Dr. Sy Brandon, Composer
P.O. Box 204
Wrightsville, PA 17368-0204
717 252 3385
e-mail: sybrandon@comcast.net
http://cooppress.hostrack.net
GETTING INTO THE COMPOSER’S MIND
The premise of this discussion will be "how a performer can get into
composer's mind to help with interpretation".
I. What Does Music Mean? - Leonard Bernstein’s definition from his
Norton Lectures At Harvard University in 1973.
A. Music has intrinsic meanings of its
own, which are not to be confused with specific feelings or moods, and
certainly not with pictorial impressions or stories. These intrinsic
meanings are generated by a constant stream of metaphors, all of which
are forms of poetic transformations.
B. Definition of terms –
1. Meaning – conveyed by the notes
themselves
2. Expression – what we feel
3. Metaphor – A=B B=C therefore A=C
4. Intrinsic Metaphors – purely musical
5. Extrinsic Metaphors – extra-musical
II. Extrinsic Metaphors
A. Titles –
B. Musical terminology –
C. Program Music –
D. Imagination –
III. Intrinsic Metaphors
A. The importance of unity and variety
B. The use of subtle variation
C. Interpreting imitation
IV. Putting it all together
A. Articulation on unmarked notes
B. When to change a composer's ideas
C. Flexibility regarding tempo
D. Importance of knowing the full score