Style and interpretation in the nineteenth‐century German violin school with particular reference to the three sonatas for pianoforte and violin by Johannes Brahms

Abstract

From the mid nineteenth to early twentieth centuries the performance of Brahms’s music was intricately bound with the performance style of artists within his circle. In violin playing Joseph Joachim (1831‐1907) was the foremost exponent of the German violin school. The stylistic characteristics of this school, which included selective use of a pre‐modern style of vibrato, prominent application of portamento, predominantly legato approach to bow strokes and the frequent and noticeable modification of tempo and rhythm, were considered indispensable expressive devices by Joachim, Brahms and others associated with this circle. While the use of such devices in the nineteenth century has been well documented in published research over the past 15 years or so, there is currently much contention about the extent to which such devices were employed. Importantly, in addition to written documentation and solo recordings, this thesis examines recordings of chamber ensembles—whose members had a connection to the German violin school and/or Brahms—that as yet have been little consulted as primary source evidence. Spectrogram analyses of many of these recordings provide definitive evidence of vibrato that was narrow in width, fast, and applied selectively. Other new evidence in my thesis strongly supports the hypothesis that portamento, tempo modification and rhythmic alteration were used to a much greater extent than today, and this significantly enhanced the rhetorical features in Brahms’s music. A detailed Performance Edition with Critical Notes about Brahms’s three Sonatas for Pianoforte and Violin Opp. 78, 100 and 108, applies the evidence elucidated throughout the thesis.