Aschenbrenner Response

Daniel Morriss

Philip Ratliff

Writing About Music

5^th of March 2013

Musical Criticism

Musical criticism plays many critical roles in today’s society, not only providing artists with constructive criticism for their works, but also delivering proper reviews and promotions of said artists to the general public who then listen to or avoids his/her music. In his novel, Music Criticism, Carl Aschenbrenner talks of the complex dilemma of music critics, who have to lie in the gray area between letting artists critique their own works with their own individual artistic standards, as well as the other extreme of letting historians and nitpickers infinitely compare the work with previous works of similar natures and time periods, destroying and bastardizing any view of the work as novel or innovative.

Aschenbrenner asks “why [the musician’s] works must be seen or heard only through the filter of concepts whose provenance may lie far afield from them,” meaning that an individual’s work, if it be truly original, holds its own standards and means of judgment, and that it is unfair to judge one man’s original creation by the standards of another. For, if so judged, the piece’s “individuality is compromised or at least not respected.” The author also states that, while one must be respectful of the originality of a work, a critic cannot allow an artist to establish his own criteria upon which the piece must be judged, for then all art would be good art, as it would be judged by its creator.

There must instead be objective, unbiased standards by which critics must judge all pieces; however, would that truly be fair to the artists, who are themselves individuals with their own original tastes and feelings? Musical criticism is inherently a largely subjective task which depends upon the critic.

Harmonielehre

Daniel Morriss

Mr. Ratliff

Writing About Music

2^nd April 2013

Harmonielehre

            Harmony occurs when two separate sound waves join forces to form something better than the individual parts, making the whole greater than the sum of its parts. John Adams, an American conductor, composer, and creative thinker, wrote a concerto named “Harmonielehre,” which literally means “a lesson in harmony.” In this minimalist symphony, Adams begins with a massive fanfare of horns and strings that constantly intertwine, gaining and losing momentum to each other throughout the piece. A theme extends through the entire symphony involving the symbiosis and synchronization of different sections of the orchestra working together to fulfill harmonic ends. The entire composition had an air of calming and fluidity about it, like the diverse sounds of a river acting in accord to produce a beautiful concerto of nature.

            John Adams currently lives in San Francisco, and has an illustrious repertoire of knowledge and experience in the fields of musical composition and creativity. His reputation has garnered him many accolades from universities including Harvard, where he studied as a college student. He worked as composer-in-residence for the San Francisco Symphony at one point, and spear-headed their “New and Unusual Music” series, which was a success. Minimalism, one of John Adams prevalent styles, involves honing in on the absolute purest essence of something and instilling it into artwork without including any of the arguably unnecessary aspects which other styles may include.

Review of Beethoven's 5th Symphony

            At times, Beethoven’s 5^th Symphony serves as the perfect soundtrack for an epic battle.  At other points in the music, it seems to illustrate a peaceful place with little noise.  In its entirety, Beethoven’s 5^th Symphony serves as a highly versatile piece of music that can be appreciated whether one is listening absent-mindedly or paying close attention to the complexity of the piece.

            When listening to Beethoven’s 5^th Symphony on Copland’s most simple plane of listening, known as the sensuous plane, one experiences a wide range of responses, depending on which section of the piece they are listening to.  At the onset of the piece, one is likely to be taken aback by the abrupt and exciting beginning.  If listening to the piece for the purpose of simple background music, one is likely to have their attention jolted to the piece instead of their primary task.  From this exciting introduction, Beethoven’s piece alternates between peaceful, beautiful melodies to starkly different sections of powerful and dark swells of music.

            As one listens to Beethoven’s 5^th Symphony on what Copland describes as the expressive plane, the piece is likely to evoke feelings of victory and epic triumph even to those listening in the comfort of their own home.  The swells in music give the impression that a major battle has just been won, and celebration is in order.  The softer pieces of music contrast well with these swells - bringing to mind images of couples dancing or a serene landscape.  At times, this piece makes one feel uneasy, and then, in a strange turn of events, turns that uneasiness to serenity.  If nothing else, Beethoven’s 5^th symphony is enjoyable in that it allows one to experience a wide range of emotions in one piece.

