In this dissertation, I explore the multiplicities of musical imperfection, advancing comprehension of what musical imperfection is, has been, and can be. In doing so, I investigate
the positive aesthetic promises of musical imperfection. This artistic research is anchored in my creative practice, comprising the composition, the working process with performers, and the public performance of five new solo cycles and one ensemble piece. The documentation in audio and video of working sessions and concerts with the performers creates a corpus of referable data which grounds the research and the written discussion. Though the artistic investigation forms the backbone of the inquiry, the research is not limited to these pieces, nor has the artistic creation as the final goal. Rather, the new compositions create the space in which
the investigation happens, with a view to advancing comprehension of musical imperfection in a generalizable manner. Multiple scholarly approaches gravitate around this musical practice, enhancing critical reflexion. These include a thorough mapping of the imperfection/perfection dyad via dictionaries, thesauri and etymological sources, historically located philosophical discussions on the concept of aesthetic perfection, and reasoning based on common terms and fundamental notions. Grounding the discussion in the praxis of music-making allows the pursuit of imperfection as a relational and mobile term. As “imperfection” does not have a fixed meaning defined a-priori, many of the meanings that it in fact assumes in common performance practice and musical creative practice can be explored with the flexibility that characterizes the
term. The result is an incomplete investigation of many, but by no means all, senses of musical imperfection. This incompleteness is intentional and unavoidable. Despite the incompleteness, the substantial advancement of the understanding of many senses of musical imperfections affords the baselines for an imperfectionist creative practice, with consequences for the role of score and notation in the compositional activity, and advocates the demand for a deeply transformed performance practice.