Tracking the performer’s creative space

As it comes to the act of creation, performing musicians claim a rather specific role and position compared to other artists (e.g., composers, film makers, photographers). A role which could be described as ‘co-creating’ the composer’s musical ideas. Despite its level of detail, the musical score is inevitably an inherent incomplete representation of the music itself. The uncertainties and ambiguities introduced by the score require a creative artistic decision-making process in order to develop a personal interpretation: the performer’s ‘creative space’. My doctoral research examines tempo, rubato and expressive timing in recordings of Alexander Scriabin’s early piano preludes, between 1910 and 2010. The database consists of 1417 recordings of the 53 early preludes by 106 different pianists. A comparative analysis of the recordings aims at mapping the differences and communalities in the pianists’ artistic decisions, providing insight in a century of performance history. The recording analysis employs a combination of aural analysis methods as well as analyses using audio-software tools and statistical data analysis techniques such as analysis of variance, regression, (hierarchical) clustering and principal component analysis). The analyses are two-fold: on the level of the preludes, performances are compared per prelude (= mapping interpretations); on the level of the performers, performances are compared over several preludes (= mapping playing styles). By taking into account parameters as the pianists’ educational background and the period of recording, this comparative study is looking for tendencies and singularities in the performance history of the preludes. Preliminary results show that, in this by nature particularly short compositions of the prelude-genre: - (1) in general pianists do take remarkably high degrees of freedom concerning their basic tempo choice (average tempo) in relation to the tempo markings notated by Scriabin, independent to the period of recording. But, several differences can be observed related to the type of prelude and to the pianist’s educational background (e.g. ‘Russian piano school’). - (2) pianists demonstrate a huge variety of rubato styles and expressive timing playing techniques, however, the use of certain types of rubato playing as well as expressive timing playing techniques, such as dislocation and unnotated arpeggio’s, seems to have been changed gradually over time, some of which have been almost completely falling in disuse. For today’s pianists this knowledge opens up opportunities to relearn, assimilate and incorporate some of these nowadays rather unfamiliar playing techniques and enrich their personal playing style. Insights in the performance history enable performers to make interpretative choices more consciously and deliberately in relation those of others. A full awareness of their own ‘creative space’ enables performers to take a well-informed and more grounded position within this spectrum of interpretations and performance traditions.status: publishe

Tempo and rubato in Alexander Scriabin’s early piano preludes

Tempo and rubato in Alexander Scriabin’s early piano preludes The score is the main source on which a performer’s interpretation is based. Despite its level of detail, the score provides only a very incomplete representation of the music itself. The development of an interpretation of a piece of music is in essence a creative artistic process, whereby artists make different personal artistic decisions. This research examines the parameters tempo and rubato (tempo variation) in the performance of Scriabin’s piano preludes on the basis of recordings from 1910 until 2010. A study of the recordings allows an objective comparative research of the pianist’s artistic decisions and provides insight in the performance history of these preludes. Hence, the development of an efficient and consistent method to compare the performers’ decisions concerning tempo and rubato on a large scale is a major research objective. The recording analysis, using a combination of different aural analysis methods, software tools and statistical data analyses, results in a mapping of the differences and similarities in the pianist’s interpretations. A reconstruction of a century of performance history opens up opportunities for a more grounded, more profound and deliberate personal interpretation of the preludes for pianists of today. Based on the (preliminary) results of the analysed recordings the researcher formulated hypotheses concerning tendencies and singularities in the performance history of the preludes, resulting in a setup for a personal artistic experiment. Certain expression forms in playing, such as specific types of rubato playing and types of ‘micro timing', seem to have been gradually falling in disuse over time. Through this experiment the researcher aims to relearn, assimilate and incorporate them as part of his personal playing style, leading to an enriched spectrum of expression tools. Supervisor: prof. dr. Pieter Bergé (KU Leuven) Co-supervisor: dr. Piet Swerts (LUCA School of Arts)status: publishe

Alexander Scriabin - Early Preludes [selection] - Fazioli 308 (2013)

Stijn Vervliet, piano Fazioli 308, 2013 Recorded on August 17-18 2017, Chamber Music Hall, LUCA School of Arts, campus Lemmens, Leuven (BE) Audio recording, editing and mixing: Peter Hertmans Audio mastering: Manuel Mohinostatus: publishe

Mapping Performances: Tempo and Rubato in Recordings of Alexander Scriabin’s Early Piano Preludes

status: accepte

Alexander Scriabin - Early Preludes [selection] - Bechstein Concert Grand (1876)

Stijn Vervliet, piano Bechstein concert grand, 1876 Recorded on July 5-7 2017, Chamber Music Hall, LUCA School of Arts, campus Lemmens, Leuven (BE) Audio recording, editing and mixing: Peter Hertmans Audio mastering: Manuel Mohinostatus: publishe

Profiling performers

status: publishe

The performer’s artistic decision-making process as “bounded creativity”

status: accepte

Tempo and Rubato in Alexander Scriabin’s Early Piano Preludes - A Performer’s Analysis

status: publishe