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Contemporary Art Music

AK 2100Nov. 16, 2004

The New PluralismNo universal musicallanguage

John Cage

Pauline Oliveros,

Time Perspectives, c 1959

1960s: against theestablishment

Increasingexperimentation andanarchy

Beyond conventions ofmusical performance

Image: John Cage «VariationsV», 1965

Listening: Imaginary LandscapeNo. 1, 1939.

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The New Pluralism Quotation and collage

Stockhausen

Peter Maxwell Davies

Jazz, Rock and PopularInfluences

Ornette Coleman

Frank Zappa

David Byrne

Glen Branca

John Zorn

Laurie Anderson

Minimalism

Influence of AsianMusic

Pursuit of more direct,simpler musicalstructures

Understatement

Contemplation

Unfolding over greaterlengths of time

Starting from scratchFrank Stella, Hyena Stomp, 1962,oil on canvas, 195.6 x 195.6 cm

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Minimalism

Key figures: La MonteYoung, Terry Riley,Steve Reich and PhilipGlass

Riley: use of tape loops

In C (1964)

Reich: also used tapeloops. Phase music

Come Out, 1966

Music for 18 Musicians

Ellsworth Kelly. Study for White Plaque:Bridge Arch and Reflection. 1951

Minimalism

Philip Glass

Expanded melodic units

Influence of IndianMusic

Einstein on the Beach

Satyagraha, Akhnaten,

Soundtracks:Koyaanisqatsi &Powaqqatsi

Donald JuddUntitled, 1967Stainless steel and PlexiglasTen units, each 9 1/8 x 40 x 31 inches (23.2 x101.6 x 78.7 cm)

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Minimalism

Glass has described thekind of response requiredof listeners to fullyappreciate his music as“one in which neithermemory nor anticipationhas a place in sustainingthe musical experience. Itis hoped that one wouldthen be able to perceivethe music as ‘presence,’freed of dramaticstructure, a pure mediumof sound.”

Donald JuddUntitled, 1967Stainless steel and PlexiglasTen units, each 9 1/8 x 40 x 31 inches (23.2 x101.6 x 78.7 cm)

Rediscovery of tonality

Return to traditional tonalityin the 1960s

Use of earlier compositionaltechniques

Arvo Part Stabat Mater Te Deum Fratres

Henryk-Mikolaj Górecki Symphony of SorrowfulSongs, Op. 36 Three Pieces in the Old StyleArvo Part

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Electronic Music

New instruments, new soundsThaddeus Cahill’sTelharmonium (1906) andLeonard Theremin’s theremin(1920)

On the fringes for most of20th century

Storage a problem

Electronic Music

Musique Concrete

Real inception of electronicmusic came after WWII.

French National Radio andPierre Schaeffer

Musique Concrete:manipulation of sounds foundin “real life”

Schaeffer worked withcomposer Pierre Henry:Symphony for Man Alone(1950). First extended workof musique concrete

Pierre Schaeffer: Etude AuxChemins De Fer (1948)

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Electronic Music

Musique Concrete

First Studio: Cologne,1952

Allowed for creation ofsounds from the ground up

Karl Heinz Stockhausen

Gesang der Junglinge1956: combined real andsynthesized sounds

Stockhausen’s Studio, c 1959

Electronic Music

Stockhausen

Helicopter String Quartet(1992/93)

Score for Helicopter String Quartet

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Synthesizers

Electronic music wellestablished by 1960

Commercial significance,mainly sound effects

Growth of research

Increase in accessibility:wider audiences

First synth: RCA Mark II,1955

Provided increased controlover process

Synthesizers

Milton Babbit: composer

Robert Moog & DonaldBuchla: created firstcommercially available synths

Morton Subotnick: firstcomposition commissioned byrecord company (Nonsuch):Silver Apples on the Moon,1967

Walter (later Wendy) Carlos:Switched on Bach - madesynthesizers a householdworld

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Computer Music

Composers can create theirown digital instruments ratherthan having to rely on pre-existing hardware

More complex compositionalrelationships possible

Some early pioneers: J.K.Randall, Hubert Howe andJames Tenny

IRCAM 1976, Paris. Largeand active researchorganization devoted to thescientific study of musicalphenomena. Pierre Boulez

http://www.ircam.fr/ircam.html?&L=1

The Contemporary Scene

John Zorn - Spillane, 1985

Linda Bouchard, Tung La, 1993

Bang on a Can (performanceensemble)

Arnold Dreyblatt, Escalator, 1988

Nick Didkovsky, Amalia’s Secret, 1997

Christian Marclay - MoreEncores, 1988

“Fredric Chopin”

“Louis Armstrong”

“Jimi Hendrix”