Performance problems: presence, memory and fabulation in live music

Abstract

This article discusses a set of “performance problems” (Madri 2009) in live music from the enshrinement and emptying of music “lives” in the context of the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020. Beginning with the notion of presence, we recognize “live” as a status with a long tradition in mediatic configurations (Auslander 2008, Pires 2019) and present the aesthetic impasses brought about by their archiving in digital culture. We debate speculative zones between memory, invention, and simulation in three experiences created by live music materials: the presence of holograms and music performances, the retransmission of archived shows on digital platforms in the context of the pandemic, and the creation of new sound environments for pre-recorded materials.