            To the inexperienced and untrained listener such as myself, it is difficult to discern complex musical patterns in pieces such as Beethoven’s 5^th Symphony.  That being said, it is undeniable the skill Beethoven shows in incorporating the strings and horns in such a way as to produce wonderful texture-rich melody in an exciting tempo.  The volume of the piece is also manipulated in such a way as to be made memorable; at times the volume swells to give the sense of victory while at other times the music is so soft as to barely be heard.  Whether or not one can note the different instruments that are used in the piece or in what way the notes are arranged, Beethoven’s 5^th Symphony can be enjoyed in numerous ways and is highly recommended to any lover of music.

György Ligeti’s Atmosphères

Ligeti, an Austrian composer and performer, began the electronically based musical piece Atmosphères in 1961 with the guidance of Stockhausen and Koenig at the West German Radio studio.  The piece contains but only one percussion instrument, a piano that is not played in its normal configuration; instead, the strings are directly manipulated producing sustained, textured sounds.

The entirety of Atmosphères is atonal and never completely settling to the ears.  There are portions of the piece that are much more calm and soothing than portions of the introduction, that attempt to lash out and grab your attention before quickly ending, releasing you, but even these portions are still teeming with motion and frenzy.  In the mind’s eye one can even almost imagine some type of science fiction scene from a movie playing out with this piece as its background accompaniment.  As the piece continues, it follows a wave like pattern of gaining and losing both sound level and complexity and concludes with sounds reminiscent of nothing more than white noise.

György Ligeti was born in Transylvania, Romania on May 28, 1923 and lived in Hungary during his early life before becoming an Austrian citizen.  While he lived in Hungary much of Ligeti’s early work focused around folk and chorus music until he began to create his own style of composition.  Many of the pieces that Ligeti began to create as he discovered this style were greatly censored by the Soviet government and he soon fled to Vienna, Austria.  His composition style then turned from classical to heavily electronic influenced.  After a few attempts at this form Ligeti returned to more instrumental music, but retained the style of his electronic stage.  He went on to write several vocal solos and choruses and an opera.  The remainder of Ligeti’s work before his death in 2006 was based on rhythmic complexity and overlapping rhythms and melodies.  Throughout his career Ligeti was recognized for his work with numerous awards and honorary memberships.

Atmosphères, was not only one of only four truly electronic pieces created by Ligeti, but it has been highlighted in popular cinematography such as “2001: Space Odyssey,” “2010,” and “The Shining.”

Symphony in Three Movements

Igor Stravinsky’s first movement in his Symphony in Three Movements evokes wartime images as well as memories of the ballet.  Written from 1942 to 1945 in the United States, the Symphony in Three Movements was a part of the neoclassical trend in a time when classical music from late 18th and early 19th centuries was being recovered. Even though Stravinsky wrote this symphony in the United States, he lived parts of his life in Russia and France as well. Perhaps as a result of his personal past in nations that fought each other around the time of the symphony’s composition, this first movement was inspired by the scorched earth bombing tactics in Europe and Asia during World War II.  

            The first movement begins with a frenzied string and brass sequence followed by racing woodwinds and tense piano, clearly alluding to conflict. The dynamics rise and fall as a sense of uneasiness continues to progress and begins to subside. The music’s melody, dynamics, and rhythm calm down to a bit of resolution but still advance with some volatility. The wary, apprehensive build up followed by explosive notes is reminiscent of the air of danger and anticipated warfare in a battle zone.

