La Monte Thornton Young (born October 14, 1935) is an American
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
, musician, and
performance artist
Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...
recognized as one of the first American
minimalist
In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Don ...
composers and a central figure in
Fluxus
Fluxus was an international, interdisciplinary community of artists, composers, designers and poets during the 1960s and 1970s who engaged in experimental art performances which emphasized the artistic process over the finished product. Fluxus ...
and post-war
avant-garde music
Avant-garde music is music that is considered to be at the forefront of innovation in its field, with the term "avant-garde" implying a critique of existing aesthetic conventions, rejection of the status quo in favor of unique or original elemen ...
.
He is best known for his exploration of
sustained tones, beginning with his 1958 composition ''
Trio for Strings.'' His compositions have called into question the nature and
definition of music
A definition of music endeavors to give an accurate and concise explanation of music's basic attributes or essential nature and it involves a process of defining what is meant by the term ''music''. Many authorities have suggested definitions, b ...
, most prominently in the text scores of his ''
Compositions 1960
The Compositions 1960 are a set of text-based musical pieces written in 1960 by composer La Monte Young. Building on the work of John Cage, these pieces are unique in their emphasis on performance art and extra-musical actions, such as releasing a ...
''.
While few of his recordings remain in print, his work has inspired prominent musicians across various genres, including avant-garde,
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
, and
ambient music.
Young played
jazz saxophone and studied
composition
Composition or Compositions may refer to:
Arts and literature
*Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography
*Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...
in California during the 1950s, and subsequently moved to New York in 1960, where he was a central figure in the
downtown music
Downtown music is a subdivision of American music, closely related to experimental music, which developed in downtown Manhattan in the 1960s.
History
The scene the term describes began in 1960, when Yoko Ono, one of the early Fluxus artists, o ...
and Fluxus art scenes.
[Jeremy Grimshaw, ''Draw a Straight Line and Follow It: The Music and Mysticism of La Monte Young''. ]Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, 2012 He then became known for his pioneering work in
drone music
Drone music, drone-based music, or simply drone, is a minimalist genre that emphasizes the use of sustained sounds, notes, or tone clusters – called drones. It is typically characterized by lengthy audio programs with relatively slight harm ...
(originally called ''dream music'') with his
Theatre of Eternal Music
The Theatre of Eternal Music (later sometimes called The Dream Syndicate) was an avant-garde musical group formed by La Monte Young in New York City in 1962. The core of the group consisted of Young (voice, saxophone), Tony Conrad (violin), ...
collective, alongside collaborators such as
Tony Conrad
Anthony Schmalz Conrad (March 7, 1940 – April 9, 2016) was an American video artist, experimental filmmaker, musician, composer, sound artist, teacher, and writer. Active in a variety of media since the early 1960s, he was a pioneer of both ...
,
John Cale, and his wife, the multimedia artist
Marian Zazeela.
Since 1962, he has worked extensively with Zazeela, with whom he developed the ''
Dream House'' sound and light environment.
In 1964, he began work on his unfinished improvisatory composition ''
The Well-Tuned Piano
''The Well-Tuned Piano'' is an ongoing, improvisatory, solo piano work by composer La Monte Young. Begun in 1964, Young has never considered the composition or performance "finished", and he has performed incarnations of it several times since i ...
'', iterations of which he has performed throughout subsequent decades. Beginning in 1970, he and Zazeela studied under
Hindustani singer
Pandit Pran Nath
Pandit Pran Nath (Devanagari: पंडित प्राणनाथ) (3 November 1918 – 13 June 1996) was an Indian classical singer and master of the Kirana gharana singing style. Promoting traditional raga principles, Nath exerted a ...
. In 2002, Young and Zazeela formed the
Just Alap Raga Ensemble with their disciple
Jung Hee Choi.
Biography
1935–1959
Young was born in a log cabin in
Bern, Idaho.
As a child he was influenced by the droning sounds of the environment, such as blowing wind and electrical
transformer
A transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces a varying magnetic flux in the transformer' ...
s.
During his childhood, Young's family moved several times before settling in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, as his father searched for work. He was raised as a member of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...
.
He graduated from
John Marshall High School.
Young began his music studies at
Los Angeles City College
Los Angeles City College (LACC) is a public community college in East Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard on the former campu ...
, and transferred to the
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
(UCLA),
where he received a BA in 1958.
In the jazz milieu of Los Angeles, Young played with notable musicians including
Ornette Coleman
Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter, and composer known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Jazz: A Colle ...
,
Don Cherry
Donald Stewart Cherry (born February 5, 1934) is a Canadian former ice hockey player, coach, and television commentator. Cherry played one game in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Boston Bruins, and later coached the team for five se ...
,
Billy Higgins
Billy Higgins (October 11, 1936 – May 3, 2001) was an American jazz drummer. He played mainly free jazz and hard bop.
Biography
Higgins was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. Higgins played on Ornette Coleman's first records, be ...
, and
Eric Dolphy. He undertook additional studies at the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
from 1958 to 1960.
In 1959 he attended the
Darmstadt International Summer Courses for New Music under
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He is known for his groun ...
, and in 1960 relocated to New York in order to study
electronic music
Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...
with
Richard Maxfield
Richard Vance Maxfield (February 2, 1927 – June 27, 1969) was a composer of instrumental, electro-acoustic, and electronic music.
Born in Seattle, Maxfield studied at Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley (with Roger Sessions ...
at the
New School for Social Research
The New School for Social Research (NSSR) is a graduate-level educational institution that is one of the divisions of The New School in New York City, United States. The university was founded in 1919 as a home for progressive era thinkers. NSSR ...
. His compositions during this period were influenced by
Anton Webern
Anton Friedrich Wilhelm von Webern (3 December 188315 September 1945), better known as Anton Webern (), was an Austrian composer and conductor whose music was among the most radical of its milieu in its sheer concision, even aphorism, and stead ...
,
Gregorian chant
Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed mainly in western and central Europe durin ...
,
Indian classical music
Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as '' Hindustani'' and the South Indian expression known as '' Carnatic''. These traditions were not ...
, Japanese
Gagaku, and Indonesian
gamelan
Gamelan () ( jv, ꦒꦩꦼꦭꦤ꧀, su, ᮌᮙᮨᮜᮔ᮪, ban, ᬕᬫᭂᬮᬦ᭄) is the traditional ensemble music of the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussive instruments. T ...
music.
A number of Young's early works use the
twelve-tone technique
The twelve-tone technique—also known as dodecaphony, twelve-tone serialism, and (in British usage) twelve-note composition—is a method of musical composition first devised by Austrian composer Josef Matthias Hauer, who published his "law o ...
, which he studied under
Leonard Stein
Leonard David Stein (December 1, 1916 – June 24, 2004) was a musicologist, pianist, conductor, university teacher, and influential in promoting contemporary music on the American West Coast. He was for years Arnold Schoenberg's assistant, mu ...
at Los Angeles City College. (Stein had served as an assistant to
Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...
when Schoenberg, the inventor of the twelve-tone method, taught at UCLA.) Young also studied composition with Robert Stevenson at UCLA and with Seymore Shifrin at UC Berkeley. In 1958, he developed the ''
Trio for Strings'', originally scored for violin, viola, and cello, which would presage his work in proceeding years. The Trio for Strings has been described as an "origin point for minimalism."
