Notes Become Music: A Guidebook from the Viennese Piano Tradition [Paperback]

Notes Become Music: A Guidebook from the Viennese Piano Tradition addresses the many unwritten nuances of dynamics, articulation and agogics as an expression of fundamental principles of a common European musical language. It treats the score as an incomplete musical shorthand that outlines the compositional and interpretive imperatives implicit within it, drawing on historical records from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and detailed comparisons of works to underline the authors presentation of Viennese tradition.

This book is not primarily concerned with questions of style or interpretation. Rather, it explains the many facets of musical notation that were taken for granted by composers who assumed a knowledge of the piano tradition of their day. Notes Become Music informs not only those students in countries where the central European music tradition is still unfamiliar, but also a younger generation of Europeans who have grown up without a living connection to their musical past.

1. Introduction: Musical Principles and the Limits of Notation / 2. Dynamics / 3. Articulation / 4. Agogics / 5. Pedal / 6. Notation / 7. ConclusionNotes Become Music: A Guidebook from the Viennese Piano Tradition addresses the many unwritten nuances of dynamics, articulation, and agogics as an expression of fundamental principles of a common European musical language. [Notes Become Music] conveys fundamental insights into how the works of the masters may be played both correctly and beautifully&. The study is concerned with nuances of our musical language that are often neglected or overlooked&. Mr. Fleischmanns insights are the fruit of decades of experience in piano teaching and performing.

Paul Badura-Skoda, pianist and conductor