Forschungsforum Sommersemester 2025

Antrittsvorlesung: Le berceau de la musique: the Perception of the Italian Style in 18th  Century Europe

Giulia Nuti – Univ.-Prof. für Cembalo und Historische Aufführungspraxis, GMPU

Improvisation was at the heart of 18th century debates on national musical styles and expression. In the Italian tradition, ornamentation of written parts was expected and encouraged, while the realization of basso continuo accompaniment was both essential to the composition and beyond the composer’s control. Italian music was celebrated for this expressive freedom, yet many critics saw its dependence on basso continuo and ornamentation as excessive, allowing performers too much interpretative license.

This presentation examines contemporary descriptions from non-Italian sources to identify the improvisatory techniques most admired and those that drew the sharpest criticism, with particular reference to the realization of the accompaniment. Through this analysis, we gain insight into the improvisational techniques employed by performers and their impact on performance practices, helping us reconstruct — or at least imagine — how the musicians of the time shaped and defined the Italian style.