A holistic view of the creative potential of performance practice in contemporary music
The creative potential and work of the performer in new music extends from the moment of conceptualising a concert to the moment of presenting it on stage and comprises many areas between and around those two points. In this thesis I explore the nature of this activity, from the act of playing itself to the commissioning and creating of new pieces, curatorial and collaborative tasks, and the actual concert presentation. I deliberately include interrelations between performer and music promoters, composers and the audience. This leads me to further areas of investigation, namely the question of the performer’s leadership, the charismatic bond with the audience and the creation of what I call “concert aura”. I do not strive to offer all-purpose formulae for the “perfect concert” or for the ideal collaboration. I investigate performance practice not as an absolute art but rather as something embedded in and shaped by social relations and society. Accordingly I understand this thesis as an empirically based study of the questions performers could ask, as well as processes in which they might want to engage, to find meaningful solutions for each new situation. Not all of the questions I raise will be new to each performer, but in their collaborative and concert practice many performers rely on a random, unsystematic, empirical understanding that has been gained by chance. In contrast, I attempt to draw a theoretical basis for my investigation from the fields of psychology, philosophy, media science and sociology, together with the evaluation of my own and other artists’ performance practice. In this way I hope to develop an academic foundation and a comprehensive, systematic approach that can be applied to different collaboration and concert situations. Part 1 of my thesis is concerned with theories and concepts relating to creativity, collaboration and presentation (concert aura and charisma) and aims to establish a firm theoretical basis for application in practice. Part 2 presents, discusses and analyses a selection of case studies from my own practice, considered in relation to the theories discussed in the first part. I conclude by offering guidelines to collaboration and giving a model example of how one might plan a future performance, aiming to create a Gesamtkunstwerk through the totality of the preparation and presentation, its social and psychological connotations. The thesis includes two DVDs with Quicktime Movies and two CDs with recordings of the compositions, commissioned as part of this research and discussed throughout the thesis. The Appendix contains three sample-CDs with an accompanying commentary which give an introduction to contemporary playing techniques for the acoustic and electronic violin and acoustic viola. This CD is intended as a guide for composers to get acquainted with the instruments and was given to each composer involved in this research.
Collaboration., Concert aura, Charisma, Audience., Performer, Composer, Promoter
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Brunel University School of Arts PhD Theses