- Paperback: 510 pages
- Publisher: Da Capo Press; 1 edition (Mar 1 1998)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0306808196
- ISBN-13: 978-0306808197
- Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 15.3 x 3.2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 680 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #608,136 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
Contemporary Composers on Contemporary Music first appeared in 1967 and immediately became a standard for those with an interest in what--in our time--has come to be known as "music of our time." Even three decades ago it was a bit disingenuous to call some of these interviews and essays "contemporary"; it's been a while since Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924), Claude Debussy (1862-1918), or Erik Satie (1866-1925) could properly be thought of as contemporary or even recent. A better title back then and certainly now might have been 20th-Century Composers on 20th-Century Music. Still, Debussy's section is invaluable, not least for its humor, and if there are a few musical frauds represented in these pages, there is also plenty of useful information and insight into the thought processes of significant composers of the last few decades. But a number of important composers, including Philip Glass, are noticeably absent while far more obscure musicians get the full treatment. The editors' tastes run to serialism, electronic music, and other more dissonant, less traditionalist, and less tonal trends. And since the range of contributors is broad, the quality of the essays and interviews is at times inconsistent. Still, particularly with this expanded edition, Contemporary Composers on Contemporary Music remains an important work for those concerned with what the editors call "new attitudes" in serious music. --Sarah Bryan Miller
Book Description
This anthology of essays, interviews, and autobiographical pieces provides an invaluable overview of the evolution of contemporary music—from chromaticism, serialism, and indeterminacy to jazz, vernacular, electronic, and non-Western influences. Featuring classic essays by Stravinsky, Stockhausen, and Reich, as well as writings by lesser-known but equally innovative composers such as Jack Beeson, Richard Maxfield, and T. J. Anderson, this collection covers a broad range of styles and approaches. Here you will find Busoni's influential "Sketch of a New Esthetic of Music"; Partch's exploration of a new notation system; Babbitt's defense of advanced composition in his controversial "Who Cares If You Listen?"; and Pauline Oliveros's meditations on sound. Now updated with fifteen new composers including Michael Tippet, György Ligeti, Gunther Schuller, Ben Johnston, Sofia Gubaidulina, and William Bolcom, this important book gathers together forty-nine pieces—many out of print and some newly written for this volume—which serve as a documentary history of twentieth-century music, in theory and practice. Impassioned, provocative, and eloquent, these writings are as exciting and diverse as the music they discuss.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
Although he was most famous in his lifetime - and is best remembered today - as a pianist rather than as a composer, Busoni's influence upon the course of music history has been considerable. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Although he was most famous in his lifetime - and is best remembered today - as a pianist rather than as a composer, Busoni's influence upon the course of music history has been considerable. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
There are no customer reviews yet on Amazon.ca
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
5.0 out of 5 stars
Contemporary Composers on Contemporary Music, Jun 29 2009
By recapixevolobition - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Contemporary Composers on Contemporary Music (Paperback)
A very nice compilation of essays, speeches, and excerpts. Definitely worth a read if you're interested in composition, later 20th century music, or just music in general. Some essays are insightful, and some are... not, but that's to be expected when you get artists together into one "place."
5 of 8 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Comprehensive but not enough; non-selective, Oct 5 2001
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Contemporary Composers on Contemporary Music (Paperback)
This ambitious work attempts a comprehensive view of XX Century music as expressed by the composers. Some chapters are esthetically nauseating (e.g. the chapters concerning a couple of straight-line Soviet composers, and some Western charlatans as well), but the historical value of these texts is undeniable. At last could I read the "scandalous" text by Babbit "Who cares if you listen?" However, it seems that in many cases the Editors just put together what was readily available instead of trying further to obtain what would be desirable to publish. Considering that this reviewed edition was published in 1998 maybe some younger composers with appreciable international projection could have been included (e.g. Rihm, Essl). Some very important composers are missing (Berio, Messiaen, Boulez).
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
