Experimental Music Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

This thesis tries to elucidate and exemplify possible intersections between experimental rock of the late 60s and early 70s and the field of electroacoustic music, focusing mostly on production/compositional techniques and aesthetic... more

This thesis tries to elucidate and exemplify possible intersections between experimental rock of the late 60s and early 70s and the field of electroacoustic music, focusing mostly on production/compositional techniques and aesthetic approaches. A historical overview of the context which experimental rock emerged from is attempted, exploring why and how certain production techniques were used at that period in rock music and investigating into whether the aesthetic outcome of these techniques relates to experiments in the field of electroacoustic music. Musical examples from the field of classical, jazz and rock styles (including artists like Glenn Gould, Lennie Tristano, Miles Davis, the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Fred Frith (Henry Cow) and Frank Zappa) are addressed for the sake of exploring different experimental studio practices. Moreover, a part of this research deals with the creative exploration of the production techniques discussed in order to develop my personal compositional work and eventually to create a framework where a discussion about composing electroacoustic music from the perspective of rock production (and vice-versa!) could emerge.

In her close professional relationship to composers, such as Luciano Berio, John Cage, Hans Werner Henze, Igor Stravinsky and Sylvano Bussotti, Cathy Berberian has productively tainted historical preconceptions about the authorial “work”... more

In her close professional relationship to composers, such as Luciano Berio, John Cage, Hans Werner Henze, Igor Stravinsky and Sylvano Bussotti, Cathy Berberian has productively tainted historical preconceptions about the authorial “work” and the role of the singer in the realization of the composer’s creation. Her flamboyant character on the concert stage, where she showcased her more popular work, captured the public’s imagination. The success of this performer–audience rapport was intrinsic to the singer’s performative persona; however Pieter Verstraete argues that through her own composed work ("Stripsody" is the best known), Berberian presented a myriad of personas. She achieved this primarily by deconstructing her own voice as instrument and object, thereby subverting the stability of her relationship to the authorial power of the musical score. Consequently, Berberian’s work invites us to rethink the authorial position of the composer in relation to the singer/performer as well as the enhanced position of the listener whose function it is to imagine such personas in relation to seeing and hearing the performer’s singing body over a number of changing instances.

Discussions of “silent cinema” have generally focused on films made during the silent era (1894–1929). Even after the spread of synchronized sound, however, several experimental filmmakers created films without soundtracks, purely visual... more

Discussions of “silent cinema” have generally focused on films made during the silent era (1894–1929). Even after the spread of synchronized sound, however, several experimental filmmakers created films without soundtracks, purely visual experiences that challenged cinema’s status as a multisensory medium. This article gives close attention to Stan Brakhage’s 1959 film "Window Water Baby Moving" as a way of outlining
some of the effects of cinematic silence, such as aesthetic ambiguity and a heightened awareness of cinema’s visual rhythms.

Accidents happen, especially in music performance. This essay proposes that accidents, due to mis-communication, poor planning, or even incompetence, can result in an aesthetic experience. Music to be discussed includes works by Charles... more

Accidents happen, especially in music performance. This essay proposes that accidents, due to mis-communication, poor planning, or even incompetence, can result in an aesthetic experience. Music to be discussed includes works by Charles Ives, and performances and recordings by the Portsmouth Sinfonia and The Shaggs. This article was written for The Avid Listener, an online journal of essays for music appreciation students and other music lovers. It was edited and scheduled for publication on 3 October 2016, but was pulled by the author for contractual reasons. Thanks to the Avid Listener editors, Andrew Dell’Antonio and Felicia M. Miyakawa, for their editing work and advice.

These projects deal with my intention to offer the musician novel tools for performance and/or improvisation techniques. I think of them in contrast with traditional modular approach. What I have in mind is neither a system with static... more

These projects deal with my intention to offer the musician novel tools for performance and/or improvisation techniques. I think of them in contrast with traditional modular approach. What I have in mind is neither a system with static parameters, e.g. a step sequencer with fixed rhythmic patterns or divisions and fixed interval ratio, nor a pure stochastic-based system. Moreover, these two projects are related to each other so to create a more general environment that may be used both in musical and in an interactive domain.
The entire work starts from my Bachelor’s thesis, ‘Real-Time Intelligent Harmonizer based on AMDF Pitch Detection’.

