Interpreting the Solo for Piano

Abstract

This chapter develops the insights of its predecessor, turning the analytical gaze onto the notional piano soloist’s part, the Solo for Piano. It details the ways in which the many notations of the part are related to one another, through repetition, variation, and invention, and relates this to Schoenberg’s influence. It shows that the Solo for Piano is a sort of network, like the instrumental solos, but one of a rather different kind, in that the network is an internal aspect of the Solo. It analyses many features of the notations, both within individual notations and as recurring features of many notations.