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- Towards a multimodal analysis of European Piano Schools of Music PerformancePublication . Lourenço da Fonseca, Sofia; Martins, Luís G.; Wanderley, Marcelo; Titts, Mickael; Megre, RicardoThis study aims to characterize representative performances by experienced pianists in order to determine main influential trends in performance, derived specifically from traditional piano practices referred to as National Piano Schools. The methodology of this exploratory study departs from a musicological empirical analysis in articulation with recent technological developments for metric methods. It allowed an analysis of gesture and musical semantics by applying a multimodal approach for capturing the pianist performance based on the extraction of features’ sets specifically targeted to each piano school. In this paper we describe the quantitative analysis approach based on motion capture.
- The creative process behind Dialogismos I: theoretical and technical considerationsPublication . Bernardes, Gilberto; Pinho, Nuno Peixoto de; Lourenço da Fonseca, Sofia; Carlos Guedes; Pennycook, Bruce; Oña, ErickThis paper examines the aesthetic dimension and the technical realization of Dialogismos I, a piece for saxophone alto and electronics by the composer Nuno Peixoto de Pinho. The conceptual basis of the work relies on the notion of ‘intertextuality’ coined by the Bulgarian-French philosopher and literary critic Julia Kristeva, which was somehow transposed to the music domain by J. Peter Burkholder under the concept ‘musical borrowing’. The compositional problems raised by applying an intertextual musical thinking as a key driver of the composition were solved using two different approaches. The first approach was the manual selection of elements from several music works with different granularities to devise the overall structure of the work and to create the saxophone score. The second approach was applied to the realization of the electronic part and relied on concatenative sound synthesis as an algorithmic computer assisted composition method and a real-time synthesis technique.
- The assessment of trapezius muscle symptoms of piano players by the use of infrared thermographyPublication . Lourenço da Fonseca, Sofia; Clemente, Miguel Pais; Coimbra, Daniela; Silva, António; Gabriel, Joaquim; Pinho, João CarlosThe aim of this study is to understand the correlation of trapezius muscle symptoms in piano players during their performance. The association of piano practice and the general health of a pianist, especially concerning the musculoskeletal system, and head posture has been studied in relation to orofacial anatomic zones and is presumed to have an influence on the biomechanical behavior of the cranio-cervico-mandibular complex (CCMC). Previous research has found that the act of playing piano involves a complex neuromuscular activity with hyperactivity of the masticatory muscles and the postural muscle trapezius. Thermal image assessment was made to the pianist’s CCMC while the piano player was playing his/her piece.
- Subjective Appropriation of Musical Form in Schumann’s Carnaval, Op. 9Publication . Pereira, Teresa da Palma; Lourenço da Fonseca, Sofia; Ferreira-Lopes, PauloThe aim of this article is to analyze musical form in german composer Robert Schumann’s works (8 June 1810 – 29 July 1856), particularly that of piano solo piece Carnaval, op. 9, trying to understand what is revealed by the way he uses it in relation to his personality, not only in artistic terms (taking into account the context of German Romanticism) but also on a deeper psychological level. To come to an understanding of Schumann’s use of form, this paper begins with a brief description of the evolution of musical form since Viennese Classicism, with additional references to the baroque system of ‘affects’. Form in Schumann is compared with that of other significant composers of the romantic period and various points of intersection between music and other arts are analyzed, especially literature, in certain key works of this period. Parting from these reflections, we explore the question of the expressive intention behind his handling of form in Carnaval, op. 9. The aim of the investigation of this aspect is to understand how far the innovatory use of this parameter in Schumann, reflects a unique vision of the art of music.
- Jean Claude Risset’s Duet for One Pianist: Challenges of a Real-Time Performance Interaction with a Computer-Controlled Acoustic Piano 16 Years LaterPublication . Lourenço da Fonseca, SofiaThis study aims to discuss the work Duet for one Pianist (1989) by the French composer Jean-Claude Risset (b. 13 March 1938) by analyzing the challenges of the music performance of this Computer-Aided Composition work Disklavier and implies HumanComputer Interaction performance. Extremely honored to perform the revised version of the 8 Sketches for One Pianist and Disklavier within a research project of CITAR and a new Sketch Reflections (2012) by Jean-Claude Risset dedicated to me in a World premiere in the closing ceremony of Black&White 2012 Film Festival promoted by the Catholic University of Portugal. Several issues on the performance of this work are analysed as a casestudy, from the point of view of the performer, particularly the components of expressive performance in a real-time interaction between performer and computer. These components can work as analysis criteria of a piano interpretation, in here, of a pianist and Disklavier interpretation.
