Creativity and Improvisation in Classical Music: an Exploration of Interpretation and Ownership
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Creativity and Improvisation in Classical Music: An Exploration of Interpretation and Ownership Jennifer Nancy Helena Mills Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music Performance by Research October 2010 Faculty of the Victorian College of the Arts and Music The University of Melbourne Abstract Creativity is an intangible yet very much real element of the human condition, an abstract concept or process proven by its representation in the material and metaphysical products of innovative human pursuits. In terms of music, creativity is demonstrated in the efforts of composers of musical works, whose preparatory undertakings result in a specific product of amalgamated intentions, and conversely in the spontaneous inventions of improvising performers, who both create and perform their works in real time. What of the many so- called classical musicians out there, who while rigorously and comprehensively trained in the creation of the ideal sound on their respective instruments via employment of the ideal technique, complete such training with a view towards the performance of the musical realisations of another‘s creative urge? It is as a classical musician myself challenging the artistic merit of what I do that I embark upon this line of questioning, with a view towards clarifying the potential representation of creativity within the constraints of performing already-composed works, and identifying the role improvisation could play in interpretation as the bridging of the gap between articulating another musician‘s notes and conveying those notes‘ perceived meaning with a sense of personal voice. In doing so I call upon the perspectives of musicians from the genres of repertoire performance, improvisation, and composition through a survey process which presents a practical exploration of these musicians‘ motivations, experiences of creativity, notions of sound, voice, interpretation and ownership and opinions of the personal impact on all of these that musical improvisation has had or may have. The original research is grounded in examinations of the historical and contemporary contexts of improvisation‘s role in classical music performance. Responses indicated that experimentation with one‘s own musicality in the form of spontaneous composition – ideally a pure, direct and honest self-expression – is an immensely useful exercise. Indeed as an exercise, and because of its immediate nature, improvisation can aid in the expansion and deepening of a musician‘s knowledge of, and facility on, their instrument – the performer moves from the cycle of purely repetitious execution into a more direct and informed exploration of the notes, and thus an awareness of and contact with the more meaningful communicative potential of said notes. iii Declaration This is to certify that (i) the thesis comprises only my original work towards the Master of Music Performance (by Research) degree; (ii) due acknowledgement has been made in the text to all other materials used; (iii) the thesis is less than 15,000 words in length inclusive of footnotes and exclusive of bibliographies and appendices. Signed________________________ Date__________________________ v Acknowledgements My most heartfelt thanks must go firstly to those generous and insightful souls who gave their words to my survey; I feel privileged to have borne witness to your inner artists. To my infallible supervisor Dr. Timothy Stevens; your sage advice and precision of interpretation and articulation helped so greatly in shaping this thesis. To Dr Donna Coleman, Dr Barry Bignell, Joan Pollock, John McCaughey, Dr Michael Christoforidis and Dr Robert Vincs for the honour of working under your respective expertise and to the Master of Music Performance class of 2010 for the inspiration of working beside you. To Natasha Conrau, motivator, sounding-board, and companion; and to Georgina Lewis for completing our lovely trio. To Chantelle Casey for knowing me and what to say, and for wisdom, encouragement and coffees. To Xani Kolac for hugs and light-bulbs – we are the last ones standing! To my beautiful and supportive family; you are beacons of love and good-humour, I can do anything because of you. Finally to Jenny Morrish, for giving me your ears, your patience, your time, and so very much of the meaning in my life. vii Table of Contents Abstract iii Originality Statement v Acknowledgements vii Table of Contents ix Introduction: 3 Creating Questions Chapter One: 10 Rhyme and Reason Chapter Two: 17 The Crowded Air Chapter Three: 23 Artists and Artisans Chapter Four: 30 Playing the Part Chapter Five: 38 To Thine Own Self Be True Conclusion 46 Bibliography 53 Appendix A: Questionnaire 57 Appendix B: Participant responses 63 ix ‗Do you think,‘ he said, ‗do you really think that any outsider has ever got half as great a thrill from a symphony as the composer himself when he first heard his work played by a full orchestra?‘ ‗No,‘ she answered timidly. ‗Of course not.