When Young visited Darmstadt in 1959, he encountered the music and writings of
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 fi ...
. There he also met Cage's collaborator, pianist
David Tudor
David Eugene Tudor (January 20, 1926 – August 13, 1996) was an American pianist and composer of experimental music.
Life and career
Tudor was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He studied piano with Irma Wolpe and composition with Stefan W ...
, who subsequently gave premières of some of Young's works. At Tudor's suggestion, Young engaged in a correspondence with Cage. Within a few months Young was presenting some of Cage's music on the West Coast. In turn, Cage and Tudor included some of Young's works in performances throughout the U.S. and Europe. Influenced by Cage, Young at this time took a turn toward the conceptual, using principles of
indeterminacy in his compositions and incorporating non-traditional sounds, noises, and actions.
1960–1969
Young moved to New York in 1960 and quickly developed an artistic relationship with
Fluxus
Fluxus was an international, interdisciplinary community of artists, composers, designers and poets during the 1960s and 1970s who engaged in experimental art performances which emphasized the artistic process over the finished product. Fluxus ...
founder
George Maciunas
George Maciunas (; lt, Jurgis Mačiūnas; November 8, 1931 – May 9, 1978) was a Lithuanian American artist, born in Kaunas. A founding member and the central coordinator of Fluxus, an international community of artists, architects, composers ...
(who designed the book ''
An Anthology of Chance Operations
''An Anthology of Chance Operations'' (An Anthology) was an artist's book publication from the early 1960s of experimental neodada art and music composition that used John Cage–inspired indeterminacy. It was edited by La Monte Young and DIY ...
'', which was edited by Young) and other members of the nascent Fluxus movement. Young curated and organized a series of concert-performances at the top floor loft of
Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野 洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking.
Ono grew up i ...
at 112
Chambers Street in December of 1960 involving visual artists, musicians, dancers and composers — mixing music, visual art and performance together. During this period, Young created short,
haiku
is a type of short form poetry originally from Japan. Traditional Japanese haiku consist of three phrases that contain a ''kireji'', or "cutting word", 17 '' on'' (phonetic units similar to syllables) in a 5, 7, 5 pattern, and a ''kigo'', or se ...
-like, conceptual but dreamlike scores-texts that have become associated with Fluxus. For example, Young's ''
Compositions 1960
The Compositions 1960 are a set of text-based musical pieces written in 1960 by composer La Monte Young. Building on the work of John Cage, these pieces are unique in their emphasis on performance art and extra-musical actions, such as releasing a ...
'' includes a number of unusual actions: some of them un-performable, and so an early form of poetic
conceptual art
Conceptual art, also referred to as conceptualism, is art in which the concept(s) or idea(s) involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic, technical, and material concerns. Some works of conceptual art, sometimes called insta ...
. Most examine a certain presupposition about the nature of music and art by carrying absurd
Dada
Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (Zurich), Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 192 ...
-like concepts to an extreme. One, ''Composition 1960 #10 to
Bob Morris'' instructs: "draw a straight line and follow it" (a directive which he has said has guided his life and work since). Another instructs the performer to build a fire. Another states that "this piece is a little
whirlpool
A whirlpool is a body of rotating water produced by opposing currents or a current running into an obstacle. Small whirlpools form when a bath or a sink is draining. More powerful ones formed in seas or oceans may be called maelstroms ( ). ''Vo ...
out in the middle of the ocean." Another says the performer should release a butterfly into the room. Yet another challenges the performer to push a piano through a wall. ''Composition 1960 #7'' proved especially pertinent to his future endeavors: it consisted of a B, an F#, a
perfect fifth
In music theory, a perfect fifth is the Interval (music), musical interval corresponding to a pair of pitch (music), pitches with a frequency ratio of 3:2, or very nearly so.
In classical music from Western culture, a fifth is the interval fro ...
, and the instruction: "To be held for a long time."
In 1962 Young wrote ''The Second Dream of the High-Tension Line Stepdown Transformer''. One of ''The Four Dreams of China'', the piece is based on four pitches, which he later gave as the
frequency
Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. It is also occasionally referred to as ''temporal frequency'' for clarity, and is distinct from ''angular frequency''. Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz) which is eq ...
ratio
In mathematics, a ratio shows how many times one number contains another. For example, if there are eight oranges and six lemons in a bowl of fruit, then the ratio of oranges to lemons is eight to six (that is, 8:6, which is equivalent to the ...
s: 36-35-32-24 (G, C, +C#, D), and limits as to which may be combined with any other. Most of his pieces after this point are based on select pitches, played continuously, and a group of long held pitches to be improvised upon. For ''The Four Dreams of China'' Young began to plan ''Dream House'', a light and sound installation conceived as a "work that would be played continuously and ultimately exist as a 'living organism with a life and tradition of its own,'" where musicians would live and create music twenty-four hours a day. He formed the music collective
Theatre of Eternal Music
The Theatre of Eternal Music (later sometimes called The Dream Syndicate) was an avant-garde musical group formed by La Monte Young in New York City in 1962. The core of the group consisted of Young (voice, saxophone), Tony Conrad (violin), ...
to realize ''Dream House'' and other pieces. The group initially included calligrapher and light artist
Marian Zazeela (who married Young in 1963),
Angus MacLise
Angus William MacLise (March 14, 1938 – June 21, 1979) was an American percussionist, composer, poet, occultist and calligrapher, known as the first drummer for the Velvet Underground who abruptly quit due to disagreements with the band pla ...
, and
Billy Name
William George Linich (February 22, 1940 – July 18, 2016), known professionally as Billy Name, was an American photographer, filmmaker, and lighting designer. He was the archivist of The Factory from 1964 to 1970. His brief romance and subsequ ...
.
In 1964 the ensemble comprised Young and Zazeela,
John Cale and
Tony Conrad
Anthony Schmalz Conrad (March 7, 1940 – April 9, 2016) was an American video artist, experimental filmmaker, musician, composer, sound artist, teacher, and writer. Active in a variety of media since the early 1960s, he was a pioneer of both ...
(a former Harvard mathematics major), and sometimes
Terry Riley
Terrence Mitchell "Terry" Riley (born June 24, 1935) is an American composer and performing musician best known as a pioneer of the minimalist school of composition. Influenced by jazz and Indian classical music, his music became notable for it ...
(voices). Since 1966 the group has seen many permutations and has included
Garrett List
Garrett List (September 10, 1943 – December 27, 2019) was an American trombonist, vocalist, and composer.
List was born in Phoenix, Arizona. He studied at California State University, Long Beach, and the Juilliard School. He was a member of Ital ...
,
Jon Hassell
Jon Hassell (March 22, 1937 – June 26, 2021) was an American trumpet player and composer. He was best known for developing the concept of "Fourth World" music, which describes a "unified primitive/futurist sound" combining elements of various ...
,
Alex Dea
Alex Dea is an American composer.
