CGUM

I was catching up on some blog reading and came across a really interesting article on Daniel Menche's Blog.

What does blood sound like?

The post in question is titled "Admit it" and dated March 26, 2007.


Read and discuss.

CG

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ecarroll

Charlie,

The relationship between abstract art and "atonal" music?

EC

rowuk

BIG DIFFERENCE. Art is created and only the original can be interpreted. "Atonal" or any other music is RECREATED and that product is up for interpretation. There is an additional interpretive level - an additional soul, if you will.

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CGUM

One thing I thought the author of the article was interesting, and got me thinking, was the idea of confrontation.

Walking through (insert art institution) is a different experience then being in a concert hall. I think maybe it's the underlying feeling of suspension in a Museum. However, in a concert hall or any live performance, that music is right there. It's alive and it's coming at you. It's in the moment and you are there and I think it makes people un-comfortable.

Sorry, that's all I have to offer for now, I'm off to be a citizen.
CG

P.S.
I don't really agree with all he had to say. But I am interested in reading these Kadinsky-Schoenberg letters.

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ecarroll

Charlie,

The concert hall and a museum are totally different environments in other ways as well. One can duck in/duck out of a museum (I used to visit London's National Gallery every time I was near Trafalger Square, often only to spend 5 minutes in front of a favo(u)rite Turner and sometimes just to get out of the rain). You can wander between galleries at your own pace, leave, and come back. You can choose only to visit old friends in the collection. Try that at Avery Fisher Hall or the Village Vanguard.

That said, I love art that "comes right at you". It's one of the reasons I prefer the theater and live concerts to television and CDs.

Let's develop this idea...

EC

CGUM

To answer the question. I do think between Schoenberg and Kandinsky, yes. In general that's to broad a topic. But after reading some of the correspondence between the two, I believe that they influenced each other and admired each others work.


And, yes, we let's expand on this...
CG

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Hags888

Has anyone read Adorno? His discussions of Schoenberg make a similar connection to the abstractness of his music. He even goes as far as to say that the music is essentially meaningless, except for the "intrinsic" value of the relationship of the notes themselves...if he's correct, then the music would only be of interest to performers and analysts. Why would a listener be interested in music where the only value is the interplay and relationships of meaningless notes?

Averge Joe concert goer is interested in the emotional connection to music, and in lots of cases they are interested in the "representational" or "iconic" aspects of the music (aka...I heard "sad" music or "happy" music, or the music put me in a good mood, etc). If atonal music is abstract (and I think it is when put alongside the context of Western tonal music) then what are you left with?

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mahaberio

I guess my main problem with the article is that I don't agree with the premise that people are lining up to see modern art and that attendance to performances of modern music is on the decline. I'd say this is generally true if an orchestra were to program a concert of modern repertoire, but then you're only looking in one place. Groups like Alarm Will Sound, the Meridian Arts Ensemble, Eighth Blackbird, and the Bang on a Can All-Stars are in very high demand; not to mention young composers such as Nico Muhly and Timothy Andres who are attracting increasingly larger (and younger) audiences. I really think that if someone thinks modern music is on the decline, they're just not looking in the right places.

ecarroll

Matthew,

I think you've it an important nail on the head.

Add Klangforum Wien, the London Sinfonietta, Ensemble Moderne, the California Ear Unit, and countless other groups (many in NYC) to your list as well. I was on the jury when Eighth Blackbird won the Concert Artists Guild competition, by the way...

An argument can also be made for the Los Angeles Philharmonic (70% new music last season) and the San Francisco Symphony.

Personally I feel that modern music is far more vital today than in any other time within the past 50 years. Boundaries are also being broken between styles of music -- a real plus.

Best,
EC

ecarroll

...another thought about Eighth Blackbird.

The jury for the Concert Artists Guild isn't particularly pro new music -- it reflects a wide spectrum of performers, teachers, and conductors. In spite of this Eighth Blackbird won with unanimous support from the jury. Their fiendishly difficult program, performed completely by memory, was presented with total conviction and we were absolutely blown away.

It was the best thing I've heard in the 12 or so years I've been judging.

Best,
EC