Developing a Framework for the Analysis of Program Notes Written for Contemporary Classical Music Concerts

Abstract

At classical music concerts, a program note is the usual medium for communicating information about the music to be heard and performed. Although there may be crossover of information, the program note is distinct from the CD cover note, from notes contained within a musical score note, and from a composer's directions for performers. With a focus on contemporary classical works in the Australian context, the researchers' aim in this study was to develop and test an analytical frame of informational categories with which to examine program note content. Three extant studies -one scientific, one phenomenological and one semiotic -informed the development of an initial theoretical framework for program note analysis. This was tested through the analysis of program notes (n = 30) from each of three writer cohorts: composers, professional writers, and higher education students. The analytical frame revealed different emphases of information categories among the three program note writer groups, with a more sophisticated combination of categories used by the professional writers and composers. This has implications for the teaching of program note writing in tertiary performance institutions, encouraging diversity of student content without extinguishing personal insights.

Adopting Online Learning Approaches in Professional Music Training - The Tut Experience

“…As an aspect of the Research Methods and Thesis Writing class at graduate student level, student performers are expected to write program notes about their performance for a general concert audience, that is, an audience of non-musicians who are interested in music and fairly knowledgeable. The goal of teaching program notes is to increase the audience's understanding and enjoyment of the music performed (Blom et al, 2020).…”

Program Notes: Educating Musicians and Audiences in Professional Music Training - The Tut Experience

“…At classical music concerts, a program note is the usual medium for communicating information about the music to be heard and performed. Although there may be information in common, the program note is distinct from the CD cover note, from notes contained within a musical score, and from a composer's directions to performers (Blom et al, 2020). German romantic composer and pianist, Robert Schumann (1810-1856) demanded program notes (Koller, 2021).…”

Archives of change

“…Concert programmes are a long-established part of Western concert and orchestral life, yet scholars have commonly argued that academic research into them is sparse (Bashford, 2019;Blom, Bennett & Stevenson, 2020;Ridgewell, 2010;Tewinkel, 2016). In the available literature, one aspect, however, continues to stand out.…”

“…Various scholars locate programme notes' main purpose in guiding concertgoers through the musical work in order to enhance their experience and enjoyment by increasing the understanding of the music (Harries, 2017;Ridgewell, 2003;Scaife, 2001;Thorau, 2020;Wingell, 2009). The authors further pinpoint three main types of information that can be found in programme notes: (1) contextual information on the background of a work, such as the context of its creation or the personal life of a composer; (2) descriptive and metaphorical information that describe the feeling or mood of a musical work; and (3) analytical information, such as on the structure or instrumentation of a piece (Blom, Bennett, & Stevenson, 2020, section 'Program note content'). 28 Both the key functions as well as the kinds of information incorporated by the notes are the result of nineteenth-century aesthetic ideals, such as the intellectual engagement with music as a primary means to appreciate and experience it.…”

“…What is certain is that there is a status quo when it comes to the functions of programme notes, their content, and writing styles. As Blom, Bennett, and Stevenson (2020) argue, the programme note is not merely 'a benign piece of writing, but documentation or narrative of a musical work and the life from which it came' (section 'Discussion and Conclusion'). Although the concert audience and their reception are vital to conceive of the functions and forms of the notes, these texts are not merely innocent how-to-listen guides.…”