A stream of consciousness uniting composers, performers and listeners
To create music, the composer is combining knowledge and technical ability in order to move the mind and the heart of the listener. Understanding and skills acquisition being individual, the result is a singular piece of music. Such a distinctive outpouring may emanate from several individuals; however, it is still unique as long as it does not simply reproduce a musical work that already exists, and even in that case, it may be original (in the case of a cover for example).
Performers generally reproduce the musical content of existing sheet music; however, they are willing to make their own contribution to each work they play. To achieve that target, they are in touch with audiences, musical critics, and, when it is possible, composers. Also, a lot of performers are more and more inclined to analyze their relationship to music, reading researchers in the field of psychology, consulting musicologists or music industry agents.
As for music listeners, it appears that they are less and less passive auditors applauding at the end of a musical performance. They listen to music in a singular way, in conjunction with their life stories, have opinions on music and share them. Also they may browse new styles of music and artists more easily than in the past, due to the development of the internet.
Because all individuals involved in music are putting intentions in their acts, whether it is composing, performing, or listening, music is that singular cluster of awareness which makes it so pleasant.
Do renowned pieces of music stay unique when they are performed?
The same piece of music may be played hundreds of times, sometimes by the same performers for the same audiences; the uniqueness of each of these performances is real when everybody pays special attention to the music. Even when it is recorded, no track is unique like the Mona Lisa (even if that painting has an earlier version) because the format is duplicated and a lot of songs have covers, but the emotions and thoughts felt by the listeners remain unique each time. Because of the person, the place and the moment.
When various interpretations of the same piece of music are made, they are not substitutes, they are unique tokens of the same type. Music executives notice that sometimes it may create some disappointment amongst music listeners, especially when performers are pop stars. In fact, when a hit recorded by a pop star is played during a concert, a part of the fandom is waiting for an interpretation of the song that is totally identical to the one they first discovered on a music streaming service. That kind of expectation may lead to situations where artists are forced to give up their creativity. On the other hand, other fans will say that when a performance it is too similar to the one they heard in a recording, it is not authentic enough for them. In any case, in the field of popular music, no one is left indifferent to that question.