Contemporary Musical Virtuosities

<p>Contemporary notions of musical virtuosity redevelop historic concepts and demonstrate that our present understanding of virtuosity in western art music has shifted from what seemed for a time to be a relatively clear and stable definition. In the field and the academy lively debates around the definition and/or value of virtuosity have always elicited strong and varied ideas. In the twenty-first century frictions have emerged between traditional definitions of virtuosity and contemporary practices that emphasise collaboration and blur roles between performers composers and improvisers. <em>Contemporary Musical Virtuosities </em>embraces the evolving processes practitioners and presentation models within twenty-first century art music.</p><p>This edited collection explores recent insights into the experience and role of virtuosity in different contexts via contributions from an intergenerational group of artists academics and artist-academics. Their writing highlights current themes in contemporary western art music and intersecting musical and performing arts genres such as dance sound art improvisation jazz trans-traditional collaborations and Australian Indigenous music. It offers models for supporting and recognising a plurality of musical virtuosities typically excluded from traditional definitions and examines implications for musical practice today. Chapters take the form of academic essays artist reflections interviews personal letters and a manifesto reflecting the range of approaches and contexts covered.</p><p>The collection includes first writings on practices that have been present in the industry for some time not yet documented or examined in detail until now and thus offers a vision for the future that prioritises inclusive and overlapping practices and processes in music.</p>