Tracing the idea in Schoenberg's Violin Concerto: an interpretation through performance practice, analysis and recording analysis

Schoenberg's twelve-tone music has attracted widespread musicological research and attention. The performance of his twelve-tone music, however, has not received the same prominence. The tension between these two opposing trends is the foundation of this thesis, which applies academic research to shaping an interpretation that leads to a performance of Schoenberg's Violin Concerto. In order to understand Schoenberg's musical thinking this study begins with the exploration of his concept of performance practice, identifying and organising the manifold issues around the concept of the Idea. In chapter two the Idea is traced in the material of the Violin Concerto, demonstrating how it can be associated with a specific group of notes, the tetrachord set-class 4-3. The appearance of this tetrachord in key moments, and the intention to project large-scale sections of the movements, influence the performer-oriented analysis at the end of chapter two. The performer-oriented analysis includes graphs that combine information about dynamics, tempo and a score reduction in order to assist the performer in his task of shaping each section. Chapter three explores the extent to which the projection of these large-scale sections occurs successfully in other recordings. The recording analysis program Sonic Visualiser has been employed in order to assist this research. The research focuses mainly on a contemporary recording, which at the time of the research was the most recent, and a recording that was in close proximity to Schoenberg and his circle: the 2000 recording with Rolf Schulte and Robert Craft (Philhannonia Orchestra) and the 1967 recording of Rudolf Kolisch and Rene Leibowitz (Wisconsin Festival Orchestra). Louis Krasner's 1954 recording with Dimitri Mitropoulos (Cologne Radio Orchestra) is also briefly examined, in order to make a comparison with another violinist that premiered the Concerto and was close to Schoenberg's circle. Chapter four amalgamates the previous research findings in order to produce three graphs, one for each movement, that outline a personal interpretation of the Concerto. The emphasis of these graphs focuses on the handling of tempo and how it influences the projection of large-scale sections that " organically connect to each other. At the end of the chapter the discussion returns to the performance practice issues outlined in chapter one, in order to demonstrate how they fit within the proposed interpretation of the piece.