Timpani performance practice in Giuseppe Verdi's La Traviata.

Abstract

Performers and scholars continue to debate the proper performance practice of mid-nineteenth century timpani parts. Modern timpanists, faced with pronounced conflicts in tonality between the timpani and the rest of the orchestra, as well as inconsistencies in notation, must decide how best to realize many of these nineteenth century performance parts. Giuseppe Verdi's 1853 opera <italic> La Traviata</italic> presents questions which still have not been resolved and neither the autograph nor other primary source material provide definitive answers. For seventy or eighty years beginning about 1810 timpani design underwent radical changes resulting in the larger and more resonant quick tuning modern instruments of today. <italic>La Traviata</italic> hints at this rapid mechanical evolution. Sparsely scattered throughout the autograph are clues to Verdi's awareness of progressive uses of the timpani. Thus, while broadly conforming to standard mid-nineteenth century timpani notation and practices, Verdi allowed performers the flexibility to use new technologies and techniques. This analysis of the timpani part to <italic>La Traviata</italic> compares seventeen sound recordings, three radio broadcasts and eight different timpani performance parts collected from professional timpanists. These sources span the years from 1946 to the present and show a wide variety of performance realizations. Over time, many of these reinterpretations have been accepted as standard practice. This paper was presented in a lecture/recital at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention 2000 in Dallas, Texas and at the University of Michigan on January 16, 2001. Two additional dissertation recitals were presented. Solo Percussion Music from the Pacific Rim (University of Michigan, February 23, 1997) featured <italic>For Marimba and Tape</italic> by Martin Wesley-Smith, <italic>Thirteen Drums</italic> by Maki Ishii, <italic> The Final Precipice</italic> by Jeffrey Peyton and <italic>Marimba Spiritual </italic> by Minoru Miki. Works for Piano and Percussion (Eastern Michigan University, March 15, 2001) featured <italic>Pedestrians</italic> by Evan Hause, <italic>Die Arten des Wassers</italic> by Nebojsa Jovan Zivkovic, and <italic>Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion</italic> by Bela Bartok.