All that glitters in Elgar’s Sonata for Violin and Piano Op.82: a study in early twentieth-century expressivity and performance style

Abstract

Early recordings of Elgar’s Sonata for Violin and Piano Op.82 and other English works from around 1920 reveal an expressive language that has all but disappeared from performance style today. This may be attributed to the dramatic shift away from the practices of late--‐Romantic musicians toward ‘modern’ style that occurred over the course of the twentieth century. The manner of interpretation of early twentieth--‐century works today therefore, may be markedly different from that which was envisaged at the time of composition. In this thesis I explore performing practices and style in early twentieth--‐century string playing as a means of informing a fresh and historically appropriate interpretation of Elgar’s Sonata for Violin and Piano. Evidence from recordings, string treatises and written accounts are used to shed light on the ‘sound world’ of Elgar’s time, focusing specifically on the use of portamento, vibrato, agogic accentuation and tempo modification. I uncover aspects of the expressive style undoubtedly allied to the early performances of this Sonata and identify historically appropriate performing practices that expand the palette of expressivity for this and other works of Elgar’s era.