Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2019-03-02 23:24
There's been extensive and ongoing investigation and discussion about Beethoven's metronome markings. They are questionable. Some musicians feel they are unreasonable and injurious to the music they're marked upon, and some well-founded authorities deem them mistakes, either on the part of the composer or in the understanding of music historians since that time. Others feel or believe the indications are valid and authoritative, and they prescribe playing - or trying to play - the music at the indicated speeds. Results vary. Generally speaking, Beethoven's music, more than almost any other composer's, responds well to widely differing interpretations, but regarding some of his most infamously fast tempo indications, for example, in the Hammerklavier Sonata, it's safe to say that most convincing performances set tempi significantly slower than what the composer marked.
|
|