Concert Conversations

Abstract

Live music performance is an intimate, honest, and shared experience that forges a unique connection between the audience and the performer, a bond founded on vulnerability and mutual trust. My research delves into the nuanced dynamics of the performer-audience relationship during live classical performances, with a central focus on the influence of concert programming and the role of audience engagement. Amongst my primary objectives is to explore ways to enrich the performer-audience experience and to strengthen this intimate connection during live classical performance through intentional programming. For me, concert programming extends beyond the mere selection of pieces and refers to the experience of the event as a whole. Programming is a creative process where the performer brings the audience to an understanding of the narrative being shared.

My project explores an enriched approach to concert programming and how such an approach could influence the performer-audience relationship and their perception of the experience, and potentially to break down some of the traditional boundaries and allow for a more immersive connection. Engaging with the audience is inevitable when performing but can also be shaped and cultivated by the performer in significant ways. The type of engagement which might be most straightforward and come most readily to mind is through speaking, a somewhat overlooked yet potentially powerful tool for fostering intimacy. It is both a normalised activity and by many considered challenging territory in concert giving. It is not much discussed and not generally seen as an integral part of classical performing, even less so of concert programming. My research examines how speaking as part of concert programming affects the performer-audience relationship, exploring the roles and impacts of different types of spoken dialogues and how sharing can foster intimacy.

As a pianist, I have witnessed the positive impact of engaging with my audiences through speaking. This experience has not only influenced my feelings about my role as an artist and performer, but has also prompted a shift in my approach to concert programming. A concert programme can be seen as a story, a narrative the performer/person is sharing, and it seems difficult or even counterproductive to separate that narrative/programme/performance from you/the person/performer. Rather than selecting pieces I wish to perform, I direct my focus towards creating a narrative that intertwines me as a performer and as a person with my relationship with the music and its resonance with the audience.

My research aims to interrogate and develop this approach to programming by adopting both an autoethnographic approach built on insights from my perspective as a classical pianist and curator, as well as generating audience and performer feedback in order to further our understanding of this relationship. My research is carried out in close collaboration with the music festival Seigla which takes place annually during the second weekend of August at Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavík, Iceland, providing quite a unique setting for the research. The festival concentrates on solo and chamber music and aims to place classical music in new contexts and use its resources in innovative ways in order to break up performer and audience expectations, and to bring more diverse audiences and performers to Harpa. I see the festival as an ideal venue to explore programming methods that aid in creating strong performer-audience relationships and most of all realise the role of positive performer-audience relationships within the context of festival and concert programming.

Main image: Erna Vala performing Chasse-neige by Franz Liszt at the Solti Concert Hall in Budapest

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Bio

Erna Vala Arnardóttir is founder and artistic director of the renowned Seigla music festival held annually at Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavík during the second weekend of August. As an enthusiastic advocate for fostering positive communities, Erna Vala also serves as the founder and president of the Icelandic Schumann Society. This non-profit cultural foundation is dedicated to supporting a healthy and active music scene in Iceland.

Erna Vala's performance career is marked by solo performances with orchestras and appearances at festivals worldwide. Notable events include the Ung Nordisk Musik Festival and Nordic Music Days in Reykjavík, Culture Night, Sígildir Sunnudagar, ISO's Our Classics and Seigla at Harpa Concert Hall, Last Rose of Summer in Germany, Concertos Comentarios, SIPO, Porto Pianofest in Portugal, Við Djúpið in Ísafjörður, Fulbright Arctic Initiative in Washington D.C., and the Albignac Piano Festival in France, among others. Erna Vala performs with various chamber groups such as the piano quartet Eitthvað Ensemble and the chamber ensemble Elja.

Erna Vala won the Young Soloists Competition of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra in 2014 and the EPTA Piano Competition in Iceland in 2015. She was awarded the White Rose, a Finnish medal of honor, by President Sauli Niinistö in 2018 and a Fulbright Fellowship in 2019. Erna Vala holds a master's degree in piano performance from the Sibelius Academy earned in 2019 under the guidance of Hamsa Juris. Additionally, she received a master's degree in music education from the Iceland University of the Arts in 2023. She also holds a bachelor's degree and a junior department diploma in piano performance at the Iceland University of the Arts, where she studied with Peter Máté.