What do you think of period instrument performances? Do you like them? Why or why not?

Question

I love them and find their approach refreshing and much needed. In my opinion, many 20th century recordings of Baroque and Classical period works are a little too far from what the composer's original intentions most likely would have been (the way the composer would have heard it - the musical conventions of the time period, the instruments themselves, and the make up of the ensambles were different in times past.) I have heard perfomances of Bach and Mozart, for example, that were way too Romanticized and subsequently distorted beyond recognition. As a musician I know that Baroque and Classical period pieces carry a lot of "baggage" and I think it's a great thing that period instrument performances are trying to give us a glimpse of what Baroque and Classical works may have sounded like to the composers themselves.

Everybody, thanks for your opinions! :-)

glinzek - Sure, the composer may have had and probably did have an idealized idea in his/her head about how the piece should sounded and I agree that in the case of over romanticizing nothing is the fault of the instruments themselves. I play the piano and I certainly don't play Mozart like I would Chopin. Yes, of course, different effects can be achieved on a modern instrument. If you think period performances are out of tune it is probobly because these perfomances use A=415 - this sounds a semitone lower than our modern A=440. My pet peeve is sthe use of gigantic orchestras for pieces that were originally scored for much smaller numbers of instruments. I think the original scoring should be abided by. And yes, I could imagine playing a Mozart sonata on a period piano! In fact I would like to. Forte-pianos (period pianos) were not meant for use in huge concert halls. The key is how we listen to it - these instruments were meant for use.

... in more intimate settings. Take the clavichord for example. Yes, I like to clavichord too...hehe...I like the intamacy of period performances and smaller numbers. Interesting discussion! :)

Smashmashcrash - that very clean and pure sound is exactly what I like too. It's different.

Answer 1

I like period string music. Stringed instruments haven't changed that much over the years so a violin in a baroque orchestra doesn't sound all that different but baroque orchestras approach the music very differently. They use vibrato sparingly and it has a very clean, pure sound that I really enjoy. However, I find period woodwind instruments, with the exception of flute and recorder, painful to listen to. Period woodwinds tend to sound honky and buzzy even with very good players. Do you share this opinion?

Answer 2

Interesting question.

I have always found them strangely unsatisfying.

I am not convinced that we are listening to the the way the music sounded back then. I know that historically, Bach could not stand an out-of-tune instrument.

I have heard for instance, a performance of the Brandenburg concertos done by Haagwood's (sp?) group. While I like the "chiffy" sound of the original Blockflute, the tonal quality and intonation of the strings just turns me right off. I cannot believe that Bach would have put up with that. And I have a recoding of Beethoven's 9th on period instruments which is simply horrible to listen to. The orchestra has no body whatsoever. Surely the piece was conceived with a better sound in mind.

Isn't it possible that instruments have improved in quality over the years, and that a composer may have had an idealised sound in his/her head about how the piece should sound?

Consider Beethoven, who seemed never to be satisfied with the output of the pianos of his day. He banged the hell out of his insturments, even before he was deaf, in an effort to get a sound out of them that didn't yet exist. Many improvements made in the instrument since then can be attributed to the demands he made of them in his writings.

He asked orchestral players to do things heretofore unheard of, and they complained more than once that his music wasn't playable.

And as far as the "romanticized" versions fo Bach and Baroque music, et al -- ins't that a fault of the interpreter and not the instruments? Glen Gould played Bach beautifully on the piano, and I would say that his interpretations are definitive , not at all romantic or anachronistic -- despite being saddled with a "modern" instrument.

If today's musicians payed more attention and became a bit educated in the various historical styles, used ensembles that would have been common during the period, etc, why go to the trouble of recasting the instruments in the historical mold, when in fact the improvements made in the instruments since then were needed from the standpoint of consistency of intonation, tonal qualtiy, ease of play (consider valve versus natural horns) and so forth? Can you imagine playing Mozart sonatas on period pianos? They wouldn't project beyond the 5th row!

So I am not a fan.

Answer 3

I DO NOT like period performances:/! Whatever "composer intentions" these performances serve are only because the composers' intentions at the time were limited in scope to what they knew. Composers of Mozart's time were yet to learn of the Steinway piano, or the Boehm silver flute. Mozart's piano sounded like a toy, while the flutes he composed for sounded like overgrown Oscar Meyer wiener whistles. There are many more examples of this. But acoustic limitations of period instruments are not the main reason I don't like these performances. I mainly don't like them because they pay more attention to "BEING 'CORRECT' INSTEAD OF GETTING THE MUSICAL MESSAGE ACROSS!" That to me is a mortal sin, and would be more against the composers' true intentions than any performance today considered "tacky."

I must say, for instance, that my very favorite recordings of the Mozart flute concerti are those by James Galway. Other flutists are always running him down calling them "ridiculous" because he plays them more like late Romantic literature rather than by the "rules." Still, his performances, to me, probably more than any others out there, really convey the message Mozart was trying to get across. If that's not correct performance practice, either it should be, or I don't know what it is!

Answer 4

I like them ~
My brother has always had a large collection of recordings of music on the orignal instruments ~ I think they are swift ~ I can't imagine invoking the musical spirit of an era any other way ~ my favorite of my brother's recordings: Table Music at the Court of Maria Theresia ~ it is like a large cage of crickets playing stringed instruments: perfect for dining!

I don't have any recordings of that stuff tho! ~~~~ I can't stand the albatross affect of a collection of anything~~~I am strictly a two-duffle-bag / money/ passport and traveller's cheques kind of princess~~~~what I am having fun with these days is the ordinary music like Haydn Symphonies since my being the sister of somone who liked bird music and music from petaloma left me a little in the dust when it came to regular repertoire... and he had the money, I had to spend mine on other things ~~~

p.s. a friend of mine once told me: don't forget ....the Mozart pianos had a much slower action....

Answer 5

Having been the Lutenist in several Early Music groups, I'd have to say I love period instrument performances. MWAH!
That is to say if the performers aren't BORRRRRRRRRING! I've heard some very vaunted period instrument players who just plain put me to sleep. Others are wonderful.