Life and work
Alex Dea was trained in Western classical music and received a Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology from Wesleyan University, with a specialty in Javanese gamelan music. He was a performer in La Monte Young's ...
, and many others, including members of the 60s groups.
On September 25, 1965, the
Fluxus
Fluxus was an international, interdisciplinary community of artists, composers, designers and poets during the 1960s and 1970s who engaged in experimental art performances which emphasized the artistic process over the finished product. Fluxus ...
FluxOrchestra was conducted La Monte Young at
Carnegie Recital Hall in New York City with a program, designed by
George Maciunas
George Maciunas (; lt, Jurgis Mačiūnas; November 8, 1931 – May 9, 1978) was a Lithuanian American artist, born in Kaunas. A founding member and the central coordinator of Fluxus, an international community of artists, architects, composers ...
, folded into paper airplanes and launched during the evening into the audience.
Young and Zazeela's first continuous electronic sound environment was created in their loft on
Church Street, New York City, in September 1966 with
sine wave
A sine wave, sinusoidal wave, or just sinusoid is a curve, mathematical curve defined in terms of the ''sine'' trigonometric function, of which it is the graph of a function, graph. It is a type of continuous wave and also a Smoothness, smooth p ...
generators and light sources designed to produce a continuous installation of floating sculptures and color sources, and a series of
slide
Slide or Slides may refer to:
Places
* Slide, California, former name of Fortuna, California
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums
* ''Slide'' (Lisa Germano album), 1998
* ''Slide'' (George Clanton album), 2018
*''Slide'', by Patrick Glees ...
s entitled ''Ornamental Lightyears Tracery''. This ''
Dream House'' environment was maintained almost continuously from September 1966 to January 1970, being turned off only to listen to "other music" and to study the contrast between extended periods in it and periods of silence. Young and Zazeela worked, sang and lived in it and studied the effects on themselves and visitors. Performances were often extreme in length, conceived by Young as having no beginning and no end, existing before and after any particular performance. In their daily lives, too, Young and Zazeela practiced an extended sleep-waking schedule—with "days" longer than twenty-four hours.
1970–present
Beginning in 1970 interests in Asian classical music and a wish to be able to find the intervals he had been using in his work led Young to pursue studies with pandit
Pran Nath. Fellow students included Zazeela, composers Terry Riley,
Michael Harrison,
Yoshi Wada
Yoshimasa "Yoshi" Wada (11 November 1943 – 18 May 2021) was a Japanese sound art installation artist and new music musician who lived in New York City and then San Francisco, California.
Life
Born in Japan, after moving to New York City Wada ...
,
Henry Flynt
Henry Flynt (born 1940 in Greensboro, North Carolina) is an American philosopher, musician, writer, activist, and artist connected to the 1960s New York avant-garde. He coined the term "concept art" in the early 1960s, during which time he was a ...
and
Catherine Christer Hennix
Catherine Christer Hennix (also known as C.C. Hennix, born 1948) is a Swedish musician, poet, philosopher, mathematician and visual artist. As a musician, she has worked with figures such as Pandit Pran Nath, La Monte Young, and Henry Flynt. Se ...
.
Young considers ''
The Well-Tuned Piano
''The Well-Tuned Piano'' is an ongoing, improvisatory, solo piano work by composer La Monte Young. Begun in 1964, Young has never considered the composition or performance "finished", and he has performed incarnations of it several times since i ...
''—a permuting composition of themes and improvisations for
just-intuned solo piano—to be his masterpiece. Young gave the world premiere of ''The Well-Tuned Piano'' in Rome in 1974, ten years after the creation of the piece. Previously, Young had presented it as a recorded work. In 1975, Young premiered it in New York with eleven live performances during the months of April and May. As of October 25, 1981, the date of the
Gramavision
Gramavision Records is an American record label founded in 1979. Since 1994 it has been a subsidiary of Rykodisc. The label's music is largely jazz, blues and folk oriented but has touched on many other styles and genres.
In 1979, Jonathan F.P. ...
recording of ''The Well-Tuned Piano'', Young had performed the piece 55 times. In 1987, Young performed the piece again as part of a larger concert series that included many more of his works. This performance, on May 10, 1987, was videotaped and released on DVD in 2000 on Young's label, ''Just Dreams''. Performances have exceeded six hours in length, and so far have only been documented several times. It is strongly influenced by mathematical composition as well as
Hindustani classical music
Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sita ...
practice.
Since the 1970s, Young and Zazeela have realized a long series of semi-permanent ''Dream House'' installations, which combine Young's just-intuned
sine wave
A sine wave, sinusoidal wave, or just sinusoid is a curve, mathematical curve defined in terms of the ''sine'' trigonometric function, of which it is the graph of a function, graph. It is a type of continuous wave and also a Smoothness, smooth p ...
s in elaborate, symmetrical configurations and Zazeela's quasi-calligraphic light sculptures. In July 1970 a model short-term ''Dream House'' was displayed to the public at the gallery
Friedrich & Dahlem in Munich, Germany. Later, model ''Dream House'' environments were presented in various locations of Europe and the United States. In 1974, the two released ''
Dream House 78' 17"
''Dream House 78' 17"'' is a studio album by minimalist composer La Monte Young, artist Marian Zazeela, and their group the Theatre of Eternal Music (featuring trumpetist Jon Hassell and trombonist Garrett List). The album was originally relea ...
''. From January through April 19, 2009, ''Dream House'' was installed in the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York as part of ''The Third Mind'' exhibition. A ''Dream House'' installation exists today at the MELA Foundation on 275 Church Street, New York above the couple's loft, and is open to the public.
In 2002, Young, along with Marian Zazeela and senior disciple
Jung Hee Choi, founded the
Just Alap Raga Ensemble. This ensemble, performing
Indian classical music
Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as '' Hindustani'' and the South Indian expression known as '' Carnatic''. These traditions were not ...
of the
Kirana gharana
Kirana gharana is one of the Indian classical khyal gharanas, and is concerned foremost with perfect intonation of notes (swara).
Singing style
The central concern of the Kirana style is swara, or individual notes, in particular precise tunin ...
, merges the traditions of Western and Hindustani classical music, with Young applying his own compositional approach to traditional raga performance, form, and technique.
[Young, L., & Zazeela, M. (2015). "The Just Alap Raga Ensemble, Pandit Pran Nath 97th Birthday Memorial Tribute, Three Evening Concerts of Raga Darbari". MELA Foundation, New York.]
Influences
Young's first musical influence came in early childhood in Bern. He relates that "the very first sound that I recall hearing was the sound of wind blowing under the eaves and around the log extensions at the corners of the log cabin". Continuous sounds—human-made as well as natural—fascinated him as a child. He described himself as fascinated from a young age by droning sounds, such as "the sound of the wind blowing", the "60 cycle per second drone
fstep-down transformers on telephone poles", the
tanpura
The tanpura (), also referred to as tambura and tanpuri, is a long-necked plucked string instrument, originating in India, found in various forms in Indian music.
