I am a PhD candidate at Leiden University in the docARTES program for artistic research working under the supervision of Prof. Rebecca Cypess and Prof. Dinko Fabris. Until now, I have presented my work at the festival Doctors in Performance at the Royal Academy of Music in London and the Doctoral Day in the Brussels Musical Instruments’ Museum. During in 2024, I will give lectures at the Orpheus Institute Ghent and the conference SORGO 290 in Dubrovnik. My PhD has been generously supported by Deutscher Musikrat, the Finnish Arts Promotion Centre (Taike) and the Wihuri Foundation, as well as through the REMArkable mentorship program of the European Early Music Association REMA.
Adaptive performance practice of instrumental chamber music in German cities at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries
My research focuses on historically informed performance (HIP) and adaptive performance practices within the late 18th-century German musical context. Drawing from surviving sources and elaborating them through practice-based research, the study aims to explore how arranging music historically influences musical performance and what kind of insights it offers into the musical cultures of this era. My research objectives encompass uncovering the fluidity of performance practices in the 18th century, delving into the process of historically informed arrangement, and investigating the role of timbre in musical meaning during 1760–1810.
The research methodology involves case studies realized through ensemble projects, employing historical arrangement and auto-ethnographic analysis. These case studies encompass solo and duet transcriptions, partimento-based performances, exploration of timbre through chamber music, and early-19th-century variation sets. The study also delves into the philosophical aspects of 18th-century listening and aesthetics to bridge the historical and modern perspectives.
Key words: historically informed performance, adaptive performance practice, 18th-century German musical culture, auto-ethnographic analysis, timbre and musical meaning
Case Studies
Vera Plosila 