Playing in the Creative State : Michael Chekhov and piano performance in dialogue

Abstract

Situated within the paradigm of artistic research, this thesis constitutes the final component of a doctoral research project in piano performance. Propelled by questions about how musicians within the domain of Western Classical Music may enliven their engagement with repertoire and develop a practice of creative freedom and imaginative play, this work investigates the application of the psychophysical acting technique of Michael Chekhov (1891–1955) to pianistic practice and to music performance more broadly. It utilises embodied research methods and reflective analysis to examine the ways in which a Chekhovian approach may awaken the musician’s embodied experience of movement, develop the imagination, and open the door to a ‘creative state’ for music-making characterised by freedom, play, and connection to the present moment. Utilising Rautavaara’s Sonata No. 2 The Fire Sermon as a case study, this work examines the potential of the Chekhov technique to guide and synthesise the creative process of preparing repertoire for performance. Taking a broader view, this work situates Chekhov within understandings emerging from music performance and creativity studies and reconceptualises music performance to reflect the integral role of the imaginatively embodied musician.

My research makes a significant original contribution to knowledge in three ways. Firstly, it is the first interdisciplinary study of Michael Chekhov technique undertaken from the perspective of instrumental music performance. While interdisciplinary research into Chekhov is growing (with recent work discussing its application to dance, design, therapeutic and community contexts, to name a few), intersections with instrumental music performance have not been explored. Secondly, it offers to performing musicians a new methodology for embodied practice. Embodied perspectives are gaining traction within the scholarly literature in music performance studies, with this domain primarily concerned with the ways in which embodied knowledge may make valuable contributions to music (performance) analysis. My research utilises and develops embodied knowledge not for analytical purposes, but for the purpose of enriching and deepening embodied practice itself. Thirdly, it develops a new conceptual model for music performance. Building upon the work of scholars including Nicholas Cook, John Rink and Lawrence Kramer, I develop a conceptual model for music performance that highlights its essentially collaborative nature. This new model, Embodied Imaginative Collaboration, describes the synergistic web of elements that constitute music performance and the imaginatively embodied musician’s role within it. It positions the Chekhov technique as both a conceptual frame (highlighting the synergies between Chekhov and current views in embodied creativity studies) and as a practical methodology for musical embodiment in and through performance.