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.

Integrating improvisation & composition

One way of looking at the relationship between improvisation and composition is through an examination of the role that improvisation plays in large-scale works, such as contemporary music for jazz orchestra (big band). Compositions in this context typically require other approaches than the ‘vehicle for improvisation’ view that is common in jazz performance practices. This is perfectly illustrated in the music of Maria Schneider, where improvised sections are integrated into the compositional framework as part of conveying a larger picture. Schneider essentially sees the musical encounter between improviser and composition/composer as a collaboration, one that involves ”a balance between trying them to get what you’re hearing in your head but also leaving yourself open to have them hear what’s in their head” (Schneider in Nybøé, 2012, p. 123). This encounter presents challenges if the improviser doesn’t share the larger vision of the music:

... it is very important to have people that are very musical. People that have technique but also have a lot of heart in their playing. And people that aren’t playing egotistically. So many are just trying to show constantly everything that they can play and how amazing they are. That’s not the kind of attitude I want in my music because I want my music to feel collaborative, that they experience something as a soloist, unique when they play my music because I write intricately with something for them to respond to and react to. (Schneider in Nybøé, 2012, p. 123)

In his PhD thesis Approaches to Integrating Improvisation into Notated Big Band Compositions, Ralf Dorrell (2015) conducted a survey with 57 jazz composers regarding their views on the relation between improvisation and composition. Several composers depict an ideal relationship where the improvisation is integrated seamlessly with the written parts, as an organic part of the whole composition. Many composers, similar to Schneider’s description, view the situation fundamentally as a collaboration, one that requires a balance between the ideas of the composer and the soloist. As Angela Morris points out:

… calling attention to the players as improvisers acknowledges their contribution as co-creators of a piece. I believe realisation of notated music is always a collaboration between composer and player, but the balance shifts and the acknowledgement of the performer is greater in improvised music (Morris in Dorrell, 2015, p. 70).

Morris describes the solo sections as providing "a development section or serving the arc/story of the piece regarding tension and release of energy” (p. 62), a view reiterated by several other respondents; that improvisation fundamentally serves the story of the piece and the greater overall arc of the composition. The idea of letting the improviser play a part in the story-telling of the piece is also echoed by Schneider:

I try to give the soloist something where the soloist is almost telling a story, that they’re really integrated … that they’re trying to create something really dramatic and important to the meaning of the piece. (Schneider in Nybøe, 2012, p. 123)

When considering how improvisational frameworks can be created in fruitful ways, Dorrell’s respondents emphasize leaving room for the improvisers to contribute to the piece. Another aspect is the role of the composition itself in setting the musical character and agenda for the improviser; to write the composed parts in ways that clearly define the mood and overall structure, so that the soloist's role becomes clear. Respondents also pointed out the need to find a balance between giving the improviser too much direction and not enough; to give the improviser just enough material to be creative without hindering his or her fluency and spontaneity with an overload of information. One perspective that stands out is that of composer Django Bates, who deliberately works with creating friction and resistance for the improviser:

He [Bates] would also intentionally devise passages for improvisation that are ‘challenging for the soloist, difficult to negotiate, and not always successful!’ (email Bates/Dorrell, 2015). These passages involved features such as asking the soloist to create solos over unusual and complicated harmonic and rhythmic material. For example, this could be a repeating section of an irregular number of bars possibly including changing time signatures with complex chords or dissonant vertical structures changing at apparently random times. He specifically wanted these wilfully awkward improvised sections to bring ‘this kind of energy, involving struggle’ to the music (email Bates/Dorrell, 2015).

In discussing the responsibilities of the improviser, several of Dorrell's respondents point to having an understanding of the idea of the piece. Beyond this, answers range from connecting with the piece and drawing their ideas from it, to a notion of solos as an extension of, or a reaction to, the composed material. When discussing what improvisation could bring to the compositions, Dorrell’s respondents emphasize aspects such as “spontaneity, unpredictability, freshness, energy and life, and the sense of each performance being a unique adventure.” (p. 59). Another thing addressed is how improvisation can be used to achieve complex textures that are not easily attained through score-based performance, such as phrases that are fast and rhythmically complicated. Intensity is another aspect, something that seems directly related to how the improvisers identify with the music and something that consequently increases their commitment to the performance. As Dorrell puts it:

This intensity may occur because so much of the performance depends on the input, both musical and emotional, of the players. The inclusion of improvised passages means that it is not just a case of reading and playing the notes accurately as marked in the sheet music. (Dorrell, 2015, p. 59)

As composer Lars Møller points out (in Dorrell, 2015), improvisation can also contribute to deepen the musical expression of a piece of music, adding depth and layers of complexity that may not be present in the piece. Several of Dorrell’s respondents also saw it as important for improvisations to be based on thematic material – rather than just harmonic information – and mentioned alternative techniques for guiding improvisers instead of conventional chord symbols.

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