Collaborative pianists in South Africa: comparative & practice-based perspectives with reference to musical theatre

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: There is a paucity of academic literature on the nature of collaborative pianism in musicaltheatre. The existing literature on musical theatre concentrates on defining the characteristicsof the genre, the various composers who occupy the musical theatre canon, the differentstylistic qualities indicative of certain decades, and methods of composition. Where theliterature falls short, is in documenting the role and responsibilities of the collaborativepianist (also known as the rehearsal pianist). A possible reason for this gap in the literature isa lack of commitment and impetus to train répétiteurs for the opera and musical theatregenres specifically. In the South African context, this problem is exacerbated by the absenceof a collaborative piano course with the purpose of producing répétiteurs for opera or musicaltheatre. Currently, specialization in the musical theatre genre is reserved for singers, dancers,and actors. The training of collaborative pianists, integral to the process of rehearsal andperformance, has fallen by the wayside. This thesis addresses the gap and offers concretesuggestions towards the integration of collaborative pianism into postgraduate training. Dueto the highly specialized nature of this type of employment, interviews with industryprofessionals were conducted as a means of determining the skills and qualificationscollaborative pianists have in common. In addition, various sources of literature coveringdidactics, education policy, curriculum reform, demands of musical theatre employment andits inner-workings, all provide a theoretical basis from which to engage topics revealed by theinterviewees. This study considers the education shortfalls that exist and suggests how thesehurdles can be overcome through the restructuring of a postgraduate Honours course andinternship opportunities. Given the commercial success of musical theatre in South Africa,ignoring the need for collaborative pianists in this lucrative sector of the music industrywould be a mistake.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University