Winerock, JackChai, Congcong2017-05-072017-05-072016-12-312016http://dissertations.umi.com/ku:14947https://hdl.handle.net/1808/23912The purpose of finger selection for composers and musicians has changed since the 18th century due to many factors. In order to understand how fingering selection can serve a composer’s musical intention, this paper concentrates on the study of historical treatises and performance practice, the development of the aesthetic of music, the development of the keyboard instrument, and the anatomy of the hand. In the second half of this paper, I experiment with various fingering ideas in Mozart’s Fantasy in D minor, K. 397 and Piano Sonata in B flat major, K. 333. The result of this experimentation led to the discovery that once pianists liberate their minds to accept new fingering options, they will broaden their musical abilities, both physically and intellectually. However, the fingering study needs further research on more musical examples from the 18th and 19th century.44 pagesenCopyright held by the author.MusicPerforming artsFingeringfortepianohistorical performanceMozartmusical intentionPerformance PracticeDissertationopenAccess