The claim of having achieved "authenticity" in performance has today almost disappeared without a trace. However, Richard Taruskin's efforts to disprove the premise through a series of articles in the 1980s still beg important questions, such as exactly what are the origins of the early music movement's performance style and which performers had a role in its transmission? Taruskin contends that Stravinsky transmitted the "geometrical," or modernist, Bach to the musical world, and that Stravinsky might have learned it from Wanda Landowska. Taruskin's accolade exposes more than a bit of irony within the early-music revival, since Landowska is seldom, if ever, acknowledged as a significant contributor to the development of the early-music "style" of performance, even though Landowska's recordings reveal a performer with a modern style, one that foreshadows 1980s early-music performances. Due primarily to the sound of her non-historic harpsichord, Landowska's influence, however, has been diminished, and her significant role was negated in the post-"authenticity" early music movement. This paper traces Landowska's central influence through an investigation of her Varsovian musical education, Parisian residency, and recordings. It recognizes and advocates for the contributions made by Landowska before the advent of the "authenticity" era.
Historical Performance; Early Music; Authenticity; Performance Practice; Landowska; Kleczyński