An example of a re-mix that takes some of the basic musical material of the piece and puts it into the minimalistic ’sequenser-mixer’…
Håkan Lidbo;
Excerpt from re-mix of Beethovens 5th Symphony
The new settings of mine are a not a remould of the music. They don’t want to tell a completely new story. It is more a case of telling the underlying story to an audience of today by changing the musical balances in comparison with the original material.
The re-settings of the two pieces have little or nothing to do with the current trend of re-mixing. One could say that the re-mix is more like the cuckoo taking over another bird’s nest. This strategy can sometimes become an art object of some stature but has very seldom anything do with the deeper layers of the original material. Often when these strategies are being used within the art-music field it just adds some perfume to an otherwise fixed tradition. I think it’s crucial that we find some other ways to re-interpret the canon in our classical ‘museum’.
And why is it that musical performance is so strongly connected to the view of absolute completeness in the execution of the score? Sometimes it appears as if we, for some reason, were to take away a single bar, of for instance a Beethoven piano sonata, the ‘piece’ would not exist anymore. It is as if it's existence as an art object is dependent on the fact that nothing is changed or left out.
In connection to this it’s interesting to notice the fact that this seems to be a problem only within the concert institution. In other venues like city parks, private homes and amusement parks everyone seems to have a much more liberal attitude towards different ways of interpreting a piece of music. And it’s of course in this popular tradition that a modern electronic version of it appears in the form of re-mixing.
One of the crucial differences between the 'remix' and a 'new staging', I would argue, is a matter of time perception; a new setting puts the piece in the middle of the living time in comparison to the re-mix that, playing with memory, imitates the surface character of the piece. A re-mix recollects the memory of a piece of music whereas a new setting puts itself in the ‘now’ - in the space of real lived time. This is often valid also when discussing the quality of different (traditional) interpretations. Is the performance bringing out the inner musical logic or is it just recreating the outer gestures of the piece.
Our reverence for the musical ‘text’ has up to now been a hindrance in visualizing alternative productions of musical scores. This is of course due to our, in many ways petrified, way of thinking around musical performance.
Susan Sontag says in her article 'Against interpretation': ”In some cultural contexts, interpretation is a liberating act. It is a means of revising, of transvaluing, of escaping the dead past. In other cultural contexts, it is reactionary, impertinent, cowardly, stifling.”
”In a culture whose already classical dilemma is the hypertrophy of the intellect at the expence of energy and sensual capability, interpretation is the revenge of the intellect upon art.”
Susan Sontag’s motto for this article is taken from Oscar Wilde: "It is only shallow people who do not judge from appearances. The mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible."(Sontag 1966)
A theatre director can change, or completely remove, a sentence that appears to be old-fashioned in an actor’s utterance. The director can even cancel a whole scene without making the audience disappointed. But all of this is true only if the essence of the play is in some way kept intact, both through the new staging as in its relation to the central ideas in the original text. I see no reason why this shouldn’t be applicable also to the musical score. Also ‘absolute music’ is built around some kind of narrative idea that evolves through the staging of the central musical ideas. Form and content is of course closely connected, but that doesn’t have to mean that there is only one, and only one, solution to the final setting of the music.
"If we now have found out ’what makes it tick…’ …it seems reasonable also to get some ideas around new ways of interpreting what we have seen. Similarly, there is no reason to believe that the ‘larger design’, and functional parts of a work of absolute music, cannot support more than one interpretation: more than one story about ‘what makes it tick’."(Kivy 2006)
Some e-mail correspondence concerning new settings of L van Beethovens Symphony No5 and ’Albinonis’ Adagio;
Skickat to 2009-02-19 12:27
Till Hultqvist Anders <anders.hultqvist@hsm.gu.se>
Ärende late thanks
Dear Anders,
Thank you for taking the time and trouble to come to Helsingborg last week. Sorry it took me a long time to say this. I am just getting ready to go away for a week for Bach, Purcell, Birtwhistle and Maxwell Davies, so my head has been rather full. I did find our conversation very stimulating. I still don't know quite what I think of your Beethoven 5 idea - I cannot get over how brave you are! – but feel that it is an experiment well worth making. Where do we go from here? Shall I contact Ed or are you in touch with him?
With very best wishes,
Andrew
On 20 Feb 2009, at 09:10, Anders Hultqvist wrote:
Dear Andrew,
thanks for listening to my idea. After our talk I felt even more reasured that it's a sort of work no one has really done before. As we said there has been a lot of new stagings of different works but not really in this way. I'm involved in a artistic researchproject(backed by the National research council) dealing with the question of interpretation and composition and I think it would be interesting to bring this 'project' into that realm. I would really want to get back to you about that...
Best wishes
Anders
DearEd and Anders,
Let'smeet after the concert (which starts at 18.30) in the concert hall's Markelius Barand by then I will have worked out whether there is anywhere else we can go solate(!) on a Sunday.
