What Can Performance and Theory Teach Each Other?

Abstract

ABSTRACT Until rather recently, music theory has had little to no truck with performance, whether disregarding it entirely, derogating its corporeal-temporal non-ideality, or issuing it unsolicited prescriptions from atop the ivory tower. Consequently, the dialogue between these two domains, especially in the twentieth century, has been closer to a paternalistic monologue with (understandably) no audience. Happily, a rapprochement is afoot and the prospect of a sustained, salutary, and symbiotic relationship seems increasingly possible, its early fruits provocative and promising. I begin by tracing the relationship of theoria and praxis from Hellenic times to our own, highlighting the philosophical and cultural ideas and ideals that have shaped our terrain. I then survey recent work in performance analysis, in particular that of the last three decades, in which theorists have-- perhaps for the first time--truly listened to performance and performers with open ears and minds. I conclude by offering my approach to the issues at hand, exemplifying it with analyses of Haydn and Chopin that open up what I hope will be intriguing possibilities for performance interpretations.