1. Redefining and reimagining music and the concert experience

2. Arnold Schoenberg 1874-1951 (76)

3.  Reimagining Tonality  Developed 12-tone method of composition (sometimes called Serialism)  Traditional western harmony (chords based on a scale) is reimagined Portrait by Man Ray, 1927

4.  The 12-Tone Row What’s so different about 12-tone music?  All 12 pitches are regarded as equal  No tonal center or sense of “home”  Music can be “atonal” or strict 12-tone (see matrix to left)

5.  Vienna => Berlin => Los Angeles  Moved to LA in 1935 to teach at USC, then UCLA  First full-time professor salary ($5,100), 1936  Bought a house in Brentwood for $18,000 (116 N. Rockingham, Zillow est. 4.5 million)

6.  John Cage 1912 (Los Angeles) – 1992 (New York City)

7.  The “Inventor”  Los Angeles High School (Valedictorian)  Pomona College (dropped out after 2 years)  Traveled around Europe after college  Later studied composition with Schoenberg

8.   “I was shocked at college to see one hundred of my classmates in the library all reading copies of the same book. Instead of doing as they did, I went into the stacks and read the first book written by an author whose name began with Z. I received the highest grade in the class. That convinced me that the institution was not being run correctly. I left (Cage).” On Pomona College:

9.   In an interview, Schoenberg stated that none of his American pupils were interesting, but added in reference to Cage, “ There was one…of course he’s not a composer, but he’s an inventor – of genius. ” Schoenberg on Cage:

10.  Composer or inventor?  Prepared Piano (right)  Studied with Arnold Schoenberg  Felt he had “no feeling for harmony.”  Believed all sounds are music  Influenced by Zen Buddhism and Eastern Philosophy Preparing a piano

11.   “I could not accept the academic idea that the purpose of music was communication, because I noticed that when I conscientiously wrote something sad, people and critics were often apt to laugh. I determined to give up composition unless I could find a better reason for doing it than communication. I found this answer from Gira Sarabhai, an Indian singer and tabla player: The purpose of music is to sober and quiet the mind, thus making it susceptible to divine influences.” What is the purpose of music?

12.  “Collaborations”  Met Merce Cunningham at Cornish College of the Arts (Seattle) in late 1930s  John dissolved his marriage and the 2 became life-long partners  Continued collaborations with dancers, visual artists, and musicians

13.  Philip Glass Born 1937 (Baltimore) The Voice of Minimalism

14.  A composer of “repetitive structures”  Education:  Peabody Prep. (flute)  University of Chicago (age 15)  Julliard (piano, composition)  Fulbright to Paris (Boulanger ‘64-’66)

15.  Eastern Influence Ravi Shankar Buddhism and Indian Classical Music  Glass met Shankar and Rakha in 1965-66  Indian classical music is also based on repetitive structures (additive)  Visited northern India in 1966

16.  Major Works  26 Operas  13 Concertos  10 Symphonies  Films: (selected)  Bent  Kundun  Koyaanisqatsi  The Hours  The Truman Show  Numerous other instrumental and choral works  Of note:  Recent opera (2013) on scenes from the end of the life of Walt Disney entitled: “The Perfect American.”  Einstein on the Beach (1976)