AUTHORSHIP IN ACTION: THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE PERFORMERʼS ROLE IN CONTEMPORARY CHAMBER MUSIC

Abstract

Contemporary artistic discourse increasingly reconsiders the role of the performer as an independent subject of the creative process. The shift towards performative, intermedial, and co-creative models has highlighted the need for a systematic analysis of the transformation of the performer’s function in academic music. The aim of the article is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the evolution of the performer’s role in academic chamber music from the late twentieth to the early twenty-first century, with an emphasis on the shift from a text-centered model of authorship to a performative paradigm of co-creation. The research methodology is based on historical-logical, comparative, and system-structural approaches, which make it possible to consider the musical work as a process of interaction between composer, performer, and listener. The typological analysis of empirical cases is conducted through the lens of A. Kubiak-Kenworthy’s seven-level scale of “creative change suggestions.” Scientific novelty. The study offers a systematic overview of three key scenarios in the transformation of the performer’s role in chamber music: (1) the unification of compositional and performative functions in a single individual; (2) the initiative commissioning of new works by performers or ensembles; (3) the delegation of compositional decisions to the performer in conditions of indeterminacy, improvisation, and multimedia. Conclusions.The study substantiates that the modern performer emerges as a full-fledged co-creator of the musical work, who not only realizes but also co-shapes the artistic outcome. This leads to an updated notion of performative agency, which includes mastery of extended instrumental techniques, skills in working with live electronics, stage movement, and more. Special attention is paid to the Ukrainian context, where chamber ensembles act as commissioners of new compositions and active participants in shaping their final sound. The need for further research into performative strategies in chamber music under conditions of interdisciplinary and technological shifts is emphasized.