Sonatina No. 3 by Camargo Guarnieri:

Self-Care, parameters of listening and musical evaluation, and artistic research

Abstract

This work stems from the understanding that musical performance can constitute not only a space for the application of previously established knowledge, but also a field for the production of knowledge within the scope of artistic research. In this context, it investigates how interpretative processes can be understood as reflective practices capable of making the modes of constructing musical meaning communicable and analyzable. The central question is to understand how performative practice, articulated with critical reflection and peer dialogue, can produce situated knowledge in the field of music. To this end, the Brazilian modernist repertoire, specifically Camargo Guarnieri's Sonatina No. 3, is taken as a territory for experimentation (VIEIRA, 2018; VIEIRA, 2012, COESSENS, 2009; COESSENS, 2011).

This study aimed to investigate musical performance as a knowledge practice within the context of artistic research. It sought to understand how interpretative practice can be articulated with reflective and collaborative processes capable of clarifying and problematizing musical choices. In particular, it aimed to analyze how critical peer dialogue can contribute to the construction and reformulation of interpretative decisions. Another objective was to examine Foucault’s principle of the Care of the Self as na ethical and conceptual foundation for understanding the self-formation processes of the researcher-interpreter in the field of musical performance.

The results showed that the reflective interaction between the performer and a group of peers made it possible to reveal aspects of the interpretative process that often remain implicit in musical practice. The reception of critical comments on audiovisual recordings from different moments of the study allowed for questioning technical and expressive decisions, clarifying auditory perceptions, and broadening the interpretative horizons of the work. This process favored the recognition of performative automatisms, the validation of musical intuitions, and the reformulation of interpretative strategies. At the same time, the exercise of listening and commenting by the participants constituted a collective formative practice, insofar as it mobilized skills in musical analysis, critical argumentation, and ethical responsibility towards the artistic process of others.

It is concluded that musical performance can be understood as a space for knowledge production when articulated with reflective and collaborative devices. The principle of Self-Care proved to be a fruitful reference for understanding the self-formation of the performer as an ethical and relational process, mediated by dialogue and otherness. In this context, peer interaction proved fundamental for building an environment of trust, listening, and critical problematization, in which musical practice ceases to be understood as a finished product and begins to assert itself as an open process of investigation. Thus, the research contributes to broadening the understanding of performance as an intellectual, relational, and formative practice in the field of artistic research in music, strengthening the academic legitimacy of interpretative practices in the context of Brazilian postgraduate studies.