Mapping Mouvement and Expressivity in Contemporary Piano Art Music Problems and Strategies

Abstract

Contemporary piano art music challenges established technique and performing conventions. Indeed, the proliferation of new musical styles, languages and resources during the last decades of the 20^th century into the present, the unusual use of instruments and corresponding forms of notation, the association of technological means and diverse practices resulted in an increase in technical difficulty (Caillet, 2007, p. 62), putting considerable stress on the performer, at the cognitive, emotional and physical levels.

To effectively deal with these repertoires, I have approached specific and general performance problems through extensive practice and practice-based research, developing strategies and knowledge that focus on hand distribution, fingerings, rhythmic and pitch complexity, as well as expressive features, such as dynamic nuances (intensity of sound) and piano pedaling.

Several of those strategies have allowed me to navigate the visual matrix (score) of the works I’ve performed, the physical space in which they unfold and the corresponding sound producing process, mapping movement and musical expressivity through space and time.

The present lecture-recital will strive to elucidate how is the concept of mapping relevant to the building of effective performances of contemporary piano art music works. For that purpose, I will present systematized content and its corresponding theoretical framework but also perform selected examples at the piano and screen a video artifact documenting several aspects of my working processes.