Contemporary performance of the sonatas for cello and piano by Ludwig van Beethoven as informed by Carl Czerny

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This dissertation places the sonatas for cello and piano by Ludwig van Beethoven into thecontext of a continuing discussion about the composer's metronomic tempo indications(MTIs) for a large number of his own works, many of which were added retrospectivelyafter the patenting of Maelzel's metronome in approximately 1815. There seems to be anincreasing consensus that these indications deserve serious consideration whenperforming such works. The sonatas for cello and piano happen to fall into a category ofworks for which the composer did not leave MTIs. But it is in the writings of his associateand former pupil, Carl Czerny, that one does find a source that not only includes MTIs, butalso performance instructions for these works. Despite its title, the book Carl Czerny – Onthe Proper Performance of All Beethoven's Works for Piano is not limited to a discussionof his works for solo piano, but also contains specific mention of the sonatas for cello andpiano as well as all his other chamber music with piano. Therefore this source is given acentral position in the present study. The authenticity and validity of Czerny's text isevaluated, leading to the acceptance of Czerny as a reputable and qualified figure topronounce on Beethoven interpretation, in this case specifically on his sonatas for celloand piano. In addition, Beethoven's preoccupation with tempo is examined within thecontext of a conceptual study of the notion of tempo. Following the newly establishedpremises of Performance- or Practice-based Research the performance of the sonatas inaccordance with Czerny's instructions and at his MTIs is then included as an integral partof the study. At the same time this research is anchored within three relevant streams ofcurrent discourse: Historically Informed Performance Practice and the performance historyof the works in question, both of which are underpinned by the notion that the musicalwork is ultimately realised in its performance. Consequently, the interpretations, capturedon CD, experiment with and reveal new knowledge about Beethoven's six sonatas forcello and piano through performance. To place these sonatas in an even wider context thestudy also includes performances of Beethoven's 'Triple Concerto for violin, cello, pianoand orchestra, Haydn's cello concerto in D major, the second sonata for cello and piano inF major by Brahms and the sonata for cello and piano by Shostakovich. Finally, a SouthAfrican link is created by the inclusion of Peter Klatzow's sonata for cello and piano.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University