haptic and proprioceptive cues employed by those musicians cannot be abstracted from, or identified through, listening alone, one must instead strive to understand the stylistic conventions in the context of the recording medium originally employed.

This lecture-recital focuses upon a range of late nineteenth-century pianistic expressive techniques, including various types of rubato, rhythmic alterations, dislocation between two hands, unnotated arpeggiation, and textual alterations, with particular reference to Frédéric Chopin’s Nocturnes. Due to their popularity, Chopin’s Nocturnes have a recording history dating back to the 1890s. As such, there are numerous recordings which can testify changes in performance styles in the intervening time. Importantly, this is not only relevant to piano playing; recordings of Chopin’s Nocturnes were also produced by singers, violinists, flutists, and cellists.

Historical performance research is inherently complex; not only are instruments and playing styles relative to specific cultural, social and historical contexts, literary sources are often highly subjective and, as with the performances that they describe, a product of their time. Fortunately, such research may be supported through the use of early recordings, which serve to illuminate stylistic conventions of past eras; through their examination, the principles of previous performances and interpretations can be systematically studied and understood.

Early recordings do not merely offer a window into the sound-world of past performances; they also offer a wealth of information about the physical nature of performance itself. As such, they may serve as a model, or exemplar, for contemporary performances of the same works. Despite this, contemporary performers should not merely copy and paste what they hear through such recordings; the interpretative choices made by recording musicians were likely to have been specific to both the recording medium and the instruments of the time; since many of the physical, haptic and proprioceptive cues employed by those musicians cannot be abstracted from, or identified through, listening alone, one must instead strive to understand the stylistic conventions in the context of the recording medium originally employed.

To demonstrate how this might be achieved, this paper introduces a Leverhulme-funded research project “(Re)constructing Early Recordings: a guide for historically-informed performance”. The first year of the project focuses on wax cylinders made by Julius Block, a music enthusiast and recording pioneer. Between 1889 and 1927, Block recorded some of the most eminent musicians and artists, including Anton Arensky, Paul Pabst, Sergei Taneyev, Leo Conus, Jules Conus, and Anna Essipova, among others. This paper will present findings from a pilot study based on the reconstruction and simulation of the mechanical recording processes used by Block. During this study, wax cylinders were used to capture a series of piano performances whilst being simultaneously captured using contemporary digital recording techniques. By comparing and contrasting the mechanical and digital recordings, finds showcase the value of early recording techniques, in terms of their capacity to preserve forms of performance practice. Above all, however, this paper proposes a method for their future analysis and use.

This lecture-recital introduces a Leverhulme-funded research project “(Re)constructing Early Recordings: a guide for historically-informed performance”. The first year of the project focuses on wax cylinders made by Julius Block, a music enthusiast and recording pioneer. Between 1889 and 1927, Block recorded some of the most eminent musicians and artists of the time, including Anton Arensky, Paul Pabst, Sergei Taneyev, and Anna Essipova, among others. This lecture-recital presents findings from a pilot study made earlier this year, based on the reconstruction and simulation of the mechanical recording process to capture performances using wax cylinder and digital technologies. In doing so, it discusses the value of early recordings, in terms of preserving forms of performance practice, and proposes a method for their future analysis and use.

Conclusion
Through the presentation of various piano compositions recorded by Julius Block, including Chopin’s Mazurka Op. 67 No. 2, Godard’s Gavotte in G, op. 81, no. 2, Arensky’s Nocturne in D-flat, No. 3 and Chopin’s Nocturne in E, op. 62, no. 2, amongst others, this lecture-recital demonstrates numerous ways in which early sound recordings, and mechanical recording technologies, might be employed to enrich historically-informed performance practice.

Implications
This lecture-recital considers early recordings through the reconstruction of mechanical recording process, which is discussed through a case-study on Julius Block's wax cylinders. The focus of the case-study is on interpretational changes which had to be undertaken in order to record piano mechanically, whilst taking into account various factors impacting upon the recording process. Admittedly subjective, this study is based on haptic perception, pianistic proprioception, and practical examination of reconstruction of mechanical recording process, in order to inform on interpretational and practical changes influenced by mechanical technologies, thus changing the objective perspectives on early sound recordings. 

