The piano and the female body : the erotic, the seductive and the transgressive

This thesis proposes an "erotics" of music performance based on a close analysis of the relation between the female body, the piano and the body of the spectator. This practice-led research consists of a written thesis and five original performance works using choreography, installation, film and photography. As a pianist specializing in contemporary repertoire I have a particular interest in the overlap between gesture-based choreography and music performance. Through "embodied improvisation", I explore physical expression in virtuosic repertoire using the analogy of sexual metaphor. Presenting the tactile relation between the female body and the piano as a concupiscent exchange of energies and desires, I propose a feminisation of the piano and the pianist's body based on the writings of Richard Leppert (1995 [1993]) and Susan McClary (2002 [1991]). Using choreographic theory I suggest "full" and "empty" body approaches to conceiving physical expression in music performance and how such approaches reflect on notions of gender ambiguity, abjection and the gaze (Butler: 2008 [1990]), (C'l a i d : 2006), (Kristeva: 1982 [1980]) and (Mulvey: 2006 [1975]). The thesis concludes music performance as a seductive and transgressive act, supported by emerging theoretical findings and realised through original interdisciplinary practice-led research (Bataille: 2006 [1957]) and (Baudrillard 1990 [1979]).EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo