72 performance and the classical paradigm
concerning correctness (Wolterstorff 1975, 332).^2 Often they simply assume
that performers will translate what is specified in a score into a sound sequence
having certain unspecified features because those features are required by the
style or tradition that the composer shares with those expected to perform the
work. This applies to such things as phrasing, dynamics, and the manner in which
performers embellish what is prescribed.^3 In contrast to Goodman, Wolterstorff
maintains that “if the performer limits himself to following the specifications of
the score, not even attempting in other respects to produce a correct example
of the work, it is at the very least doubtful that he has performed the work”
(Wolterstorff 1975, 332). He holds that two things are necessary for something
to count as the performance of a performable work. First, there must be an
intention on the part of the performer(s) to produce a sound sequence that
complies with both the score and the implicit performative expectations of the
composer. Second, the performer(s) must be successful enough in realizing that
intention to produce a recognizable, even if flawed, example of the work.
But why should performers of a work be guided by the performative
expectations of the composer, or even, for that matter, by every detail that is
made explicit in the score? To what extent does the value of a performance
of a musical work depend upon the performance’s compliance with musical
understandings in place at the time of the work’s composition? More gener-
ally, to what extent are the kinds of considerations educed thus far concern-
ing what counts as a “correct” performance of a work normative for the actual
practice of performers? Why should producing such a performance be an
appropriate goal? Might not a performance that departs from those historically
situated prescriptions and expectations better serve our appreciative interest
in a performable work? If we reply that we must respect both the composer’s
explicit prescriptions and the period understanding of those prescriptions in
order to present an authentic performance of the work, we enter one of the
most contested areas in performance theory. In this chapter, we shall explore
these issues as they relate to the performance of classical musical works. In
the next two chapters, we shall consider how far the same considerations
apply to artistic performances in other musical genres or in other performing
arts. We shall also ask, relatedly, how far the classical paradigm itself – which
provides the context in which questions about “historical authenticity” have
traditionally arisen – can be extended to such performances.
2 Authenticity in the Arts
The notion of “historical authenticity” arises in the arts in respect of things
that purport to be work-instances. In the visual arts, the authenticity of a
canvas is a matter of its individual provenance. An authentic painting by