In recent years, early recordings have become a primary source of musicological research within multiple disciplines, as they offer valuable insights into the aesthetic tendencies and preoccupations of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century musicians. Crucially, early recordings capture and preserve performance styles, traditions and musical approaches of an age that has long-since passed. Unfortunately, very little research has been done into the production of such recordings; although some anecdotal evidence highlights significant issues involved in recording processes, we do not know how much performers needed to adjust their playing in response to the recording medium or the broader recording process. As a result, we do not know the extent to which early recordings offer a faithful representation of individual performance styles or, indeed, broader performance concerns. This paper introduces a Leverhulme-funded research project “(Re)constructing Early Recordings: a guide for historically-informed performance”. The first year of the project focuses on wax cylinders made by Julius Block, a music enthusiast and recording pioneer. Between 1889 and 1927, Block recorded some of the most eminent musicians and artists of the time, including Anton Arensky, Paul Pabst, Sergei Taneyev, and Anna Essipova, among others. This paper will present the pilot study made earlier this year, based on the reconstruction and simulation of the mechanical recording process to capture performances using wax cylinder and digital technologies. Also, it will discuss the value of reconstructions of passed recording techniques, in terms of preserving forms of performance practice, and propose a method for their future analysis and use.

In recent years, early recordings have become a primary source of musicological research within multiple disciplines, as they offer valuable insights into the aesthetic tendencies and preoccupations of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century musicians. Crucially, early recordings capture and preserve performance styles, traditions and musical approaches of an age that has long-since passed. Unfortunately, very little research has been conducted into the production of such recordings, and the extent to which performers needed to adjust their playing in response to the recording medium and recording process.

This lecture-recital introduces Leverhulme-funded research project “(Re)constructing Early Recordings: a guide for historically-informed performance”, which focusses on the reconstruction and simulation of the mechanical recording process to capture performances using wax cylinder and digital technologies. Through the presentation of research findings, it will discuss the value of reconstructions of passed recording techniques, in terms of preserving forms of performance practice, and propose a method for their future analysis and use. In conclusion, it shall propose that contemporary performers should not merely copy and paste what they hear on recordings, but strive to grasp broader stylistic conventions common to performance traditions of the past.

This paper considers the intriguing relationship between historically informed performers and academic researchers, and explores academic implications of the role of researcher-performer. It suggests that the division between performers and researchers has become blurred in recent years; although this has produced a range of new artistic identities, giving birth to an era of exciting performances, papers, books and other research results, it has also created something akin to academic moiré patterns, in which the various lines of enquiry occasionally produce contrasting, and artistically and academically clashing, outcomes. To demonstrate this point, this paper explores the contemporary research into nineteenth-century performance practices, with a specific focus on early sound recordings and their use. It suggests that the various interpretative choices, both from the nineteenth-century musicians and historically informed performers nowadays, leave us with a hodgepodge of knowledge and individual interpretational choices. We might therefore question the various approaches to the early sound recordings and their recreation, in order to explore new-found performance paths within the historically informed practice, and to open academic debate on the usage of early sound recordings in nineteenth-century practice research and performance. By using early recordings and HIP as an example, this paper explores the recent proliferation of performer-researchers in academia.

This paper considers the music of Chopin in the context of Victorian Britain. It starts by considering this context from within, drawing particular attention to the critical reception of Chopin's work relative to three main sources: 1) editions published by Wessel (while the other active publishing companies were Boosey, Chappell, Clementi, Cramer and Novello); 2) commentary from other pianists' performances of his music; 3) performances during his final visit, and associated recollections of his playing. These three sources of evidence testify to significant cultural, social and political variations, during which the reception of Chopin involved wide-ranging debate and conflicts of opinion; initially tentative reception gave way to adulation and, subsequently, a tug-of-war between opposing views within the British press. On the one hand, Chopin was embraced as a composer and pianist, ranking amongst the greatest contributors to music. On the other hand, extremely strong resentment was expressed, along nationalistic, rather than aesthetic, lines. The paper goes on to consider the context of Chopin in Victorian Britain from without; Chopin, a non-native, left various written accounts about his infrequent visits, particularly in relation to his second trip, in 1848, which lasted some eight months. These writings provide us with a unique opportunity to observe how Chopin perceived Victorian Britain; the composer himself left comments on the various preconceptions, subtexts and misrepresentations established during prior his visit, which are sometimes humorous, occasionally pointed, and always insightful. By combining these two perspectives, this paper explore some of the numerous subtexts underlying the respective positions

Great Britain occupies a unique position in Chopin’s reception history: while it was one of the three locations for the publication of his first editions, Great Britain produced highly polarised reactions to Chopin’s music, greatly influencing the reception and performances of his works after his death. Throughout the nineteenth century Chopin's music was published by a significant number of British publishers, besides Wessel; the Deux Valses Melancoliques were published by Ewer in 1854, Boosey published a new edition of mazurkas in 1860, and the twelve polonaises appeared with Augener in 1872, just to name a few. Throughout nineteenth-century Britain, the demand for drawing room pieces was high and Chopin's piano pieces were frequently published in amateur score collections; as early as 1836, Chopin's Nocturne in D flat Major, Op. 27 No. 2 was published in Wessel's L'amateur Pianiste. This paper considers the music of Chopin in the context of amateur piano playing in Victorian Britain, paying particular attention to the collections of his music; Chopin's compositions are discussed relative to: 1) the totality of his publications within the amateur collections; 2) the popularity of pieces within those collections; 3) editorial changes to Chopin's writing, as was deemed necessary for the intended audience. In doing so, the findings from this research present some of the numerous subtexts underlying the respective positions of amateur piano playing, publisher's interests and preoccupations, and the views of Chopin himself.

