Aufführungspraxis der Wiener Schule im Verein für musikalische Privataufführungen

Abstract

This article examines performance practice within the ‘Verein für musikalische Privataufführungen’ (Association for Private Musical Performances) on the basis of the surviving annotated sheet music from the association’s archive, found in Arnold Schönberg’s estate. Using the example of arrangements and rehearsals of works by Béla Bartók, Max Reger, Hans Pfitzner and Claude Debussy by Schönberg and Anton Webern, the interpretative concepts of the Vienna School are examined. An analysis of the entries in the scores reveals how detailed dynamic and agogic instructions were used in an attempt to make the thematic and motivic structures of the works more transparent and to enable the audience to gain a deeper understanding of contemporary music. The sources thus not only document the performance history of the works played, but also provide insights into the history of their reception from the perspective of the Schönberg circle.