Individualized interpretation: Exploring structural and interpretive effects on evaluations of emotional content in Bach’s Well Tempered Clavier

Abstract

Audiences, juries, and critics continually evaluate performers based on their interpretations of familiar classics. Yet formally assessing the perceptual consequences of interpretive decisions is challenging – particularly with respect to how they shape emotional messages. Here, we explore the issue through comparison of emotion ratings (using scales of arousal and valence) for excerpts of all 48 pieces from Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier. In this series of studies, participants evaluated one of seven interpretations by highly regarded pianists. This work offers the novel ability to simultaneously explore (1) how different interpretations by expert pianists shape emotional messages, (2) the degree to which structural and interpretative elements shape the clarity of emotional messages, and (3) how interpretative differences affect the strength of specific features or cues to convey musical emotion.