To Örebro University

This presentation is based on the PhD project “Expanding Horizons”, an artistic research project that looks at how musical works from 20th-century Western classical music can be reimagined for the purpose of integrating improvisation into the musical performance. Examples presented include music by Lili Boulanger and Toru Takemitsu reimagined for improvising musicians, based on two album releases:  

All in Twilight (David Härenstam & Peter Knudsen, 2023) and Reimaginations (Peter Knudsen, 2024). Given that the works in question are conveyed through musical scores with a high degree of specificity, the role of the score is also examined, and how it can be reconfigured for the purpose of opening up the music via improvisation.  

The presentation also addresses the interconnection between artistic work processes and a qualitative research methodology based on autoethnography and participant-observation. Throughout the project, various qualitative methods were used: - Audio journaling in combination with automatic speech-to-text transcription, particularly during the preparatory phases of the work. - Participant-observation during musical sessions with participating musicians, often followed by semi-structured interviews. - Focus group interviews in the form of listening sessions and panel discussions, sometimes carried out in the presence of an audience. - Semi-structured interviews with key respondents, particularly with musicians with experience in improvising over Western art music. The vast amount of data produced from these sessions was then analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis, following an approach by Braun and Clarke (2022) where patterns and themes are created through systematically engaging with the dataset. Challenges and possibilities with this methodological approach are also considered. 

”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, what role does the choice and preparation of musical representations play? How can we navigate and negotiate musical structures such as melody, harmony and form? 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.

This video article presents two pedagogical applications of the artistic research project Expanding horizons – improvisational explorations of 20th century classical music, a PhD project at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim. The project focuses on practical explorations of the application of improvisation to 20th-century Western classical music repertoires, in combination with qualitative methods such as autoethnography, participant-observation, and semi-structured interviews. The examples in the video demonstrate how approaches that are developed in the project can be applied in pedagogical situations, based on ensemble workshops with musicians of different musical orientations enrolled in music performance programmes in Sweden, one with university-level students in a bachelor programme and another with students at a folk high school. 

Video link: https://doi.org/10.22501/rc.3012775

The artistic research project "Expanding horizons" focuses on the intersection of improvisation and 20th century classical music. The objective is to contribute with knowledge on how musicians can employ this repertoire in musical improvisation and how this encounter can contribute to the expansion of their musical vocabulary. Through the creation of musical arrangements and compositions, with constellations ranging from duos to big band, the project sets out to answer to following the research questions: • What improvisational strategies are involved when musicians approach repertoire from 20th century classical music? • How do improvisers navigate and negotiate the musical languages of composers such as Hindemith, Tailleferre and Takemitsu?  • In what ways can these encounters serve as ways for improvisers to expand their musical vocabulary?

The musical work is carried out through iterative processes, similar to action research, where the created material is revisited, reflected upon, revised and reimagined for the different constellations. These processes also involve qualitative methods such as autoethnography, semi-structured interviews and stimulated recall, generating data that contributes to knowledge from a practitioner perspective as well as informing the subsequent work. The repertoire in question is mainly taken from the first half of the 20th century, a period when improvisation was generally absent from the practice of classical performers, with music from composers whose works are rarely – if ever – performed in situations with improvisations, composers such as Paul Hindemith, Henri Dutilleux and Tōru Takemitsu. The project also highlights compositions by female composers such as Lili Boulanger, Germaine Tailleferre and Ruth Crawford, music makers that often found themselves working in the shadow of their male counterparts.

Beyond outlining the project and its methods, the presentation showcases models for how the project's insights are disseminated across varied contexts, including artistic communities and music education environments, and how these processes can provide new perspectives, understandings, and even valuable material for the artistic result. One of the questions for the final phase of the work is: how can the insights and artistic results of the project contribute to the artistic practice of other performers? 

With this album, the listener is encouraged to take part in a reimagining of the classical piano repertoire from the 20th century; what if this music had been written today, for improvising musicians in a Scandinavian jazz context?