Ishall make sure there are tickets for you both.
Bestwishes,
Andrew
Afriendly and spiritual meeting was held after the concert. After a while theideas became clearer and, standing in the Markelius bar, hands were shaken... Herewe go… (my own commentaries)
HejAnders!
Härmina förslag till justeringar av din text. ...
I avsnittetdin komposition kring Albinonis adagio (tredje stora stycket) skriver du itredje meningen ”Komma åt att lyssna till den starka melodiken bortom allaöverlagringar av förstelnad kitsch.” Jag föreslår att du stryker det tre sistaorden och sätter punkt efter ”överlagringar”.
Iavsnittet som börjar med ”Ett konserthus är uppbyggt…” skriver du i tredjesista meningen om ”reproducerbara läsningar av den klassiska repertoaren hargjort musiken statisk.” Jag föreslår formuleringen ”riskerar att göra musikenstatisk”.
Det sistastycket om GSOs roll i det musikaliska samtalet föreslår jag att du strykerhelt.
Alltgott!
/ Helena
Dear Helena,
Thanks for the progress report.Once again I am not able to fit in with your schedule since I will be recordingBrahms in Helsingborg on August 23 and 24. Luckily, the most important thing isfor Anders to present the idea to the orchestra.
While the musical idea isprogressing, have you done anything about finding a date for this project? My2011-12 season is very booked up. May I suggest you contact Bridget Emmersonabout dates rather urgently? Even today?!
If you need input from me at yourAugust conference, maybe these words are useful (an edited version of what Isent before):
I have had agood look at the draft of Anders' Beethoven score and have enjoyed several longconversations with Anders, so I can understand the rationalebehind his piece, even though his work is perhaps not yet finished. Although Ipersonally have some difficulties with the whole idea of rewriting amasterpiece, the personal reactions of one person, even the conductor, shouldnot prevent the idea being tried out as well as possible in concert.
My one strongreservation is that I believe the audience should be told clearly thatthis is not a 'normal' Beethoven symphony by means of a cautionary,this-may-contain-nuts style title, just as a theatre/opera audience is wellaware, often from pre-publicity, programme notes or arresting stagedecoration/action, that a work is being presented within the context of theproducer's personal views about the piece.
Musicalhistory is littered with hasty, incorrect judgements (Weber and Spohr on lateBeethoven, Clara Schumann on her husband's last works etc). It is only after ahigh quality performance that a new idea or work can be fairly assessed and, ifthe GSO decides to programme Ander's piece, I would do my best to give it sucha performance.
Have a good summer!
With best wishes,
Andrew
On 22 Jun 2010, at 08:31, Helena Wessmanwrote:
Dear Andrew andAnders,
Last week Andersmet the program board in order to introduce the Albinoni and Beethoven project.The discussion afterwards was positive and I now consider the collaborationhaving the support needed to move on. The next step is an introduction to theentire orchestra and the GSO staff on a conference on August 24th. Iwould be delighted if you could both participate as it’s important to have the conductorspoint of view as well as the composers. Is that possible?
The conferencewill be hold close to Gothenburg central 23-24th of August. If24th is impossible for you to come I can rearrange the schedule so you couldgive your lecture on the 23rd.
Later today Iwill leave for holiday, but please feel free to call me if you have anyquestions. My mobile phone will be open all summer.
All the best!
/ Helena
Anders!
Varmt tack för ditt föredrag igår! Många kom efteråt och var inspirerade och ännu fler påtalade hur modig du är som står så cool inför en orkester som blir så laddad. Vissa är säkert heligt förbannade, men får börja tugga i sig det hela. Jag tycker att detta är MYCKET SPÄNNANDE och jag hoppas att du känner mitt stöd, även om jag kanske uttrycker mig klumpigt eller provocerande under presentationerna.
Manze är bokad för ett uruppförande vecka 40, 2011...
Beträffande avtalet blir leveransdatum 31/3 bra. Vad lägger du in i begreppet ”fullständigt skick”? För säkerhets skull ska vi kanske skriva in något om att du kan använda dig av GSO:s ordinarie besättning, dvs inte saxofoner och annat mysko J.
Allt gott!
/ Helena
Helena Wessman Managing and Artistic Director
GöteborgsSymfoniker AB +46 31-726 53 04, +46 70-311 6474 www.gso.se
(Kivy continues…) ”Is Liszt’s piano version of Beethoven’s NinthSymphony a version of the work, in a strong sense, or a new work, closely based on it? Is a performance of Richard III, in modern dress, with tanks and machineguns, a version of the work, in a strong sense, or a new work based closely on Shakespeare’s play?
One might be inclined to say that Liszt’s version of Beethoven is another work. But I think it would come as a great surprise to working people in the theatre to be told(…) that their production of Richard III was not a production of the Bard’s play, even though Shakespeare could not possibly have envisioned such a performance plan."(Ibid)
