Knowing the Score

Synopsis: The main body of the DVD is a recording of a 90-minute lecture given by Malcolm Bilson in which he examines aspects of notation of Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Prokofiev, Schubert, and Bartók, showing clearly that there is far more expressive information in these scores than is usually presumed. During this talk, punctuated by excerpts of Bilson performing alternately on a five-octave 18th-century Viennese piano and a modern Steinway, he challenges widely accepted notions of articulation, tempo, and pedalling.

The DVD also features a 45-minute interview with British pianist David Owen Norris in Bilson’s music room. The two pianists demonstrate and discuss several early pianos and explore such diverse topics as the differences between English and Viennese pianos around 1800 and fingerings and bowings in urtext editions. In addition, the DVD includes a bibliography, a discography, and two stellar performances by Bilson - Schubert’s Moments Musicaux nos. 2 and 3, performed on an 1830 André Stein piano in the Brahms-Saal of the Musikverein in Vienna; and Haydn’s Fantasia in C, on a ca. 1795 Anton Walter replica in the Music Room of the Esterháza Castle in Fertöd, Hungary.
Language: English
Country: United States
Year of release: 2006
Year of production: 2006
Subjects: Music
Keywords: musical notation; pianos

Contributor

Malcolm Bilson

Cast

David Owen Norris

Name: Malcolm Bilson
Email: mb68@cornell.edu.
Web: http://knowingthescore.com/dvd/index.php External site opens in new window
Address: Cornell University
231 Lincoln Hall
Ithica
NY 14853
USA

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