It does not play melody, but rather supports and sustains the melody of an ...
drone and the
alap
The Alap (; ) is the opening section of a typical North Indian classical performance. It is a form of melodic improvisation that introduces and develops a raga. In dhrupad singing the alap is unmetered, improvised (within the raga) and unaccompani ...
of
Indian classical music
Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as '' Hindustani'' and the South Indian expression known as '' Carnatic''. These traditions were not ...
, "certain static aspects of
serialism
In music, serialism is a method of Musical composition, composition using series of pitches, rhythms, dynamics, timbres or other elements of music, musical elements. Serialism began primarily with Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique, thou ...
, as in the
Webern
Anton Friedrich Wilhelm von Webern (3 December 188315 September 1945), better known as Anton Webern (), was an Austrian composer and conductor whose music was among the most radical of its milieu in its sheer concision, even aphorism, and stead ...
slow movement of the Symphony Opus 21", and Japanese
gagaku "which has sustained tones in it in the instruments such as the Sho". The four pitches he later named the "
Dream chord", on which he based many of his mature works, came from his early age appreciation of the continuous sound made by the telephone poles in Bern.
Jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
is one of his main influences and until 1956 he planned to devote his career to it.
At first,
Lee Konitz and
Warne Marsh
Warne Marion Marsh (October 26, 1927 – December 18, 1987) was an American tenor saxophonist. Born in Los Angeles, his playing first came to prominence in the 1950s as a protégé of pianist Lennie Tristano and earned attention in the 1970s as ...
influenced his
alto saxophone
The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...
playing style, and later
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of br ...
shaped Young's use of the
sopranino saxophone. Jazz was, together with
Indian music
Owing to India's vastness and diversity, Indian music encompasses numerous genres in multiple varieties and forms which include classical music, folk (Bollywood), rock, and pop. It has a history spanning several millennia and developed ove ...
, an important influence on the use of
improvisation
Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...
in his works after 1962.
[ La Monte Young discovered Indian music in 1957 on the campus of ]UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
. He cites Ali Akbar Khan
Ali Akbar Khan (14 April 192218 June 2009) was a Indian Hindustani classical musician of the Maihar gharana, known for his virtuosity in playing the sarod. Trained as a classical musician and instrumentalist by his father, Allauddin Khan, he ...
(sarod
The sarod is a stringed instrument, used in Hindustani music on the Indian subcontinent. Along with the sitar, it is among the most popular and prominent instruments. It is known for a deep, weighty, introspective sound, in contrast with the sweet ...
) and Chatur Lal (tabla
A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల ...
) as particularly significant. The discovery of the tambura, which he learned to play with Pandit Pran Nath, was a decisive influence in his interest in long sustained sounds. Young also acknowledges the influence of Japanese music
In Japan, music includes a wide array of distinct genres, both traditional and modern. The word for "music" in Japanese is 音楽 (''ongaku''), combining the kanji 音 ''on'' (sound) with the kanji 楽 ''gaku'' (music, comfort). Japan is the world ...
, especially Gagaku, and Pygmy
In anthropology, pygmy peoples are ethnic groups whose average height is unusually short. The term pygmyism is used to describe the phenotype of endemic short stature (as opposed to disproportionate dwarfism occurring in isolated cases in a pop ...
music.
La Monte Young discovered classical music rather late, thanks to his teachers at university. He cites Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as H ...
, Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...
, Pérotin
Pérotin () was a composer associated with the Notre Dame school of polyphony in Paris and the broader musical style of high medieval music. He is credited with developing the polyphonic practices of his predecessor Léonin, with the intro ...
, Léonin
Léonin (also Leoninus, Leonius, Leo; ) was the first known significant composer of polyphonic organum. He was probably French, probably lived and worked in Paris at the Notre Dame Cathedral and was the earliest member of the Notre Dame school ...
, Claude Debussy
(Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...
and Organum
''Organum'' () is, in general, a plainchant melody with at least one added voice to enhance the harmony, developed in the Middle Ages. Depending on the mode and form of the chant, a supporting bass line (or '' bourdon'') may be sung on the sam ...
musical style as important influences,[ but what made the biggest impact on his compositions was the ]serialism
In music, serialism is a method of Musical composition, composition using series of pitches, rhythms, dynamics, timbres or other elements of music, musical elements. Serialism began primarily with Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique, thou ...
of Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...
and Anton Webern
Anton Friedrich Wilhelm von Webern (3 December 188315 September 1945), better known as Anton Webern (), was an Austrian composer and conductor whose music was among the most radical of its milieu in its sheer concision, even aphorism, and stead ...
.[
Young was also keen to pursue his musical endeavors with the help of psychedelics. ]Cannabis
''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: ''Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternatively ...
, LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...
and peyote played an important part in Young's life from mid-1950s onwards, when he was introduced to them by Terry Jennings
Terry Jennings (19 July 1940 – 11 December 1981) was an American minimalist composer and performer.
Early life in California
Terry Jennings was born in Eagle Rock, Los Angeles, California, in 1940. Coming from a background in jazz, he pla ...
and Billy Higgins
Billy Higgins (October 11, 1936 – May 3, 2001) was an American jazz drummer. He played mainly free jazz and hard bop.
Biography
Higgins was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. Higgins played on Ornette Coleman's first records, be ...
. He said that "everybody eknew and worked with was very much into drugs as a creative tool as well as a consciousness-expanding tool". This was the case with the musicians of the Theatre of Eternal Music
The Theatre of Eternal Music (later sometimes called The Dream Syndicate) was an avant-garde musical group formed by La Monte Young in New York City in 1962. The core of the group consisted of Young (voice, saxophone), Tony Conrad (violin), ...
, with whom he "got high for every concert: the whole group". He considers that the cannabis experience helped him open up to where he went with ''Trio for Strings'', though sometimes it proved a disadvantage when performing anything which required keeping track of the number of elapsed bars. He commented on the subject:
Legacy
Young's use of long tones and exceptionally high volume has been extremely influential within Young's group of associates: Tony Conrad
Anthony Schmalz Conrad (March 7, 1940 – April 9, 2016) was an American video artist, experimental filmmaker, musician, composer, sound artist, teacher, and writer. Active in a variety of media since the early 1960s, he was a pioneer of both ...
, Jon Hassell
Jon Hassell (March 22, 1937 – June 26, 2021) was an American trumpet player and composer. He was best known for developing the concept of "Fourth World" music, which describes a "unified primitive/futurist sound" combining elements of various ...
, Rhys Chatham
Rhys Chatham (born September 19, 1952) is an American composer, guitarist, trumpet player, multi-instrumentalist (flutes in C, alto and bass, keyboard), primarily active in avant-garde and minimalism, minimalist music. He is best known for his "g ...
, Michael Harrison, Henry Flynt
Henry Flynt (born 1940 in Greensboro, North Carolina) is an American philosopher, musician, writer, activist, and artist connected to the 1960s New York avant-garde. He coined the term "concept art" in the early 1960s, during which time he was a ...
, Ben Neill, Charles Curtis
Charles Curtis (January 25, 1860 – February 8, 1936) was an American attorney and Republican politician from Kansas who served as the 31st vice president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 under Herbert Hoover. He had served as the Sena ...
