Expanding horizons – Improvisational explorations of 20th-century classical music by Peter Knudsen

"Expanding horizons" is an Artistic research project carried out between 2021 (August) and 2024 (November) at NTNU, Trondheim. The objectives were to contribute to knowledge on how different kinds of departure points can be useful for musicians when approaching 20th-century Western classical music through improvisation, an understanding of how one can navigate and negotiate the musical language of this repertoire, and insights into how the tension between different performance values can be navigated in this process. The research questions were: When applying improvisation to works of 20th-century classical music, 1. What role does the choice and preparation of musical representations play? 2. How can we navigate and negotiate musical structures such as melody, harmony and form? 3. How can we navigate the tension between fidelity to the work and creative expression? Based on selected pieces from this repertoire and practical explorations together with participating musicians, various approaches to creating improvisational frameworks were then explored. These included a wide range of scores, including lead sheets and indeterminate notation, as well as ear-based methods. From the perspective of integrating improvisation into the performances, approaches such as repeating elements, working with layers, creating transitions, and introducing open sections were examined. A key point was to use melodic material as a way of building strong connections with the source material, rather than relying on harmonic representations of the music. In terms of balancing respect for the original work with creative freedom, a “healthy dose of disrespect” pervaded much of the explorations, allowing deviations from the originals when they were musically justified. Throughout the work processes, an idea of focal points emerged, as aspects to focus on when reworking a classical work into an improvisational version. These focal points included the score, historical and performative contexts, expressive qualities, and the improviser’s personal voice.

Possible contributions

Musical examples examined here have covered Dave Douglas and Bobo Stenson Trio’s (2018) approaches to opening up compositions by Stravinsky and Bartok, Atomic’s (2018) free jazz treatment of Varèse, Anja Lechner and Francis Couturier’s (2020) genre-crossing way of improvising based on musical excerpts taken from Dutilleux, Herbie Hancock’s way of weaving improvised lines into Ravel’s Piano concerto in G, Johanna Summer’s (2023) approach to expanding on Ravel’s music, as well as Bad Plus Trio’s (2008) way of tackling the modernist music of Stravinsky, with reflections based on these processes by Iverson (2009). These examples give an indication of the various ways in which musicians can approach improvising over 20th century classical music. Yet, even when there are interviews available – or, as in the case of Hancock, autobiographical writing – such sources typically reveal a limited amount knowledge about the processes involved, i.e. how musicians have engaged with the material, what preparations were made, what source material they based their work on, what sort of musical choices were made along the way, and how different approaches might be assessed in relation to each other.

From a research perspective, projects by de Graaf (2017), Böttcher (2017), Johansson (2008), and Tandberg (2008) provide insights into how musical languages can be approached by improvisers, in particular the melodic and harmonic language of Messiaen, while not specifically addressing how pieces of this repertoire might be approached. From this perspective, Cole (2015) contributes with knowledge on how different approaches to form, fidelity – as well as aspects related to the composer’s cultural context – play a part in reshaping composition for improvisational adaptations, based on the elaborate interpretations of Mahler made by Uri Caine. Cole emphasizes an analytical perspective, employing concepts from the field of structural linguistics. A complement to Cole’s research, as found in Roggen and Nyhus’s (un)Romantic / Improvising interpretation project (2024), is to investigate such transformational processes from a performer perspective. Roggen and Nyhus – whose final report have yet to be published while writing this – provide insights into the mechanisms and processes involved with taking romantic songs from the turn of the 20th century, primarily music by Sibelius, as starting points for creating improvised interpretations, as well as dissolving the music. A complement to their project would be to investigate similar approaches – and alternatives to these approaches – with music created after the Romantic period. Furthermore, studies by Hill (2017), Ayerst (2021), and West (2022) reveal a tension at play with the Werktreue ideal – being faithful to the composer's intention – and the creative expression of improvisation in a classical context. A complement here would be to elaborate on the potential limits of artistic liberties, e.g. when open, collective improvisation is brought into the equation, or when most of the source material is removed.

These are the main areas where the project might contribute with new knowledge:

1. The role of scores in relation to improvisation over classical music. Given the centrality of the score in Western classical music, it’s worth investigating how alternative types of notation – or other forms of musical media – based on classical pieces can help performers escape the “grip of determinacy”, as Ayerst (2021) puts it, and to which extent this can be achieved without compromising prioritized musical qualities of the pieces in question. For a further understanding of this point, additional research related to notation and improvisation will be examined.

2. Negotiating and navigating musical structures of 20th century classical music.

One aspect of this relates to musical form, seen that structures that are seemingly rigid might need to be “opened up” to create the necessary space for improvisation to take place. Addressing this aspect from a performer perspective might yield different results than those presented by Cole (2015), and can serve as a complement to approaches presented by Roggen & Nyhus (2024). This aspect will be further elaborated through examining research related to how composers of big band music work with integrating improvisation into large-scale compositions, which might contribute with new perspectives on relations between improvisation and written material. Another aspect of relates to musical languages, as highlighted by Iverson’s (2009) question “How do you bridge the gulf harmonically between really modernist classical music and what a normal jazz musician can improvise?”. This is a motivated question, seen that 20th-century languages might pose certain challenges from an improvisational standpoint, one that might shed new light on research related to improvisational strategies (Norgaard, 2011; Després et al., 2017).

3. Navigating possible tensions between work-centered perspectives and performer-centered perspectives. Studies such as those by Hill (2017), Ayerst (2021), and West (2022) highlight the importance of challenging dominant notions related to musical works and the composer-centeredness of the Western classical, for the sake of performer agency and musical creativity. In terms of navigating tensions between the performer and “the work” seen from a context of Scandinavian improvised music, where the personal expression and the “voice” of the performer has a central position, the project can contribute with new perspectives on such tensions, one that might illuminate current discourse related to authenticity in music performance.

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Peter Knudsen - Expanding horizons – Improvisational explorations of 20th-century classical music - 2025