Set Signs. Read Signs
On Several Performance Instructions of Schumann’s «Intermezzo» op. 4/2 for piano
Jean-Jacques Dünki
From the example of Robert Schumann’s Intermezzo op. 4/2 for piano, Jean-Jacques Dünki examines the aesthetic function of Schumann’s «Zeichen» (signs), under which he understands not only the performance indications, but all notated symbols and words in the score. From the perspective of historical performance scholarship, Dünki focusses on the state of notation, and the repertory of «signs» that were available at the time of the composition of Schumann’s op. 4; further, he asks whether and how Schumann transforms these signs and their horizon of meaning according to the needs of his own musical idiom; finally, whether these introduced «signs» really serve their purpose, namely to give the interpreter sufficient information about the work and its execution.
