Meeting #1

All three of us met on October 24th. We had an excellent meeting discussing lots of ideas. As a composer, with regular tendencies towards particular styles, I did not push my ideas at all. However, when discussing a sort of style we might go for, both Darragh and Soledad seemed keen for a traditionally based composition.

We shared ideas about the sounds and contemporary effects on the piano that could work effectively in the piece. Darragh suggested a slow air to begin at least – with potential to have a faster section afterwards, but this will be determined by the length of the piece.

I discussed ideas about the potential for stopped strings, the sympathetic reverberation of low strings, and the huge harmonic scope from having four hands across the keyboard. This was met with positive feedback.

I said I would send some scored ideas by early December. This will be done over the blog.

Reflection of Meeting Number one: (Darragh)

Welcome to our collaborative composition blog! This is a space in which we can document our journey in creating a composition that will be performed as part of the lunchtime recitals in Maynooth University. Throughout the year we can share our thoughts and opinions on our project, as well as recordings, composition drafts and other material that will help bring the piece to its fruition.

Our composition team consists of a composer and two pianists, and we will be playing a Piano for Four Hands composition. We had our initial meeting recently where we brainstormed and got to know each other as musicians. We discussed some of the contemporary pieces we’ve played and certain aspects/techniques that we could utilise in the performance. The role of the composer and performer has differed greatly in the last few decades, with the performer gaining much more freedom to contribute to performance practices of the twenty-first century. The idea of the composer acting as an alone agent, working in isolation has now transformed, no doubt due to advancements in technology, globalisation and more. As Galenson states, ‘artistic innovations are not made by isolated geniuses but are usually based on the lessons of teachers and the collaboration of colleagues.’ (Margaret S. Barret, ed., Collaborative Creative Thought and Practice in Music (Taylor & Francis, 2014),p.3).

Of course, there are benefits to this new way of composing; as well as challenges. There are certain demands and responsibilities on performers; nowadays performers must have knowledge of their instrument’s techniques and various styles, elements that may lie outside of the classical idioms in which they have been taught. In the words of performer and researcher Barrie Webb, performers are no longer ‘second class musicians,’ whose job it is to purely play the score handed to them. (Barrie Webb, ‘Partner in Creation.’ Contemporary Music Review, 26.2(2007), p.255). As a performer, I have never collaborated on a composition before, but now I get the opportunity to do so. Through this, I can gain more understanding into the contemporary role of the composer and performer.

From our discussions, I think we’ve decided on drawing inspiration from both classical and traditional idioms for this composition, which I think will be really intriguing. This combination of idioms written for the genre of a piano duet is definitely a rarity and possesses much room for exploration. The piano duet is a niche genre that has recently garnered more attention-and the genre naturally lends itself to collaboration. Ironically though, it is often stated that a piano duo must sound like one player. In Margaret S. Barret’s Collaborative Creative Thought and Practice in Music, there is a chapter written by Liam Viney and Anna Grinberg about their collaborative journey as a married piano duo. This is of particular relevance to our project (excluding the marriage of course!). On a side note, there is a chapter in this book that Soledad may be interested in, as I know her research interests include Russian piano music; ‘Rimsky-Korsakov and Musorgsky: A Posthumous Collaboration?’ by Simon Perry.

Here are some pieces that we mentioned;

Reflection of Meeting Number one: (Soledad)

As my colleagues have explained previously, the initial meeting served to get to know each other better as musicians. Pàdruig was interested in knowing our performative experience with the most contemporary music and between the three we were shaping what will be the final composition.

While Darragh suggested slow air, I feel more comfortable in a faster tempi so, it was suggested a piece in several movements or with several tempi, such as the `Variations´ op. 27 by Anton Webern.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hZXpDGQ-0M

In addition to the previous work, I commented another very interesting work that I had also played in which the pianist can work with the amplified piano, `Makrokosmos. Twelve Fantasy-Pieces after the Zodiac´ by George Crumb.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YTix06IwT4

At that time, as he said at the beginning, Pádruig suggested the possibility of working with stopped strings and the reverberation of the lower strings. Therefore we conclude that I would play the piano secondo part while Darragh would play the piano primo part.

In Spain, where I have been trained, the main influence in contemporary music, both in performance and composition, comes from the German world. For that, I found interesting, as well as Darragh, the suggestion that Pádruig made about a traditionally based composition.