, and Catherine Christer Hennix
Catherine Christer Hennix (also known as C.C. Hennix, born 1948) is a Swedish musician, poet, philosopher, mathematician and visual artist. As a musician, she has worked with figures such as Pandit Pran Nath, La Monte Young, and Henry Flynt. Se ...
. It has also been notably influential on John Cale's contribution to The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise ...
's sound; Cale has been quoted as saying "LaMonte oung/nowiki> was perhaps the best part of my education and my introduction to musical discipline."
His work has inspired prominent musicians across various genres, including fellow minimalist composer Terry Riley
Terrence Mitchell "Terry" Riley (born June 24, 1935) is an American composer and performing musician best known as a pioneer of the minimalist school of composition. Influenced by jazz and Indian classical music, his music became notable for it ...
, experimental rock
Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, with ...
groups the Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise ...
and Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...
, and ambient music
Ambient music is a genre of music that emphasizes tone and atmosphere over traditional musical structure or rhythm. It may lack net composition, beat, or structured melody.The Ambient Century by Mark Prendergast, Bloomsbury, London, 2003. It u ...
pioneer Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...
. Eno calls him "the daddy of us all". In 1981, Eno referred to ''X for Henry Flynt'' by saying, "It really is a cornerstone of everything I've done since."
Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...
attended the 1962 première of the static composition by La Monte Young called '' Trio for Strings''. Uwe Husslein cites film-maker Jonas Mekas
Jonas Mekas (; December 24, 1922 – January 23, 2019) was a Lithuanian-American filmmaker, poet, and artist who has been called "the godfather of American avant-garde cinema". Mekas' work has been exhibited in museums and at festivals worldwi ...
, who accompanied Warhol to the ''Trio'' premiere, claiming that Warhol's static films were directly inspired by the performance. In 1963 Young had joined Warhol's musical group The Druds, a short-lived avant-garde noise music band, but finding it ridiculous, quit after the second rehearsal. In 1964 Young provided a loud minimalist drone soundtrack to Warhol's static films ''Kiss
A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...
'', '' Eat'', ''Haircut'', and ''Sleep
Sleep is a sedentary state of mind and body. It is characterized by altered consciousness, relatively inhibited sensory activity, reduced muscle activity and reduced interactions with surroundings. It is distinguished from wakefulness by a de ...
'' when shown as small TV-sized projections at the entrance lobby to the third New York Film Festival
The New York Film Festival (NYFF) is a film festival held every fall in New York City, presented by Film at Lincoln Center (FLC). Founded in 1963 by Richard Roud and Amos Vogel with the support of Lincoln Center president William Schuman, it is ...
held at Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...
.
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...
's 1975 album ''Metal Machine Music
''Metal Machine Music'' (subtitled ''*The Amine β Ring'') is the fifth studio album by American rock musician Lou Reed. It was recorded on a three-speed Uher machine and was mastered/engineered by Bob Ludwig. It was released as a double album ...
'' states "Drone cognizance and harmonic possibilities vis a vis Lamont Young's Dream Music (sic)" among its "Specifications".
The album '' Dreamweapon: An Evening of Contemporary Sitar Music'' by the band Spacemen 3
Spacemen 3 were an English neo-psychedelia space rock band, formed in 1982 in Rugby, Warwickshire, by Peter Kember and Jason Pierce, known respectively under their pseudonyms Sonic Boom and J Spaceman. Their music is known for its brand of " ...
is influenced by La Monte Young's concept of ''Dream Music'', evidenced by their inclusion of his notes on the jacket. In 2018, Sonic Boom
A sonic boom is a sound associated with shock waves created when an object travels through the air faster than the speed of sound. Sonic booms generate enormous amounts of sound energy, sounding similar to an explosion or a thunderclap to t ...
of Spacemen 3, along with Etienne Jaumet of Zombie Zombie
''Zombie Zombie'' is a ZX Spectrum computer game developed by Spaceman Ltd (Sandy White and Angela Sutherland), published in 1984 by Quicksilva. It is a development of Spaceman's previous '' Ant Attack'', and uses an updated "Softsolid 3D" isom ...
and Indian dhrupad
Dhrupad is a genre in Hindustani classical music from the Indian subcontinent. It is the oldest known style of major vocal styles associated with Hindustani classical music, Haveli Sangeet of Pushtimarg Sampraday and also related to the South Ind ...
singer Céline Wadier, released ''Infinite Music: A Tribute to La Monte Young''.
According to Seth Colter Walls, writing in ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
,'' while Young has released very little recorded material, with much of it currently out of print, he has had an "outsized influence on other artists."
Drone rock musician Dylan Carlson has stated Young's work as being a major influence.
Discography
Studio recordings
* ''Drift Study 4:37:40-5:09:50 PM 5 VIII 68 NYC'' (SMS 4 Limited Edition, 1968)
* '' 31 VII 69 10:26-10:49 PM / 23 VIII 64 2:50:45-3:11 AM The Volga Delta'' ka The Black Record– La Monte Young & Marian Zazeela (Edition X, 1969)
* ''Dream House 78' 17"
''Dream House 78' 17"'' is a studio album by minimalist composer La Monte Young, artist Marian Zazeela, and their group the Theatre of Eternal Music (featuring trumpetist Jon Hassell and trombonist Garrett List). The album was originally relea ...
'' – La Monte Young / Marian Zazeela / The Theatre of Eternal Music (Shandar, 1974)
* ''The Second Dream of the High-Tension Line Stepdown Transformer from the Four Dreams of China'' (Gramavision, 1991)
* ''The Tamburas of Pandit Pran Nath'' – La Monte Young / Marian Zazeela (Just Dreams, 1999)
* '' Inside the Dream Syndicate, Volume One: Day of Niagara (1965)'' – John Cale, Tony Conrad
Anthony Schmalz Conrad (March 7, 1940 – April 9, 2016) was an American video artist, experimental filmmaker, musician, composer, sound artist, teacher, and writer. Active in a variety of media since the early 1960s, he was a pioneer of both ...
, Angus MacLise
Angus William MacLise (March 14, 1938 – June 21, 1979) was an American percussionist, composer, poet, occultist and calligrapher, known as the first drummer for the Velvet Underground who abruptly quit due to disagreements with the band pla ...
, La Monte Young, Marian Zazeela (Table of the Elements
Table of the Elements is an American record label. It concentrates on re-released and specially recorded experimental music, including many avant-garde musicians of the 20th and 21st centuries: such as John Cale, Tony Conrad, La Monte Young, L ...
, 2000. ''Not authorized by La Monte Young.'')Statement on Table of The Elements CD Day of Niagara April 25, 1965
MELA Foundation. Retrieved on 2012-09-16.
Live recordings
* ''The Well-Tuned Piano
''The Well-Tuned Piano'' is an ongoing, improvisatory, solo piano work by composer La Monte Young. Begun in 1964, Young has never considered the composition or performance "finished", and he has performed incarnations of it several times since i ...
