Year: 2011
Type: article
Abstract: This article explores the contentious position of improvisation in the contemporary Baroque music revival. Paradoxically, historical performers aim to obey the composer‘s intentions by paying careful attention to the written instructions of the musical score yet they also seek to recreate the performative conventions—and freedoms—of an earlier era. The performance practice literature, the recording industry, and the conservatory education of historical performers reinforce a text-centered approach to music that is antithetical to spontaneous creativity. While in-depth understanding of Baroque performing conventions and repertoire is important, greater rapprochement with living improvisatory traditions might result in more liberatory performances of early music.
Author: Kailan R. Rubinoff
Language: English
Subfield: Music
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1490245368