Avant-Garde Scores as a Subject of Artistic Interpretation in Modern Rock Music

Abstract

The artistic interpretation of musical works by academic composers is an integral
component of certain styles of rock music, identified back in the 1960s at the very early stage of its
formation. At the present time, various arrangements, transcriptions and adaptations, along with
quotations of works from different periods, from medieval music to contemporary composer's
music, have not lost their relevance and have remained part of the performing practice of rock
musicians. This article is about the dialogue with 20th century music, in the interpretation of
which the artistic qualities have not lost their value, but, on the contrary, have been reevaluated
and enriched. In the albums of progressive rock, jazz-rock, fusion and avant-rock performers,
20th century contemporary composers’ music is cognized in a new way, from the use of short
fragments borrowed as a source of the musical thematicism to the recreation of large cyclic forms.
At the same time, an important aspect of the artistic creativity of individual musicians is their
interest in verbal musical scores of the avant-garde trends, as well as spontaneous improvisational
forms of minimalism, which have had ample opportunities for performing interpretations and
have instigated the emergence of rock interpretations. Rock musicians, stemming from avantgarde
musical texts, have tended to create a self-sufficient artistic integral entity, as in the case
of In 0 to ∞ by ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE & THE MELTING PARAISO UFO, the structures
of which have been based on Terry Riley’s In C. In conclusion, the album Goodbye 20th Century
by SONIC YOUTH with selected works by avant-garde composers (Steve Reich, Cornelius
Cardew, Christian Wolff, John Cage and Pauline Oliveros), which has formed an important stage
in the history of experimental rock at the turn of the century, is examined.

Keywords: avant-garde, minimalism, post-rock, experimental rock, interpretation,
reinterpretation, SONIC YOUTH, ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE & THE MELTING PARAISO UFO