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.

Implications

This section addresses general implications of the project and some practical considerations, followed by thoughts on further research and pedagogical applications.

General implications

One of the main contributions of the project is the range of approaches that it presents involving notation and other musical media in relation to improvisation over classical works. This include an examination of methods based on original scores, lead sheets, indeterminate notation, alternative score types, and sound recordings, and the roles that they play in the process of integrating improvisation into the performance. Although these approaches are not new in themselves, the combination of these musical representations and practical working methods demonstrates new possibilities for how to approach and rethink repertoire from the realm of 20th-century Western classical music, and – by extension – other types of 'thick works', i.e., music of high specificity. The fact that these varieties are derived from a wide range of musical contexts and practices – including notation and ear-based methods derived from jazz contexts, as well as score types found in post-war Western art music – suggests that there is a particular potential for turning to modes of representing music beyond its original context, modes that come with their particular affordances and potential for foregrounding specific musical elements. This can serve as an impetus for further experimentation, where the degree of specificity and notational determinacy can be adapted according to the aspects that are prioritized: melody, harmony, linear movement, rhythm, chronology of musical events, and so on. Furthermore, ear-based approaches open up the possibility of working with material in ways that are not limited by the constraints of musical notation.

The project also presents different approaches for engaging with musical structures and languages of 20th-century classical works from an improvisational perspective. Here, the emphasis is put on integrating improvisation with the composed material, through techniques such as repeating elements, working with layers, creating transitions and introducing open sections. These can serve as possible starting points for musicians exploring classical works via improvisation, or inspire other approaches. In terms of musical building blocks, working with melodic material in multiple ways shows a particular potential for establishing deep connections with the material, something that can be put in contrast to, for instance, basing improvisations on mere harmonic representations of the source material.

The project also show how the intricate languages of 20th-century composers – such as Hindemith, Takemitsu, Tailleferre and Crawford Seeger – present challenges and resistances to traditional improvisational practices. While approaches common in jazz improvisation may work well with more functional harmony – e.g., improvisation over harmonic progressions, pattern-based playing, and chord/scale thinking – they present themselves as less effective when confronted with atonal, polytonal, or twelve-tone music. This suggests that improvisers need to develop strategies suited to these advanced harmonic and melodic structures, something which can potentially contribute to the development of new improvisational vocabularies. As presented here, activities aimed at expanding on the musical languages of a given composer – whether through composition or improvisation – can be a means to achieving this goal.

The project also contributes with insider perspectives related to the considerations, choices and assessments that performers make when approaching repertoire from an improvisational standpoint, where questions of respect and the perceived tension between fidelity to the work and one's own creative expression come to the fore. In particular, the idea of focal points – i.e. aspects to focus on when reworking a classical work into an improvisational version – can serve as a way of navigating this tension. These focal points may be derived from the work itself (its score, its context, or expressive qualities), from the performer's perspective (their context, personal voice, or improvisational freedom), or from broader considerations such as the "here and now" and the sonic manifestation of the music in the room. These aspects can serve not only as a guide during the working process, but also as a starting point for further reflection.

Practical considerations

The project also showed the type of resistance that performers can face when setting out to release alternative versions of classical works, as five out of six recordings were not approved for release. This can serve as a reminder of the importance of requesting permissions for music that isn't in the public domain, and that there's always a risk that alternative versions won't be accepted. From a larger perspective, this also merits further investigation into the practical application of moral rights and intellectual property rights, and to what extent they are interpreted differently in different contexts.

Further research

Based on what has been presented here, there are two main areas where further research could complement this project:

1. Aural learning of classical repertoire as a basis for ensemble improvisation. As performance of classical works typically revolves around a score, working with audio-based methods and aural learning in relation to ensemble improvisation can contribute with additional knowledge in relation to this repertoire.

2. Approaches for exploring classical repertoire beyond pitch. As a complement to the processes presented here, there is much that can be investigated when it comes to focusing on other elements in relation to the repertoire; e.g., rhythm, dynamics, silence, or aesthetics more generally.

Pedagogical applications

Material and knowledge from the project can also be applied in pedagogical contexts. In parallel to the work with the participating musicians presented here, I conducted sessions with music students on various occasions, students in bachelor and master's programmes in Sweden and Norway, as well as students at a folk high school in Sweden. A video article was created from these experiences, based on two cases of sessions with student ensembles (Knudsen, 2024a). Not only were these sessions valuable for trying out approaches and methods, they also gave insights into how material from the project can be adapted for pedagogical purposes. In particular, working with flexible scores – i.e., scores that are not restricted to a particular instrumentation – shows great potential for how a particular piece can be adapted to different constellations and knowledge levels, with improvisation serving as a key element. These experiences also suggest that this type of experimentation can be particularly fruitful when done with students from mixed orientations (classical, jazz, pop, folk music, etc.), thanks to the combination of musical perspectives involved.

When done in a way that emphasize student agency – without normative explanations, ready-made protocols and pre-packaged solutions – experiments of this kind can bring out a lot of creativity in the students, as they need to work out their own ways of shaping a reimagined version, rather than relying on conventions or standard ways of working. In addition to reinforcing often-neglected aspects of classical music practice – such as the "game-like perspectives" proposed by Ayerst (2021, p. 449) – viewing repertoire this way can open students' eyes (and ears) to how the use of building blocks from classical works can contribute to the development of musical vocabularies, regardless of their genre background and musical orientation. By integrating creative exploration of repertoire into their musical practice, students will also be better equipped to meet the demands of an ever-changing musical landscape, one in which perceptions of musical traditions, repertoire, and musicians as creative agents are constantly shifting.

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