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.