Abstract
Are you excited or puzzled (or even intimidated) when as a performer you are presented with either a virtually blank page, a collection of seemingly random numbers, or a visual explosion of alien symbols, distorted conventions, and a very great deal of ink? How does this suspension of control, if indeed it is a suspension, affect how we as performers interact with the composer of the work? And furthermore, who is the composer? This talk (with live demonstration) will consider the nature of the performer/composer interface in the interpretation of John Cage’s late time-bracket piece Four⁶ (1992) and Hans-Joachim Hespos’ virtuosic ‘Lied’ Weiβschatten (2017), both of which employ non-standard notation and elements of improvisation. Using the key concepts of undecidability, bricolage and play from the work of Jacques Derrida, I will explore how the mobile hierarchies present in these pieces have profound implications for deconstructive approaches to performance.
| Original language | English (US) |
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| Title of host publication | BFE/RMA Conference 2019, University of Sheffield, UK |
| State | Unpublished - Jan 12 2019 |