This co-edited, peer-reviewed volume seeks to blend documented history and academic scholarship surrounding the figure of Cathy Berberian with a double focus. On the one hand, this anthology aims to lay bare the legacy of Berberian as a... more

This co-edited, peer-reviewed volume seeks to blend documented history and academic scholarship surrounding the figure of Cathy Berberian with a double focus. On the one hand, this anthology aims to lay bare the legacy of Berberian as a woman performer-composer who had a remarkable vocal range and critical sense of vocality. On the other hand, it seeks to further a critical (and self-reflexive) thinking about contemporary vocality as developed within post-modern culture by such vocalists-composers as La Berberian who continues to inspire current and future vocal artists until this very day.

Contrary to the hi-tech reputation of pop, the most innovative pop musicians often use traditional, old-fashioned equipment, ignoring the latest technological developments. Musical innovation tends to precede technological innovation... more

Contrary to the hi-tech reputation of pop, the most innovative pop musicians often use traditional, old-fashioned equipment, ignoring the latest technological developments. Musical innovation tends to precede technological innovation rather than the other way round. This article presents a birds eye view of pop experimentalism, grouping a number of influential or otherwise interesting examples into four main categories based on the type of equipment that is subject to experimentation: (i) abusing musical instruments, (ii) abusing amplification, (iii) abusing effects and mixing equipment, and (iv) ‘pop concrète’, or experiments involving tape montage techniques. The examples suggest that technological innovation may be relatively unimportant to the most innovative and musically adventurous pop musicians. Rather, they appear to need to have established some kind of relationship with their equipment before they find radically new ways of using it. Pop experiments involve the critical u...

This research studies the concept of musical experimentalism in the manifestos of musical avant-garde. It theorises the concept of musical experimentalism, clarifies the confusion between the concepts of avant-garde and modernism in music... more

This research studies the concept of musical experimentalism in the manifestos of musical avant-garde. It theorises the concept of musical experimentalism, clarifies the confusion between the concepts of avant-garde and modernism in music research, and locates the most important manifestos in reference to the idea of musical experimentalism. The main finding of the study is that musical experimentalism is a radical ethos concerning the making of music: aside from working as a musical technique, it can also serve as a way to be in the world and a way to change society. The research examines, among other things, contemporary classical music, electronic music, sound art, noise and free improvisation. The salient material of the study comprises manifestos written by well-known avant-garde and experimental composers such as Edgard Varèse (1883–1965), John Cage (1912–1992) and Pauline Oliveros (1932–). The material also consists of writings by R. Murray Schafer (1933–) and Hildegard Westerkamp (1946–), both representing the field of acoustic ecology. Few previous studies have explored some of the manifestos underlying the idea of musical experimentalism in this study such as the writings of composers Frederik Rzewski (1938–) and Cornelius Cardew (1936–1981). The material also includes manifestos by artists from different domains of art, such as texts by the Italian futurist painter Luigi Russolo (1883–1947), the Russian futurist auteur Dziga Vertov (1896–1954) and the American beat writer William S. Burroughs (1914–1997). This research is based on avant-garde theory (e.g. Bürger 2006 [1974], Ziarek 2001, Calinescu 1987; Huyssen 1986; Poggioli 1968 [1962]) and experimental music studies (e.g. Demers 2010; Saunders 2009; Hegarty 2007; Attali 2006 [1977]; Nyman 1999 [1974]; Mauceri 1997). The research builds the theory of musical experimentalism from the viewpoint of Martin Heidegger’s (e.g. 2010 [1929]; 2007 [1962/1988]; 2000 [1927]; 1998 [1935/1936]) and Herbert Marcuse’s (2011 [1977]; 1969) philosophies using Heidegger’s concepts of ‘being-in-the-world’, ‘uncanny’ and ‘nothingness’, and Marcuse’s concepts of ‘aesthetic ethos’ and ‘counter-societal experience’. The study also considers the idea of experimentalism from the viewpoint of etymology, phenomenological philosophy, transcendentalism and anarchism. The research presents an interpretation of the ethos of musical experimentalism as a mode of musical and cultural subversion. It argues that musical experimentalism does not operate within conventional musical laws, theories, preconditions or definitions, but is based on the idea that music can happen anywhere at anytime. The ethos of musical experimentalism requires openness to the world and acceptance of the indeterminate essence of reality. Musical experimentalism depends on the instability of being and aims to radicalise experience through seeing, hearing and understanding reality in a new way. Musical experimentalism questions the accepted reality and replaces it with a new, artistically formulated reality. In this way, musical experimentalism is also radically political in that it aims not just to subvert musical experience, but also the experience of reality. In other words, musical experimentalism aims to change the world by changing individuals; not only the laws of music, but also cultural values are to be questioned.