The Gramophone Company was founded in 1898 by William Barry Owen and Trevor Williams in London, England. The company’s first recording studio was set up by Fred Gaisberg, a famous producer and recording engineer of the time, in Convent Garden’s Maiden Lane. Through the first years of the twentieth century, this studio was a place where many famous performers of the day recorded performances using the most progressive mechanical recording technologies of their time. In 1900, soon after company’s founding, it was re-named Gramophone & Typewriter Ltd., and is now popularly referred to as G&T. Many of the recording pianists were significant musicians of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, including: Vladimir de Pachmann (9 titles in 1907), Landon Ronald (5 titles in 1900), Natalia Janotha (4 titles in 1904), Cécile Chaminade (7 titles in 1901), Ilona Eibenschütz (6 titles in 1903) and Wilhelm Backhaus (9 titles in 1908).

This lecture-recital focuses upon late nineteenth-century pianistic practices, with particular reference to G&T piano recordings. The presentation is divided into three parts: part 1 briefly considers mechanical technologies on gramophone record in context of G&T. Part 2 considers various G&T piano recordings made between 1900 and 1908. Analysis of these recordings is a part of the Leverhulme-funded research project “(Re)constructing Early Recordings: a guide for historically-informed performance”. A range of the nineteenth century expressive pianistic techniques, performance styles and practices are then showcased in Part 3, through a performance which clarifies and contextualises central points of this lecture-recital.

Suggested programme:
F. Chopin: Etude Op.10 No.1, Etude Op.10 No.12, Etude Op.25 No.9, Fantaisie-Impromptu Op.66; D. Scarlatti: Sonata in E, K20; J. Brahms: Ballade Op.118 No.3; F. Liszt: Paganini Etude No.3 and Liebestraume No.3; and F. Mendelssohn: Song without words Op.67 No.4.

The use and importance of early recordings in performance practice research is widely known and acknowledged; in recent years, early sound evidence has been an inspiration for both performers and academic researchers in a variety of different music-based disciplines. Unfortunately, very little research has focussed upon the production of such recordings, and the extent to which performers needed to adjust their playing in response to the recording medium, and recording process, is little-known. This paper examines early sound recordings a posteriori - it introduces a Leverhulme-funded research project “(Re)constructing Early Recordings: a guide for historically-informed performance”, in which the reconstruction of early recording processes serves to illuminate some of the interpretational and practical challenges facing early recording performers. During this talk, the first two years of the project will be presented; a series of performances were recorded using mechanical recording technologies (both wax cylinders and records), whilst being simultaneously captured using contemporary digital recording techniques. By comparing and contrasting the resulting mechanical and digital recordings, research findings show the value of early recording techniques and technologies, in terms of their capacity to preserve forms of performance practice. By presenting an overview of the creative processes involved, this project proposes new research method in studies of early recordings and suggests ways in which technological and reconstructive contexts form a redefinition of strategies of documentation, thus influencing future reading of early recordings and historically informed practices. 

As one of the leading pianists and pedagogues of the nineteenth century, Theodor Leschetizky’s (1830 –1915) influence on the pianistic practices was hugely significant: the pianists of his studio were some of the most renowned and celebrated performers of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Leschetizky recorded several reproducing piano rolls in 1906, including Chopin’s Nocturne Op. 27 No. 2 and Polonaise Op. 71 No. 2, both of which are commonly used as references of the late nineteenth-century stylistic practices. Many of Leschetizky’s students recorded extensive Chopin repertoire, including Aleksander Michałowski, Józef Śliwiński, Ignaz Friedman, Mark Hambourg, Ossip Gabrilowitsch, Benno Moiseiwitsch, Mieczysław Horszowski, Alexander Brailovsky, Frank Merrick, Marie Novello, Annete Yessipova, Fanny Bloomfield-Zeisler and Ignacy Jan Paderewski. Starting from 1906 with Leschetizky, some of these recordings were made  in the last decade of the twentieth-century, which makes this group of pianists the……….

This lecture-recital focuses upon those recordings and, in doing so, considers the pianistic practices of Leschetizky and his students in the context of the late nineteenth-century performance practices which extended in the twentieth-century. The lecture-recital starts by exploring some of the various ways in which those recordings, and the performances that they capture, differ from the written text, establishing whether there were any common traits to the group of performing musicians. It goes on to compare and contrast aspects of those recordings, questioning how much are students’ recordings similar to their master, and whether there are any clear and unambiguous traits or styles that are characteristic across the board. Whilst this conclusion remains partially speculative (many of these pianists had several teachers), there can be no doubt that findings evidence late nineteenth-century performance practices, showing how this remarkable group of pianists were representative of their time, well into the twentieth-century.

