Performance practice is the study of how music was performed over the centuries, both by its originators (the composers and performers who introduced the works) and, later, by revivalists. This first of its kind Dictionary offers entries on composers, musiciansperformers, technical terms, performance centers, musical instruments, and genres, all aimed at elucidating issues in performance practice. This A-Z guide will help students, scholars, and listeners understand how musical works were originally performed and subsequently changed over the centuries. Compiled by a leading scholar in the field, this work will serve as both a point-of-entry for beginners as well as a roadmap for advanced scholarship in the field.

Beethoven wrote 32 sonatas for piano. Volume 1, edited by Stewart Gordon, includes the first 8 sonatas (Op. 2, Nos. 1-3; Op. 7; Op. 10, Nos. 1-3; and Op. 13 ["Pathétique"]), written between 1795 and 1799. Since these autographs no longer exist, this edition is based on the first editions, published by various Viennese engravers. Dr. Gordon discusses a variety of topics including Beethoven's life; the pianos of his time and their limitations; Beethoven's use of articulation, ornamentation, tempo; and the age-old challenge of attempting to determine the definitive interpretation of Beethoven's music. Valuable performance recommendations, helpful fingering suggestions and ornament realizations are offered in this comprehensive critical body of Beethoven's sonatas. Where performance options are open to interpretation, other editors' conclusions are noted, enabling students and teachers to make informed performance decisions.

In this collection of academic essays, award-winning pianist and music professor Yaokun Yang shares her carefully compiled analyses of classical music and aesthetics during several different periods, focusing particularly on the aspect of piano performance practice. Yang, who devoted six years to her research, offers extensive commentary, historical background, and comparisons of varied composers and their music. The pieces she studies include Beethovens piano sonatas, an advanced piano teaching series, the development of opera in different areas, Bachs Brandenburg concertos, Haydns piano sonatas, the Bach-Busoni Chaconne, Brahmss Intermezzo, Olivier Messiaens Vingt regards sur lenfant-Jsus, Prokofievs piano sonatas, Weberns Six Pieces for Large Orchestra, and Schumanns Piano Concerto. With this collection of analyses, Yang hopes to provide information and commentary to help contemporary pianists recognize the beauty and the challenges of performing different musical styles in appropriate ways.

In Beethoven's 32 Piano Sonatas, renowned performer and pedagogue Stewart Gordon addresses textual issues, Beethoven's pianos, performance practices, composer's indications, and the composer's development, pointing to patterns of structure, sonority, keyboard technique, and emotional meaning. In addition, each sonata appears in a helpful outline-chart format for easy-access reference.

Beethoven’s piano sonatas form one of the most important collections of works in the whole history of music. Spanning several decades of his life as a composer, the sonatas soon came to be seen as the first body of substantial serious works for piano suited to performance in large concert halls seating hundreds of people. In this comprehensive and authoritative guide, Charles Rosen places the works in context and provides an understanding of the formal principles involved in interpreting and performing this unique repertoire, covering such aspects as sonata form, phrasing, and tempo, as well as the use of pedal and trills. In the second part of his book, he looks at the sonatas individually, from the earliest works of the 1790s through the sonatas of Beethoven’s youthful popularity of the early 1800s, the subsequent years of mastery, the years of stress (1812†“1817), and the last three sonatas of the 1820s. Composed as much for private music-making as public recital, Beethoven’s sonatas have long formed a bridge between the worlds of the salon and the concert hall. For today’s audience, Rosen has written a guide that brings out the gravity, passion, and humor of these works and will enrich the appreciation of a wide range of readers, whether listeners, amateur musicians, or professional pianists. The book includes a CD of Rosen performing extracts from several of the sonatas, illustrating points made in the text.

