Interpretation Vs. By the Book/Authentic Performances

What are your opinions on authenticity of performances versus applying your own interpretation? Do you pedal in Mozart or not? Violinists, do you use vibrato at all in Baroque music? Do you use any rubato in Beethoven? I am just wondering what peoples opinions are on these issues because now, (as a pianist), I am having difficulty finding an appropriate balance between playing authentically and putting in my own interpretation.

I think that it is necessary for the individual performer to be expressive in their own way. I believe that if a performer wants to play strictly by the rules of Baroque or Classical music, go for it, but I do think that sticking so strictly to the rules makes a piece of music more like a photograph than a painting- A photograph is exactly what is there, where as a painting is what someone sees in his/her own eyes.

The simple response- Whatever floats your boat is OK with me, but I prefer to hear an individual expressiveness.

When I play classical piano music, I tend to play to the extremes of the dynamics and rubato. I can think of the first movement of Moonlight Sonata, I just pound the left hand octaves in the parts marked mf :D. I don't necessarily think it's a good thing though. ;)

When I play classical piano music, I tend to play to the extremes of the dynamics and rubato. I can think of the first movement of Moonlight Sonata, I just pound the left hand octaves in the parts marked mf :D. I don't necessarily think it's a good thing though. ;)

Yeah, I do believe there is a limit to what you can do before an audience member shoots you. :P

Of course, they would have to be a die-hard Beethoven fan to shoot you for that... :unsure:

I use vibrato in baroque music though it sounds completely fine without and some pieces or sections even better without!

Another similar thing, especially in classical music, that I have trouble with is interpreting tempo. EG: The second movement of Beethoven's Appassionata is marked Andante con moto. I take out my metronome which has Andante labeled 76-108. i set my metronome to 76, the slowest Andante, and play Appassionata movement 2 to the set tempo. Why is it going way too fast? I mean, I'm playing it at what it's marked, Andante, the slowest Andante, and it just sounds so fast that it's silly! How do you deal with this? How do you know what the correct tempo is?

What are your opinions on authenticity of performances versus applying your own interpretation? Do you pedal in Mozart or not? Violinists, do you use vibrato at all in Baroque music? Do you use any rubato in Beethoven? I am just wondering what peoples opinions are on these issues because now, (as a pianist), I am having difficulty finding an appropriate balance between playing authentically and putting in my own interpretation.

I think it depends on the situation. If you're in an academic setting, strict adherence to period styles should be kept. When you're in an artistic setting, it's okay to go a little over the boundaries.

I tend to have it rough with baroque music. I am almost afraid of using any dynamics at all just because the harpsichord couldn't. Also, almost all baroque keyboard music I've seen does not have any tempo markings from the composer. This drives me insane! How am I supposed to know what tempo the composer intended if no tempo is given by him/her?

Another similar thing, especially in classical music, that I have trouble with is interpreting tempo. EG: The second movement of Beethoven's Appassionata is marked Andante con moto. I take out my metronome which has Andante labeled 76-108. i set my metronome to 76, the slowest Andante, and play Appassionata movement 2 to the set tempo. Why is it going way too fast? I mean, I'm playing it at what it's marked, Andante, the slowest Andante, and it just sounds so fast that it's silly! How do you deal with this? How do you know what the correct tempo is?

Beethoven's tempi (and especially metronome markings) are a huge argument amongst musicologists. One question amongst others concerning his metronome markings is whether they mean one swing of the metronome from left to right or vice versa (the way we use a metronome), or a "double-swing" from left to right and back to left.

That doesn't matter of course when only a term for the tempo is given and no metronome marking. In that case I wouldn't use a metronome at all. "Andante" isn't defined by a certain range of beats per minute, but rather the "feel" of the music. It means it should have a sense of "walking" to it, i.e. not hurried, but also not slow. As it is "con moto", it's probably a bit faster, but it can also just refer to a sense of striving and inner motion (agogic maybe?). Using metronome markings for finding the tempo for an "Andante" also doesn't work because it's not strictly clear what the intended pulse for the piece is. I.e. are you counting quarter notes, half notes, eighth notes?

I say, use your imagination and go for your personal interpretation of how an Andante con moto should sound, not for metronome markings (as they are not specified).

As for the original question: I don't tend to perform pieces "authentically" for the most part. I have no issues with playing Rameau on a Steinway piano or using pedal with Bach. However, simply -ignoring- historical playing practices for many musicians leads to an uniform "romantic" sound, regardless of the music they are playing. You shouldn't just always play with vibrato because that's the sound you are used to. You should do it consciously. Studying period styles of interpretation can teach you a -lot-, even if you don't forcibly have to apply it all. When I'm playing a classical period piece, I may of course play it on a modern piano and (selectively) use pedal, but sometimes I'll also do things like imitating a more hammerklavier-like sound and getting away from the full and bright "Steinway sound" by using the left pedal, even in a forte and things like that. And I'll definitely use things like "notes in

Another similar thing, especially in classical music, that I have trouble with is interpreting tempo. EG: The second movement of Beethoven's Appassionata is marked Andante con moto. I take out my metronome which has Andante labeled 76-108. i set my metronome to 76, the slowest Andante, and play Appassionata movement 2 to the set tempo. Why is it going way too fast? I mean, I'm playing it at what it's marked, Andante, the slowest Andante, and it just sounds so fast that it's silly! How do you deal with this? How do you know what the correct tempo is?

The metronome is not meant to tell you what tempo to play the piece. If I were you I would listen to the piece a few times, get an idea of the style of the piece, and ask yourself, "Is that the tempo that I like for the piece?" And from there, just experiment with the tempo- it won't hurt to try a few tempos just to find one that you like... and can play... :P