Graduate Research Colloquium: Dr Maria Stratigou (University of Sheffield)
Looking into the Manuscripts and Historical Editions of Louise Farrenc’s Piano Works - Detailed Analysis and Performance Implications
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Louise Farrenc (1804-1875) was a prominent pianist, composer, pedagogue, and scholar of the nineteenth-century French musical stage. In order to shape my interpretation and understand her compositional and performance style in more depth, a large component of my research and interpretation of her piano works the last seven years has been the study of her manuscript scores and their discrepancies with the first and other historical editions.
In this Lecture-Recital I will present my approach to Farrenc’s piano works and the process of deciding the most historically-informed and accurate representation of her performance intentions, based primarily on the analysis of her scores. A comparison to contemporary composers of her time will provide the context of her piano compositions, and the discussion of her pianistic output and her work at the Paris Conservatoire will demonstrate the importance of studying and performing her music.
Maria Stratigou was born in Athens. She graduated in June 2007 winning the first prize of the Conservatory of Athens with Aliki Vatikioti-Farrant. In 2010, she finished the PGDip Advanced Accompaniment Course with Distinction under the guidance of Fali Pavri. Maria was awarded her PhD (Performance) in 2021 from the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), under the supervision of Prof Barbara Kelly, Dr David Jones and Dr Simon Clarke, with scholarships from the NWCDTP and the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation.
Maria was chosen twice among the piano department students of the RSAMD to perform with the RSAMD Symphony Orchestra at the RSAMD Concerto Concert. Contemporary composers have trusted Maria to perform world premieres of their pieces (G. N. Gianopoulos Op.15 Five pieces for solo piano/Op.17 Nocturne for solo piano, E. Vaios ‘3’, D. Minakakis ‘Metamorphoses’ for solo piano). Maria's is the first pianist to record the Complete Piano Works by Louise Farrenc. The complete sets of Etudes were released by Grand Piano Records in October 2022, receiving outstanding reviews.
About the series:
The Colloquia feature leading figures, as well as younger scholars, from across the world. They present their research in papers on all kinds of music-related topics. Graduate students Chuyu Zhang and Eugenie Dalgleish organise the series. Presentations are followed by a discussion and drinks reception. If you would like more information, please email Chuyu Zhang.