81 X 25 (6:17.50–11:18:59 pm NYC)'' (Gramavision, 1988)
* ''Just Stompin': Live at The Kitchen'' – La Monte Young and the Forever Bad Blues Band (Gramavision, 1993)
* '' Trio for Strings'' (1958) recorded live at the Dia:Chelsea Dream House, performed by Theatre of Eternal Music
The Theatre of Eternal Music (later sometimes called The Dream Syndicate) was an avant-garde musical group formed by La Monte Young in New York City in 1962. The core of the group consisted of Young (voice, saxophone), Tony Conrad (violin), ...
String Ensemble, four discs and a 32-page set of liner notes (Dia Art Foundation, 2022)
Compilation appearances
* ''Small Pieces (5) for String Quartet'' ("On Remembering a Naiad") (1956) ncluded on ''Arditti String Quartet Edition, No. 15: U.S.A.'' (Disques Montaigne, 1993)* ''Sarabande'' for any instruments (1959) Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
, 1993)]
* "89 VI 8 c. 1:45–1:52 am Paris Encore" from ''Poem for Tables, Chairs and Benches, etc.'' (1960) [included on ''Flux: Tellus Audio Cassette Magazine
Launched from the Lower East Side, Manhattan in 1983 as a subscription only bimonthly publication, the ''Tellus Audio Cassette Magazine'' utilized the audio cassette medium to distribute no wave downtown music and audio art and was in activity f ...
#24'']
* Excerpt "31 I 69 c. 12:17:33-12:24:33 pm NYC" ncluded on ''Aspen'' #8's flexi-disc (1970)from ''Drift Study''; "31 I 69 c. 12:17:33–12:49:58 pm NYC" from ''Map of 49's Dream The Two Systems of Eleven Sets of Galactic Intervals'' (1969) ncluded on ''Ohm'' and ''Ohm+'' (Ellipsis Arts, 2000 & 2005)* ''566 for Henry Flynt
Henry Flynt (born 1940 in Greensboro, North Carolina) is an American philosopher, musician, writer, activist, and artist connected to the 1960s New York avant-garde. He coined the term "concept art" in the early 1960s, during which time he was a ...
'' Eurodisc
Ariola (also known as Ariola Records, Ariola-Eurodisc and BMG Ariola) is a German record label. In the late 1980s, it was a subsidiary label of the Bertelsmann Music Group, which in turn has become a part of the international media conglomera ...
173675, 7-CD set, 2004)]
List of works
*Scherzo in a minor (c. 1953), piano;
*Rondo in d minor (c. 1953), piano;
*Annod (1953–55), dance band or jazz ensemble;
*Wind Quintet (1954);
*Variations (1955), string quartet;
*Young's Blues (c. 1955–59);
*Fugue in d minor (c. 1956), violin, viola, cello;
*Op. 4 (1956), brass, percussion;
*Five Small Pieces for String Quartet, On Remembering A Naiad, 1. A Wisp, 2. A Gnarl, 3. A Leaf, 4. A Twig, 5. A Tooth (1956);
*Canon (1957), any two instruments;
*Fugue in a minor (1957), any four instruments;
*Fugue in c minor (1957), organ or harpsichord;
*Fugue in eb minor (1957), brass or other instruments;
*Fugue in f minor (1957), two pianos;
*Prelude in f minor (1957), piano;
*Variations for Alto Flute, Bassoon, Harp and String Trio (1957);
*for Brass (1957), brass octet;
*for Guitar (1958), guitar;
* Trio for Strings (1958), violin, viola, cello;
*Study (c.1958–59), violin, viola (unfinished);
*Sarabande (1959), keyboard, brass octet, string quartet, orchestra, others;
*Studies I, II, and III (1959), piano;
*Vision (1959), piano, 2 brass, recorder, 4 bassoons, violin, viola, cello, contrabass and making use of a random number book
A random number book is a book whose main content is a large number of random numbers or random digits. Such books were used in early cryptography and experimental design, and were published by the Rand Corporation and others. The Rand corporation ...
;
* ntitled(1959–60), live friction sounds;
* ntitled(1959–62), jazz-drone improvisations;
*Poem for Chairs, Tables, Benches, etc. (1960), chairs, tables, benches and unspecified sound sources;
*2 Sounds (1960), recorded friction sounds;
*Compositions 1960
The Compositions 1960 are a set of text-based musical pieces written in 1960 by composer La Monte Young. Building on the work of John Cage, these pieces are unique in their emphasis on performance art and extra-musical actions, such as releasing a ...
#s 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13, 15 (1960), performance pieces;
*Piano Pieces for David Tudor #s 1, 2, 3 (1960), performance pieces;
*Invisible Poem Sent to Terry Jennings (1960), performance pieces;
*Piano Pieces for Terry Riley #s 1, 2 (1960), performance pieces;
*Target for Jasper Johns (1960), piano;
*Arabic Numeral (Any Integer) to H.F. (1960), piano(s) or gong(s) or ensembles of at least 45 instruments of the same timbre, or combinations of the above, or orchestra;
*Compositions 1961 #s 1–29 (1961), performance pieces;
*Young's Dorian Blues in B (c. 1960 or 1961);
*Young's Dorian Blues in G (c. 1960/1961–present);
*Young's Aeolian Blues in B (Summer 1961);
*Death Chant (1961), male voices, carillon or large bells;
*Response to Henry Flynt Work Such That No One Knows What's Going On (c. 1962);
* mprovisations(1962–64), sopranino saxophone, vocal drones, various instruments. Realizations include: Bb Dorian Blues, The Fifth/Fourth Piece, ABABA, EbDEAD, The Overday, Early Tuesday Morning Blues, and Sunday Morning Blues;
*Poem on Dennis' Birthday (1962), unspecified instruments;
*The Four Dreams of China (The Harmonic Versions) (1962), including The First Dream of China, The First Blossom of Spring, The First Dream of The High-Tension Line Stepdown Transformer, The Second Dream of The High-Tension Line Stepdown Transformer, tunable, sustaining instruments of like timbre, in multiples of 4;
*Studies in The Bowed Disc (1963), gong;
*Pre-Tortoise Dream Music (1964), sopranino saxophone, soprano saxophone, vocal drone, violin, viola, sine waves;
*The Tortoise, His Dreams and Journeys (1964–present), voices, various instruments, sine waves. Realizations include: Prelude to The Tortoise, The Tortoise Droning Selected Pitches from The Holy Numbers for The Two Black Tigers, The Green Tiger and The Hermit, The Tortoise Recalling The Drone of The Holy Numbers as They Were Revealed in The Dreams of The Whirlwind and The Obsidian Gong and Illuminated by The Sawmill, The Green Sawtooth Ocelot and The High-Tension Line Stepdown Transformer;
*The Well-Tuned Piano
''The Well-Tuned Piano'' is an ongoing, improvisatory, solo piano work by composer La Monte Young. Begun in 1964, Young has never considered the composition or performance "finished", and he has performed incarnations of it several times since i ...
