Beyond Schubert - co-creating works and performances of early romantic piano music
Short description
Doctoral thesis by Peter Friis Johansson.
Beyond Schubert examines the intricate relationship between composer and musician, building on my previous work reconstructing Laura Netzel's and Ludvig Norman’s unfinished piano concertos. The project encompasses the completion of seven original works by Franz Schubert.
In executing this project, I employ a model where artistic freedom incrementally supersedes fidelity to the source material.
For musicians wishing to utilize the project's artistic outputs, a graphical tool is created in place of a traditional score. This tool allows users to create their own completions using pre-prepared musical modules.
About the project
Beyond Schubert operates on four distinct levels and generates results across multiple disciplines:
- An overarching meta-perspective: This deconstructs the traditional score-to-performer power dynamics.
- Approach to unfinished works: Developing a methodology for engaging with incomplete compositions.
- Seven completed original works: These possess significant historical and artistic value.
- Practical tools: Sharing the meta-perspective as a tool for musicians and the general public.
(A) Throughout the history of music, the concept of the performer has evolved substantially. In contemporary times, performers are actively involved in the creation of artistic works, marking a departure from the blended performer/composer role prevalent until the 20th century.
This paradigm is pervasive in our field, succinctly encapsulated by the Swedish term "återskapande konstnärer" (re-enacting artists). Performers engage with the work from an external standpoint, striving to recreate their perception of the original.
By positioning the performer as the composer, this project challenges preconceived notions of musical authority and seeks to redefine the performer's role.
(B) The classical music repertoire contains many unfinished works of high artistic merit. While it may be prudent to respect a composer's decision to abandon a piece, it is equally important to explore works left incomplete due to external interruptions. This project addresses the challenge of interpreting the intentions of long-deceased composers through a synthesis of implicit and explicit knowledge.
(C) The path to a good performance is non-linear for musicians. The continual quest for better practice and performance methods involves exploring areas of uncertainty. This process is particularly rewarding when revisiting previously mastered pieces, revealing deeper layers of understanding. Studying music initially makes us able to play, but eventually we also learn a new language. And just as deeper linguistic knowledge not only gives more words but also silent understanding of a languages' almost imperceptible emotive nuances which in turn seep through culture as a whole; a devoted musician can reach supreme levels of tacit musical understanding.
Thus, the project's two foundational requirements are:
- A composer with both completed and unfinished works from the same stylistic and temporal period, generating explicit knowledge.
- The musician’s study of the completed works, developing implicit knowledge.
Based on extensive preparatory work, this project will be based around Franz Schubert's eleven unfinished piano sonata fragments. The completions will comprise five sonatas and two single-movement works, in all a substantial contribution to the piano repertoire.
(D) Upon completion, these works will be segmented into appropriate modules. Instead of presenting a traditional score, performers will encounter a CYOA (choose your own adventure) interface, allowing them to select from available modules to create their preferred completion. This approach maintains the project’s open-ended values in dissemination.