Dissertation Index
Author: Hastings, Charise Y. Title: The Performer's Role: Storytelling in Ballades of Chopin and Brahms Institution: University of Michigan--Ann Arbor Begun: August 1998 Completed: April 2006 Abstract: This dissertation concerns performed music and the performer's role, particularly the social, physical and mental aspects of learning and playing. Analysis incorporating the performer's role is aided by the use of literary narrative terminology. The first two chapters of the dissertation are theoretical, the last three, analytical. Chapter 1 proposes that performance is an oral culture, akin to storytelling or folksinging, based on three criteria: performance is an event that unfolds in a particular place and time; it presents different versions of a single work; and it is largely defined by the performer’s interpretation and the listener’s reception. Performers may be compared to storytellers, as both shape their works for particular aesthetic and emotional effects. Chapter 2 explores the performer’s role in relation to an intersubjective cultural context that includes standard performance practices as well as individual conceptions of “good” and “bad” playing. This context helps determine what kind of playing is considered legitimate, and gives performers and listeners a common basis by which to judge a performance. Chapters 3 and 4 are two case studies of piano Ballades by Frederic Chopin and Johannes Brahms (Op. 23 and Op. 10, No. 1, respectively). I analyze the performer’s role as a storyteller using narrative techniques observed in stories associated with the Ballades, the “Edward” poem in the case of the Brahms, and a tale of my own devising with the Chopin. Chapter 5 considers several recordings of these Ballades from a listener’s standpoint, examining the relationship between pianistic technique and musical affect. This project contributes to studies of performance and analysis. I propose an analytical model using narrative concepts like chronological ordering and the storyteller's role. The dissertation also pertains to music and narrative studies, which employs narrative approaches for analysts and listeners' perspectives, but rarely performers'. My work addresses piano pedagogy as well: teaching methods and techniques have an enormous impact on a student's interpretation of music. Keywords: Chopin, Brahms, Ballades, performance, performer, narrative TOC: Chapter 1: Music: An Oral Culture Survey of Literature The Work as a Variable Concept The Oral Nature of Performance Stories and Storytellers Chapter 2: Performance Traditions Performance Traditions as Intuition Performance Traditions as the Composer's Intentions Performance Traditions as Patterns Performance Traditions as Technique Chapter 3: The Orality of Chopin’s G Minor Ballade, Op. 23 Plural Identity of the Ballade Process of the Ballade Performer's Perspective Chapter 4: A Poetic Perspective on Brahms' “Edward” Ballade, Op. 10, No. 1 Ballads and Balladeers Pacing Order of Events The Story of the Ballade The Discourse of the Ballade Epilogue: A Programmatic Interpretation Chapter 5: Hearing Storytellers Work and Performance Perception, Effect and Technique Contact: charise@umich.edu |