In these reimagined versions, we have used a wide range of approaches to create the improvisational frameworks. As a result, some of the pieces sound closer to the original version, while others may – at first – seem more distant. There are also two new creations, as spontaneous reverberations that emerged after working with the repertoire.

Much of the music explored here comes from France and the United States, from the first half of the century, which may bring to mind the French-American connection that led to numerous musical cross-fertilizations during this period. Also, most of the music is written by female composers, with the hope of highlighting some extraordinary music makers that deserves greater attention in the history books.

However, the ambition has not been to create jazz versions of the music, nor to create some kind of synthesis between jazz and classical music, as ends in themselves. Rather, the overall aim of these reimaginations has been to make each exploration a fruitful encounter; to bring out something that we 'hear' in the music, by reinforcing something of its particular expression. In doing so, we also believe that these pieces have managed to bring out something new in us as improvisers.Peter Knudsen

About the repertoire:By the still waters is a piece by the American composer Amy Beach (1867-1944). Originally written for solo piano in 1925, the piece's undulating piano figures and lyrical melody seem to mirror the movements of gently flowing water. In this duo version, Söderqvist and I expand on the piece with an added piano introduction, solo improvisations based on the theme, piano figurations that move in and out of Beach's written lines, and a concluding duo dialogue.

In Assez lent from Valses Nobles et Sentimentales, a piece originally written for solo piano in 1911, we take on the music of French composer Maurice Ravel (1875-1937). Here, Söderqvist's introduction for voice and cello leads the way to Ravel's hauntingly beautiful melody, that is then taken up by the piano for a solo improvisation. One can also sense the presence of Billy Strayhorn's Chelsea Bridge, somewhere between Ravel's lines and our improvised phrases.

Contemplation is a spontaneous piano improvisation that emerged out of an arpeggio figure from Paul Hindemith's Ludus Tonalis. Here it's used as an interlude, as a passing thought between the duo and trio explorations.

Cortège, written in 1914 by the French composer Lili Boulanger (1893-1918), was created in two versions around the same time: one version for solo piano and a duo for violin and piano. Here, together with Kristoffersson and Olsson, it's presented in a reimagined version for piano trio (piano, bass, drums). We wanted to highlight the playful character of the music as well as its dramatic qualities, which gave us a good starting point for this trio conversation. First, we improvise our way into the melody, which is then used as a departure point for piano and bass improvisations, followed by a drum solo over the middle section.

D'un Vieux Jardin (Of an old garden), another piano piece by Boulanger from the same period, evokes an impressionistic and somewhat nostalgic atmosphere. Here we revisit the first two sections of the theme (A and B) for bass and piano improvisations, before continuing to the concluding section. There is also a subtle nod to jazz pianists Bill Evans and John Taylor, who also found inspiration in the harmonic language of French piano music.

Meditation (Interrupted) is an original composition that came about spontaneously afrer spending time with the music of Germaine Tailleferre, Paul Hindemith and Anthony Braxton. As always, it's difficult (and perhaps unimportant) to say what came from where. The music is used as a departure point for this encounter with the Norwegian trio en en en, where the improvised section unfolds as a conversation between me and Haugerud, with Hegdal and Duch providing an anchor to the melody.

Variazioni from Cinque Preludi, composed in 1966, introduces us to the Hungarian composer Erzsébet Szőnyi (1924-2019), whose eclectic writing defies traditional labels and categories. After playing the piece, en en en and I use the finishing chord as a springboard for an open improvisation based on the mood of Szőnyi's piece. We then return gradually to the theme, this time intertwined with our improvised reflections on the piece.

In Leggiero from Nine Preludes for Piano, from 1928, we enter the modernist domain of American composer Ruth Crawford Seeger (1901-1953). According to the composer's own description, this "wild Prelude No. 8 in primitive fifths ... represents a human laugh". In this reimagined version, en en en and I are joined by Halse and Ase for a sextet exploration of the music. Here, Hegdal and Haugerud start us off with an open duo improvisation that gradually brings us to the theme. Then, instead of playing the middle section and the ending from the original, we go into open, improvised sections that are interspersed with fragments from Crawford Seeger's piece.

