ESTHETIC OF MUSIC
editFrom the connotation point of view esthetic is characterized by a recongition of beauty followed by an appreciation of the beauty. Carl Dahlhaus suggested that esthetic of the 20th century music reflects on the legitimacy of the new compositional techniques. Thus, the process of evaluating the "beauty of music," begins when innovation of music appears.
"Three classics in the aesthetic of music"
editIn Ferruccio Busoni's (1866-1924)essay, "Sketches of a New Esthetic of Music," he first described how the traditional Western harmonies are continue to failing to deliver nothing more than the stereotypical view on how tonalities such as major and minor modes are only associated with certain emotions; created a void in the use of dissonances, and favors the consonances.
| Major | Minor | |
|---|---|---|
| Contentment | Discontentment | |
| Joy | Sorrow |
Most striking remark is when Busoni address the function of a creative artist. He said, "[A] creative artist consists in making laws, not following laws ready made. Composers such as Arnold Schoenberg (1874 - 1951) who persistently push away from the "classical" traditions and make new waves to welcome the future. As Busoni said in his essay that
Reformers of any given period excites irritation for the reason that his changes find men unprepared and...his changes do not win general acceptance until time, with subtle imperceptible advance has bridged over the leap of the self-assured leader.
Brief centuries at a glance
edit18th century:
Stamitz (1717 - 1757) and his fellows of the Mannheim School changed the orchestral language of his time and paved the way from baroque to the Viennese classic. Mannheim rocketfor listening samples, click here;
Mozart's (1756 - 1791): Marriage of Figaro presented a social conflict theme, instead of a religious theme.
19th century:
Brahms (1833 - 1897) use of chromatic harmonies for modulations.
Wagner's (1813 - 1833) tonal ambiguous Tristan chord, expressing the undying love.
Scriabin's (1872-1915) extended sixth- and seventh chords leading to the dissolving of tonality
20th century:
Ives (1874-1954): polytonality, polyrhythm, free dissonances, etc. Ives Society
Bartok (1881 - 1945) is the first ethnomusicologist, who recorded folk songs from Slavic countries served as a melody, and combined with Western harmonies
Webern (1883 - 1945) who took a step futher into the 12 tone system, and invented the total serialism, for example click here.
Cage's (1912 - 1992)thought on liberation from the forms of the pasts.
one may give up the desire to control sound, clear his mind of music, and set about discovering means to let sounds be themselves rather than vehicles of man-made theories or expressions of human sentiments.
Post 20th century:
Ligeti's(1923 - 2006) experimentation on "Sound mass" and micropolyphony
Babbit (1916 - )is known for electronic music, for example, his "Composition for Synthesizer" enables him to use the synthesizer to manipulate and blend register, timbre and pitch with an orchestra.
Lachenmann (1935-) substitutes the traditional sounds of instruments by noises made by unconventional playing techniques
Jack Behrens (1935-): composition "no wrong notes," (September 2000), philosophy as follows:
". . . whether a composition could be invented in which --- regardless of what douns might emerge during a performance --- there would be "no wrong notes...." [this] could encourage performance examination candidates to transcend their immediate objectives which --- one suspects --- are the conquering of technical challenges as they strive to attain note perfect renditions of the repertoire prescribed."
Atonality vs. Tonality
editArnold Schoneberg terms "emancipation of dissoance" as a creative composition process that co-exists with time, in order to bring new music that represents the need to re-established order systematically after the Nazi's occupation. Schoneberg invented the 12-tone technique which "promotes unity," and that every note is treated with the same weight and importance, thus,we characterized as atonality. Unlike the tonal music, Schoneberg created music that is "harmonically uniform, static, and immobile, or at best, harmonically fortuitous." Furthermore, the idea of "emancipation of dissonance" is the opposite way of viewing tonality, because it's ATONAL. The theory that dissonance and consonance are all relative to one another in terms of ratio. Then,dissonance comes out of consonance, and vice versa. The pitches are locators on score, and the interaction between pitches in a composition are their being. There are only two ingredients that music can become New Music, according to Schoneberg's essay "New music outoded music, style and idea." First, music must have the ability to "express something that has not yet been expressed before; [secondly,]if it has the capability to convey a new message to humanity." Hence, as long as a piece of music emboided blanace and stability then it is what Schoneberg would refered it to as a [musical] idea.
New Sources
editThe Canadian Music Center, also known as CMC in Toronto, Ontario has a collection of music features today's prominent composers, such as Brian Cherney,Jack Behrens, Barbara Pentland as examples. The CMC created a place for music lovers to explore new music, and offers all visitors a full access to any electronic media, visual scores, and composers' biographies that promote today's music. Due to the vast collection of scores and recordings that are limited in prints, most of these materials are used as references. However, purchasing of any scores, or recordings are available through the front desk at the CMC or online. The Canadian Music Center's website also features audio galleries, new releases, and essays on today's music scenes. This is a great place to start if anyone wanted to explore 20th century music by Canadian composers. Houston's based modern music concert serires, focuses on 20th century music by American composers.
Links
editA Canadian pianist, Glen Gould believed that "his performances were not just readings of pieces of music but documents that reflected his entire world view...and that art had enormous potential for the betterment of human life." For more please visit Glenn Gould
Canadian Music Center are also found in British Columbia, Prairie, Ontario, Quebec, Atlantic, and Amsterdam.
"Healing the Rift," by Ivan Hewette.
My Philosophy
editI would like to express the notion that because music co-exists with a society, so, when a society evolves; music also evovles. If this is true, then, the result of today's classical music is an aftermath (or reflection) on how we perceived today's society. Ivan Hewett demonstrated the concept that the collapse of musical grammar is the result to the collapse of the European civilization. In other words, atonality or modern music is a product of our society. A significant problem arises when the public cannot embrace the music that are reflected directly from the current social events, because it is a sign which means that we are either rejecting our society, or what the society has imposed on us. As a musician, it is my duty not to express what I think about this world through music, but, to present the world to you through music.