(1964–73/81–present). Each realization is a separately titled and independent composition. Over 60 realizations to date. World première: Rome 1974. American première: New York 1975;
*Sunday Morning Dreams (1965), tunable sustaining instruments and/or sine waves;
*Composition 1965 $50 (1965), performance piece;
*Map of 49's Dream The Two Systems of Eleven Sets of Galactic Intervals Ornamental Lightyears Tracery (1966–present), voices, various instruments, sine waves;
*Bowed Mortar Relays (1964) (realization of Composition 1960 # 9), Soundtracks for Andy Warhol Films '' Eat'', ''Sleep
Sleep is a sedentary state of mind and body. It is characterized by altered consciousness, relatively inhibited sensory activity, reduced muscle activity and reduced interactions with surroundings. It is distinguished from wakefulness by a de ...
'', ''Kiss
A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...
'', "Haircut", tape;
*The Two Systems of Eleven Categories (1966–present), theory work;
*Chords from The Tortoise, His Dreams and Journeys (1967–present), sine waves. Realizations include: Intervals and Triads from Map of 49's Dream The Two Systems of Eleven Sets of Galactic Intervals Ornamental Lightyears Tracery (1967), sound environment;
*Robert C. Scull Commission (1967), sine waves;
*Claes and Patty Oldenburg Commission (1967), sine waves;
*Betty Freeman Commission (1967), sound and light box & sound environment;
*Drift Studies (1967–present), sine waves;
*for Guitar (Just Intonation Version) (1978), guitar;
*for Guitar Prelude and Postlude (1980), one or more guitars;
*The Subsequent Dreams of China (1980), tunable, sustaining instruments of like timbre, in multiples of 8;
*The Gilbert B. Silverman Commission to Write, in Ten Words or Less, a Complete History of Fluxus Including Philosophy, Attitudes, Influences, Purposes (1981);
*Chords from The Well-Tuned Piano (1981–present), sound environments. Includes: The Opening Chord (1981), The Magic Chord (1984), The Magic Opening Chord (1984);
*Trio for Strings (1983) Versions for string quartet, string orchestra, and violin, viola, cello, bass;
*Trio for Strings, trio basso version (1984), viola, cello, bass;
*Trio for Strings, sextet version (1984);
*Trio for Strings, String Octet Version (1984), 2 violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos, 2 basses;
*Trio for Strings Postlude from The Subsequent Dreams of China (c. 1984), bowed strings;
*The Melodic Versions (1984) of The Four Dreams of China (1962), including The First Dream of China, The First Blossom of Spring, The First Dream of The High-Tension Line Stepdown Transformer, The Second Dream of The High-Tension Line Stepdown Transformer, tunable, sustaining instruments of like timbre, in multiples of 4;
*The Melodic Versions (1984) of The Subsequent Dreams of China, (1980) including The High-Tension Line Stepdown Transformer's Second Dream of The First Blossom of Spring, tunable, sustaining instruments of like timbre, in multiples of 8;
*The Big Dream (1984), sound environment;
*Orchestral Dreams (1985), orchestra;
*The Big Dream Symmetries #s 1–6 (1988), sound environments;
*The Symmetries in Prime Time from 144 to 112 with 119 (1989), including The Close Position Symmetry, The Symmetry Modeled on BDS # 1, The Symmetry Modeled on BDS # 4, The Symmetry Modeled on BDS # 7, The Romantic Symmetry, The Romantic Symmetry (over a 60 cycle base), The Great Romantic Symmetry, sound environments;
*The Lower Map of The Eleven's Division in The Romantic Symmetry (over a 60 cycle base) in Prime Time from 144 to 112 with 119 (1989–1990), unspecified instruments and sound environment;
*The Prime Time Twins (1989–90) including The Prime Time Twins in The Ranges 144 to 112; 72 to 56 and 38 to 28; Including The Special Primes 1 and 2 (1989);
*The Prime Time Twins in The Ranges 576 to 448; 288 to 224; 144 to 112; 72 to 56; 36 to 28; with The Range Limits 576, 448, 288, 224, 144, 56 and 28 (1990), sound environments;
*Chronos Kristalla (1990), string quartet;
*The Young Prime Time Twins (1991), including The Young Prime Time Twins in The Ranges 2304 to 1792; 1152 to 896; 576 to 448; 288 to 224; 144 to 112; 72 to 56; 36 to 28; Including or Excluding The Range Limits 2304, 1792, 1152, 576, 448, 288, 224, 56 and 28 (1991),
*The Young Prime Time Twins in The Ranges 2304 to 1792; 1152 to 896; 576 to 448; 288 to 224; 144 to 112; 72 to 56; 36 to 28; 18 to 14; Including or Excluding The Range Limits 2304, 1792, 1152, 576, 448, 288, 224, 56, 28 and 18; and Including The Special Young Prime Twins Straddling The Range Limits 1152, 72 and 18 (1991),
*The Young Prime Time Twins in The Ranges 1152 to 896; 576 to 448; 288 to 224; 144 to 112; 72 to 56; 36 to 28; Including or Excluding The Range Limits 1152, 576, 448, 288, 224, 56 and 28; with One of The Inclusory Optional Bases: 7; 8; 14:8; 18:14:8; 18:16:14; 18:16:14:8; 9:7:4; or The Empty Base (1991), sound environments;
*The Symmetries in Prime Time from 288 to 224 with 279, 261 and 2 X 119 with One of The Inclusory Optional Bases: 7; 8; 14:8; 18:14:8; 18:16:14; 18:16:14:8; 9:7:4; or The Empty Base (1991–present), including The Symmetries in Prime Time When Centered above and below The Lowest Term Primes in The Range 288 to 224 with The Addition of 279 and 261 in Which The Half of The Symmetric Division Mapped above and Including 288 Consists of The Powers of 2 Multiplied by The Primes within The Ranges of 144 to 128, 72 to 64 and 36 to 32 Which Are Symmetrical to Those Primes in Lowest Terms in The Half of The Symmetric Division Mapped below and Including 224 within The Ranges 126 to 112, 63 to 56 and 31.5 to 28 with The Addition of 119 and with One of The Inclusory Optional Bases: 7; 8; 14:8; 18:14:8; 18:16:14; 18:16:14:8; 9:7:4; or The Empty Base (1991), sound environments;
*Annod (1953–55) 92 X 19 Version for Zeitgeist (1992), alto saxophone, vibraphone, piano, bass, drums, including 92 XII 22 Two-Part Harmony and The 1992 XII Annod Backup Riffs;
*Just Charles & Cello in The Romantic Chord (2002–2003), cello, pre-recorded cello drones and light design;
*Raga Sundara, vilampit khayal set in Raga Yaman Kalyan
Kalyan (Pronunciation: əljaːɳ is a city on the banks of Ulhas River in Thane district of Maharashtra state in Konkan division. It is governed by Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation. Kalyan is a subdivision (Taluka) of Thane district ...
(2002–present), voices, various instruments, tambura drone;
*Trio for Strings (1958) Just Intonation Version (1984-2001-2005), 2 cellos, 2 violins, 2 violas;
Footnotes
References
* Reprinted 1999, New York: Da Capo Press.
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UbuWeb is a web-based educational resource for avant-garde material available on the internet, founded in 1996 by poet Kenneth Goldsmith. It offers visual, concrete and sound poetry, expanding to include film and sound art mp3 archives.
