Interpreting and performing the emboied musical gestures and expression in selected impromptus for solo piano by Frederic Chopin

This dissertation focuses on the performative interpretation through musical gestures in the selected impromptus for solo piano by Franz Schubert and Frederic Chopin. Although Hatten (2004) has developed a comprehensive framework for the analysis of musical gestures, the focus is mainly on the musical works from the eighteenth century until the early nineteenth century, in particular by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Franz Schubert. Therefore, this dissertation aims to extend Hatten_s theory beyond the early nineteenth century in examining the different musical gestures in the selected impromptus by Schubert and Chopin. By associating with gestural analysis and performance considerations, it provides a guideline for pianists to develop their own interpretation. Despite the selected impromptus by both composers being lyrical in nature, the outcomes suggest that Schubert_s and Chopin_s impromptus generally exhibit Hatten_s concepts of stylistic and strategic gestures. However, Schubert_s impromptus mainly incorporate dialogical and rhetorical gestures, while Chopin_s impromptus primarily convey thematic and spontaneous gestures that evoke a sense of improvisation._