... to say, reducing the status of the performer to that of interpreter. However, this is not a view that has always existed; composers such as Mozart and Beethoven often expected performers of their works (including themselves, to which I shall return) to create improvised cadenzas for their concerti, while, additionally, the accompaniments were improvised to an extent. Reducing this to a basic level, is it simply the case that, harmonically and stylistically, it was not as difficult to do this in Mozart's time? We no longer have a tradition, or such a tonal system embodying a guiding code, to respect in this way, which has contributed to the prioritising of the composer, and the score. Through our traditional respect for the written word, one expects to perform music as it is written, which itself has consequences: '...it is our veneration for the urtext that leads us to the attitude ...

See this essay or coursework document in full right now