Page 56 - Composing Processes and Artistic Agency

The topography of composing work 45

alongside language there are also sketches and diagrams – as well as frag-
mentary methods of notating, such as key points, short allusions or meta-
phors suited to the speed and compression of ongoing thought processes (see
John-Steiner 1995: 5f.). Recurrent writing processes crystallise and develop
core ideas, which will ultimately need translation into art music.
In addition to writing up their own ideas, composers are also readers of
texts written by others. The practical directionality Ciciliani refers to applies
to reading as well. Judith Unterpertinger realises that in the past few years
she has made progress “in multi-level thinking” by opening her mind to other
fields. At the same time,

I notice that when you read a lot, you know a lot more, but on the other
hand you become more critical. So knowledge can also block you. You
realise that so much has been done before. […] At the moment, I feel the
need to read a lot again, and ask philosophical questions. But there are
times when I think it’s very important to consciously distance yourself.

An interest in theory must not turn into a compulsion that distracts composers
from action, or in other words, from composing. Besides, grappling with
theory is not merely an intellectual challenge that is part and parcel of com-
posing, but also – as Clemens Gadenstätter says – time-consuming: “I lack
the time to concern myself with everything, so I have giant gaps.” Ideally,
reading should inspire and offer food for thought (“so-and-so does it like this,
so I could proceed by analogy and do this…”), with inspiration being the
result of a creative personal contribution. Beyond that, reading can serve as a
catalyst for making progress in a different context. As Clemens Gadenstätter
remarks,

Claude Lévi-Strauss, I mean he was like live-cell therapy for me. When I
read “Mythologica”, I had the impression that his thinking directly con-
cerned me. A light suddenly went on in my head: ah! And suddenly I had
adifferent relationship with musical material. Or when I starting tackling
Lakoff and Johnson, “Philosophy in the Flesh”. That was more important
to me in some ways than concrete music.

Additionally, there are theories from physics, natural sciences and mathe-
matics, which in their genuine complexity are not easily accessible to non-
specialists. When the interviewed artists refer to such theories, they do so in a
largely metaphorical sense or – to exaggerate somewhat – exploitatively. They
alight on something that seems inspiring to them, but without doing justice to
the respective theory or needing to understand it in its entirety. One composer
echoed this, saying with specific reference to postmodern philosophers
including Gilles Deleuze that they are good sources of inspiration because
“they’re so vague in their statements that composers can interpret them in any
way they find inspiring [laughs].”