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Études Boreales
''Etudes Boreales'' is a set of etudes for cello and/or piano composed by John Cage in 1978. The set is a small counterpart to Cage's other etude collections - '' Etudes Australes'' for piano and '' Freeman Etudes'' for violin. ''Etudes Boreales'' were composed for, and dedicated to, the cellist Jack Kirstein (1921-1996) and his wife, the pianist Jeanne Kirstein (1924-1979). The latter performed Cage's piano works in the 1970s, but found ''Etudes Boreales'' unplayable; the first performer to find a way to play the pieces was percussionist Michael Pugliese (Pritchett, 199). The set comprises four pieces. The cello parts are technically similar to ''Freeman Etudes'': they are extremely demanding pieces composed using chance operations, every aspect of the work meticulously detailed in the score. The difference between the works is that in ''Etudes Boreales'' the pitch range is limited at any given time, and changes throughout the pieces, whereas in ''Freeman Etudes'' the range was u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cello
The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, scientific pitch notation, C2, G2, D3 and A3. The viola's four strings are each an octave higher. Music for the cello is generally written in the bass clef, with tenor clef, and treble clef used for higher-range passages. Played by a ''List of cellists, cellist'' or ''violoncellist'', it enjoys a large solo repertoire Cello sonata, with and List of solo cello pieces, without accompaniment, as well as numerous cello concerto, concerti. As a solo instrument, the cello uses its whole range, from bassline, bass to soprano, and in chamber music such as string quartets and the orchestra's string section, it often plays the bass part, where it may be reinforced an octave lower by the double basses. Figure ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboard, which is a row of keys (small levers) that the performer presses down or strikes with the fingers and thumbs of both hands to cause the hammers to strike the strings. It was invented in Italy by Bartolomeo Cristofori around the year 1700. Description The word "piano" is a shortened form of ''pianoforte'', the Italian term for the early 1700s versions of the instrument, which in turn derives from ''clavicembalo col piano e forte'' (key cimbalom with quiet and loud)Pollens (1995, 238) and ''fortepiano''. The Italian musical terms ''piano'' and ''forte'' indicate "soft" and "loud" respectively, in this context referring to the variations in volume (i.e., loudness) produced in response to a pianist's touch or pressure on the keys: the grea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde. Critics have lauded him as one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was also instrumental in the development of modern dance, mostly through his association with choreographer Merce Cunningham, who was also Cage's romantic partner for most of their lives. Cage is perhaps best known for his 1952 composition ''4′33″'', which is performed in the absence of deliberate sound; musicians who present the work do nothing aside from being present for the duration specified by the title. The content of the composition is not "four minutes and 33 seconds of silence," as is often assumed, but rather the sounds of the environment heard by the audience during performance. The work's challenge t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Etudes Australes
''Etudes Australes'' is a set of etudes for piano solo by John Cage, composed in 1974–75 for Grete Sultan. It comprises 32 indeterminate pieces written using star charts as source material. The etudes, conceived as duets for two independent hands, are extremely difficult to play. They were followed by two more collections of similarly difficult works: ''Freeman Etudes'' for violin (1977–90) and ''Etudes Boreales'' (1978) for cello, or piano, or both together. History of composition Cage wrote ''Etudes Australes'' for pianist and friend Grete Sultan, whom he had known since 1946. When Cage found out that Grete Sultan was working on his ''Music of Changes'', a piece which involved hitting the piano with beaters and hands, he offered to write some new music for her, because to him "it didn't seem ightthat an aging lady should hit the piano" (Sultan turned 68 in 1974). Cage started working in January 1974 and finished the etudes in 1975. The pieces are built on two basic idea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