Philosop ...
''.
* Originally publishe
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Audio
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Further reading
* Ghosn, Joseph. 2010
''La Monte Young''
Marseilles: Le Mot et le Reste.
* Grimshaw, Jeremy. 2005. "Music of a 'More Exalted Sphere': Compositional Practice, biography, and Cosmology in the Music of La Monte Young." Doctoral dissertation, Eastman School of Music
The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York. It was established in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman.
It offers Bachelor of Music (B.M ...
. Ann Arbor: UMI/ProQuest.
* Herzfeld, Gregor. 2007. ''Zeit als Prozess und Epiphanie in der experimentellen amerikanischen Musik. Charles Ives bis La Monte Young''. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 285–341.
* Dave Smith. 21 June 2004
"Following a Straight Line: La Monte Young."
''Journal of Experimental Music Studies''. Updated reprint of ''Contact'' 18 (1977–78), 4–9.
* Solare, Juan María. 2006. "El Trío serial de La Monte Young". bout Young's Trio for Strings (1958) ''Doce Notas Preliminares'', no. 17:112–142.
* Strickland, Edward (1990). ''American Composers: Dialogues on Contemporary Music''. Indiana University Press.
* Watson, Steven. 2003. ''Factory Made: Warhol and the Sixties''. New York: Pantheon Books.
* Young, Logan K. 2014. "1,000 Anagrams for La Monte Young". New York: Peanut Gallery Press.
* Zimmerman, Walter, ''Desert Plants – Conversations with 23 American Musicians'', Berlin: Beginner Press in cooperation with Mode Records, 2020 (originally published in 1976 by A.R.C., Vancouver). The 2020 edition includes a cd featuring the original interview recordings with Larry Austin, Robert Ashley
Robert Reynolds Ashley (March 28, 1930 – March 3, 2014) was an American composer, who was best known for his television operas and other theatrical works, many of which incorporate electronics and extended techniques. His works often involve i ...
, Jim Burton, 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 fi ...
, Philip Corner
Philip Lionel Corner (born April 10, 1933; name sometimes given as Phil Corner) is an American composer, trombonist, alphornist, vocalist, pianist, music theorist, music educator, and visual artist.
Biography
After The High School of Music & Ar ...
, Morton Feldman
Morton Feldman (January 12, 1926 – September 3, 1987) was an American composer. A major figure in 20th-century classical music, Feldman was a pioneer of indeterminate music, a development associated with the experimental New York School ...
, Philip Glass
Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...
, Joan La Barbara
Joan Linda La Barbara (born June 8, 1947) is an American vocalist and composer known for her explorations of non-conventional or "extended" vocal techniques. Considered to be a vocal virtuoso in the field of contemporary music, she is credited w ...
, Garrett List
Garrett List (September 10, 1943 – December 27, 2019) was an American trombonist, vocalist, and composer.
List was born in Phoenix, Arizona. He studied at California State University, Long Beach, and the Juilliard School. He was a member of Ital ...
, Alvin Lucier, John McGuire, Charles Morrow, J.B. Floyd (on Conlon Nancarrow
Samuel Conlon Nancarrow (; October 27, 1912 – August 10, 1997) was an American- Mexican composer who lived and worked in Mexico for most of his life. Nancarrow is best remembered for his ''Studies for Player Piano'', being one of the first ...
), Pauline Oliveros
Pauline Oliveros (May 30, 1932 – November 24, 2016) was an American composer, accordionist and a central figure in the development of post-war experimental and electronic music.
She was a founding member of the San Francisco Tape Music Cente ...
, Charlemagne Palestine
Chaim Moshe Tzadik Palestine (born 1947), known professionally as Charlemagne Palestine, is an American visual artist and musician. He has been described as being one of the founders of New York school of minimalist music, first initiated by La M ...
, Ben Johnston (on Harry Partch
Harry Partch (June 24, 1901 – September 3, 1974) was an American composer, music theorist, and creator of unique musical instruments. He composed using scales of unequal intervals in just intonation, and was one of the first 20th-century com ...
), Steve Reich
Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer known for his contribution to the development of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, a ...
, David Rosenboom
David Rosenboom (born 1947 in Fairfield, Iowa) is a composer-performer, interdisciplinary artist, author, and educator known for his work in American experimental music.
Rosenboom has explored various forms of music, languages for improvisation, ...
, Frederic Rzewski
Frederic Anthony Rzewski ( ; April 13, 1938 – June 26, 2021) was an American composer and pianist, considered to be one of the most important American composer-pianists of his time. His major compositions, which often incorporate social an ...
, Richard Teitelbaum
Richard Lowe Teitelbaum (May 19, 1939 – April 9, 2020) was an American composer, keyboardist, and improvisor. A student of Allen Forte, Mel Powell, and Luigi Nono, he was known for his live electronic music and synthesizer performances. He was ...
, James Tenney
James Tenney (August 10, 1934 – August 24, 2006) was an American composer and music theorist. He made significant early musical contributions to plunderphonics, sound synthesis, algorithmic composition, process music, spectral music, microto ...
, Christian Wolff, and La Monte Young.
External links
La Monte Young page on Mela Foundation
La Monte Young page on Other Minds
La Monte Young biography at Kunst im Regenbogenstadl
La Monte Young on Record
from The Wire
''The Wire'' is an American Crime film, crime drama Television show, television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The ...
magazine
* Farley, William (Dir.)
''In Between the Notes: A Portrait of Pandit Pran Nath, Master Indian Musician''
Video documentary produced by Other Minds.
* Gann, Kyle.
La Monte Young
”
*Young, La Monte.
Notes on Continuous Periodic Composite Sound Waveform Environment Realizations
" ''Aspen
Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the '' Populus'' genus.
Species
These species are called aspens:
*'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (Chin ...
'' 8—The Fluxus Issue, edited by Dan Graham, designed by George Maciunas
George Maciunas (; lt, Jurgis Mačiūnas; November 8, 1931 – May 9, 1978) was a Lithuanian American artist, born in Kaunas. A founding member and the central coordinator of Fluxus, an international community of artists, architects, composers ...
(1970–71). The issue also features a sound recording of Young's ''Drift Study 31 1 69''.
*Young, La Monte
''89 VI 8 c. 1:42–1:52 AM Paris Encore''
(audio duration 10:33). ''Tellus #24 Flux Tellus'', published on the Tellus Audio Cassette Magazine
Launched from the Lower East Side, Manhattan in 1983 as a subscription only bimonthly publication, the ''Tellus Audio Cassette Magazine'' utilized the audio cassette medium to distribute no wave downtown music and audio art and was in activity f ...
.
Interviews
*Golden, Barbara. "Conversation with La Monte Young.
''eContact! 12.2—Interviews (2)''
(April 2010). Montréal: CEC.
* (includes video)
La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela on WNYC’s ''New Sounds'' #449
Audio of a 1990 radio show featuring an interview and sound recordings.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, La Monte
1935 births
20th-century American composers
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20th-century classical composers
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21st-century classical composers
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Living people
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