The woodwinds and strings respond to each other, at first grimly and then almost playfully amidst cyclical changes in dynamics and tone, seeming to be story-like and character-driven. This is why I thought the first movement sound like the score for a turbulent ballet, even before I knew that the balletmaster George Balanchine created a ballet titled Symphony in Three Movements using Stravinsky’s work of the same title. I’m a huge fan of ballets, and one thing that makes Stravinsky stand out to me is how he knows how to write music for story that’s meant to be performed through dance, and he did it often, with many of his works being artistically collaborative with Balanchine.

Stravinsky not only brought back history in his revival of classical music, but he assisted in renewing ballet’s relevance when his Symphony in Three Movements became a ballet in the 1970s, and he continues to remind people of the past in his music’s reminiscence of World War II’s brutality.  Perhaps this is why his music is timeless.

The revolution of Symphony in Three Movements by Stavinsky.

Born a Russian but later also acquiring French and American nationality, Stravinsky is one of the most influential composers of the 20^th century. His music is most widely known for the up-beat, energetic rhythmic structure, sort of like the techno music of the 20^th century (although I’m sure Stravinsky would turn over in his grave if he ever read this). Modern listeners might not find his off-beat rhythms strange, but for his time he was quite a revolutionist and rebel. His debut of The Rite of Spring in 1913 actually caused a music riot! By the time the orchestra got to the second act the police had to kick in to calm the situation down.

                His piece titled Symphony in Three Movements, is characteristic of his style with an up-beat, almost war march like feel to it. All of these characteristics are accentuated by the plucking of the violins on the beats that pop out, as well as the running scales going in the back ground. This is for sure a piece you want to listen to before, say, a big test or a work out, rather than before you go to bed. The piece is also, characteristic of Stravinsky, filled with complex rhythms and time signatures. I would imagine that some very skilled players are probably required for the execution of this piece in order to keep all the parts moving together at the complex time changes. I personally like to relax when I listen to classical music and this piece is all but relaxing. It is full of passion and zeal.

                This piece was composed in the latter part of Stravinsky’s life when he turned more towards a neoclassical style. This type of style usually pays tribute to earlier composers like J.S. Bach and Tchaikovsky. Pieces composed in this style also usually closely relates to concerto grosso’s or symphony’s. During this period Stravinsky also made use of a serial style of composing. This simply means that he used many different note values to denote a complex rhythm, without changing the time signature. All in all, Stravinsky was a trend setter for his time.

Review: Chick Corea "Come Rain or Shine"

          From the first song of this EP released in June 2012, Chick Corea’s Come Rain or Shine swings right in with a bellowing female voice that ushers one to the dream state that is unique to jazz. This voice contrasts well with the wandering of Corea’s piano in the back. This piece is followed by a display of piano virtuosity in Corea’s “Fiesta Piano Solo.” A tinge of classical seeps into the piece until a crash of syncopation brings the listener jarringly back to the realization that yes, this is a jazz piece and yes, one does not know where it will lead to. The next piece, “Sea Breeze” brings in the rest of the band. The xylophone, snare drums, cymbals, and brass fill out Corea’s superb piano playing.  At the end of the EP is I Ain’t Mad at You, a celebration of the history of jazz. Beginning with a soft interplay of xylophones and the black keys of the piano, the piece starts out with a New York swing style beat before the sudden appearance of a raspy vocalization that draws influences from Southern blues and soul. Trumpets emerge to the top to finish off the medley in a New Orleans style fashion.

            Chick Corea, born as Armando Corea, grew up in the Boston area with a jazz trumpet player as his father. Early influences on Corea’s love for jazz music include Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, and Bud Powell. However, it wasn’t until Corea began taking classical piano lessons from concert pianist Salvatore Sullo that Corea became interested in musical composition. Throughout his career, the classical influence on his compositions is easily noticeable, and this early classical training contributes largely to Corea’s virtuosity on the keys. However, Corea is proabably most know for his role as the pianist in Miles Davis’ band in the 60’s. While working with Davis, Corea established himself as a nationally acclaimed jazz pianist and a contributor to the electric jazz movement.