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CRISTO BARRIOSClarinettist · Researcher
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Performance & Research

How a performance takes shape

Between the score, tradition, context and sound lie decisions that the performer must hear, shape and take responsibility for.

Observe · compare · analyse · verify.

ScoreDecisionSound
Explore the six areas↓
Cristo Barrios in profile

Six areas

What is being researched

Six concrete questions for making an interpretative decision audible.

01

Time and direction

Tempo and rubato as movement, breath and energy within the phrase.

02

Sound, colour and planes

Dynamics and timbre create hierarchy, distance, density and depth.

03

Structure and proportion

Climaxes, transitions and repose are organised to sustain direction and balance.

04

Articulation and character

Attack, connection and resonance change the way a phrase speaks.

05

Judgement, risk and responsibility

Distinguish decision from habit, intensity from excess, and risk from mere insecurity.

06

Work, intention and realisation

History, analysis and intention can guide without closing down the performer’s freedom.

Research from practice

How the work is carried out

A specific sounding realisation opens a cycle of observation and comparison.

Cristo Barrios during an orchestral recording session
  1. 01

    Observe

    Begin with a sounding realisation and describe what is happening.

  2. 02

    Compare

    Compare versions, alternatives or sources and isolate audible differences.

  3. 03

    Analyse

    Relate the result to score, context, structure and intention.

  4. 04

    Verify

    Test in practice whether the criterion holds in sound.

Cristo Barrios performing with the Fore Quartet

Lines of enquiry

Questions that return to practice

  • 01Interpretative autonomy
  • 02Creation and authorial intention
  • 03Expressive parameters
  • 04Artistic judgement
  • 05Listening and analysis of recordings
  • 06Transferencia interpretativa

Selected research

Composers and soloists

A qualitative study of creation and interpretative freedom in contemporary clarinet repertoire · Doctoral thesis · Complutense University of Madrid · 2017

Interviews
Musical analysis
Sound comparison

From framework to pedagogy

Listen, rehearse and decide

A work, a phrasing problem or preparation for a performance turns these questions into pedagogical work.

Real caseListeningTestingDecision
Explore Performance Pedagogy→
Cristo Barrios working with performance students

Collaborations

Performance, research and projects

Projects with conservatoires, universities, higher-education institutions and arts organisations.

Discuss an institutional collaboration→[email protected]