| TW,
To complicate the matter further, Albert Camus (the great French philospher -- his "doctrine of the absurd" assumes that it is impossible to make rational sense of one's experience) asks "Where does music exist? Does it exist in notation on a page? No, because notation doesn't make a sound. Does it exist then in a performance? No, because each performance is different". He then goes on to speculate that "music might only exist in the memory of the listener".
In my mind the relationship between composer and performer is a vital but tenuous one. The music is born in the imagination of the composer and then transferred, by means of insufficient and evolving musical notation, before being passes along to the performer. Our job as the latter is to attempt to return to the source and "get inside" the composer's head to speculate what (s)he literally had in mind. Music study is sleuthing of the highest order!
This is a difficult task as we know that many rhythms can't be accurately notated (think swing 8th notes). Many didn't even bother: Bach simply wrote "Ouverture" in the French spelling when he wanted his musicians to play unequal 8th notes (the style of Lully) instead of the square (Overture). Handel and others expected their musicians to know the steps of the various dances they were writing (Courante, Gigue, Hornpipe, etc.), and trusted them to accent accordingly. And so on. Color and intensity can't be notated. Dynamics only scratch the surface of the latter.
The thumbprint of composers such as Wagner, R. Strauss, Mahler, and Bruckner couldn't be more different in spite of living in the Germanic speaking world at approximately the same time and utilizing similar notation.
What can we, as performers, do? That's easy(ish): we can seek out living composers, as you've done, for illumination. We can collaborate with new composers (collaborative works are far more satisfying as our relationship to the piece at hand is more intimate), and we can investigate multiple works penned (since the did!) by composers of the past to become more acquainted with their individual style. We can also enjoy great dinner table conversations with other performers to glean their thoughts, seek out musicians who have had one-on-one experiences with composers (Stevens' Stravinsky stories are fabulous, Markus' of his father, and even I have a few about Birtwistle, Lenny, etc.) and learn from conductors and teachers who have had long associations with composers (we've discussed Nagano's association with Dutilleux and Messiaen in another thread). Sadly Bruno Walter is no longer with us (!)
Great topic.
TMers?
Best,
EC |