New Approaches to Performance and the Practical
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New Approaches to Performance and the Practical Application of Techniques from Non-Western and Electro-acoustic Musics in Compositions for Solo Cello since 1950: A Personal Approach and Two Case Studies Rebecca Turner Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of PhD in Music (Performance Practice) Department of Music Goldsmiths College, University of London 2014 Supervisor Professor Alexander Ivashkin Declaration I, Rebecca Turner, the undersigned, hereby declare that the work submitted in this thesis is my own and where the contributions of others are made they are clearly acknowledged. Signed……………………………………………… Date…………………….. Rebecca Turner ii For Alexander Ivashkin, 1948-2014 iii Acknowledgments I would like to acknowledge the wisdom, encouragement, and guidance from my academic supervisor, the late Professor Alexander Ivashkin; it was an honour and a privilege to be his student. I am also eternally grateful for the tutelage of my performance supervisor, Natalia Pavlutskaya, for her support and encouragement over the years; she has taught me to always strive for excellence in all areas of my life. I am enormously grateful to Franghiz Ali-Zadeh and Michael Cryne for allowing me to feature their compositions in my case studies, and also for generosity giving up their time for our interviews. I am indebted to the staff of the Music Department at Goldsmiths College, London University, both for supporting me in my research and also being so generous with the use of the available facilities; in particular the Stanley Glasser Electronic Music Studios. I also thank C.f. Peters Corp., Breitkopf & Härtel, Schott Music Ltd, MUSIKVERLA HANS SIKORSKI GMBH & CO, for their kind permission to quote from copyrighted material. My sincere appreciation and thanks goes to Miranda Wilson for her help with editing my thesis, and Keith Potter for his guidance and advice during the final stages of my studies, their input has been invaluable. And finally, I would like to thank my parents, John and Janette Turner, and my family and close friends, for their constant love, support and encouragement, not only while writing this treatise but throughout my whole educational career. iv Abstract The role of the cellist has changed rapidly and significantly over the past 60 years. It has moved in tandem with compositional trends which have seen the extension of genres, techniques, and performance practices – changes which have an increasingly demanding palette of extended techniques. Present-day cello pedagogy has not matched these demands; in this paper, I address this deficit. My main research question examines these extensions. I addressed it through practice-led research, using three primary research methods. First, qualitative methods of data collection and analysis, namely formal and informal interviews, and observations at concerts and various music events. Secondly, via the search for, and analysis of, recent additions to the repertoire. Thirdly, autobiographical research, which was made possible due to the performance-based nature of my research and my unique position and experiences as a performer. The combination of these research methods revealed that a cellist’s role has been extended in three main ways: the extension of technique, the extension of participation, and, the extension of knowledge. In the first chapter, I explore these extensions using a selected sample of works to investigate and highlight specific changes to technique and performance practices since the 1950s, looking specifically at new approaches to performance and the practical application of techniques from non-Western and electro-acoustic musics. The next two chapters explore these issues in more depth and apply the findings, presenting two case studies on works that demonstrate how combining traditional cello playing with another music tradition can result in extended techniques: first, the cello and non-Western music, and secondly, the cello and electronics. This study concluded that recent compositional trends in cello writing have ultimately reinvented traditional cello playing. These trends push cellists to adapt and change their approach to the instrument and their understanding of their role as a cellist. v Practical Component: Recital Programme My thesis topic examines contemporary applications and use of the cello, looking at new approaches to performance and the practical application of techniques from non-Western and Electro-acoustic musics in compositions for solo cello since 1950. For my recital I have selected a programme that demonstrates the technical issues most salient to my research, with each piece (all of which feature in my dissertation) highlighting a different way in which the cello repertoire, and consequently the cellist’s role, has broadened in recent years. The two pieces selected for my case studies are central to the recital. These were chosen as a result of my preliminary research into the developments in the repertoire and the major effects these had on the performer’s role. I discovered that two ways in which the cello repertoire and the performer’s role had changed substantially in recent times had come as a result of (1) the influence of non-Western traditions on the conception of a piece of music, and (2) the combining of the cello with electronics. I wanted to select two works that were relatively unexplored. Habil Sayagi (1979) for cello and prepared piano, by Azerbaijani composer Franghiz Ali- Zadeh (1947– ), was chosen because it provided an original and successful example of the cello authentically merging and combining with the mugham tradition. This combination raised many important questions regarding how an Eastern-inspired piece such as this should be approached, interpreted, and played by the performer. Hearing Voices (2011) for cello and live electronics, by London composer Michael Cryne (1981– ), raised many other issues of its own, largely due to the electronic component. In this work we see the cello being blended with various electronic presets, vastly extending the timbral palette of the instrument along with the performance demands placed on the cellist. In addition, I was approached by the composer himself and asked to collaborate with him throughout the conception and compositional process, giving me a unique opportunity to gain knowledge into the work. I will also perform four additional pieces which, although not discussed at equal length in this paper, further point to the growing demands placed on the cellist in recent years. Carl Vine’s (1954– ) Inner World (1994) for amplified cello and tape vi has the cellist accompany itself on a prerecorded, multitracked, preprocessed tape. This work not only challenges the cellist to imitate, blend, and stay in time with their electronic ensemble partner, but also provides an example of a piece in the repertoire that contains influences from Australian folk music traditions. ‘Prelude no. 10: senza arco, senza pizzicato,’ from Sofia Guabidulina’s (1931– ) Ten Preludes (1974) for solo cello presents an example of an acoustic piece written in the spirit of the electronic medium, displaying this influence in both its conception and the sonic realisation. American composer Christopher William Pierce’s (1974– ) suite for solo cello, Variations on Wondrous Love (2006, written for me) is a superb example of multiple styles and music traditions merging into one work, combining an American folk hymn with Eastern traditions set in a contemporary Western classical music aesthetic. And finally, Giovanni Sollima’s (1962–) Alone (1999) for solo cello demonstrates the merging of multiple music styles. vii Table of Contents List of Figures……………………………………………………………………….xii List of Tables…………………………………………………………………….…xiv List of Sound Samples………………………………………………………………xv Introduction and Methodology…………………………………………...................1 Chapter One An Exploration of Contemporary Cello Repertoire and Technique The personal dimension……………………………………………………...27 1.1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………..32 1.1.1. Expanding philosophies……………………………………………...34 1.1.2. Exploration of the new sonic and textural potential of the cello using acoustic means………………………………………......................................38 1.1.2.1. The influence of electronic traditions on the conception of acoustic compositions……….….....…………….………………………...42 1.2. The Cello and Electronics……..……………………………………………..47 1.2.1. The use of the cello in the electro-acoustic medium……....................47 1.2.2. Cello with tape……………………………………………………….49 1.2.2.1. Timbral integration and playing techniques………….51 1.2.2.2. The use of preprocessed tracks to create the illusion of an ensemble…………………………………………………………………..53 1.2.3. Category two: cello with electronics………………………………......54 1.2.3.1. The extension of performance criteria…………….….56 1.2.3.2. The extension of expressive resources……………….61 1.2.3.3. Theatre and performance……………………………..63 1.2.3.4. Space…………………………………………………66 1.2.4. Electronic categories and trends, and their effects on the cellist……..68 viii 1.3. The Cello and Non-Western Techniques…………............…………….……70 1.3.1. The influence of non-Western styles and techniques on the cello repertoire…………………………………......................................................71 1.3.2. The development of a New Zealand music tradition………………...72 1.3.2.1. Landscape music……...……………….......................75 1.3.3. Effects on the cellist and the repertoire………………………………80 1.4. Concluding Thoughts……………………………………………...................82 Chapter