Riffs: Experimental writing on popular music is an emerging and exciting postgraduate journal at Birmingham City University, offering postgraduates at BCU and beyond a creative and experimental space for writing and thinking about popular... more

Riffs: Experimental writing on popular music is an emerging and exciting postgraduate journal at Birmingham City University, offering postgraduates at BCU and beyond a creative and experimental space for writing and thinking about popular music, in addition to an online forum for the publication and hosting of high calibre postgraduate research in the area of popular music studies.

Although arts-based qualitative research initiatives have recently utilized standard musical notation (SMN) as a potent form of data transcription, extant literature into this approach has largely ignored the critiques of SMN that emerge... more

Although arts-based qualitative research initiatives have recently utilized standard musical notation (SMN) as a potent form of data transcription, extant literature into this approach has largely ignored the critiques of SMN that emerge from music scholarship and practice. To address this oversight, we use this paper to explore the following research questions: To what extent do the musicological critiques of SMN apply to qualitative research? And how can qualitative researchers address these critiques? In response, we begin by drawing parallels between experimental music literature and posthuman education scholarship, arguing that SMN limits the scope of qualitative inquiry and reinscribes the problematically humanist aims of education research. We then propose the use of graphic scores as a means to explore how sound and other non-anthropocentric bodies contribute to the construction of meaning within learning environments. To exemplify this approach, we conclude by providing two graphic score transcriptions of video data.

Mikrofony zbierają więcej, niż chcielibyśmy przyznać. W nagraniach odbijają się nasze pragnienia i sprzeczności. Refleksja o field recordings – o słuchaniu „na faktach” – nie mogła trafić na dogodniejszy moment. Wygląda na to, że świat... more

Este artículo propone una reformulación de las teorías sobre géneros musicales en músicas populares urbanas de acuerdo a la concepción de la genealogía que Michel Foucault establece en base a la obra de Friedrich Nietzsche. Para probar la... more

Este artículo propone una reformulación de las teorías sobre géneros musicales en músicas populares urbanas de acuerdo a la concepción de la genealogía que Michel Foucault establece en base a la obra de Friedrich Nietzsche. Para probar la pertinencia de estos acercamientos se aplicarán al desarrollo del post-rock desde su emergencia en los años 90 hasta la actualidad.

Verschiedene Modelle von generativer Installation und Komposition mit Feedback Prinzipien

A look at the genre of music that is considered "Japanoise". The paper in question is a person reflection of what is "Japanoise" and how it influenced my work as a composer. The meat of the paper is reflections on Japanoise on a Canadian... more

A look at the genre of music that is considered "Japanoise". The paper in question is a person reflection of what is "Japanoise" and how it influenced my work as a composer. The meat of the paper is reflections on Japanoise on a Canadian composer in the 21st century.

Although the cellist Charlotte Moorman was most famed for her topless performances of Nam June Paik’s _Opera Sextronique_ and subsequent arrest for indecent exposure, she spent her entire career grappling with John Cage’s _26’ 1.1499’’... more

Although the cellist Charlotte Moorman was most famed for her topless performances of Nam June Paik’s _Opera Sextronique_ and subsequent arrest for indecent exposure, she spent her entire career grappling with John Cage’s _26’ 1.1499’’ for a String Player_. Yet, as Benjamin Piekut has demonstrated in _Experimentalism Otherwise_, Cage was unhappy with her interpretation of the piece. This particular score allows significant freedom in terms of sound production, though the temporality in which it occurs is strictly defined. Especially in collaboration with Nam June Paik, Moorman increasingly exceeded the confines of the notation and shifted her focus to the section of the score calling for “sounds other than those produced on the strings.” She maintained a serious and earnest dedication to Cage’s original score, though Moorman’s personal markings eventually supplanted the composer’s as her performances with Paik became more extravagant and spectacular.
Building on Piekut’s study, this paper draws from archival material in the Charlotte Moorman Collection and the John Cage Correspondence at Northwestern University to interpret her personal, annotated score for _26’ 1.1499”_. Cage’s unconventional notation requires collaboration from the performer, who must complete his compositional process in order to make the work performable. The piece became a catalyst for Moorman to explore and embrace her agency as an artist. A close reading of Moorman’s annotations illuminates her artistic and interpretive approach and serves as an archive of its performance history. _26’1.1499’’_ became a vehicle for Moorman to find her artistic voice and to embark on a remarkable career in avant-garde performance. She injected a visually and acoustically embodied version of herself into this artifact that Cage produced. A lifelong devotee of Cage’s music and philosophy, Moorman took full advantage of the intrinsic freedom of the score, even when it surpassed the boundaries envisioned by the composer.