Dr. Stewart Gordon, Professor of Music in the Department of Keyboard Studies at the University of Southern California, is held in high regard by professional piano teachers worldwide. His critical editions of Beethoven's piano sonatas provide all the tools necessary for a stylistic performance and are essentials for the library of every piano teacher. His thorough research of the earliest available sources has captured the most accurate reflection of the composer's intent. These sonatas contain helpful fingering suggestions and performance recommendations. Other editors' conclusions are noted where performance options are open to interpretation. Volume 3 includes Sonatas 16--24 (Op. 31, Nos. 1, 2, 3; Op. 49, Nos. 1, 2; Opp. 53, 54, 57, and 78).

Beethoven wrote 32 sonatas for piano. Volume 2, edited by Stewart Gordon, includes Sonatas 9--15 (Op. 14, Nos. 1--2; Op. 22; Op. 26; Op. 27, Nos. 1--2; and Op. 28), written between 1798 and 1801 and published shortly after they were written. Of the sonatas in this volume, autographs exist for Op. 26; Op. 27, No. 2 (the first and final pages are missing); and Op. 28. This edition is based on the existing autographs and the first editions, published by various Viennese engravers. Dr. Gordon discusses a variety of topics including Beethoven's life; the pianos of his time and their limitations; Beethoven's use of articulation, ornamentation, tempo; and the age-old challenge of attempting to determine the definitive interpretation of Beethoven's music. Valuable performance recommendations, helpful fingering suggestions and ornament realizations are offered in this comprehensive critical body of Beethoven's sonatas. Where performance options are open to interpretation, other editors' conclusions are noted, enabling students and teachers to make informed performance decisions.

Beethoven’s piano sonatas are a cornerstone of the piano repertoire and favourites of both the concert hall and recording studio. The sonatas have been the subject of much scholarship, but no single study gives an adequate account of the processes by which these sonatas were composed and published. With source materials such as sketches and correspondence increasingly available, the time is ripe for a close study of the history of these works. Barry Cooper, who in 2007 produced a new edition of all 35 sonatas, including three that are often overlooked, examines each sonata in turn, addressing questions such as: Why were they written? Why did they turn out as they did? How did they come into being and how did they reach their final form? Drawing on the composer’s sketches, autograph scores and early printed editions, as well as contextual material such as correspondence, Cooper explores the links between the notes and symbols found in the musical texts of the sonatas, and the environment that brought them about. The result is a biography not of the composer, but of the works themselves.

Few composers even begin to approach Beethoven's pervasive presence in modern Western culture, from the concert hall to the comic strip. Edited by a cultural historian and a music theorist, Beethoven and His World gathers eminent scholars from several disciplines who collectively speak to the range of Beethoven's importance and of our perennial fascination with him. The contributors address Beethoven's musical works and their cultural contexts. Reinhold Brinkmann explores the post-revolutionary context of Beethoven's "Eroica" Symphony, while Lewis Lockwood establishes a typology of heroism in works like Fidelio. Elaine Sisman, Nicholas Marston, and Glenn Stanley discuss issues of temporality, memory, and voice in works at the threshold of Beethoven's late style, such as An die Ferne Geliebte, the Cello Sonata op. 102, no. 1, and the somewhat later Piano Sonata op. 109. Peering behind the scenes into Beethoven's workshop, Tilman Skowroneck explains how the young Beethoven chose his pianos, and William Kinderman shows Beethoven in the process of sketching and revising his compositions. The volume concludes with four essays engaging the broader question of reception of Beethoven's impact on his world and ours. Christopher Gibbs' study of Beethoven's funeral and its aftermath features documentary material appearing in English for the first time; art historian Alessandra Comini offers an illustrated discussion of Beethoven's ubiquitous and iconic frown; Sanna Pederson takes up the theme of masculinity in critical representations of Beethoven; and Leon Botstein examines the aesthetics and politics of hearing extramusical narratives and plots in Beethoven's music. Bringing together varied and fresh approaches to the West's most celebrated composer, this collection of essays provides music lovers with an enriched understanding of Beethoven--as man, musician, and phenomenon.