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.”