‘ ‗Then become the composer! Steal his music! Take it away from him and give it to yourself!‘ Roald Dahl, ―Mr Botibol‖ in Completely Unexpected Tales Introduction: Creating Questions The soul must take the hint from the relics our scientists have so marvellously gathered out of the forgotten past, and from the hint develop a new living utterance. The spark is from dead wisdom, but the fire is life. * If it be not true to me What care I how true it be D. H. Lawrence, Fantasia of the Unconscious This thesis emerges from my sense that I, as a classical musician, a performer of music imagined by someone else, am not fulfilling my creative potential. Classical music is an art but I find myself doubting that I am an artist; perhaps I merely realise the art of others. With their notes, I speak; but is my speech hollow – merely repeated from the page – or shaped by my musical (artistic) convictions? It is my re-presentation of the notes I play that gives the music a life in sound – my interpretation. How, then, can I find interpretations as the artist I could be, without compromising the artistry which brought that sequence of notes into existence in the first place? As I consider those notes, the composer‘s response to life, I need to understand those notes as that response to engage with them truthfully. In performance, I need to make them my own. This thesis documents part of my discovery process in owning my interpretations; my path to finding my creative voice. Following the final of the 2009 Asia-Pacific Chamber Music Competition in Melbourne, then Artistic Director Marco van Pagee told The Age newspaper that ―You can have the best tutors in the world ... [but] you have to decide what it is you want to say‖ (Usher 2009:1). This quadrennial competition is for young instrumental performers of classical music – pre- composed music, or existing repertoire, if you will. They are participants in a form of performance art which is often construed as obscure and inaccessible or, at best, being a non- verbal communication, simply abstract. The expressive and indeed affective potential of classical music, however, is an inarguable reality and one which, technical acrobatics aside, could be considered its essential ingredient for those who engage with it. A clear concept, therefore, of a performer‘s intentions for demonstrating the expressive potential of what they play demands a certain commitment and engagement on their part, and a willingness to extend that musical engagement to an engagement with their audience. This concept is ultimately a performer‘s knowing ‗what it is [they] want to say‘ – their musical intentions framed in artistic sensibility. However, in the performance of repertoire of which one is not also the composer, who is to say that one‘s musical intentions are valid, or even relevant – when performing the work of others, is one merely a vehicle for the intentions of those others? In embarking upon this line of inquiry, I turn to those performing musicians who are themselves inherent creators – improvisers. Improvising musicians – performers of deliberately spontaneous music – make definitions theoretically straightforward: they are creators, and they are performers. Ideally, they own what they invent, as they play. And indeed, as they play, they ideally maintain a maximal engagement with the potential for musical exchange. The question of the role of interpretive ownership and certainly engagement in examples of existing repertoire is a pertinent one – how to execute a musical phrase with similar, improvisatory conviction without taking possession of it, and the sentiment behind it. With this thesis, I pose and explore questions of what it means to be creative as a performer of existing repertoire, and the role that experimentation with improvisation can have in tapping and developing creative potential for these performers. The term ‗existing repertoire‘ is taken to be interchangeable with ‗classical music‘; additionally, so-called ‗classical music‘ is a term commonly used to refer to Western art music as a whole and in this thesis is used similarly. The presumed dichotomy between improvising and classical performers must be 4 addressed; while today it is a question of categorised approach, the two realms of performing have certainly not been mutually exclusive throughout history. Certainly, it could be argued that the term ‗improvisation‘ is merely a question of interpretation in itself; surely there are elements of the improvisatory in all unplanned occurrences? Such blurring of the edges will be subjected to examination in the course of this thesis. The improvising trumpeter Leo Smith (Dean 1989:xvi) defines his craft as a musician‘s ―ability to instantaneously organise sound, silence and rhythm with the whole of his or her creative intelligence‖, through which we observe that a holistic engagement is a vital element in the improvisation process. Chris Johnston, author of The Improvisation Game, clarifies this notion further, stating that ―improvisation is a research tool‖, and that, ―properly handled, has the capacity to show us to ourselves‖ (2006:5-6).