Chapter 3
What are the responsibilities of the violist when collaborating with living composers?
In this chapter, I identify some central responsibilities of the violist when collaborating with living composers. To identify these responsibilities, I draw on roles and responsibilities identified in the previous chapters with Tertis and Dean. I also draw on Kanga’s research, especially the tools he suggests for performer composer collaborations.67 (Refer to the table I have drawn up below). I also include knowledge gained through interviews with composers throughout the duration of the project and my own personal experience from collaborating with living composers.
In chapter 1 I identified the roles and responsibilities of Tertis and Dean in collaborations in generating and performing new repertoire with a high level of mastery and skill on the instrument, their roles as communicators and the serious attitude they brought to these roles.
In Chapter 2, I referred to Hayden and Windsor’s framing of three categories of collaborations between composers and performers.68 These categories of collaborative roles will be used to evaluate my own roles and responsibilities in the collaborative aspects of this research project. To recap, the three main categories are Directive, Interactive and Collaborative, but as previously discussed these categories are fluid and various roles can blend together.
I have based my own Case Study analysis on the following responsibilities of the violist in the collaborative process.
- Before making initial contact, make sure that you resonate with the composer’s style of writing.
With the technology of today we can easily access recordings, look at composer’s websites and subscribe to their professional musician pages (on social medias). If we cannot relate to their style of writing, it is better not to start the collaboration to begin with.
2. Organise an initial meeting to make sure you are able to not only resonate with the composer’s music but also the composer themselves.
It is difficult to feel enthusiastic about a project if you cannot communicate with the composer, or they are not interested in getting to know anything about you. A good test is setting up an initial meeting where you can both share your aims.
Forms of technology such as Zoom and Whatsapp have opened up new worlds for collaborations between composers and performers.
3. Give clear guidelines for time.
This is crucial when it comes to collaborating with living composers.
Elena Kats-Chernin eloquently speaks about her experience as a younger composer, not giving performers enough time to prepare her composition. (Please refer to the video- "Deliver on time" at the end of this page.)
Similarly, as a performer it should be our responsibility to spend more time with the contemporary works due to their added complexities and the fact that no earlier recordings or performances exist as references.
4. Discuss ideas with the composer
Open discussions are also a good way to start a collaborative process, if performer and composer have irreconcilably different ideas, then the collaboration should be discontinued. It is also a good test to see where you stand with the composer. Are they interested in your ideas? What kind of work might they write? If they do not have a clear concept, it could be that this collaboration will stretch out for too long and subsequent deadlines may be missed.
My initial meetings with the composers for this project were extremely important. These meetings clarified for me that these collaborations would work. We discussed ideas, timeframe and how we were going to go about the collaborations. We were equally interested in each other’s backgrounds and experiences.
5. Understand the concept behind the music
Besides knowing about a composer’s background, it helps the performer if there is an understanding of the story behind the music. What inspired its writing. What is the story line if any? What situation was the composer in when the music was written? Knowing this can help the performer connect at an emotional level with the music.
As a performer, it is important for us to understand that composers often make themselves vulnerable by sharing a part of themselves through their music. This is one of the most valuable aspects of dealing with living composers. It gives them an opportunity to personally express their experiences.
6. Take the compositional and the collaborative process seriously
Part of this is understanding the elements in the score. Analysis even at a level that outlines the main aspects is useful. Here I refer to things like structure, harmony, phrasing, melody articulation and meter/pulse.
If there are any uncertainties, then the composer should be able to clarify these for you. To understand the musical language, also results in understandable communication of the music to future audiences.
Workshops are a productive way of getting to the core of the music. Although as Kanga warns, details can get lost. In order to avoid this I made audio or video recordings of my workshops.
I also annotate a score as the process is happening. This is not always the neatest way of doing things but it is efficient and I have a tangible document for future reference not only for myself but also for the composer. Many examples have been provided in the chapter, especially in the case study with Christopher Bowen.
Through personal practice diaries and recordings, we can develop our own artistic skills and focus on the development of our technical skills by zooming in on aspects of the music that we find challenging. We can also share these with the composer.
Contemporary repertoire often produces difficulties for violists for which we are unprepared. This was demonstrated by violist and Royal Conservatoire alumna Thora Margret Sveinsdottir who examined the available literature with regard to contemporary viola techniques and concludes:
“The viola school is young and still developing. Therefore it would be advisable to be conscious that the pedagogical material keeps growing together with the repertoire. Ideally studies should reflect the technical difficulties found in the literature violists are performing today. Finding ways to implement the newly available studies that focus on twentieth century idioms, to the traditional study material seems to be the next important step in the development of the viola school.”69
Extended techniques require the performer to use the instrument in a manner outside of its conventional norms. The definition of what is considered an extended technique is apt to change as the traditions in instrumental playing change with time. What was considered an extended technique in the earlier days, like playing with mute, has become a standard feature.
Garth Knox is good example of a contemporary composer/ violist who has written works and studies centred on extended techniques as well as a dissertation on the process.70
It is also important to note that impossibilities in the score can be remedied by the composer if the performer provides them with a convincing argument for why this is necessary.
7. Identifying with the work
Engagement with the music is more likely to happen if as a performer, you have a thorough understanding of the above points. Being involved in the writing stage of the composition can help with the identification process depending on the extent of the communication with the composer.
8. Feedback loop
Artistic and intellectual exchange is one of the most fascinating aspects of the Collaborative process between composer and performer.
As Dutch composer Orkun Ağır explains, if as a composer you can hear your music being played, experience it happening live, experiment with it, you will learn a lot about instrumental writing, and be able to master the art of composition (refer to video below).
Dean also touched on this with regard to his trumpet concerto. His knowledge deepened through the collaborative process.
As violists we are also able to learn from collaborative experiences with composers and at the same time we can help composers expand their knowledge of our instrument.
Christian Blaha, composer and performer advises approaching the work you do seriously. I have included a part of the interview with him.
In sum, as we find ourselves in a collaborative role with composers, it is important to realise our responsibilities. These can be small things, such as making an initial phone call to initiate a collaboration. Communication is key, as is a high amount of skill and artistry on the instrument and musical knowledge that can be shared throughout the collaborative experience.
Not only do we have a responsibility to ourselves, we have a responsibility to the status of the viola, the composer and the composition. To have mastery and skill on our instruments means that we can explore and further our repertoire through collaborations.
If we are able to inspire composers with our artisty, the repertoire and stature of our instrument can only benefit. As Australian composer Ross Edwards revealed in the interview I conducted with him on the 25th November 2021, he writes for the musician, not the instrument.