Mastery of Articulation in the Piano Performance

Abstract

Based on the scientific research devoted to the problem of articulation in the piano performing art, the article summarizes its main provisions. The author identifies two interrelated aspects of achieving performance articulation. The different functionality of these aspects allows us to present musical articulation in two types: as an author’s (or editor’s) one and as a performer’s one. The author's articulation is the primary basis, objective and unchangeable reality, the idea encoded in the musical text by the composer, and the performer’s articulation is a derivative, subjective art infinitely cognoscible and recreated by the performer. The purpose of the article is to study the problem of articulation in the performing activities of the modern pianists of Azerbaijan. Research Methodology. The articulation research process has been carried out through methods of analysis, synthesis, and generalization based on listening to performers’ recordings of piano works of various styles and forms. The scientific novelty is that for the first time, the concept of articulation is formulated as an objective reality of a musical text and as a subjective recreation in the music interpretation process, that is, as an author’s, editor’s and performer’s one according to the historical and scientifictheoretical analysis of this problem. For the first time, the analogy is drawn between the speech punctuation marks against the musical punctuation signs making by a pianist during a performance. The punctuation signs such as musical ones: dot, ellipsis, comma, exclamation and question are introduced. Conclusions. The leading role of the author’s (editor’s) and performer’s articulation in the music interpretation process, as well as the musical punctuation tools, which significantly influence and determine the mastership in achieving the dramatic integrity of the work, are specified. The special creative role of the musician in creating a performing articulation based on a deep knowledge of the author’s or editor's articulation given in the musical text (legato, legatissimo, non-legato, staccato, marcato, tenuto, accent) is emphasized. It has been proved that the performing articulation mastership is directly and consistently dependent on the study and analysis of the musical text, the deeper and wider the knowledge of the performer, the more options for creative readings and interpretations are created by the performer.