The creative potential and work of the performer in new music extends from the moment of conceptualising a concert to the moment of presenting it on stage and comprises many areas between and around those two points. In this thesis I explore the nature of this activity, from the act of playing itself to the commissioning and creating of new pieces, curatorial and collaborative tasks, and the actual concert presentation. I deliberately include interrelations between performer and music promoters, composers and the audience. This leads me to further areas of investigation, namely the question of the performer’s leadership, the charismatic bond with the audience and the creation of what I call “concert aura”. I do not strive to offer all-purpose formulae for the “perfect concert” or for the ideal collaboration. I investigate performance practice not as an absolute art but rather as something embedded in and shaped by social relations and society. Accordingly I understand this thesis as an empirically based study of the questions performers could ask, as well as processes in which they might want to engage, to find meaningful solutions for each new situation. Not all of the questions I raise will be new to each performer, but in their collaborative and concert practice many performers rely on a random, unsystematic, empirical understanding that has been gained by chance. In contrast, I attempt to draw a theoretical basis for my investigation from the fields of psychology, philosophy, media science and sociology, together with the evaluation of my own and other artists’ performance practice. In this way I hope to develop an academic foundation and a comprehensive, systematic approach that can be applied to different collaboration and concert situations. Part 1 of my thesis is concerned with theories and concepts relating to creativity, collaboration and presentation (concert aura and charisma) and aims to establish a firm theoretical basis for application in practice. Part 2 presents, discusses and analyses a selection of case studies from my own practice, considered in relation to the theories discussed in the first part. I conclude by offering guidelines to collaboration and giving a model example of how one might plan a future performance, aiming to create a Gesamtkunstwerk through the totality of the preparation and presentation, its social and psychological connotations. The thesis includes two DVDs with Quicktime Movies and two CDs with recordings of the compositions, commissioned as part of this research and discussed throughout the thesis. The Appendix contains three sample-CDs with an accompanying commentary which give an introduction to contemporary playing techniques for the acoustic and electronic violin and acoustic viola. This CD is intended as a guide for composers to get acquainted with the instruments and was given to each composer involved in this research.

Submitted by Erika Demachki (erikademachki@gmail.com) on 2015-03-13T20:10:56Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Augusto Alves de Morais - 2013.pdf: 16496678 bytes, checksum: 4186fd1880ae5feb4270cb41a7587a43 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Erika Demachki (erikademachki@gmail.com) on 2015-03-13T20:12:58Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Augusto Alves de Morais - 2013.pdf: 16496678 bytes, checksum: 4186fd1880ae5feb4270cb41a7587a43 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-13T20:12:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Augusto Alves de Morais - 2013.pdf: 16496678 bytes, checksum: 4186fd1880ae5feb4270cb41a7587a43 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-03-01 / This research presents a detailed report of the process of collaboration experienced by the author of this work with the composer Arthur Rinaldi during the creation of "Uma Lágrima" for solo vibraphone, demonstrating how the participation of the interpreter can be active and contributory. During this process, the author of this text contributed in various stages of the creation, from the commission, conception, composition and notation, to the premiere performance and recording of the piece. This text contains information about the development of this solo piece for vibraphone and about its sonorities, as well as issues of technical and interpretive nature which helped mold its final form, information collected during encounters with the composer during the year of 2011. / A presente pesquisa apresenta um relato detalhado do processo de colaboração vivenciado pelo autor deste trabalho com o compositor Arthur Rinaldi durante a criação da obra “Uma Lágrima” para vibrafone solo. Durante este processo, o intérprete pôde contribuir em diversas etapas, desde a encomenda, concepção, composição e notação, até a estreia e gravação da obra, demonstrando como a participação do intérprete pode ser ativa e contributiva neste processo. Neste relato estão contidas informações sobre o surgimento da obra e suas sonoridades, além de questões de cunho técnicointerpretativas que auxiliaram a moldar o formato definitivo desta obra, informações estas coletadas durante encontros com o compositor no ano de 2011.

This thesis takes as its broad area of study the solo instrumental music produced since 1960 by the virtuoso performer-composer, and focuses on the works of Australian clarinettist and composer Brigid Burke. The 1960's in music was a decade like no other; the effects of serialism and indeterminacy, the rise of electronic music, and the general climate of experimentation resulted in an explosion of new musical ideas and compositional approaches. One development of this period was the growth of a musician type new to the twentieth century: the virtuoso performer-composer. Brigid Burke (1960- ) is a clarinet soloist, visual artist and a composer of over one hundred works. The majority of Burke's compositional output comprises works for clarinet. In writing almost exclusively for the clarinet, the instrument of which she is a national and international performer, Burke can be viewed as continuing the virtuoso performer-composer trend emanating from the 1960's. The aim of this thesis is to investigate the extent to which Burke's clarinet works represent a unique voice in the international and Australian contemporary clarinet repertoire. Four of Burke's works were chosen for study: Three Sounds on Buildings 2 (2005),