Publication Date

2011-5

Availability

Open access

Embargo Period

2011-04-26

Degree Type

Doctoral Essay

Degree Name

Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA)

Department

Keyboard Performance (Music)

Date of Defense

2011-04-12

First Committee Member

Paul Posnak

Second Committee Member

Paul Wilson

Third Committee Member

Esther Jane Hardenbergh

Fourth Committee Member

Nobleza Garcia Pilar

Abstract

The objective of this essay is to study technical problems and performance issues in the piano-reduction accompaniments of three solo arias from Mozart’s Don Giovanni: “Or sai chi l’onore,” “Dalla sua pace la mia dipende,” and “Batti, batti, o bel Masetto.” This study is executed through the comparative analysis of the arias’ accompaniments from four piano-vocal score editions of the opera (Bärenreiter, G. Schirmer, Ricordi, and Boosey & Hawkes) with cross-reference to the full orchestral score (the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe). The essay contains a detailed presentation of the merits and flaws of each of the four piano-vocal score editions; a discussion of the realizations’ quality; examples by the author of plausible modifications; and the author’s suggestions for practice, fingering, pedaling, and dealing with various performance issues. This essay can provide a stimulus for vocal pianists to explore the countless possibilities in piano realizations of the orchestral accompaniments of operatic works, and to continue to refine and improve their ability to imitate orchestral sonorities and textures at the piano.

Keywords

Don Giovanni; orchestral reductions; piano-vocal scores; vocal accompanying; Mozart's arias; opera

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