Kristina Dutton

PROJECT - A Musical Exploration of Critical Regionalism

Recording 2025, this series of piano preludes explores various architectural traditions. The pieces will be performed by pianist Motoko Honda.

“The phenomenon of universalization, while being an advancement of man- kind, at the same time constitutes a sort of subtle destruction…We have the feeling that this single world civilization at the same time exerts a sort of attrition or wearing away at the expense of the cultural resources... Everywhere throughout the world, one finds the same bad movie, the same slot machines, the same plastic or aluminum atrocities, the same twisting of language by propaganda, etc...

Thus we come to the crucial problem confronting nations just rising from underdevelopment.

In order to get on to the road toward modernization, is it necessary to jettison the old cultural past which has been the raison d'être of a nation? . . . Whence the paradox: on the one hand, it has to root itself in the soil of its past, forge a national spirit, and unfurl this spiritual and cultural revindication before the colonialist's personality. But in order to take part in modern civilization, it is necessary at the same time to take part in scientific, technical, and political rationality, something which very often requires the pure and simple abandon of a whole cultural past. It is a fact: every culture cannot sustain and absorb the shuck of modern civilization. There is the paradox: how to become modern and to return to sources; how to revive an old, dormant civilization and take part in universal civilization.”

•Paul Ricoeur, History and Truth, 1955

The tension between universalization and cultural specificity that Ricoeur describes has long interested me. These preludes are one way of exploring that paradox - using the piano as a universal musical language and my own compositional voice as the particular lens, with architectural traditions as the specific cultural contexts I’m engaging with.

When I began writing these pieces, I was drawn to the intersection of design and cultural histories embedded in architecture. It was my cousin, an architect, who later shared with me Goethe’s observation that ‘Music is liquid architecture, architecture frozen music’ - a connection that now seems inevitable.

I discovered Critical Regionalism, an architectural philosophy that addresses exactly this tension - it balances global modernity with local identity, creating buildings that are both contemporary and rooted in their specific place and culture.

Music can translate space into time, structure into feeling. These preludes explore how both architecture and music can speak simultaneously of place and beyond place. The piano serves as a unifying element, the common voice of these preludes.

In crafting each prelude, I’m engaging in a form of musical critical regionalism. For instance, if composing a piece inspired by Japanese architecture, I wouldn’t simply imitate traditional Japanese music. Instead, I’d explore how musical elements like silence and space can convey concepts like ‘ma’ in Japanese design, creating pieces that are both universally comprehensible and rooted in specific cultural contexts.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​