Research Catalogue

an international database for artistic research

• 3. Internal publication Research published in this issue are only for internal circulation within the Royal Conservatoire, The Hague.
• 2. Royal Conservatoire Investigations Royal Conservatoire Investigations
• 1. Master Research Projects All research in KC

• The phenomenon of folklorism in 20th century: a case study in Eastern Europe (2023) author(s): Miguel Esperanza Pérez Limited publication. Only visible to members of the portal : KC Research Portal
  Since the science that studies the popular music of an ethnic group was called ethnomusicology in the mid-twentieth century, folklore began to be revalued in the artistic field. Despite the late acceptance of this musical characteristic, before it, there have been many composers who have nourished their compositions with folkloric elements, thus enriching the musical language. If we want to talk about folk music and classical music at the same time, the figure of Béla Bartók obtains a fundamental relevance as far as this concept is concerned. To study the composer of Hungarian origin is fundamental to study this nationalist artistic current that arises at the beginning of the 20th century and that tries to enhance the national value through the differential symbols of each place the different elements that form each respective folklore. In the same way that the historicist performers do by approaching their interpretation to the context of the work, this research proposes in the same way the interpretation of these folkloric elements within the field of classical music. The objective will be approached from the absence of a precise definition to refer to this concept, which we have called folklorism, to later analyze how these folklorisms appear in classical music and how we, as performers, must approach their interpretation from a truly perspective with their origin. Within the broad spectrum of this topic, we have selected 'Contrasts' by Béla Bartók as a starting point for this research.
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• The evolution of the violin bow in the 18th century: a process of adaptation and creativity (2023) author(s): Begoña Hernández Gallardo Limited publication. Only visible to members of the portal : KC Research Portal
  The violin bow has undergone many changes since its creation, from its first shape, similar to a hunting bow, to the tool that violinists use nowadays. Despite its long history, most of the modifications that were made to the bow happened in the 18th century, especially in the second half, until its characteristics became standardized with the model developed by the French bowmaker François-Xavier Tourte at the end of this century. This Research Exposition looks back at the history of the bow, from the short bows of the late 17th century to the longer and heavier Tourte model, with the intention of understanding its evolution and the historical and musical context that motivated it. I sought to enrich my artistic perspective by conducting a literature review of the relevant secondary sources, together with interviews with historically informed bowmakers, and my own use of copies of 18th century bows. The evolution of the bow has not been a race to reach perfection but a journey of adaptation and creation, in which every bow can be seen as being perfectly valid to perform the music of its own time. Considering the journey that the bow has had, never failing to adapt to the musical environment, this project will also reflect on the fact that the bow has not changed in a very significant way since the Tourte model, despite music and the ideal of sound has changed a lot since the 18th century.
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• The Usage of recordings from other musicians as a source of information by students of Classical Music (2023) author(s): Pedro Domínguez Conde published in: KC Research Portal
  The main purpouse of this research is to find out how do students of classical department use recordings as a source of information for their daily practice and what kind of information they seek in those recordings that is helpfull for them. To get this a survey of ten question was disigned and shared through many methods on the students of the Koninklijik Conservatorium in The Hague. 24 students from varied specialities and courses answered the survey, and the collected data will be analysed
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• The Bassoon Outside the Classical Music Field: Preparing a Newcomer for Metal Music (2023) author(s): Pedro Magalhães Braga Gonçalves Limited publication. Only visible to members of the portal : KC Research Portal
  Preparing the bassoon for a Metal concert is one of the first attempts I am making to use the bassoon outside of the classical music field. This research project focuses on exploring the instrument’s acoustical potential in the context of Metal music. At first glance, the bassoon might be considered unsuitable for this particular musical genre but this investigation makes us aware of new perspectives to explore alternative performance practices. By compiling examples of metal bands that use unconventional settings, but also reviewing the use of the bassoon in other musical styles, we may find inspiration in new sound combinations and discover that a musical instrument can play in any setting if done convincingly. Extended techniques that enrich the vocabulary of playing Metal music with the bassoon are also noted, along with a list of gear to amplify the instrument in a very loud setting based on suggestions by Paul Hanson and Bram van Sambeek.
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• The "SaxOpera" (2023) author(s): Chang-Han Huang Limited publication. Only visible to members of the portal : KC Research Portal
  As a saxophonist, I always love to play arrangements of music composed for other instruments, from a massive work like César Franck's Violin Sonata, to a small delicate piece like Robert Schumann’s Drei Fantasiestücke for clarinet. However, when I play arrangements of vocal music, I always feel that there is something more to discover, beyond a purely ‘instrumental’ approach. How can the saxophone ‘sing’ like a human, when we cannot [re]produce the lyrics? Therefore, in my research I attempted to adapt the vocality of singers in saxophone playing, using different articulations and tone colors in order to imitate human voices, with a particular focus on arias from Georges Bizet’s opera Carmen: “La fleur que tu m'avais jetée,” and “Je dis que rien ne m’épouvante.”
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• Tchaikovsky and dance: from music to movement (2023) author(s): Eleonora Dominijanni Limited publication. Only visible to members of the portal : KC Research Portal
  The idea of writing a new, original ballet is born in a bizarre, but actually very natural way. One afternoon I was listening to the Trio in A minor for piano, violin and cello by P.I. Tchaikovsky and happened spontaneously connect some of the melodies to different imaginary characters. I liked this natural tendency so much that I had the idea of trying to invent a story with the characters I pictured, following the order of the variations of the second movement, Variazione finale and coda. At that moment I realized that I was imagining all of this narrated through movement and dance. I was therefore creating a ballet on a Tchaikovsky instrumental composition. From this starting point I started wondering Why and How I could create a fairy narrative story around this music. I wanted to understand and find out what the “magical ingredient” is around Tchaikovsky’s music that makes it so recognizably linked with characters and stories, movement and dance. In this research I will therefore analyze the link between music and dance in the Russian composer's work, passing through the evolution of the connection of the two arts from the Greek times. The historical research and analysis will be followed by the process in the realization of my ballet, which will be described in its process of realization of a small extract, as an exercise and example of collaboration between musician and dancer.
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