The Musical Anthropologist : A study of performance practices in Finnish and American contemporary repertoire for clarinet

Abstract

This dissertation examines differences in the performance practices of Finnish and American contemporary classical clarinet repertoire from a performer’s perspective. The goal is to better understand how and why contemporary Finnish and American contemporary music are practiced and performed differently while advocating for greater inclusion of contemporary music in traditional American instrumental education for clarinet. Contemporary music requires that the performing clarinetist learn unique physical and aural music-making skills, as well as conceptual skills that reflect the musical and cultural values of a particular performance practice. This study considers the sociocultural aspects of music performance and cultural geography as equally important to the study of performance practice as musical aesthetics.

Using case studies from Finnish and American contemporary clarinet repertoire, performance practice is analyzed in terms of performance and performer expectations as well as performer agency. The added artistic responsibility of performing new music and the presence of a living composer affects the relationships between the performer, composer, and audience in different ways. The nature of these relationships is addressed through the research themes of notation as cultural practice, shared ownership, and the translation of cultural values through and in performance. The clarinetist’s artistic process of preparing and performing Finnish and American repertoire is combined with ethnographic participant observation as an insider-outsider in Finnish and American contemporary music fields. In assessing the clarinetist’s role in the performance of contemporary repertoire, the dissertation is divided into seven chapters addressing the clarinetist as soloist, composer, recording artist, chamber and orchestral musician.