Musical Topics and Musical Performance

The purpose of topics in musicology is to identify meaning-bearing units within a musical composition that would have been understood by contemporary audiences and by later receivers. Topic theory has become a well-established branch of musicology, but its relationship to performance has received less attention. This book explores the interface of theory and practice, investigating how an appreciation of topical presence in a work may prompt interpretative thoughts for a potential performer and how performers have responded to such a presence in practice. The chapters focus on music from the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries with case studies drawn from composers as diverse as Beethoven, Scriabin, and Péter Eötvös.

Format: Hardback
Length: 254 pages
Publication date: 31 January 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

The primary objective of musicology's study of topics has been to uncover meaning-bearing units within musical compositions that would have been comprehended by contemporary audiences and subsequently by subsequent recipients, albeit in different contexts and with the requirement of historically informed listening. Since Leonard Ratner (1980) introduced the concept of topics, his relatively straightforward ideas have been expanded and developed by numerous distinguished authors. Topic theory has now established itself as a well-established branch of musicology, frequently incorporating semiotics, yet its relationship to performance has received less attention.

Musical Topics and Musical Performance thus aims to explore the interplay between theory and practice, and investigate how an awareness of topical presence in a work may elicit interpretive thoughts for a potential performer, as well as how performers have responded to such a presence in practice. The chapters delve into music from the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries, with case studies drawn from composers as diverse as Beethoven, Scriabin, and Péter Eötvös. The book presents a diverse range of original and innovative perspectives on the subject from a multitude of distinguished authors, addressing a neglected area of musicology and musical performance.

Weight: 660g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032110851