A holistic view of the creative potential of performance practice in contemporary music
type: CreativeWork
description: 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. Pa…
abstract: 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. Pa…
author: Lüneburg, Barbara
language: en
keywords: Collaboration., Concert aura, Charisma, Audience., Performer, Composer, Promoter
date published: 2013
date modified: 2026-07-24T01:23:28Z
provider: University of Brunel
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Brunel University School of Arts PhD Theses