Contemporary flutist-composer Ian Clarke's contributions to the art of flute playing and literature

This study has been prepared as a master's thesis for Instrument Education Main Art Branch in Ankara Music and Fine Arts University (MGU) - Music and Fine Arts Institute (MGE). With this thesis, prepared by the examination and evaluation of other thesis about the contemporary flutist-composer Ian Clarke and his works on the international platform, it is aimed to draw attention to the academic and artistic value of Clarke as a flutist-composer in the music world and to reveal the composer's place in the history of music. In addition, it is intended to research and introduce the "Contributions to the Art of Playing the Flute and its Literature" to the readers in our (Turkish) language. It is a fact that Clarke, who was only 58 years old when this thesis was prepared in 2022, has the advantage of being a living composer and an accessible hero of the flute and music world, has the opportunity to continue to produce afterwards. It is hoped that this thesis prepared with above perception and awareness will be unique and contribute to the academic environment by being a repertory catalogue that includes all the works of Clarke. In this context, after the introduction, important developments in the process of flute from prehistory to its present form are given within the subtitle "A Brief History of the Flute" under the title of "Flute as an Instrument" and the possibilities and features of the instrument as of today are evaluated under the title of "Modern Flute". At the end of the chapter, other members of the flute family are examined under the title of "Flute Family" in terms of the characteristics and usage areas of these instruments. In this sense, it is aimed to provide all musicians and art lovers interested in flute art to approach the history of the instrument from a scientific and intellectual point of view. In the second part of the thesis within the title "Music and Flute from the 20th Century to the Present", modern and contemporary periods were examined and revealed the characteristics of the contemporary flute playing techniques that Ian Clarke brought to a new dimension as a modern flutist-composer and presented with a historical, technical, and academic point of view. It is intended to eliminate the existing prejudices against the music and art of the contemporary period which the composer and all today's people live with a subjective perspective; or at least to make this period more understandable. In this sense contemporary music and its requirements, which are generally difficult to overcome for flutists since comprehension and methods are not like conventional flute playing techniques, are classified under the title of "Contemporary Flute Playing Techniques, Notation and Terminology". The methods of application of these techniques on the flute in the context of the meaning they express are conveyed by examining various methods, books, articles, and theses. In this context, it is aimed to help flutists who have just stepped into modern music to read and perceive new and different types of writing after understanding the purpose and how these techniques are made. xxiv In the following part of the thesis, the musician personality of Ian Clarke who is the main subject of this study, has been compiled by examining other thesis and interviews. In the section titled as "Contemporary Flutist-Composer Ian Clarke", the artist's first steps towards music, his education, his professional musical life as a performer, composer and flutist were examined and his Turkish biography was created to better embrace the composer's music. In this sense the musician's "Discography" which includes his works as the performer and composer also was provided in this section and it is intended to be a resource for those who interested in Ian Clarke and his music during their research such as program notes and exam programs. The fourth chapter of the thesis is titled "The Works of Ian Clarke" and includes all the works composed by the composer until today. These works are analysed by their historical information, motivations, instrumentations, techniques used and the composer's own performance suggestions; and they are classified according to the Clarke's own categorization. Consequently, in the fifth chapter of the thesis, Clarke's two solo works The Great Train Race and Zoom Tube, which are very rich in terms of the use of contemporary playing techniques mentioned in the thesis, are analysed in the context of the contemporary playing techniques used. Eventually, in the conclusion part, Ian Clarke's contributions to the flute playing art and literature, as the contemporary representative of the performer composer figure that has been going on for centuries in the world of musicians, are examined and presented as outputs. It is the contemporary period when the infinity of the music is emphasized most as art as a method that humanity has used to express itself since prehistoric times. In the context of the new music perception brought by this period, the personality and music of Ian Clarke, who reached the rank of "artist" even in his lifetime with his sophisticated musicianship in the light of the new music perception he brought, hopefully will set an example for all the sensitive artistic souls illuminated by the light of art today in terms of encouraging them to show the courage to engage in music freely and to listen to the voice they hear within themselves without any fear and regardless of genre and style. It is hoped that this thesis which introduces Ian Clarke, a musician that all musicians walking on the path illuminated by art and music can accept as an idol to have the opportunity to educate themselves, and his music; will guide everyone and help them "achieve to understand the miracles of life" in the infinity and depth of their creativity.