Postgraduate Researchers

DMUS Research Student - Conservatoire

Project title: Contemporary Irish Piano Music: Perspectives on Practising and Performing the Commissioned Works of the Dublin International Piano Competition

Project abstract:

The Dublin International Piano Competition (DIPC) has commissioned forty-one works by composers living on the island of Ireland between 1988 and 2022. Established as a triennial event in 1987, the DIPC aimed to promote the cultural identity of Ireland abroad and to generate a more widespread interest and awareness of the work of Irish composers by commissioning works which are performed in the semi-final round of the competition. This significant body of repertoire, commissioned as a joint collaboration between the DIPC, the Contemporary Music Centre (CMC), and RTÉ Lyric FM (the national broadcaster’s arts and classical music radio station), represents a snapshot of Irish piano music and pianism in Ireland over the last three and a half decades. 

Situated in the artistic research paradigm, this project is an investigation of the processes involved in preparing all forty-one piano pieces for performance. The research focuses on a range of artistic practices and performance issues, including rehearsal strategies, decision making, pianistic techniques, style, and interpretation. Adopting an autoethnographic approach, self-reflexivity is captured through journalling, recording, and documenting of practice sessions, as I study these works and prepare them for concert performances.  

The artistic process is enriched by collaborating with composers of the commissioned works in preparing the pieces for performance. Semi-structured interviews with composers on issues including style and interpretation not only capture insights into their individual perspectives but also provide an opportunity for me to perform the piece for them and receive feedback. These interactions become part of my artistic process of performance preparation, integrating the composers’ input into the development of my interpretation. In addition, interviews with members of the DIPC, CMC, and RTÉ Lyric FM, contextualise the study and capture insights into the landscape of contemporary Irish piano music. 

Journal data is analysed using thematic analysis, whereby the data is coded and labelled, allowing themes to emerge across the broad range of data, while interview data is analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Findings will be presented in the thesis through case studies on selected pieces and composers. Other forms of dissemination include a three-part lecture-recital series and three-part recital series, which present my research to a public audience through live performances that are recorded.  

The importance of this project is its contribution to Irish musical life and specifically to pianism in Ireland, through live performances and recordings of the commissioned works. Further to this, the interviews with the composers of this culturally significant body of repertoire provides valuable insights into the pieces themselves. This research illuminates the processes involved in preparing contemporary piano works for performance and contributes to the field of performance research. Existing frameworks from the literature on the stages of learning a musical work are adapted and further developed based on my analysis of data and on insights gained from my experience of documenting the processes involved as I prepare these forty-one pieces for performance. 

Supervisors: Dr Mary Lennon, Dr Maria McHale

Funder: Research Ireland (Irish Research Council)

Orchid Profile: 0000-0001-5730-3852