Chapter 32: Postmodernism

Postmodernism An all-inclusive, “anything goes” trend in music There is no “high” or “low” are – only art One culture is as important as the next No necessary to separate classical from popular music A new agenda for creating music: – Each composition must has its own unique form according to the demands and creative urges of the movement – Music no longer goal oriented – Use of electronic and amplified instruments

Electronic Music: From Thomas Edison to Radiohead Changes in the dissemination of music: – 1877: Edison patented the phonograph – 1920: Radio – 1936: Magnetic tape recording – 1990’s: CD – Today: MP3 and M4A files Changes to how music is created: – Electronic music produced by a synthesizer – Musique concrète: Music in which the composer works directly with sounds recorded on magnetic tape, not with musical notation and performers

Edgard Varèse ( ) and Electronic Music Born in France but immigrated to the US in 1915 in search of a less traditional artistic environment An extreme Modernist reaching forward to the Postmodernist age Amériques (1921): Varèse’s first work written in the US – Required a battery of new percussion instruments, including sirens and sleigh bells Ionization (1931): Written for percussion ensemble – Elements of melody and harmony have been removed

Poème électronique (1958) Combination of new electronic sounds generated by a synthesizer with bits of musique concète, including taped sounds of a siren, a train, an organ, church bells, and a human voice – All altered or distorted in some imaginative way Created to provide music for a multimedia exhibit inside the pavilion of the Philips Radio Corporation at the 1958 World’s Fair in Brussels

John Cage ( ) and Chance Music Special affection for percussion instruments – By 1941, had collected over 300 percussion objects – anything that might make an unusual noise Prepared piano: A piano outfitted with screws, bolts, washers, erasers, and bits of felt and plastic to transform the instrument from a melodic one to a percussive one

John Cage and Change Music Glorification of everyday noise The leading proponent of Chance music – Unpredictable sequence of musical events – Allows performer total artistic freedom – Questions the principles of Western music 4’33” (1952) – Consists of three movements of silence – Heightens awareness of environmental sounds – Ambient background noise of the room and whatever external noise may intrude by chance

John Adams (b. 1947) and Minimalism Minimalism: A style of postmodern music that takes a very small amount of musical material and repeats it over and over to form a composition Material is usually simple, tonal, and consonant Steady tempo creates a hypnotic effect Influenced by classical and popular music Compositions have an eclectic quality 2003: Received the Pulitzer Prize for On the Transmigration of Souls Minimalist operas: Nixon in China (1987) and Doctor Atomic (2005)

Short Ride in a Fast Machine (1986) Commissioned by the Pittsburgh Symphony Scored for full orchestra and 2 electronic keyboard synthesizers Composed of short motives that overlap “You know how it is when someone asks you to ride in a terrific sports car, and then you wish you hadn’t?”