Music in Art

Indeed, “noise” itself and silence became elements in composition, and random sounds were used by composers, such as the American John Cage, and others in works having aleatory or impromptu features. Tone, moreover, is only one component in music, others being rhythm, timbre , and texture. Electronic machinery enabled some composers to create works in which the traditional role of the interpreter is abolished and to record, directly on tape or into a digital file, sounds that were formerly beyond human ability to produce, if not to imagine. Of all the artworks that speak a musical voice, I find that Australian Aboriginal art offers the clearest idea of music I have ever heard or seen in any artwork.

Writing such reflective, slow music for the last movement is surely unusual, but in time the tempo doubles as both lower strings and winds in the orchestra play syncopated figures. He brings a rare combination of seriousness and light-hearted insouciance to this music, which makes it work quite well. Eventually, the busy elements of this movement fade away, there is a moment of silence, and whet it resumes it is again moody and reflective. Being five movements long rather than just three or four, Weinberg has a lot to say in this work. One is struck, for instance, how the solo harpsichord passages somehow manage to sound sad as well, since this is one of the most cheerful-sounding instruments in the world. I must give kudos to Kirill Gerstein for his sensitive, outstanding performance as well.

The brightness of and patterns in Aboriginal art offer a strong representation of music as they do about the stories of their country, their people and their myths and Dreamtime stories. By checking this box, you confirm that you are 18 years of age or older and a resident of the US. You are indicating that you would like to receive information from Jazz Pharmaceuticals about educational programs, products, and services. This CD is particularly worth getting for the Cello Concerto, at least. It’s a fun and interesting piece that all of you jazz-classical lovers will surely enjoy.

  • Of all the artworks that speak a musical voice, I find that Australian Aboriginal art offers the clearest idea of music I have ever heard or seen in any artwork.
  • In fact, judging just by those two recordings, I would go out on a limb and say that his tone has actually grown in richness and depth of sound.
  • Called a “master composer” by The Boston Globe for his jazz orchestra’s debut CD, First Storybook, Hans Indigo Spencer’s career includes working with theater directors, filmmakers, animators, and choreographers.

As the definition of popular music changes over time as public tastes change, defining art music may be difficult. Many musical traditions that are considered art music today were popular music styles of the past. In centuries to come, some types of popular music may fall out of favor and become classified as art music. And like Confucius he was anxious to regulate the use of particular modes (i.e., arrangements of notes, like scales) because of their supposed effects on people. Plato was a stern musical disciplinarian; he saw a correspondence between the character of a person and the music that represented him or her. In the Laws, Plato declared that rhythmic and melodic complexities were to be avoided because they led to depression and disorder.

I have Barshai’s recording of this piece, and it is an exceptionally good one; so too is Gražinytė-Tyla’s. Both manage to maintain an aura of sadness even in the most chipper passages, which by this time was wholly appropriate. When passages are played with energy and forward momentum, they sound more ironic, like smiling through clenched teeth, than exuberant.

Kaleidoscope Art & Music Festival is held at the Palmdale Amphitheater

Get a license to the entire catalog with unlimited downloads for a full year. DJ Aloha (Colombia, 198somethin’) does not scowl and looks mean while she DJs. She does not pretend to know everything but you will enjoy her uplifting sets to have the best time on the dance floor. She is grateful to be doing music for a living and she knows that the reason people go to parties is to shake their “money-maker” and have fun.

Various Artists

Bychkov gives some interesting accents on the low string theme that follows, particularly the first time around, emphasizing the sadness of the music. From the very first notes of the Schoenberg Klavierstücke, one is aware of the fact that Iman is an artist and not just a technician. His phrasing and subtle use of dynamics mold and shape this music in ways I’ve never quite heard before. There is a certain “curvelinear” feel to his phrasing that attracts the listener, despite the fact that this is already 12-tone Schoenberg. In addition, his piano is recorded perfectly, giving his sound great clarity with just enough natural reverb around the instrument to not make it sound like an echo chamber.

And Witzel’s solo is an extension of that theme, using its harmonic base to improvise on but also extending the time—and the harmony—within his improvised choruses. In other words, the solo, too, is a composition, just a spontaneously created one. While my readers know very well that I am not a big fan of this modern trend towards soft-grained jazz guitar playing, it is what Witzel plays rather than the style in which he plays it that grabbed my attention. His solos are wonderfully creative, far better than the first “soft jazz” guitarists of the 1990s were.

And once again, she manages to get more serious near the end, playing the soft string tremolos as if they were made of ice crystals. In the slow third movement, she builds up the gradual crescendo slowly and masterfully. In the last movement, Gražinytė-Tyla drives the music forward with an almost manic force. But even when the opening tempo is fast, Weinberg’s symphonies almost never end on a happy or a triumphant note; sooner or later, the deep sadness comes into the picture, and this is so here—at least for a while.

Svedlund plays it with a Romantic sweep, but Gražinytė-Tyla relaxes it still further, as if trying to coax the sadness in this music to come forward. Thus he and those musicians who thought as he did would probably appreciate this book. It also helps that tenor saxist Dann Zinn, who joins him on his three original pieces , is also an exceptional improvising artist. In addition, Zinn plays some unusual notes and fills behind the leader, both during theme statements and later in these tracks. If you listen carefully to the opening track, Feelin’ It, you will note that it is somewhat irregularly composed; the second half of the initial chorus statement falls into an irregular rhythmic pattern that one seldom heard in the early ‘60s.