Der Aufsatz beleuchtet das Phänomen der Instrumentenzerstörung unter drei Aspekten: Destruktion wird erstens als Wendung gegen die Insignien bürgerlicher Kultur, zweitens als genuin theatraler Akt sowie drittens als Möglichkeit zur... more

Der Aufsatz beleuchtet das Phänomen der Instrumentenzerstörung unter drei Aspekten: Destruktion wird erstens als Wendung gegen die Insignien bürgerlicher Kultur, zweitens als genuin theatraler Akt sowie drittens als Möglichkeit zur Schaffung von Artefakten oder Klangspuren betrachtet.

Just as John Cage used chance techniques to relinquish control in his practice as a composer, he used pedagogical techniques that facilitated shared learning and experimentation. The tenets of Critical Pedagogy, as laid out by Paulo... more

Just as John Cage used chance techniques to relinquish control in his practice as a composer, he used pedagogical techniques that facilitated shared learning and experimentation. The tenets of Critical Pedagogy, as laid out by Paulo Freire in The Pedagogy of the Oppressed, offer insights into the structures and strategies implicit in John Cage’s work as an educator. A survey of accounts by former students of Cage, as well as Cage’s writings on education show that Cage’s approach to both classroom and individualized teaching was characterized by the principles of co-intentional dialogue, praxis, holistic engagement, and an awareness of education as a moral and political act. Critical pedagogy, which clearly articulates and generalizes these principles, therefore offers an analysis that makes it possible to separate John Cage’s innovations in music pedagogy from his personality and aesthetics, rendering them available for further development and application.

The thesis of this essay can be stated quite directly: Slavoj Žižek, despite having little to say about mashup and remixing in any direct way, engages this new media phenomena in both theory and practice, providing contemporary culture... more

The thesis of this essay can be stated quite directly: Slavoj Žižek, despite having little to say about mashup and remixing in any direct way, engages this new media phenomena in both theory and practice, providing contemporary culture with both a conceptual understanding of the mashup and a carefully executed illustration of its methodology. The examination of this will proceed by way of two movements. The first investigates how Žižek's work, especially his general interest in "short circuiting," provides theoretical insight for understanding the mashup and its cultural significance. The second turns things around, demonstrating how the mashup explains and describes Žižek's own compositional practices. In other words, the first part explains the mashup by way of Žižek, while the second explains Žižek by way of the mashup.

On the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of John Zorn's celebrated game piece Cobra, the present article consider the work from a number of perspectives. The first part will describe how the musical game is “played.” Next, I will... more

On the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of John Zorn's celebrated game piece Cobra, the present article consider the work from a number of perspectives. The first part will describe how the musical game is “played.” Next, I will consider the type of community imagined by Zorn in his game pieces in general and Cobra in particular followed by a consideration of the commercially available recorded versions of Cobra. Finally, I will situate Cobra in relation to works composed by Zorn in the late 1970s through the late 1980s.

During the heat of 1969s fraught political climate, editors of the legendary multi-media magazine “SOURCE: Music of the Avant Garde” invited 20 innovative composers and musicians to respond to a single question: “Have you, or has anyone,... more

Melancholia niepełnej obecności. Satie, elektronika i zjawy, „Fragile” 2015, nr 4, s. 74-79.

The contemporary use of the turntable as a sound creation device makes it a quintessential post-modern musical instrument, and the destruction of the technology has allowed artists to explore concepts ranging from it historical... more

The contemporary use of the turntable as a sound creation device makes it a quintessential post-modern musical instrument, and the destruction of the technology has allowed artists to explore concepts ranging from it historical socioeconomic value to the exploitation of its current representation as a virtuosic musical instrument in hip-hop and DJ culture.

