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Maverick Voices of the 20th Century
Redefining and reimagining music and the concert experience
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Arnold Schoenberg1874-1951 (76)
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Reimagining Tonality
Developed 12-tone method of composition (sometimes called Serialism)
Traditional western harmony (chords based on a scale) is reimagined
Portrait by Man Ray, 1927
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The 12-Tone Row
What’s so different about 12-tone
music? All 12 pitches are
regarded as equal
No tonal center or sense of “home”
Music can be “atonal” or strict 12-tone (see matrix to left)
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Vienna => Berlin => Los Angeles
Moved to LA in 1935 to teach at USC, then UCLA
First full-time professor salary ($5,100), 1936
Bought a house in Brentwood for $18,000 (116 N. Rockingham, Zillow est. 4.5 million)
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John Cage
1912 (Los Angeles) – 1992 (New York City)
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The “Inventor”
Los Angeles High School (Valedictorian)
Pomona College (dropped out after 2 years)
Traveled around Europe after college
Later studied composition with Schoenberg
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“I was shocked at college to see one
hundred of my classmates in the library all reading copies of the same book. Instead of doing as they did, I went into the stacks and read the first book written by an author whose name began with Z. I received the highest grade in the class. That convinced me that the institution was not being run correctly. I left (Cage).”
On Pomona College:
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In an interview, Schoenberg stated
that none of his American pupils were interesting, but added in reference to Cage, “There was one…of course he’s not a composer, but he’s an inventor – of genius.”
Schoenberg on Cage:
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Composer or inventor?
Prepared Piano (right) Studied with Arnold
Schoenberg Felt he had “no
feeling for harmony.” Believed all sounds
are music Influenced by Zen
Buddhism and Eastern Philosophy
Preparing a piano
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“I could not accept the academic idea that the
purpose of music was communication, because I noticed that when I conscientiously wrote something sad, people and critics were often apt to laugh. I determined to give up composition unless I could find a better reason for doing it than communication. I found this answer from Gira Sarabhai, an Indian singer and tabla player: The purpose of music is to sober and quiet the mind, thus making it susceptible to divine influences.”
What is the purpose of music?
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“Collaborations”
Met Merce Cunningham at Cornish College of the Arts (Seattle) in late 1930s
John dissolved his marriage and the 2 became life-long partners
Continued collaborations with dancers, visual artists, and musicians
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Philip Glass
Born 1937 (Baltimore)The Voice of Minimalism
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A composer of “repetitive structures”
Education: Peabody Prep. (flute) University of
Chicago(age 15)
Julliard (piano, composition) Fulbright to Paris (Boulanger ‘64-’66)
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Eastern Influence
Ravi ShankarBuddhism and Indian
Classical Music
Glass met Shankar and Rakha in 1965-66
Indian classical music is also based on repetitive structures (additive)
Visited northern India in 1966
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Major Works
26 Operas 13 Concertos 10 Symphonies Films: (selected)
Bent Kundun Koyaanisqatsi The Hours The Truman Show
Numerous other instrumental and choral works
Of note: Recent opera (2013)
on scenes from the end of the life of Walt Disney entitled: “The Perfect American.”
Einstein on the Beach (1976)