Suggested programme of Chopin repertoire, includes Sonata No. 2, Op. 35 (excerpts); Etude Op. 10 No. 9;  Nocturne Op. 27 No. 2; Mazurka Op. 67 No. 2; Ballade Op. 47; Barcarolle Op. 60.

The use and importance of early recordings in performance practice research is widely known and acknowledged; in recent years, early sound evidence has been an inspiration for both performers and academic researchers in a variety of different music-based disciplines. Unfortunately, very little research has focussed upon the production of such recordings, or the extent to which performers needed to adjust their playing in response to the recording medium and recording process. This lecture-recital introduces a three-year research project "(Re)constructing Early Recordings: a guide for historically-informed performance", in which the reconstruction of early recording processes serves to illuminate some of the interpretational and practical challenges facing early recording performers. The first two years of the project will be presented; a series of performances were recorded using mechanical recording technologies (primarily wax cylinders), whilst being simultaneously captured using contemporary digital recording techniques. By presenting a selection of recorded programme and discussing the mechanical recording technologies, this lecture-recital proposes new research method in studies of early recordings, and suggests ways in which technological and reconstructive contexts form a redefinition of strategies of documentation, thus influencing future reading of early recordings and historically informed practices.

Historical performance research is inherently complex; not only are instruments and playing styles relative to specific cultural, social and historical contexts, literary sources are often highly subjective and, as with the performances that they describe, a product of their time. Fortunately, such research may be supported through the use of early recordings, which serve to illuminate stylistic conventions of past eras; through their examination, the principles of previous performances and interpretations can be systematically studied and understood. Early recordings do not merely offer a window into the sound-world of past performances; they also offer a wealth of information about the physical nature of performance itself. As such, they may serve as a model, or exemplar, for contemporary performances of the same works. Despite this, contemporary performers should not merely copy and paste what they hear through such recordings; the interpretative choices made by recording musicians were likely to have been specific to both the recording medium and the instruments of the time. Since many of the physical, haptic and proprioceptive cues employed by those musicians cannot be abstracted from, or identified through, listening alone, one must instead strive to understand the stylistic conventions in the context of the recording medium originally employed. To demonstrate how this might be achieved, this paper introduces a Leverhulme-funded research project "(Re)constructing Early Recordings: a guide for historically-informed performance". The first two years of the project will be presented, focussing on reconstruction and simulation of the mechanical recording processes (both wax cylinders and records), whilst being simultaneously captured using contemporary digital recording techniques. By comparing and contrasting the mechanical and digital recordings, research findings showcase the value of early recording techniques and technologies, in terms of their capacity to preserve forms of performance practice. By presenting an overview of the creative processes involved, this project proposes new research method in studies of early recordings and showcases how technological and reconstructive contexts form a redefinition of strategies of documentation, thus influencing future reading of early recordings and historically informed practices.

Historically-informed performance practice is inherently complex; not only are instruments and playing styles relative to specific cultural, social and historical contexts, literary sources are often highly subjective and, as with the performances that they describe, a product of their own time. Fortunately, practice may be informed by the existence of early recordings, which serve to illuminate stylistic conventions of past eras; such conventions are rarely mentioned in written documents and, using recordings as a guide, the principles of previous performances and interpretations can be systematically studied and understood. Crucially, recordings do not merely offer a window into the sound-world of past performances, they also offer a wealth of information about the physical and tactile nature of performance, which may ultimately serve as a model, or exemplar, for contemporary performances of the same works. Despite this, contemporary performers should not merely copy and paste what they hear through recordings but strive to grasp broader stylistic conventions common to performance traditions of the past. To demonstrate this point, this paper examines and compares series of early recordings of Chopin's Nocturne Op.27 No.2. It starts by identify a range of similarities and differences that hold between them, before considering some of the ways in which such recordings may inform contemporary practice. In doing so, it foregrounds physical, haptic and proprioceptive cues abstracted from the recorded medium and demonstrates how these may be applied in a performance of the same piece.