Joint artistic performance, like music, dance or acting, provides an excellent domain to observe the mechanisms of human-human collaboration. In this paper, we use this domain to study human-robot collaboration and co-creation. We propose a general model in which an AI system mediates the interaction between a human performer and a robotic performer. We then instantiate this model in a case study, implemented using fuzzy logic techniques, in which a human pianist performs jazz improvisations, and a robot dancer performs classical dancing patterns in harmony with the artistic moods expressed by the human. The resulting system has been evaluated in an extensive user study, and successfully demonstrated in public live performances.

Live artistic performance, like music, dance or acting, provides an excellent domain to observe and analyze the mechanisms of human-human collaboration. In this note, we use this domain to study human-AI collaboration. We propose a model for collaborative artistic performance, in which an AI system mediates the interaction between a human and an artificial performer. We then instantiate this model in three case studies involving different combinations of human musicians, human dancers, robot dancers, and a virtual drummer. All case studies have been demonstrated in public live performances involving improvised artistic creation, with audiences of up to 250 people. We speculate that our model can be used to enable human-AI collaboration beyond the domain of artistic performance. 

Utgångspunkten för projektet var att via improvisation och nyskrivna kvartettarrangemang utforska potentialen i åtta kompositioner av den nationalromantiske kompositören Wilhelm Peterson-Berger (1883–1942).

Ur skivkonvolutet: "En stor behållning med projektet har också varit att få gå in i P-B:s musikskatt på djupet, och därigenom utforska nya områden av hans repertoar. Frösöblomster var förstås välbekant sedan tidigare, med kända stycken som den lekfulla Lawn Tennis, smäktande Till rosorna, den suggestivt tassande I skymningen och meditativa Vid frösö kyrka. Även folkmusikinspirerade Gångtrall hade jag stött på, med sina för P-B typiska modulationer. Men under grävandets gång kom det att uppenbara sig nya sidor hos den Peterson-Berger jag trodde mig känna till. Ett sådant exempel är Tempelceremoni med sin speciella klangvärld, som spontant fick mig att associera till tonsättaren Nils Lindberg och hans sätt att blanda folkmelodier med jazzklanger. En annan glad överraskning i sammanhanget var Flöjtspel på Peneios, som mig veterligen är det närmsta P-B kommit de franska impressionisternas domäner men som överraskande bryter av mitt i med ett sugges- tivt crescendoparti, likt en extatisk dans, för att sedan återgå till den meditativa grundkaraktären. Spelman visade på en överraskande dubbelnatur i sin övergång från det Wagnerska svårmodet till den uppbrusande polskadelen. Peterson-Berger-kännaren Lennart Hedwall gjorde tolkningen att det kan röra sig om ett personporträtt, kanske rentav ett självporträtt…"

The departure point for the project was, through improvisation and newly written quartet arrangements, to explore the potential of eight compositions by national romantic composer Wilhelm Peterson-Berger (1883–1942).

From the booklet: "A major benefit of this project has been to go into Peterson-Berger’s musical treasures in depth, exploring new areas of his repertoire. Frösöblomster was of course well know for me in the past, with famous pieces such as the playful Lawn Tennis, the languishing Till rosorna, the evocative I skymningen and the meditative Vid Frösö kyrka. I even came across the folk music-inspired Gångtrall. During the course of my digging, there came to appear new sides to the Peterson-Berger I thought I knew. A great example of this is Tempelceremoni with its special sound, which caused me to spontaneously associate to composer Nils Lindberg and his way of mixing folk melodies with jazz harmonies. Another pleasant surprise in this context was Flöjtspel på Peneios, which to my knowledge is the closest Peterson-Berger came the French Impressionist’s domains but surprisingly breaks off in the middle of a suggestive crescendo partition, like an ecstatic dance, to then return to it’s meditative basic character. Spelman showed a surprising double nature in its transition from the ”Wagnerian" gloom to the impetuous polska (3/4 dance) section. Peterson-Berger connoisseur Lennart Hedwall made the assumption that it could be a personal portrait, perhaps even a self-portrait…"