Performing Music Inspired by Visual Art: Interpreting G. Silvestrini’s Six Études pour Hautbois through the Impressionist paintings that inspired them

Zoë Loxley Slump

This research explores the intersection of music and visual art through the lens of Gilles Silvestrini’s Six Études pour Hautbois and the Impressionist paintings that inspired them. By critically analysing existing studies, interviews, and articles, this study identifies five key techniques composers and performers may use to translate visual elements into music. These approaches not only deepen the understanding of Silvestrini’s work but also offer performers a structured framework for interpretation. This theoretical framework formed the starting point for experimentation and reflection both in the practice studio and with live audiences. This process challenges conventional classical performance practices by examining the balance between a composer’s intent and a performer’s interpretative autonomy. While Silvestrini does not explicitly prescribe a connection between the études and their corresponding paintings, this study argues that performers should embrace their own interpretative choices, enriching both the performance and the audience experience.

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List of Figures

Fig. 1 Monet, C. (1870). Hôtel des Roches noires à Trouville [Oil on canvas]. Musee d’Orsay, Paris, France. https://www.musee-orsay.fr/fr/oeuvres/hotel-des-roches-noires-trouville-716.

Fig. 2 Pissarro, C. (1877). Potager et arbres en fleurs, Printemps, Pontoise [Oil on canvas]. Musee d’Orsay, Paris, France. https://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/artworks/printemps-pruniers-en-fleurs-1104.

Fig. 3 Monet, C. (1873) Boulevard des Capucines [Oil on canvas]. Private collection. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/680098.

Fig. 4 Renoir, A. (1874) Sentier dans les bois [Oil on canvas]. Private collection. https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6190579.

Fig. 5 Boudin, E. (1864) Scène de plage, Ciel d’orage [Oil on canvas] Musee d’Orsay, Paris, France. https://www.musee-orsay.fr/fr/oeuvres/la-plage-de-trouville-85.

Fig. 6 Manet, E. (1862) Le ballet espagnol [Oil on canvas]. The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C., United States. https://www.phillipscollection.org/collection/spanish-ballet.

Fig. 7 Botticelli, S. (c.1480) La Primavera [Tempera grassa on wood]. Le Gallerie Degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy. https://www.uffizi.it/en/artworks/botticelli-spring#exhibitions.

Fig. 8 Jouvin, H. (c.1860). Boulevard des Capucines, Paris [Double frame albumen silver print from a stereoscopic photograph]. Artokoloro/Alamy Stock Photo. https://nelson-atkins.org/fpc/impressionism/626/.

Performing Music Inspired by Visual Art:

Interpreting G. Silvestrini’s Six Études pour Hautbois through the Impressionist paintings that inspired them

Title

Introduction

Literature Review and Theorisation

Personal Interpretation and Experimentation Journal

Applying Interpretive Experimentation in Performance

Discussion and Conclusion

Bibliography

Appendices

Bibliography

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Chinen, P.A. (2019). Gilles Silvestrini and art: A look at French impressionistic artwork, poetry, and their influence on virtuosic etudes for the solo oboe [Doctoral dissertation, University of Miami]. Scholarship@Miami. https://scholarship.miami.edu/esploro/outputs/doctoral/Gilles-Silvestrini-and-Art-A-Look/991031447326102976.

Cohen, N.S. (2015, November 12). Music inspired by visual art. New Music USA. Retrieved February 19, 2025, from https://newmusicusa.org/nmbx/music-inspired-by-visual-art/.

Junod, P. (2018). Counterpoints: Dialogues between music and the visual arts. Reaktion Books.

Kapko-Foretić, Z. (1998). Komponieren nach Bildern: Botticelli Vertonungen. International Review of the Aesthetics and Sociology of Music, 29(1), 29–40. https://doi.org/10.2307/3108364.

Morris, A. (2017). Collision Etudes [Musical score]. TrevCo Music Publishing.

Silvestrini, G. (1997). Six Études pour hautbois solo [Musical score]. Delatour Editions.

Trucke, B. (2023). A comparative analysis and performance guide for Six Études Pour Hautbois Solo by Gilles Silvestrini and Collision Etudes by Alyssa Morris (Publication No. 30487000). [Doctoral dissertation, University of Nebraska]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2809326505.

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