Early sound recordings offer invaluable insights into changing fashions of, and stylistic conventions in, performance practice that are rarely identifiable from either written documents or musical scores. This paper offers a range of such insights, focussing upon nine recordings of Chopin's Nocturne Op.9 No.2, with particular attention given to: (1) the interpretational style of the era (2) differences between the various recordings relative to the instrumentation and, significantly, the affordances and constraints of the recording technologies involved. A comparison of articulation, tempo fluctuation, tempo rubato, and portamento between three different instruments (voice, violin and piano) in the recordings, which were made between 1891 and 1920, leads to conclusions about the varied interpretational approaches of the same piece; the nine different recordings offer a wealth of information relative to rhythmic alterations, tempo modifications, tempo rubato, dislocation and un-notated arpeggiation, and these demonstrate the manifold ways in which performers have employed stylistic tendencies of their time, highlighting prevalent late 19 th and early 20 th-century interpretation techniques. Although only one piece is discussed, such research offers a clear method for future musicological research, particularly when applied in performance practice; it is my contention that interpretations of the Nocturne Op.9 No.2 have strong similarities regardless of the instrument used and, by examining these similarities, I have achieved a better understanding of the performance style and the music itself, as will be demonstrated through several brief examples of the piece performed today.

Historically-informed performance practice is inherently complex; not only are instruments and playing styles relative to specific cultural, social and historical contexts, literary sources are often highly subjective and, as with the performances that they describe, a product of their own time. Fortunately, practice may be informed by the existence of early recordings, which serve to illuminate stylistic conventions of past eras; through their examination, the principles of previous performances and interpretations can be systematically studied and understood. Crucially, early recordings do not merely offer a window into the sound-world of past performances, they also offer a wealth of information about the physical nature of performance, which may ultimately serve as a model, or exemplar, for contemporary performances of the same works. Despite this, contemporary performers should not merely copy and paste what they hear through recordings but strive to grasp broader stylistic conventions common to performance traditions of the past. To demonstrate this point, this paper examines and compares series of early recordings of Chopin's Nocturne Op.27 No.2. It starts by identifying a range of similarities and differences that hold between them, before considering some of the ways in which such recordings may inform contemporary practice. It goes on to explain how certain physical, haptic and proprioceptive cues may be abstracted from the recorded medium, before demonstrating some of the various ways in which these may be applied in a performance of the same piece.

Reproducing piano rolls and early acoustic recordings provide evidence that inform us of stylistic conventions during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and are a testament to changing fashions in performance. Vladimir de Pachmann (1848-1933) was one of the first internationally renowned pianists to record in Britain, whose career began in 1870 and lasted for fifty years. A pianist born in Chopin's lifetime, he made many recordings including of Chopin's Nocturne Op.27 No.2, both as a piano roll for Welte Mignon in 1906 and as an acoustic recording for Columbia (England) in 1916. In this paper I will examine and compare these two recordings in order to make conclusions about their correspondence, the similarities and differences of interpretational approach, and the differences resulting from the two recording mediums. The opportunity to compare the two recordings of the same composition played by the same performer, however recorded on two different mediums is rare and intriguing from several points of view. Pachmann's piano roll recording was generally considered more successful than his gramophone recording; why is this so? To what extent are the two recordings complimentary and how does one inform the other? This study will use the evidence preserved on Pachmann's piano roll and acoustic recording as a guide for better understanding the interpretational style of Pachmann and his era, as well as to reinforce the value of reproducing piano rolls in the study of performing practice.

This article considers the reception of Frédéric Chopin, both as a pianist and com-poser, in Great Britain during his lifetime. Examination of British attitudes to Cho-pin between 1830 and 1849 reveal an exceptional position in reception history; even though Britain was one of three locations for publication of his first editions, the po-larised reactions to Chopin’s music greatly influenced the reception and performances of his works after his death, ultimately revealing a different set of attitudes to those exhibited in France and Germany. Much of the material presented in this article is relatively unknown, and in presenting press attitudes to Chopin during his lifetime, we can trace how British critics reflect debates going on the Continent. Understanding how the press represented and viewed Chopin during his life time, help to build a picture of various tropes that developed later in the nineteenth-century.

In the digital age, reproducing piano rolls are increasingly hard to hear; the original playback technologies are rare, and many have deteriorated since their construction. Thankfully, a vast archive of digitisations has enabled performances, captured on such rolls, to become increasingly available for use within musical research. These digitisations preserve historic performance practices that have, in many cases, since disappeared from use and, as a consequence, they have an extremely valuable role to play in numerous research fields. The nature of this role may, however, be questioned; digitisations are often taken to be primary sources of evidence, seemingly offering direct and immediate access to once-upon-a-time performances. The processes involved in their production, however, suggest that they may be more appropriately understood as secondary sources. To demonstrate this point, this article offers a case study through which the production of digitisations is scrutinised; a range of visualisation tools are used to examine nine digitisations of a single piano roll and, although one may expect uniformity among the digitisations, visualisations reveal significant and substantial differences. Some of these differences may be attributed to the piano roll technologies, particularly in terms of the voicing and balance of the piano. Others are a consequence of the digitisation process itself; specific recording techniques, room acoustics, and microphone selection are but some of the many variables that determine the nature of the digital result. As the article develops, it becomes increasingly clear that digitisation profoundly influences what we hear. It is paramount that we understand the variables involved in the production of digitisations, since their capacity to take us back to the past ensures that they remain invaluable sources of evidence long into the future.

