Interpretation
Artistic interpretation of a work.
What it means
Interpretation designates the artistic interpretation of a work by the performers. Every score leaves decisions open — about tempo, dynamics, phrasing, tone colour, agogics — and the way in which these decisions are made constitutes the interpretation.
It is to be distinguished from improvisation, in which music is invented, and from mere reproduction, which only puts the notes into effect. Interpretation lies in between: the text is given, its sounding shape is not.
How far an interpretation may go is one of the great questions of music-making. The range extends from the demand for the most exact possible execution of what is notated to the conviction that every performance should be a new interpretation. Both attitudes have their justifications.
In the notation
Interpretation is not notated but refers to what the notation leaves open. Performance markings, tempo markings, and articulation signs give directions, but no score determines a performance completely. Prefaces, sources, and tradition supplement what the text does not say.
Musical use
The idea of interpretation as an artistic achievement in its own right arises in the nineteenth century, when the roles of composer and performer separate and a fixed repertoire of works arises that is performed again and again. In the twentieth century, with historically informed performance practice, the question is added how the intention of an epoch can be gathered from the sources.
The question of how freely an interpreter may deal with the score was answered differently in different periods. In the nineteenth century the virtuoso counted as a second creator, in the twentieth century fidelity to the work and sobriety were demanded. Since the 1950s historically informed performance practice has tried to include instruments and manners of playing of the time of composition.
Performance practice
Begin with the text: settle what is prescribed before you decide what you add. Inform yourself about style and context of origin, for many decisions follow from it. Make your choice deliberately and stay with it instead of playing differently on every pass. And listen to different performances to recognize how large the latitude is.