We also like to be surprised

Disruption, provocation and surprise in the music of Christian Wolff

Bibliographic Data

ID6047986
AuthorsPhilip Thomas (0000-0003-3683-531X, Art Research Centre of the Slovak Academy of Sciences), Philip A Thomas (0000-0002-6936-1408), Emily Payne (0000-0003-2109-8126, University of Leeds)
Year2020
Volume30
Issue2
Pages27-45
Publication date2020-08-19
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCircuit Musiques contemporaines (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1183-1693 • E-ISSN: 1488-9692
PublisherConsortium Erudit (PUBLISHER • CA)
DOI10.7202/1071119ar
OpenAlexW3083957369
LanguageEN
References cited14

This article explores the ways in which the music of experimental composer Christian Wolff engenders surprise through processes of disruption and provocation. The contexts under examination are: scores which employ cueing strategies; improvisatory pieces; ensemble pieces; pieces for solo piano; and Wolff’s practice as an improvising musician. These case studies show how Wolff’s music occupies a particular position between improvisation and composition. In examining the space that Wolff’s music opens up for contingency and play, and in adopting a view of indeterminacy as understood through performance rather than limited by its notation, the article puts forward a view of indeterminacy grounded in sociality. More broadly, in its contribution to the body of literature investigating the role of notation in improvisation practices, the article invites a reconsideration of the ontological understandings of composition, improvisation, and performance

Aesthetics · Art · Art history · Contingency · Epistemology · Exaptation · Improvisation · Linguistics · Literature · Musical · Musical notation · Notation · Piano · Sociology · Surprise · Visual arts · Communication · Diverse Music Education Insights · Musicology and Musical Analysis · Neuroscience and Music Perception · Philosophy · Psychology

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