In the world of classical music, a composer’s body rarely figures in the reception of their compositions. The reception of one composer, however, seems unique in this regard; observations about Frédéric Chopin's physical identity, and perceptions about his masculinity, significantly impacted upon the appreciation and understanding of his music, ultimately colouring the ways in which his works have been viewed. This article considers how Chopin’s masculinity was constructed during his life and following his death. It surveys a selection of press reviews and testimonies, alongside early Chopin biographies, in order to establish how the image of Chopin developed relative to physical weaknesses and (an apparent lack of) masculinity. Taken as a whole, this image encapsulates a sense of masculinity itself, pronounced and projected within nineteenth century music criticism. Alongside this core theme, the article considers some of the other preoccupations that may have played a part in the construction of Chopin’s reception. In particular, the apparent divisions between the Classical and Romantic schools of music. That such sentiments may still be heard to this day makes one question whether a body of work may ever be separated from the body that produced it.

U ovom se radu istražuju engleske snimke klasične glazbe nastale između 1914. i 1918. godine. Rezultati istraživanja grupirani su u tri glavna područja: 1) Pregled engleskih snimaka iz kataloga tvrtki koje su se bavile snimanjem u to vrijeme, kao i snimaka povezanih društava iz drugih zemalja koje su objavljivane u Engleskoj (primjerice Columbia, Gramophone, Pathé, Odeon itd.). Iako je akustično razdoblje snimanja započelo oko 1877. godine, trajalo je sve do pojave prvih mikrofona 1925. godine. Između tih okvirnih godina voštani su se cilindri i ploče izrađivali mehaničkim tehnologijama snimanja; radilo se o relativno jednostavnom procesu snimanja koji je postao krajnje popularan. Uoči Prvog svjetskog rata voštani cilindri bili su manje popularni od ploča ili vinila, iako su i oni bili u uporabi. Ove snimke pokazuju širinu opsega stvaranja glazbe koji uključuje više instrumenata i različite skladatelje. 2) Podaci o popularnosti pojedinih skladatelja i skladbi tijekom tog razdoblja. Većina zemalja u Europi razvila je kulturu snimanja klasične glazbe uglavnom zahvaljujući lakom prenošenju akustične opreme za snimanje (fonograf). Neposredno prije i za vrijeme rata, Engleska je proizvela značajan broj snimaka, a i mnogi strani glazbenici tamo su dolazili snimati te je zbog toga Engleska postala značajna studija slučaja o suvremenim trendovima i  zaokupljenostima tog vremena; do 1914. godine fundus akustičnih (ili mehaničkih) snimki bio je velik, ispunjen većinom važnih izvođačkih imena. 3) Komentari i zapažanja koja se odnose na izvedbenu praksu tog vremena. Rani zvučni zapisi danas su iznimno značajni jer predstavljaju primarne izvore dokaza koji se odnose na izvođačke stilove iz prošlosti. Ove nam snimke ponekad otkrivaju nove podatke, budući da ne odgovaraju uvijek svojim notnim zapisima. Kao posljedica, ove snimke rasvjetljavaju stilske konvencije tog vremena, osobito s obzirom na izvedbenu praksu. Rad završava sljedećim zapažanjem: snimke koje su nastale u tom razdoblju nude uvid u umjetničku produkciju i razumijevanje snimki kao kulturnih artefakata. Na taj je način moguće promatrati promjene koje je uzrokovao rat te procijeniti utjecaj rata na proces snimanja, glavne interese i izvedbu.

In recent years, early recordings have become a primary source of musical research in multiple music disciplines. Such recordings, typically dating from the late 1800s through to the early 1900s, employed mechanical sound-reproduction technologies to capture performances by many of the leading figures of the time. As such, they offer valuable insights into the aesthetic tendencies and preoccupations of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century musicians, capturing and preserving performance styles, traditions and musical approaches of an age that has long-since passed. Unfortunately, very little research has been done into the production of such recordings and, as a result, we do not know to which extent musicians needed to adapt or change aspects of their performances when recording mechanically. This lack of knowledge has implications for any research that employs early recordings as a primary source within contemporary musical research. In response, this article introduces a Leverhulme-funded research project “(Re)constructing Early Recordings: a guide for historically-informed performance”. The first year of this project focuses on recordings on wax cylinders made by Julius Block, a music enthusiast and recording pioneer. Between 1889 and 1927, Block recorded some of the most eminent musicians and artists of his time, including Anton Arensky, Paul Pabst, Sergei Taneyev, Leo Conus, Jules Conus, and Anna Yesipova, among others. This article presents a case study based on the reconstruction and simulation of Block’s mechanical recording processes to capture performances using wax cylinders. Digital technologies were also used for the purpose of comparative analysis. Taken as a whole, the article serves to promote the use of early recordings, and proposes a method for their future analysis and use.

