Wes Crone wrote:

>I have written some piano pieces which are awkward for the hands and
>maybe unplayable.  I had not given any consideration to playability and
>since I do NOT write music at the keyboard. ...
>
>Perhaps this sounds crude or arrogant but, to me, the performance
>amounts to next to nothing of importance.  Music from the page can be
>conceptualized in the mind and the performance is just a translation.

This is a really interesting point.  In studies of music criticism I was
always taught to think of the performer as the composer's partner, their
contributions to the final product being close to equal.  Of course, this
notion could be debated for evermore with regard to which figure has the
most influence on the music we hear.  However, I tend to think that as long
as one takes into consideration that the piece of music in question is not
the sole possesion of the composer but infact he is simply one of the
contributors to a final aural experience then enough is said.

In suggesting that no actual performance is necessary because someone with
enough perception can 'hear' the music simply by looking at the page in
some ways removes the aspect of performer from the equation.  But, in doing
this, does the reader of the page not interpret the music as s/he is doing
this, thereby essentially becoming the performer him/herself? Similar to
when a pianist sits alone in a room trying to perfect a sonata for eg.
That person takes on both the role of the performer and the audience on
some level.

One other, totally different, point.  I'm currently writing a study on
the way the essentially fragmentary and independent songs of Schubert's
Winterreise work musically as a cycle.  Does anyone know any internet
resources that give information about this song cycle? I am aware of the
story and do not require a translation of the text.  A more indepth musical
analysis would be useful - I'm trying to prove that the cycle as a whole
contains more, aesthetically, than the 24 songs that make it up.  The study
is coming on very well so far but some fresh ideas about the cycle could
come in very useful.

Thanks.

Damian Oxborough.
UC Scarborough, UK.