Explicit notation and implicit identity: Earle Brown’s philosophy of composition and an informed performance practice

This paper analyzes several recordings of Earle Brown’s December 1952 (1952), Four Systems (1953), and the String Quartet (1965) to understand how performers approach composition and improvisation when performing his works. By collecting and synthesizing Brown’s lectures and writings over several decades of his career it can be determined that Brown was focused primarily on the concept of an identity, or a set of characteristics that allow performed works to be easily recognizable (e.g., the recurring motive in Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony). Through graphic notation and open form, Brown allows musicians to collaborate with him through the score to create an identity in performance. This requires performers to experiment both with the explicit information Brown supplies and the implicit extensions of that information as perceived by the performer(s). Recordings of these works are reflections of the work’s innermost identity and analyzing them provides insight into how future performers can interact with and successfully perform Brown’s scores. With this knowledge, this paper presents a performer’s guide to Earle Brown’s music, opening a door for his works to be accessible by any musician regardless of their familiarity with Brown or his contemporaries. This guide can be read independently of the rest of the paper, serving as both a concise point of entry and a quick reference tool.

Name thesis:degree_name

A.Mus.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Music

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2023

Author dc:creator

• Hinkley, Brian J.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Taylor, Stephen
• Lund, Erik
• Fieldsteel, Eli
• Carrillo, Carlos

• Brown
• Earle Brown
• Open Form
• Mobile Form
• Graphic Notation
• Notation
• Performance Practice
• December 1952
• Four Systems
• Cross Sections And Color Fields
• String Quartet
• Composition

Statement dc:rights

• © 2023 Brian J. Hinkley

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/122003

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F122003