Strahan, Barbara
(2009)
Music of a lesser genre? Schubert’s
development and transformation of the
piano duet medium.
Maynooth Musicology: Postgraduate Journal, 2.
pp. 19-39.
Abstract
Schubert’s gift for transforming smaller genres into greater ones is not
unique to his Lieder: the formal, stylistic and aesthetic innovations in
Schubert’s piano duets reveal an authentic development of this genre.
Schubert’s four-hand piano repertoire enjoyed the same performance
setting as his songs, but in reception history have not enjoyed the same
level of popularity. This chapter therefore seeks to examine why the
duets have been misrepresented in scholarship and criticism, and also
how Schubert’s contribution differed radically to that of his
predecessors. Firstly, the significance of the social milieu of the early
nineteenth century in cultivating the duets shall be considered as also
the many negative associations accompanying this musical setting. Key
issues of reception history, which have contributed to the neglect of
Schubert’s piano duets within Schubert scholarship, will also be
addressed. Following an exploration as to why these works have been
neglected within scholarship, the history of the duet genre will be
considered in order to place Schubert’s contribution in a broader
context. Finally, Schubert’s own contribution will be assessed, alongside
how traditional musicological approaches to the duets have begun to be
overturned.
| Item Type: |
Article
|
| Keywords: |
Music; lesser genre; Schubert; development; transformation;
piano; duet; medium; Maynooth Musicology; |
| Academic Unit: |
Faculty of Arts,Celtic Studies and Philosophy > Music |
| Item ID: |
9470 |
| Depositing User: |
IR Editor
|
| Date Deposited: |
14 May 2018 11:38 |
| Journal or Publication Title: |
Maynooth Musicology: Postgraduate Journal |
| Publisher: |
Maynooth Musicology |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| URI: |
|
| Use Licence: |
This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available
here |
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