A Play with Ambivalence
Free Improvisation in the Tension between Subjectivity and Social Bond
Kurt Lüscher
Free improvisation fascinates and provokes. The immediate shock lies in the attribute “free”: it brings a stimulus to the discussions to which this essay contributes by means of a sociological perspective. The practice of music produces identity, or at least participates in the development and blossoming of important facets of personality. In the case of free improvisation there is an intimate connection between the struggle regarding the singularity of this music, that is, its definition, and its “identity”. Evidence for this can be found in the ongoing discussion in dissonance. Lüscher defends the opinion that an elaborate understanding of “ambivalence” is appropriate in order to offer an analysis of these phenomena.