- European Piano Schools: Russian, German and French classical piano interpretation and techniquePublication . Lourenço da Fonseca, SofiaThe goal of this research is to characterize representative performances by famous pianists in order to determine main influential trends in performance, derived specifically from traditional piano practices referred to as National Piano Schools. Previous research (Lourenço, 2005, 2007) has shown strong musical correlation of particular characteristics, namely the aesthetic, the technical, the historic and the repertoire. The concept of piano interpretation school is a useful concept for analyzing the universe of piano performance. Piano pedagogy literature of each European National Piano School has been analyzed together with an empirical audio analysis of recordings through a check-list survey. Overall the main National Piano Schools consist of three essential branches: the Russian school; the German school; the French school. The identification of National Piano Schools provides a powerful framework of study and an awareness of Europe’s elusive music heritage and it main influences. Furthermore, as pianists use their whole body to enhance their communication of the music’s spiritual, emotional and dramatic essence, this study also aims to contribute into research on performance practice.
- Antagonism and mutual dependency. Critial models of performance and “Piano Interpretation Schools”Publication . Cruz, Rui; Lourenço da Fonseca, SofiaTo polarize and, coincidently, intersect two different concepts, in terms of a distinction/analogy between “piano interpretation schools” and “critical models” is the aim of this paper. The former, with its prior connotations of both empiricism and dogmatism and not directly shaped by aesthetic criteria or interpretational ideals, depends mainly on the aural and oral tradition as well the teacher-student legacy; the latter employs ideally the generic criteria of interpretativeness, which can be measured in accordance to an aesthetic formula and can include features such as non-obviousness, inferentially, lack of consensus, concern with meaning or significance, concern with structure or design, etc. The relative autonomy of the former is a challenge to the latter, which embraces the range of perspectives available in the horizon of the history of ideas about music and interpretation. The effort of recognizing models of criticism within musical interpretation creates the vehicle for new understandings of the nature and the historical development of Western classical piano performance, promoting also the production of quality critical argument and the communication of key performance tendencies and styles.
- Do pianists play with their teeth?Publication . Lourenço da Fonseca, Sofia; Clemente, Miguel Pais; Coimbra, Daniela; Barbosa, Álvaro; Pinho, João CarlosThe aim of this study was to find out whether the masticatory and postural muscles are used by pianists during their music performances. The study also aimed to ascertain whether the complex neuromuscular activity involved in the act of playing the piano also encourages hyperactivity in terms of the masticatory muscles. The bio-electric potentials of the masticatory and postural muscles of 20 pianists were recorded. The electromyographical figures obtained from regarding the temporal and masseter muscles are much higher than those recorded when in the resting position. These registrations, which are not the same as those obtained, for example, when the individuals are chewing hard food such as a carrot, are nonetheless indicative of daily parafunctional activity in musicians who often study for as much as 7 hours per day.
- Application of Infrared Thermal Imaging in a Violinist with Temporomandibular DisorderPublication . Clemente, M.; Coimbra, Daniela; Silva, A.; Gabriel, J.; Branco, C. Aguiar; Pinho, J.C.Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) consist of a group of pathologies that affect the masticatory muscles, temporomandibular joints (TMJ), and/or related structures. String instrumentalists, like many orchestra musicians, can spend hours with head postures that may influence the biomechanical behavior of the TMJ and the muscles of the craniocervicomandibular complex (CCMC). The adoption of abnormal postures acquired during performance by musicians can lead to muscular hyperactivity of the head and cervical muscles, with the possible appearance of TMD. Medical infrared thermography is a non-invasive procedure that can monitor the changes in the superficial tissue related to blood circulation and may serve as a complement to the clinical examination. The objective of this study was to use infrared thermography to evaluate, in one subject, the cutaneous thermal changes adjacent to the CCMC that occur before, during, and after playing a string instrument.
- Immediate effects of Tuina techniques on working-related musculoskeletal disorder of professional orchestra musiciansPublication . Sousa, Cláudia Maria; Moreira, Luís; Greten, Henry J.; Coimbra, Daniela; Machado, JorgeBACKGROUND: Musicians are a prone group to suffer from working-related musculoskeletal disorder (WRMD). Conventional solutions to control musculoskeletal pain include pharmacological treatment and rehabilitation programs but their efficiency is sometimes disappointing. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this research is to study the immediate effects of Tuina techniques on WRMD of professional orchestra musicians from the north of Portugal. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS AND INTERVENTIONS: We performed a prospective, controlled, single-blinded, randomized study. Professional orchestra musicians with a diagnosis of WRMD were randomly distributed into the experimental group (n=39) and the control group (n=30). During an individual interview, Chinese diagnosis took place and treatment points were chosen. Real acupoints were treated by Tuina techniques into the experimental group and non-specific skin points were treated into the control group. Pain was measured by verbal numerical scale before and immediately after intervention. RESULTS: After one treatment session, pain was reduced in 91.8% of the cases for the experimental group and 7.9% for the control group. CONCLUSION: Although results showed that Tuina techniques are effectively reducing WRMD in professional orchestra musicians of the north of Portugal, further investigations with stronger measurements, double-blinding designs and bigger simple sizes are needed.