A study of the interpretation approach and methods of Pnina Salzman and Alfred Cortot
Researcher:Inbar Rothschild
Year research degree commenced: 2019
Year research degree completed: 2024
Supervisor: Sarah Callis
Abstract
“I wish there will be poetry in piano playing, because after all, this is art.”
-Pnina Salzman
My research proposes an insight into the remarkable Romantic tradition of my late teacher, renowned Israeli pianist Pnina Salzman, following her own mentor, Alfred Cortot. Exploring my personal musical heritage, I have attempted to capture the living memory of Cortot's and Salzman's legacy and trace its unique qualities. My methods involve collecting and preserving rare materials from private journals, scores, masterclasses and interviews of Salzman and Cortot, as well as testimonies and physical notes provided by pupils and colleagues; presenting them through my own individual perspective and experience as a pupil of the tradition.
My thesis includes: a background to Salzman’s interpretative approach, placing it in the context of Cortot’s tradition, as well as those of other relevant piano pedagogues of Cortot’s era; an exploration of the use of metaphor – a distinct feature of Salzman’s poetic musical language – including the building of an extensive database of Salzman’s metaphors; and finally, an exploration of her application of poetic thought to the principles of execution and performance, demonstrated through selected examples from a portfolio of case-studies. This last chapter will shed light on the practical features of Salzman’s ‘holistic’ approach, and establish the methods through which her metaphorical perception may be used to express her poetic ideals.
"I suddenly feel the music entering me, not with its notes, but with its magic spell, its power to radiate, to communicate the unexplainable… From this moment on, I understood how to bring music to life and that an interpreter can transcend being a pianist. I knew, I saw, and I believed. I was enchanted."
-Alfred Cortot
The art of interpretation is probably one of the most elusive individual components of performance practice, one that, albeit the purpose of much research, can rarely be systematically defined, documented or studied. According to Salzman, and to paraphrase Cortot, the interpreter’s role was to discover, illuminate, recreate and transmit the same intense emotions of passion, pleasure, ecstasy and pain that the composers breathed into the music they wrote. Researching each piece from background to structure and musical features, Cortot and Salzman sought to capture the expressive essence of the music and gain a deeper understanding of its intended atmosphere, character and interpretation – the meaning beyond the notes. In their teaching, this holistic musical perception was then expressed by a unique poetic language, using colourful metaphorical imagery and ideas which were entwined throughout their music making – leading every technical and musical choice, enriching their toolbox with infinite fascinating possibilities, reinforcing their personal vision and bringing it to life.
As part of my wish to carry on and communicate this tradition, I have produced a number of recordings which I have attached to my thesis, and participated in several conferences, including: Performance Research Ireland (March 2022, Dublin) Women at the Piano 1848–1970 (March 2023, Irvine, California), 46th International EPTA Conference (March 2024, Lucerne).
The following series of video clips – Interpretation coming to life – offers a brief window into the interpretative ideas behind a few of the major works taught by Salzman and Cortot, combining their execution and interpretation comments with my personal analysis on the score and through the lens of my own performance:
As part of my conclusions, I have also recorded Chopin’s Preludes, which provide a representation of the poetic, interpretative, musical and technical realisations I’ve explored throughout my thesis:
Main image: Pnina Salzman/Interpretation Coming to Life (Chopin’s 4th Ballade score, with notes by Pnina Salzman and Alfred Cortot)
Bio
Combining 'poetry, warmth, feeling, imagination, sincerity... and a brilliant technique' (Pnina Salzman), Inbar's playing is inspired by the great Romantic tradition of her acclaimed musical ancestors, Pnina Salzman and Alfred Cortot. In addition to an active career as a concert pianist and an avid chamber musician, Inbar is researching her musical heritage in the course of her doctoral studies at the Academy, capturing the living memory of Cortot's and Salzman's musical tradition in order to communicate it to the next generation.
Inbar has given concerts throughout Israel, Europe and New-York, and recorded for Israeli, Czech and Swiss Radio stations. She completed her Bachelor's and Master's degrees summa cum laude under the guidance of Prof. Pnina Salzman at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music at Tel Aviv University while serving in the IDF as an Outstanding Musician. She has won prizes in several competitions, including the Chopin Competition in Tel-Aviv (2001), the Franck Peleg Competition (1999), the Polina Levinne Prize (1997), the Tel-Hai International Piano Masterclasses Course (2003), and the Young Researcher Award at the International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition in Sapporo, Japan (2008). In addition, she regularly received annual excellence scholarships from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation and from the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music between 2000-2008.
In 2013 Inbar co-founded the Chamber Concerto Club, an ensemble dedicated to bringing classical repertoire to wider, more diverse audiences in Israel, playing eclectic programmes that combine different musical genres, original materials and arrangements, including musical lectures and literary-musical collaborations, supported by Israel’s Ministry of Culture and Education.
LINKS
Further recordings, information and materials can be found on my website and YouTube channel:
