Digitale Fassungsvergleiche am Beispiel von Beethovens Eigenbearbeitungen

In its second module, „Beethovens Werkstatt“ deals with five of Beethoven’s compositions which exist both in their original versions and as authentic arrangements (Piano Sonata op. 14/1 arranged for string quartet, Septett op. 20 and Trio op. 38, Opferlied op. 121b and Bundeslied op. 122 as piano reductions, Große Fuge op. 133 as arrangement for piano for four hands op. 134). To demonstrate Beethoven’s arrangement practices, the original version of each work is synoptically linked with its arrangement in a digital edition called „VideApp Arr“. Through digital tools for comparison the relationships between the two versions can be investigated from different perspectives. It becomes visible how the versions are related to each other both by „invariance“ (text elements with the same structure), by „variance“ (text elements with a similar structure) and, in special cases, also by „difference“ (text elements without corresponding parameters). Each view within the „VideApp Arr“ is generated from the underlying MEI data.

„Würde Sie’s zu sehr ermüden zu begleiten?“ – Clara Schumann als Lied- und Kammermusikpartnerin

80 percent of Clara Schumann‘s playbills in her complete collection of concert programmes (Robert-Schumann-Haus Zwickau) include vocal participation of solo singers, choirs or actors. The question is to which extent Clara Schumann used to accompany these vocal contributions herself on the piano. Only rarely are other accompanists named on the concert playbills, but evidence from concert reviews suggests that these vocal contributions normally served as rests for the solo pianist. Sometimes separate accompanists are named in the concert reviews. In orchestral concerts it was usually the conductor who accompanied solo songs on the piano, not the solo pianist. The Popular Concerts in St. James’s Hall in London were chamber concerts, which had a regular accompanist who was labelled as „conductor“ though there was no orchestra participating. These accompanists sometimes also performed with instrumentalists, e. g. basso continuo music from the 18th century or piano reductions of orchestral concerts.