Performance to Composition: the Piano Music of Franz Schubert

Minton, Ruth K. (2023) Performance to Composition: the Piano Music of Franz Schubert. Doctoral thesis, Liverpool Hope University.

Text R K Minton PhD thesis.pdf - Published Version Restricted to Repository staff only until 1 May 2025. Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial. Download (73MB)

Abstract

This multi-media practice-led project explores the role of performance in Schubert’s composition process. It focuses on the features of early nineteenth-century pianos,
namely their light and responsive action, together with their pedal options. Recordings on four pianos from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries illustrate these
features and their links to Schubert’s piano music.

Chapter 2 analyses the light and responsive action of Viennese pianos and its relationship to texture and articulation in works ranging from the D 899 Impromptus to
solo dances, sonatas, and fantasias. It broadens out to consider the improvisatory origins of Schubert’s music, with reference to principles discussed in eighteenth and nineteenth century keyboard treatises, and how knowledge of the instruments played a role in larger decisions concerning structure.

Chapter 3 initially focuses on specific pedal instructions in Schubert’s piano music before analysing how elements, such as dynamics and articulation, link to pedal
options on Viennese instruments, including the shift and moderator pedals. The analysis draws on a range of repertoire, from the D 899 and D 935 Impromptus to solo piano dances and sonatas, to highlight the role of pedals for expressive purposes and their significance in Schubert’s composition process. The recital that accompanies the thesis
aims to demonstrate how the research findings informs interpretative decisions in performance today.
The project looks to provide fresh perspectives on the role of texture, dynamics, and articulation instructions, as well as use of register, in Schubert’s compositional
planning and development of ideas through a dialogue between performance and analysis. The practice-led analysis allows a re-evaluation of Schubert, as the roles of pianist and composer become interlinked.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Faculty / Department:	Faculty of Creative Arts & Humanities > School of Creative and Performing Arts
Depositing User:	Matthew Adams
Date Deposited:	20 Apr 2023 13:01
Last Modified:	20 Apr 2023 13:01
URI:	https://hira.hope.ac.uk/id/eprint/3879

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