Abstracts of issue 14 (2000)

The Evolution of Interpretative Aesthetics in the 20th Century through Piano Pedagogy. Essay on the Dissemination of Knowledge of Musical Interpretation

This article is a study on the dissemination of knowledge relating to musical interpretation through piano pedagogy. To this aim, we focus on the suggestions of three great pedagogues, whose teaching took place during the first half of the 20th century, namely Walter Gieseking, Heinrich Neuhaus and Alfred Cortot.

The research is based on three books written by each interpreter-professor respectively, which include analyses of their pedagogical methods, as well as their specific approaches to interpretative aesthetics. We attempt the recording of their views on the relationship between technique and expression, intuition of the interpreter and fidelity of the interpretation, as well as between meaning of the color of sound (“toucher”) and structure of musical phrases.

Aiming at some general conclusions, this study focuses on the influence of the interpretative tradition of various piano schools and of certain artistic currents of the 20th century, regarding musical pedagogy.

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