| This thesis is a narrative and phenomenological inquiry into how pianists create compelling and emotionally intense performances. It examines the mental and physical methods that pianists use to establish an emotional connection with the music and with their audiences. This thesis contains phenomenologically-themed narratives of seven pianists (one concert pianist, three university piano professors, two private piano teachers, and one undergraduate piano performance major) describing memorable performances, performance preparation, the performance itself, and their teaching methods. This research provides pianists and piano teachers with insight on how to cultivate expressivity and emotional intensity in their own playing and in that of their students.;Keywords: emotion, empathy, expressivity, narrative inquiry, piano performance, phenomenology. |
