Adapting live classical music performance for different venues

Gregor Desman

Name: Gregor Dešman Main Subject: Classical Piano Research Supervisor: Anna Scott Title of Research: Adapting Live Classical Music Performance for Different Venues Research Question: In what ways can a musician adjust his or her performance approach by taking into account the characteristics of a specific type of venue? Summary of Results: Each performance is unique, and depends on many factors including a performer’s physical and psychological condition, their connection to the repertoire, and most importantly, the conditions presented by a given venue. In this research project I have concentrated primarily on the latter, and have sought to determine the particular challenges and possibilities presented by varying types of venues, and how such knowledge can be used to guide the conscious decisions performers make in order to adapt their performances accordingly. My methodology first involved carrying out background research, using relevant academic literature as well as my own experiences as a pianist. By focusing on three types of venues (concert halls, music clubs, and private homes), I was then able to compile a list of the advantages and challenges presented by each type of performance space. From this list I then prepared three different interpretations of Ferruccio Busoni's transcription of the Chaconne from J. S. Bach's Partita in D Minor, with each interpretation being specially adapted to the limitatons and possibilities presented by each of the three venue types. I then tested each interpretation by performing it in its respective venue, the results of which I documented via audio and video recordings. I was then able to analyse the effectiveness of my venue-specific interpretative decisions in these recordings, after which I compiled a table that can function as a guide for adjusting one's performances to specific venues. By carrying out this research project, I have found that in order to better communicate with their audiences, musicians can and should adjust their performances to specific types of venues. While musicians make many smaller adjustments instinctively, as related to voicing or phrasing for example, learning the logic and mechanics behind such modifications emboldens one to make larger changes as related to tempo and even character – an interpretive flexibility towards which all musicians should strive. Biography: Pianist Gregor Dešman studies with Prof. Naum Grubert at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague. He completed postgraduate studies with Prof. Ruben Dalibaltayan in Zagreb and graduate studies in Ljubljana with Prof. Hinko Haas. Gregor has successfully competed in many international competitions and as a soloist has performed with the Ljubljana Opera and Ballet Orchestra and with the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra. Gregor performs across Europe with internationally successful musicians such as Tibor Molnar and Joachim Eijlander, and with the GUD Piano Trio, who have an international career and have studied with Prof. Tomaž Lorenz and Trio di Parma in Duino, Italy.

adapting live classical music performance for different venues

introduction

In what ways can a musician adjust his or her performance by taking into account the characteristics of a specific type of venue?

Every performance is unique and depends on many factors, including a performer’s physical and psychological condition, their connection with the repertoire, and most importantly, the conditions presented by the venue. In this research project, I am concentrating on the latter parameter. Using background research and my own experiences and experiments, I will discuss how the limitations and possibilities presented by various venues can influence a given performance.

When I am in top form… the ideas are always different. Sometimes I play with greater changes in dynamics, sometimes with less... I must say it is different each time I play, and it is a process which… includes mastery of the work, knowing the details, being comfortable with it, and then adding the fantasy. (Emil Gilels, Mach, 123)

According to Gilels, mastering a piece of music and knowing all of its details provides an opportunity to be flexible in performance. Similarly, Chaffin, Lemieux and Chen argue in their study entitled "It’s Different Each Time I Play: Why Highly Polished Performances Vary" that every performance is different on a subconscious level, even if the performer is striving for a fixed interpretation (Chaffin et al., 2004, 469). This research project will however concentrate on the conscious decisions musicians make when adapting their performances to specific venue. By focusing on this aspect of live performance, I hope to gain insight on a topic that, despite its obvious importance to anyone who steps on stage, is often omitted during a musician's training.

Through preliminary background research and my own experiences, I will list the factors that can influence a performance that are conditioned by the venue. In particular, I will study how three types of venues (concert halls, music clubs, and private homes) can influence these factors. I will then study what limitations and advantages are created by these factors; and finally, I will decide how all of this will influence my own interpretation at the piano. I will focus my experimentation here on one piece in particular: Busoni’s transcription of the Chaconne from the Partita in D minor for violin solo by J. S. Bach. I have chosen this piece for its clear structure as well as its openness to many different interpretive possibilities. In my experience, this highly familiar piece of music also tends to elicit a strong response from audiences, so I expect that any interpretive modifications I make will be audible to seasoned classical music listeners.

As such, I will prepare three different interpretations of the Chaconne and test each of them in the venue for which they were designed. In order to do this I will first create a table—a model for adjusting one's performance—where I will list the factors and opportunities / demands of each specific venue. Based on these factors I will construct an interpretation that takes into account the requirements of each specific venue. After testing each interpretation in its appropriate venue, I will then analyze recordings of these experimental performances in order to evaluate the success or failure of my interpretative decisions, and determine their implications as related to factors such as: performers' rational versus instinctive adjustments, their flexibility of interpretation, how they prepare for performance, and their perceptiveness as related to the conditions of a venue. By undertaking this research project, I hope to better understand the process of making conscious adjustments to one's performances as opposed to preparing and copying one fixed interpretation and then pasting it to different stages.

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