This presentation reveals some of the artistic and critical discoveries and challenges encountered in the process of exploring Émile Sauret through the making of a world premiere recording series of his 24 Études Caprices, op.64. Partially recorded on his c.1685 Stradivari violin, the project spanned four discs and has been issued as a series by Naxos between 2017 and 2020.

The violin virtuoso, composer and pedagogue, Émile Sauret carved himself an enviable reputation during his lifetime. Sometimes described as a successor to Paganini, he was acclaimed by some of the greatest musicians of his era, including Brahms, Liszt, Tchaikovsky and Sarasate. Today, however, Sauret’s work seems very little known, and he is predominantly remembered by violinists for the fiendishly difficult cadenza he composed to Paganini’s Violin Concerto no. 1.

During his 12-year professorial tenure at the Royal Academy of Music between 1891 and 1903, Sauret produced in 1902 his last major pedagogical publication - the 24 Etudes Caprices, op.64, published by Simrock. These works are a testament to his technical finesse and are dedicated to his student, the English virtuoso Marjorie Hayward.

The Études Caprices are inundated with specific dynamic, fingered, bowed indications and infused with an extraordinary density of variations, only rarely used for show, rather drawing the ear away from the repetition at the core of an étude. For the player, this unending variety, and the resultant length of the series (amounting to nearly four-and-a- half-hours of continuous music), is an invocation to draw every resource of expressiveness from the instrument.

Unter den zahlreichen Ton- und Videodokumenten des legendären Pianisten Vladimir Horowitz gibt es einige, in denen er frei improvisiert. Die Aufnahmen, die beispielsweise während seiner Proben in der New Yorker Carnegie Hall vor dem angekündigten Konzertprogramm entstanden sind, geben einen aufschlussreichen Einblick in die musikalische Gedankenwelt des Künstlers. Es sind gleichzeitig seltene Beispiele für ein vom Notentext gelöstes Spiel, denn von zahlreichen anderen Pianist*innen des 20. Jahrhunderts sind nur wenige Improvisationen von Glenn Gould und György Cziffra überliefert, obwohl diese Kunst noch im 19. Jahrhundert ein wesentlicher Teil der Konzertpraxis war. Doch wie verhält es sich mit der Improvisation von Konzertpianist*innen im 20. Jahrhundert?

Im Rahmen der Studie wird folgenden Fragen nachgegangen: Welche stilistischen bzw. kompositorischen Einflüsse sind in den Improvisationen Horowitz‘ erkennbar? Inwiefern beziehen sie sich auf bestimmte Werke – erfüllen die Improvisationen hierfür den Zweck einer virtuosen Einspielübung? Welche Klanglichkeit, welche Harmonik und welche Satzstrukturen bevorzugt Horowitz?

Für eine detaillierte Analyse werden aus den Tondokumenten erstellte Transkriptionen genutzt. Anschließend wird praktisch am Klavier demonstriert, inwiefern Horowitz‘ Ideen als Muster für eigene Improvisationen dienen können.

Literatur:

Schonberg, Harold C., Horowitz Ein Leben für die Musik, München 1992

Feldhordt, Philipp, Czerny und das Fantasieren: eine Untersuchung zum schrittweisen Verschwinden der Klavierimprovisation im 19. Jahrhundert, Folkwang Universität der Künste 2018

Gooley, Dana, Fantasies of Improvisation: Free Playing in Nineteenth-Century Music, Oxford University Press 2018

E. Rautavaara: Étude Op. 42 n. 5 Seconds

Étude Op. 42 n. 1 Thirds

Étude Op. 42 n. 4 Fourths

Étude Op. 42 n. 3 Tritones

Étude Op. 42 n. 6 Fifths

C. Debussy: Étude L 136 n. 4 pour les Sixths

E. Rautavaara: Étude Op. 42 n. 2 Sevenths

C. Debussy: Étude L 136 n. 5 pour les Octaves

This recital investigates the development of piano virtuosity during the 20th century, presenting a combination of the Etudes op. 42 (1969) by the Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara (1928–2016) and a selection from the first Book of Etudes (1915) by Claude Debussy (1862-1918), which served as a source of inspiration for Rautavaara. The decision to focus on two collections of etudes on intervals was influenced by the presence of this form in different historical periods and by the role it has played since the Romanticism to demonstrate virtuosity. The program presents the etudes as a complete set structured in ascending order of intervals, with no repetition, revealing similarities and differences in the composers' approaches to virtuosity and enabling the audience to recognize elements of continuity and innovation with the tradition. The performance of the Etudes will be preceded by a discussion that will reflect on the concept of virtuosity in piano performance by exploring the relationship between contemporary techniques and traditional criteria of technical mastery such as speed, precision, power, and dexterity. By challenging the traditional notion of virtuosity in light of the aesthetic and stylistic changes in modern music, the discussion will reflect on the expectations and the skills required from performers to play this repertoire and be recognized as virtuosos.

This research combines the examination of scores and interviews with pianists, analysis of a practice diary, and impressions from my public performances of Rautavaara's and Debussy's etudes. These concerts will provide an opportunity to explore the impact of this type of virtuosity on the audience and to examine which settings are most effective to showcase this type of virtuosity, including considerations on the type of piano and acoustic.