Chia-Ling Peng
Research Project Title: Through Weber to Cage: the Theory of Rationality and the Solo for Piano
Music Postgraduate Research Student
Following my Master’s pivotal focus on the role of Max Weber in the sociology of music and his theory of rationality, I'm currently investigating the development of rationality by:
- emphasising causality on both societal and individual levels
- differentiating musical elements’ affectual function and affectual results
- recognising relationships among compositional elements, and
- visualising the invisible systems and structure of graphic scores.
I'm also attempting to extend my research to the field of digital humanities. I welcome potential collaborations in publishing, conference presentations, or performances.
Name: Chia-Ling Peng
PhD Student in: Music
Newcastle University Email: c.peng4@newcastle.ac.uk
Supervisors: Dr. Paul Attinello, Dr. Dariusz Gafijczuk
Brief Outline of Research Project:
The theory of rationality is an evolving idea that develops in relation to music. When indeterminate music is no longer based on a harmonic structure or emotional expression, rationality manifests itself in the composer’s intentions as well as in relationships between notations and their constituent elements. In contrast, irrationality appears in the use of materials, multiple choices within notations, and individual unpredictable realisations. From these developments, it's reasonable to assert that Cagean indeterminacy creates many opportunities to interpret Weber. By focusing on Cage’s large-scale Solo for Piano, I'm exploring both sets of ideas and interpret them through the use of a computer visualisation programme, Gephi.
Research Interests:
- Graphic score
- Experimental music
- Theory of rationality
- Sociology of music
- Digital humanities (visualisation)
Publications
- Peng, Chia-Ling. 2023. ‘Perspectives on the Theory of Rationality: Bilateral Participation in Cage’s Indeterminacy’. Journal of Interdisciplinary Music Studies 11: 54–72.
- Peng, Chia-Ling. 2023. ‘Defined or Undefined: The Gradational Process of Value Formation’. In Muzyka Wobec Wartości: = Music and Values, edited by Anna Nowak, 327–44. Bydgoszcz: Akademii Muzycznej imiena Feliksa Nowowiejskiego.
- Peng, Chia-Ling. 2023. ‘A Preliminary Investigation of Rational Features of Indeterminacy— Taking John Cage’s Solo for Piano as an Example’. Arts Review 藝術評論 44 (January): 73–111. https://doi.org/10.53106/101562402023010044003.
- Peng, Chia-Ling. 2022. ‘Indeterminate-Oriented to Rational-Oriented: John Cage, Paper Imperfections, and Graphic Notations’. New Sound 60 (2): 62–78. https://doi.org/10.5937/newso2260062P.
