Composition, Performance, Reception

Composers, performers, listeners, critics and theorists all play vital roles in the creation of music culture; yet often each group can appear to hold widely divergent views of a musical work's aims and effects. As the title indicates, this book examines the parts played by these groups and the interaction between them. These absorbing essays offer new insights into our understanding of music making in all its senses, and suggest future ways of approaching works whether as a composer, performers or listener.

Wyndham Thomas

Contents: Preface Jonathan Harvey; Introduction Wyndham Thomas; The Process of Composition from Detection to Confection Robert Saxton; The Composer and Opera Performance Raymond Warren; Composing, Arranging and Editing: A Historical Survey Wyndham Thomas; A Performer's Responsibility Susan Bradshaw; Freedom of Interpretation in Twentieth-Century Music Charles Rosen; The Body in Performance Eric Clarke and Jane Davidson; Expectation and Interpretation in the Reception of New Music: A Case Study Adrian Beaumont; The Domestic Gesamtkunstwerk, or Record Sleeves and Reception Nicholas Cook; Form and Forming: From Victorian Aesthetics to the Mid-twentieth-Century Avant-Garde Bojan Bujic; Stravinsky and the Vicious Circle: Some Remarks about the Composer and the Press Stephen Walsh; Mobilising our Man: Politics and Music in Poland during the Decade after World War II Adrian Thomas; Notes; Lists of Examples and Illustrations; Contributor's Details; Index.