Here I move - An artistic research on composition, improvisation, tools and spaces to grow in  by Corrado Cerutti

Here I move, is an artistic research project focused on composition and improvisation. The aim is to explore and develop flexible compositional tools that can adapt to a wide range of creative contexts — from symphonic orchestras to conceptual performance, from music to dance, and towards any interdisciplinary field I find artistically engaging. Improvisation is the main method of investigation: by performing solo, recording sessions, selecting specific fragments, and analyzing them, I generate new material that is then proposed to ensembles and commissioned projects. This cyclical process feeds a continuous reflection and contributes to the development of compositional strategies tested in diverse performance environments. The research revolves around three central questions: – How can I create compositional tools that remain adaptable to increasingly diverse contexts? – How does this system influence my own performance practice and interaction with other musicians? – How flexible is it within interdisciplinary settings? This project is part of the Jazz Composition course at the Jazzcampus in Basel, under the supervision of Stian Westerhus, with the support of Stephan Meidell, Tineke Postma, and Guillermo Klein.

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References

Here is a list of the books, articles, quotations, videos, and music that inspired me. I want to emphasize that the web we live in today—with its modern tools for analysis and research—has played a crucial role in helping me discover thoughts, quotes, books, and videos that I would never have found otherwise (or only after an enormous investment of time).

Even in the reference section, I find it important to reflect on the term tool. A tool like this—so fast, with virtually infinite memory of human knowledge—remains, nevertheless, a tool in our hands. It is up to us to decide whether to use it to enhance our thinking or to replace it due to a lack of it. Unlike pedals and the discourse they carry, the absence of original thought is neither interesting nor aligned with the reason we make art in the first place.

Bibliography:

Bennett, D. (2008). Understanding the classical music profession: The past, the present and strategies for the future. Ashgate.

Berio, L. (1995). Remembering the future. In R. Dalmonte & B. A. Varga (Eds.), Two interviews (pp. 94–105). University of Chicago Press.

Burrows, A. (2010). A choreographer’s handbook. Routledge.

Cardew, C. (1971). Treatise handbook. Experimental Music Catalogue.

Feldman, M. (2000). Give my regards to Eighth Street: Collected writings of Morton Feldman (B. H. Friedman, Ed.). Exact Change.

Forsythe, W. (2009). Choreographic objects. Motion Bank. https://motionbank.org

Goldstein, M. (1988). Sounding the full circle: Concerning music improvisation and other related matters. Frog Peak Music.

Leman, M. (2007). Embodied music cognition and mediation technology. MIT Press.

Lewis, G. E. (2004). Experimental music in black and white: The AACM in New York, 1970–1985. In B. B. Wallace & E. G. Richardson (Eds.), New perspectives on music (pp. 109–130). Duke University Press.

Manning, E. (2009). Relationscapes: Movement, art, philosophy. MIT Press.

Manning, E. (2016). The minor gesture. Duke University Press.

Monson, I. (1996). Saying something: Jazz improvisation and interaction. University of Chicago Press.

Oliveros, P. (2005). Deep listening: A composer’s sound practice. iUniverse.

Perrenoud, M. (2007). Musician as a profession? A sociological look at musicians’ work. Bulletin de la Société Suisse de Musicologie, 10(1), 8–20. https://journals.openedition.org/bssg/301

Schaeffer, P. (1966). Traité des objets musicaux. Éditions du Seuil.

Stravinsky, I. (1962). Poetics of music in the form of six lessons (A. Knodel & I. Dahl, Trans.). Harvard University Press. (Original work published 1942)

Thomson, N. R., Harwood, B. J., & Green, L. (2023). Musical identities and music education: Crossing the divide. British Journal of Music Education, 40(2), 155–170. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0265051723000124

Thoreau, H. D. (2009). Journal: 1837–1861 (D. Searls, Ed.). New York Review Books.

Toop, D. (2016). Into the maelstrom: Music, improvisation and the dream of freedom. Bloomsbury.

Truax, B. (1995). Sound, listening and soundscape. Contemporary Music Review, 15(1–2), 129–145. https://doi.org/10.1080/07494469500640651

Varèse, E., & Wen-chung, C. (1966). The liberation of sound. Perspectives of New Music, 5(1), 11–19. https://doi.org/10.2307/832385

Zorn, J. (Ed.). (2000). Arcana: Musicians on music. Granary Books/Hips Road.

Videography:

Igor Stravinsky – A Conversation with Igor Stravinsky (1957)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJIXobO94Jo

John Cage – Interview by Jonathan Cott (1963)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLmkFKTpRO8

Morton Feldman – Interview with Charles Shere (ca. 1983)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM0cho0XRe4

Pauline Oliveros – The Power of Listening
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMo5j3ebJw0

Jonathan Burrows – Inventing Embodiment: An Act of Letting Go
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-NvDkIq5W8

György Ligeti – On His Études for Solo Piano (BBC, 1986)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHexbh1_Y50

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