In many respects, the challenges facing musical performers will differ depending on whether they are dealing with historic or contemporary repertoire. Such challenges become increasingly apparent when one form of performance practice involves the use of historical instruments, and the other contemporary music technologies. With this in mind, it is easy to understand why one might separate forms of practice, perhaps offering technical, aesthetic, practical, cultural and even metaphysical rationales as a diagnostic for the ostensible cleavage between many different forms of performance. In doing so, however, we potentially neglect a core challenge that binds musical performance, irrespective of style, genre, tradition or technology; in all cases, performance requires the performer to confront the prevailing attitudes, concerns, preoccupations and aesthetic tendencies common to the cultures from which their practices are drawn. In this respect, forms of performance practice are united, involving the painstaking assimilation of knowledge whether historic or contemporary. This paper presents personal accounts of both historically-informed performance practice and contemporary performance practice from two active performers. It has three central aims: 1) to survey the central processes and methods involved in the planning, preparation and delivery of each form of performance practice; 2) to consider the various similarities and differences that hold between those forms of practice; 3) illuminate the relations between the performance, as a seemingly autonomous event, and the broader cultural context that underpins every aspects of the performance itself. In doing so, the paper places those cultural contexts at the heart of the musical performance, before noting that even the contemporary will, as time passes, become the historic.

In the digital age, reproducing piano rolls are increasingly hard to hear; the original playback technologies are rare, and many have deteriorated since their construction. Thankfully, a vast archive of digitisations has enabled performances, captured on such rolls, to become increasingly available for use within musical research. These digitisations preserve historic performance practices that have, in many cases, since disappeared from use and, as a consequence, they have an extremely valuable role to play in numerous research fields. The nature of this role may, however, be questioned; digitisations are often taken to be primary sources of evidence, seemingly offering direct and immediate access to once-upon-a-time performances. The processes involved in their production, however, suggest that they may be more appropriately understood as secondary sources. To demonstrate this point, this article offers a case study through which the production of digitisations is scrutinised; a range of visualisation tools are used to examine nine digitisations of a single piano roll and, although one may expect uniformity among the digitisations, visualisations reveal significant and substantial differences. Some of these differences may be attributed to the piano roll technologies, particularly in terms of the voicing and balance of the piano. Others are a consequence of the digitisation process itself; specific recording techniques, room acoustics, and microphone selection are but some of the many variables that determine the nature of the digital result. As the article develops, it becomes increasingly clear that digitisation profoundly influences what we hear. It is paramount that we understand the variables involved in the production of digitisations, since their capacity to take us back to the past ensures that they remain invaluable sources of evidence long into the future.

In recent years, early recordings have become a primary source of musical research in multiple music disciplines. Such recordings, typically dating from the late 1800s through to the early 1900s, employed mechanical sound-reproduction technologies to capture performances by many of the leading figures of the time. As such, they offer valuable insights into the aesthetic tendencies and preoccupations of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century musicians, capturing and preserving performance styles, traditions and musical approaches of an age that has long-since passed. Unfortunately, very little research has been done into the production of such recordings and, as a result, we do not know to which extent musicians needed to adapt or change aspects of their performances when recording mechanically. This lack of knowledge has implications for any research that employs early recordings as a primary source within contemporary musical research. In response, this article introduces ...

In many respects, the challenges facing musical performers will differ depending on whether they are dealing with historic or contemporary repertoire. Such challenges become increasingly apparent when one form of performance practice involves the use of historical instruments, and the other contemporary music technologies. With this in mind, it is easy to understand why one might separate forms of practice, perhaps offering technical, aesthetic, practical, cultural and even metaphysical rationales as a diagnostic for the ostensible cleavage between many different forms of performance. In doing so, however, we potentially neglect a core challenge that binds musical performance, irrespective of style, genre, tradition or technology; in all cases, performance requires the performer to confront the prevailing attitudes, concerns, preoccupations and aesthetic tendencies common to the cultures from which their practices are drawn. In this respect, forms of performance practice are united, involving the painstaking assimilation of knowledge whether historic or contemporary. This paper presents personal accounts of both historically-informed performance practice and contemporary performance practice from two active performers. It has three central aims: 1) to survey the central processes and methods involved in the planning, preparation and delivery of each form of performance practice; 2) to consider the various similarities and differences that hold between those forms of practice; 3) illuminate the relations between the performance, as a seemingly autonomous event, and the broader cultural context that underpins every aspects of the performance itself. In doing so, the paper places those cultural contexts at the heart of the musical performance, before noting that even the contemporary will, as time passes, become the historic.

