Example Introductory Pieces for Plastique Animée

When introducing plastique animée, different pieces are more and less appropriate for different students. A good piece has a mix of technique, expressivity, density, and complexity that match the interpreter. Here are three pieces that university students have presented successfully in my classroom.

Claude Debussy: String Quartet in G minor, ii. Assez vif et bien rythmé

A contemporary-sounding pizzicato piece with an urgent character that later becomes melodic with bowed playing. The instruments of the string quartet either play together or take turns in the lead role, which can help guide students in their onstage groupings and texture.

Maurice Ravel: Piano Trio in A minor, 2nd movement

A beautiful yet frantic scherzo and trio with elements of canonic playing between the three instrumentalists. The B section features a change in meter from 3 to 4, which can be a nice moment for students to choreograph.

Antonín Dvořák: String Quartet No. 12 in F Major, Op. 96, “American” B.179: iii. Molto Vivace

A lovely American-sounding piece in ABABA form where the B section uses the theme of the A but in minor. Elements of a bird call can be heard in some of the melodic lines.

It is noteworthy that in each of these pieces, there are lots of notes! That is to say, one cannot (should not) attempt to find discrete movements for every note. Instead, selections such as these require the interpreter to choose—what of the complexity is so salient that it must be brought to the front and demonstrated in gesture? Much of the point is that different interpreters will choose different lines, different emphases, different motions to reveal their own embodied music. Every new artist reveals something different and personal about the selection.