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.

Permissions

Releasing these albums involved learning a lot about the processes surrounding obtaining permissions, and what the consequences might be. The first album, All in Twilight with Härenstam, was released on September 1, 2023, via Daphne records. Mechanical licences were taken care of via the record label, i.e. the compulsory license for releasing a recording of music that isn't in the public domain. ¹ My understanding at the time was that this was sufficient for cover versions, provided that fundamental structures are not changed; melody, harmony, lyrics (if applicable). The way I viewed 'cover' was along the lines of what is presented in this guide from the Swedish organization Musikförläggarna, a trade organization for music publishers:

A cover of a song is an adaptation. A practice has developed whereby simple arrangements of an original song are acceptable and may be performed in public without the rights holders of the original song approving each cover. No two performances are exactly the same so this has become a necessary development of practice. ...
If you want to record a cover, this is also possible - provided that the original song has already been released on a recording. A license is then signed with the NCB. (Musikförläggarna, 2024)

[En cover på en låt är en bearbetning. Det har utvecklats en praxis som innebär att enklare arrangemang av en originallåt är acceptabelt och får framföras offentligt utan att rättighetshavarna till originallåten godkänner varje cover. Inga framföranden är ju helt identiska så detta har blivit en nödvändig utveckling av praxis. …
Om du vill spela in en cover är det också möjligt - förutsatt att originallåten redan har getts ut på en inspelning. En licens tecknas då med NCB.]

Covers and 'simple arrangements' is at the core of jazz and popular music, with improvised elements in varying degrees. However, as I later realized, there seemed to be a different norm on how to approach such matters in relation to works of classical music. For instance, I heard musicians describing difficulties with obtaining permission for a reworking of a piece; I also read about Herbie Hancock's initial challenge when he was about to release his version of Ravel's Piano concerto in G major, 2nd movement. This led me to re-think what might be required in terms of permissions. I still found it to be somewhat a gray area; legal documents, as expected, offer very little information in terms of what can be done/what can't be done. In a legal context, these types of issues are governed by what is called “moral rights” (Fr. droits morales), rights which are connected to the author of an artistic work. Although implementation varies from country to country, legislation are generally based on the Berne convention of the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works of 1886:

(1) Independently of the author's economic rights, and even after the transfer of the said rights, the author shall have the right to claim authorship of the work and to object to any distortion, mutilation or other modification of, or other derogatory action in relation to, the said work, which would be prejudicial to his honor or reputation.

When acquiring mechanical licences to release cover versions of other people's music, the following information is given from the Nordic Bureau of Copyright (NCB):

Please note that the following types of use require specific permission from the rights holders:

- Original music/text has been altered
- It is copied from an existing publication
- Music/text is published for the first time
- Music/text is used in political, religious, pornographic or advertising production
- Excerpts from existing music/text are used

(from the application form at ncb.dk)

The problem is that no further information is given about what constitutes altering the original music; does it refer mainly to pitches in the score, or does it involve changes in form too? It should be noted that Hancock omits/replaces long passages of Ravel’s piano part, which means that the situation isn't directly comparable with the approach with preserving ”every note in the score” that we took in Takemitsu's All in Twilight.

When proceeding to work on the second album, Reimaginations, I wanted to make sure that every version was approved by the rights holders. This was important, since these versions typically deviated more from the source material than the music on the All in Twilight album. Thus, before finalizing and releasing Reimaginations, I reached out to the rights holders for the music of Hindemith, Tailleferre, Dutilleux, Gubaidulina, and Szőnyi.

I did also reach out to the rights holders of Takemitsu and von Koch:s music afterwards, via the publishers, explaining that our versions were done with a great deal of admiration for the music. I also made sure to convey that the music was well received, to give an indication that our treatment hadn't diminished the music:

Last year, I released a version of Takemitsu’s All in Twilight together with David Härenstam (guitar and piano) with added moments of improvisation, on the album All in Twilight (Daphne, 2023). Of course, mechanical licenses were taken care of, as well as composer attribution. However, coming from a background of improvised music, I confess that I didn’t consider that one might need approval for such interpretations beyond this (sometimes a gray area), for which I apologize.

Importantly, everything in our version is based on us playing from the original score where we have not changed any notes (pitches) from the score or the fundamental character of the music, just added brief moments of improvisation, like the preludes/introductions, cadenzas and improvised variations over themes that were an important part of the classical music tradition before the 20th century (besides being central in the jazz tradition). Listeners will understand these additions from the musical context, and the information surrounding the release.

Everything was done with a tremendous amount of admiration for the original and Takemitsu’s legacy. In a way, it was an aspiration to connect this work with a type of music that played an important part in shaping Takemitsu’s musical universe; besides his early exposure to American jazz on the radio, he would mention in interviews how, for instance, the Lydian Chromatic concept of jazz theorist George Russell had a big influence on his writing, as well as the music of Duke Ellington (whose music finishes the album).

The reactions, from what we’ve seen, have been nothing but positive; for instance, the American Record Journal included it on their list of best albums for 2023, as did Swedish journal Sydsvenskan (who described it as “one of the most exciting chamber music albums of the year”). Furthermore, we know that we’ve reached listeners beyond the typical classical audience and brought them to Takemitsu’s music. So I hope you accept this apology for not reaching out before, and that you can find value in our way of paying tribute to the rich musical universe of Takemitsu. (e-mail sent to Schott Music Japan, 2024-09-04)

A similar letter was sent to the rights holders of von Koch – via the publisher, Gehrmans Musik – where I expressed our admiration for von Koch's composition and the folk music melody that it was based on, Visa från Utanmyra; that our version served as a hommage to both von Koch and Jan Johansson by reinforcing the connection between the two. Although these communications didn't change the fact that the music was already released, it seemed like the ethical thing to do, to express the good intent that went into creating these versions.

1. Although public domain varies in an international perspective, the most common model is that a work falls into the public domain 70 years after the year of the composer's passing.

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