An analysis of the relationship between Pierre Schaeffer and the musical avant-garde of 1953, with particular reference to Pierre Boulez and to Schaeffer's shift from musique concrète to recherche musicale. The main source is Schaeffer's... more

An analysis of the relationship between Pierre Schaeffer and the musical avant-garde of 1953, with particular reference to Pierre Boulez and to Schaeffer's shift from musique concrète to recherche musicale. The main source is Schaeffer's 'Vers une musique expérimentale' (La revue musicale 236); extensive excerpts are translated here into English. The antagonism between the Paris and Cologne studios is discussed in the light of two different approaches to technology and tradition; for the exponents of elektronische Musik new technology was a means to perfect Western music, while for Schaeffer it was simply a means to make new musical discoveries. [RILM]

Introduction to the volume co-edited with Benjamin Halligan and Nicola Spelman on noise and contemporary music, crossing rock, psychedelia, postpunk, industurial, avant-classical and noise music proper, using a variety of conceptual... more

Introduction to the volume co-edited with Benjamin Halligan and Nicola Spelman on noise and contemporary music, crossing rock, psychedelia, postpunk, industurial, avant-classical and noise music proper, using a variety of conceptual approaches, and featuring both academic and noise practitioner contributors.

Religion plays an important role in human life. In a recent review, religiosity has been associated with prosocial behavior; although consistent, the association was weak (Saroglou, 2013). To understand religious prosociality, varying... more

Religion plays an important role in human life. In a recent review, religiosity has been associated with prosocial behavior; although consistent, the association was weak (Saroglou, 2013). To understand religious prosociality, varying theoretical contentions were offered (Preston, Salomon, & Ritter, 2013). The present study tested Supernatural Monitoring Hypothesis and sought to identify the role of the thought of a watching God in a religious individual’s prosocial behavior. With this aim, an experiment was conducted with two groups of participants wherein the experimental group was primed with the thought of a watching God through a song translation. Results of independent samples t-test showed that religious participants who were primed offered more time for a volunteer work compared to those who were not primed. Implications of this study point to the role of the thought of a watching God - interestingly when primed through a song - in prosocial behavior.

This essay seeks to demonstrate a common approach to the interpretation of experimental music scores representing a variety of notational practices. David Tudor’s description of the interpretation of experimental music scores,... more

This essay seeks to demonstrate a common approach to the interpretation of experimental music scores representing a variety of notational practices. David Tudor’s description of the interpretation of experimental music scores, particularly those which are indeterminate, as being akin to ‘work’ is discussed and applied to ‘classic’ and recent examples of experimental music. Taking as its motto the notion that notation is not a description of sound but is instead a prompt for action, the exact nature of what notation asks of performers will be examined. By drawing from examples of scores that are both indeterminately and complexly notated (and those which are situated between these extremes) the role of the performer in the process of interpretation and realisation is discussed. This leads to discussion of the necessity or otherwise of choosing an approach which is ‘authentic’ or which draws upon established performing traditions when developing interpretation. Thus the idea of a performance practice relating to experimental music – its reality and necessity - is discussed.

Los Cuadernos de Música UNAM son una publicación dirigida a público no especialista, con el fin de pensar la música desde distintos enfoques. En este texto se ofrece una visión panorámica de cierta tendencia ecológica en las exploraciones... more

Los Cuadernos de Música UNAM son una publicación dirigida a público no especialista, con el fin de pensar la música desde distintos enfoques. En este texto se ofrece una visión panorámica de cierta tendencia ecológica en las exploraciones musicales contemporáneas. Con dicho término, el autor engloba una serie de exploraciones musicales que comparten el anhelo por repensar la relación que lxs seres humanos tenemos con el resto de seres que habitan el planeta, y que se expresan como exploraciones musicales en las que se incorporan sonoridades naturales, en vez de evocarlas o imitarlas por medio de recursos típicos de la tradición musical occidental. Asimismo, se propone un paralelismo entre estas exploraciones sonoras, con cambios al interior de las humanidades, ciencias sociales y las otras artes, situándolas dentro de las propuestas post- y trans-humanistas.

In the early twentieth century, Erik Satie argued for the necessity of ‘furniture music’. Such compositions would not monopolize the audience's attention, but would instead serve as the backdrop for other experiences. This essay suggests... more

In the early twentieth century, Erik Satie argued for the necessity of ‘furniture music’. Such compositions would not monopolize the audience's attention, but would instead serve as the backdrop for other experiences. This essay suggests that Satie's formulation provides a useful framework for understanding the early cinema of Andy Warhol. While films like Sleep (1963) and Empire (1964) are often conceptualized as experiments in boredom, I claim that they are best understood as furniture films, works designed to be consumed partially and distractedly in conjunction with other experiences, such as conversing, eating and drinking. Furthermore, I argue that in Warhol's cinema, the rigid and predetermined temporality of traditional motion pictures gives way to one that is open-ended and amorphous, thus paving the way for new modes of cinematic reception.