U ovom se radu istražuju engleske snimke klasične glazbe nastale između 1914. i 1918. godine. Rezultati istraživanja grupirani su u tri glavna područja: 1) Pregled engleskih snimaka iz kataloga tvrtki koje su se bavile snimanjem u to vrijeme, kao i snimaka povezanih društava iz drugih zemalja koje su objavljivane u Engleskoj (primjerice Columbia, Gramophone, Pathé, Odeon itd.). Iako je akustično razdoblje snimanja započelo oko 1877. godine, trajalo je sve do pojave prvih mikrofona 1925. godine. Između tih okvirnih godina voštani su se cilindri i ploče izrađivali mehaničkim tehnologijama snimanja; radilo se o relativno jednostavnom procesu snimanja koji je postao krajnje popularan. Uoči Prvog svjetskog rata voštani cilindri bili su manje popularni od ploča ili vinila, iako su i oni bili u uporabi. Ove snimke pokazuju širinu opsega stvaranja glazbe koji uključuje više instrumenata i različite skladatelje. 2) Podaci o popularnosti pojedinih skladatelja i skladbi tijekom tog razdoblja. Većina zemalja u Europi razvila je kulturu snimanja klasične glazbe uglavnom zahvaljujući lakom prenošenju akustične opreme za snimanje (fonograf). Neposredno prije i za vrijeme rata, Engleska je proizvela značajan broj snimaka, a i mnogi strani glazbenici tamo su dolazili snimati te je zbog toga Engleska postala značajna studija slučaja o suvremenim trendovima i zaokupljenostima tog vremena; do 1914. godine fundus akustičnih (ili mehaničkih) snimki bio je velik, ispunjen većinom važnih izvođačkih imena. 3) Komentari i zapažanja koja se odnose na izvedbenu praksu tog vremena. Rani zvučni zapisi danas su iznimno značajni jer predstavljaju primarne izvore dokaza koji se odnose na izvođačke stilove iz prošlosti. Ove nam snimke ponekad otkrivaju nove podatke, budući da ne odgovaraju uvijek svojim notnim zapisima. Kao posljedica, ove snimke rasvjetljavaju stilske konvencije tog vremena, osobito s obzirom na izvedbenu praksu. Rad završava sljedećim zapažanjem: snimke koje su nastale u tom razdoblju nude uvid u umjetničku produkciju i razumijevanje snimki kao kulturnih artefakata. Na taj je način moguće promatrati promjene koje je uzrokovao rat te procijeniti utjecaj rata na proces snimanja, glavne interese i izvedbu.

In the world of classical music, a composer’s body rarely figures in the reception of their compositions. The reception of one composer, however, seems unique in this regard; observations about Frédéric Chopin's physical identity, and perceptions about his masculinity, significantly impacted upon the appreciation and understanding of his music, ultimately colouring the ways in which his works have been viewed. This article considers how Chopin’s masculinity was constructed during his life and following his death. It surveys a selection of press reviews and testimonies, alongside early Chopin biographies, in order to establish how the image of Chopin developed relative to physical weaknesses and (an apparent lack of) masculinity. Taken as a whole, this image encapsulates a sense of masculinity itself, pronounced and projected within nineteenth century music criticism. Alongside this core theme, the article considers some of the other preoccupations that may have played a part in ...

In the digital age, reproducing piano rolls are increasingly hard to hear; the original playback technologies are rare, and many have deteriorated since their construction. Thankfully, a vast archive of digitisations has enabled performances, captured on such rolls, to become increasingly available for use within musical research. These digitisations preserve historic performance practices that have, in many cases, since disappeared from use and, as a consequence, they have an extremely valuable role to play in numerous research fields. The nature of this role may, however, be questioned; digitisations are often taken to be primary sources of evidence, seemingly offering direct and immediate access to once-upon-a-time performances. The processes involved in their production, however, suggest that they may be more appropriately understood as secondary sources. To demonstrate this point, this article offers a case study through which the production of digitisations is scrutinised; a range of visualisation tools are used to examine nine digitisations of a single piano roll and, although one may expect uniformity among the digitisations, visualisations reveal significant and substantial differences. Some of these differences may be attributed to the piano roll technologies, particularly in terms of the voicing and balance of the piano. Others are a consequence of the digitisation process itself; specific recording techniques, room acoustics, and microphone selection are but some of the many variables that determine the nature of the digital result. As the article develops, it becomes increasingly clear that digitisation profoundly influences what we hear. It is paramount that we understand the variables involved in the production of digitisations, since their capacity to take us back to the past ensures that they remain invaluable sources of evidence long into the future.