What makes a performance persuasive? Many factors affect this question, including one’s view of music’s nature.

Belief in music’s capacity to carry meaning underpins the philosophy and practice of Artistic Research. The issue of persuasive performance therefore assumes additional dimensions when one considers the extent to which the performer’s contribution confers meaning over and above that already latent in a composition.

Starting from the premise that the concept of advocacy provides a useful frame for structuring the zone of permissible originality surrounding performance, the authors develop the matrix-based model presented here. The model underlines the multiplicity of forms — the ‘allotropes of advocacy’ — that a conscientious performer’s persuasiveness may take.

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