Experimentation with graphic scores has enabled composers to free themselves from the constraints of traditional music notation. Avant garde composers in 1950s America and Europe began to develop an increasing array of new symbols to... more

Experimentation with graphic scores has enabled
composers to free themselves from the constraints of
traditional music notation. Avant garde composers in
1950s America and Europe began to develop an
increasing array of new symbols to supplement the music
that appeared on the stave, while those from the more
experimental New York School often did away with
traditional notation entirely, leaving performers to
interpret a vast range of geometric shapes and patterns.
But in spite of these developments, the essentially static
nature of the printed score remained. With the advent of
the micro computing era, however, this limitation could
be trivially overcome, and graphic scores can now be set
in m otion i n w ays t hat a re e ntirely p redetermined o r
generated in real time. Recent developments in tablet
computing have also meant that, for the first time,
hardware capable of rendering such graphics now exists
in a form factor that is portable and fits comfortably on
any music stand.
Decibel New Music Ensemble has been performing from
such animated graphic scores for the past three years, with
many of the works being written by the group's members,
commissioned and extant works being adapted to their
ongoing development of a 'score player' for music
featuring predominantly graphic scores. Initially, laptops
were used for the task, with the scores being set in motion
using networked Max/MSP patches created by ensemble
members Lindsay Vickery and Stuart James. It became
apparent as time went on (and as my laptop went hurtling
to the ground no less than three times) that there were
limitations to this set up, and so the group embarked on a
project to bring these scores to the iPad by developing
their own software in house. The result is a flexible and
modular application that aids not just the performance of
these works, but their rehearsal and distribution as well.
This app is the Decibel ScorePlayer.

While existing analytical frameworks (Chion 1994, Coulter 2009) provide basic classification tools for experimental audiovisual works, they fall short in elaborating the variety of compositional possibilities falling within the notion of... more

While existing analytical frameworks (Chion 1994, Coulter 2009) provide basic classification tools for experimental audiovisual works, they fall short in elaborating the variety of compositional possibilities falling within the notion of “synchresis” (Chion 1994). I propose to delineate the various shades of synchresis through a case study analysis of the somewhat simpler relations between light and sound in media installation works using luminosonic objects: objects which appear to emit both sound and light in an integrated manner.
I will suggest a graphical framework for the analysis and composition of audiovisual relations between sound media and self-illuminating light objects, detailing various forms of integrated audiovisual dynamics. The framework will relate the compositional concepts of vertical harmonicity and horizontal counterpoint (Chion 1994) to the perceptual notion of “cross- modal binding” (Whitelaw 2008), thus linking compositional dynamics to perceptual effects and affects.

This is the starting point of the project Unearthing Imaginary Music, carried out by Asociația Jumătatea Plină, now, in the summer of 2020, a year of great crisis, an unexpected crisis caused by the emergence and spread of the coronavirus... more

This is the starting point of the project Unearthing Imaginary Music, carried out by Asociația Jumătatea Plină, now, in the summer of 2020, a year of great crisis, an unexpected crisis caused by the emergence and spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19), in which our priorities and means of communication have been changing. In which our personal life is changing, perhaps determining, in the future, substantial changes in our collective existence. In this context, the performing arts are gravely affected, as physical distancing forces us either to withdraw and await return to normality, or to find new artforms and new means of transmitting. We recalled in this context the proposal composer Octavian Nemescu made in the '70s of the past century – that of opening towards imaginary music.
It greatly interested me to launch the challenge of conceiving imaginary music scores to other academic ally trained composers (Corneliu Dan Georgescu, Diana Rotaru, Maia Ciobanu, Diana Gheorghiu, Sabina Ulubeanu, Gabriel Mălăncioiu, Darie Nemeș Bota, Mihaela Vosganian, Sorin Lerescu, Constantin Basica) and to myself, in order to see how each "pours" their own substance, ingrained by their aesthetic direction, style and visions, in this new manner of musical communication. The scores have been gathered in this collection dedicated to Octavian Nemescu, bearing the (historical?) marks of the year 2020.