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Études (Ligeti)
The Hungarian composer György Ligeti composed a cycle of 18 études for solo piano between 1985 and 2001. They are considered one of the major creative achievements of his last decades, and one of the most significant sets of piano studies of the 20th century, combining virtuoso technical problems with expressive content, following in the line of the études of Frédéric Chopin, Franz Liszt, Claude Debussy, and Alexander Scriabin but addressing new technical ideas as a compendium of the concepts Ligeti had worked out in his other works since the 1950s. Pianist Jeremy Denk wrote that they "are a crowning achievement of his career and of the piano literature; though still new, they are already classics.". Scope of the work There are 18 études arranged in three books or ''Livres'': six Études in Book 1 (1985), eight in Book 2 (1988–1994), four in Book 3 (1995–2001). Ligeti's original intention had been to compose only twelve Études, in two books of six each, on the mode ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
György Ligeti (1984)
György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde music, avant-garde composers in the latter half of the twentieth century" and "one of the most innovative and influential among progressive figures of his time". Born in Romania, he lived in the Hungarian People's Republic before emigrating to Austria in 1956. He became an Austrian citizen in 1968. In 1973 he became professor of composition at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg, where he worked until retiring in 1989. His students included Hans Abrahamsen, Unsuk Chin and Michael Daugherty. He died in Vienna in 2006. Restricted in his musical style by the authorities of Communist Hungary, only when he reached the West in 1956 could Ligeti fully realise his passion for avant-garde music and develop new compositional techniques. After experimenting with electronic music in Cologne, G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ostinato
In music, an ostinato (; derived from the Italian word for ''stubborn'', compare English ''obstinate'') is a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in the same musical voice, frequently in the same pitch. Well-known ostinato-based pieces include classical compositions such as Ravel's ''Boléro'' and the '' Carol of the Bells'', and popular songs such as John Lennon’s “Mind Games” (1973), Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder's " I Feel Love" (1977), Henry Mancini's theme from ''Peter Gunn'' (1959), The Who's " Baba O'Riley" (1971), The Verve's " Bitter Sweet Symphony" (1997), and Flo Rida's " Low" (2007). Both ''ostinatos'' and ''ostinati'' are accepted English plural forms, the latter reflecting the word's Italian etymology. The repeating idea may be a rhythmic pattern, part of a tune, or a complete melody in itself. Kamien, Roger (1258). ''Music: An Appreciation'', p. 611. . Strictly speaking, ostinati should have exact repetition, but in common usage, the term cover ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whole Tone Scale
In music, a whole-tone scale is a scale (music), scale in which each Musical note, note is separated from its neighbors by the interval (music), interval of a whole tone. In twelve-tone equal temperament, there are only two Complement (music)#Aggregate complementation, complementary whole-tone scales, both six-note or ''Hexatonic scale, hexatonic'' scales. A single whole-tone scale can also be thought of as a "six-tone equal temperament". : : The whole-tone scale has no leading tone and because all tones are the same distance apart, "no single tone stands out, [and] the scale creates a blurred, indistinct effect". This effect is especially emphasised by the fact that triad (music), triads built on such scale tones are all augmented triads. Indeed, all six tones of a whole-tone scale can be played simply with two augmented triads whose roots are a major second apart. Since they are symmetric scale, symmetrical, whole-tone scales do not give a strong impression of the tonic ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Complement (music)
In music theory, ''complement'' refers to either traditional interval complementation, or the aggregate complementation of twelve-tone and serialism. In interval complementation a complement is the interval which, when added to the original interval, spans an octave in total. For example, a major 3rd is the complement of a minor 6th. The complement of any interval is also known as its ''inverse'' or ''inversion''. Note that the octave and the unison are each other's complements and that the tritone is its own complement (though the latter is "re-spelt" as either an augmented fourth or a diminished fifth, depending on the context). In the aggregate complementation of twelve-tone music and serialism the complement of one set of notes from the chromatic scale contains all the ''other'' notes of the scale. For example, A-B-C-D-E-F-G is ''complemented'' by B-C-E-F-A. Note that ''musical set theory'' broadens the definition of both senses somewhat. Interval complementation Rule ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hungarian Language
Hungarian, or Magyar (, ), is an Ugric language of the Uralic language family spoken in Hungary and parts of several neighboring countries. It is the official language of Hungary and one of the 24 official languages of the European Union. Outside Hungary, it is also spoken by Hungarians, Hungarian communities in southern Slovakia, western Ukraine (Zakarpattia Oblast, Transcarpathia), central and western Romania (Transylvania), northern Serbia (Vojvodina), northern Croatia, northeastern Slovenia (Prekmurje), and eastern Austria (Burgenland). It is also spoken by Hungarian diaspora communities worldwide, especially in North America (particularly the Hungarian Americans, United States and Canada) and Israel. With 14 million speakers, it is the Uralic family's most widely spoken language. Classification Hungarian is a member of the Uralic language family. Linguistic connections between Hungarian and other Uralic languages were noticed in the 1670s, and the family's existenc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gamelan Music
Gamelan (; ; , ; ) is the traditional ensemble music of the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussive instruments. The most common instruments used are metallophones (played with mallets) and a set of hand-drums called ''kendang'', which keep the beat. The '' kemanak'', a banana-shaped idiophone, and the '' gangsa'', another metallophone, are also commonly used gamelan instruments on Bali. Other notable instruments include xylophones, bamboo flutes (similar to the Indian ''bansuri''), a bowed string instrument called a ''rebab'' (somewhat similar to the '' gadulka'' of Bulgaria), and a zither-like instrument called a '' siter'', used in Javanese gamelan. Additionally, vocalists may be featured, being referred to as '' sindhen'' for females or '' gerong'' for males.Sumarsam (1998)''Introduction to Javanese Gamelan''. Middletown. Although the popularity of gamelan has declined slightly since the introduction of moder ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Legato
In music performance and notation, legato (; Italian for "tied together"; French ''lié''; German ''gebunden'') indicates that musical notes are played or sung smoothly, such that the transition from note to note is made with no intervening silence. Legato technique is required for slurred performance, but unlike slurring (as that term is interpreted for some instruments), legato does not forbid articulating the notes with a very slight interruption. Standard notation indicates legato either with the word ''legato'', or by a slur (a curved line) under notes that form one legato group. The latter notation is differentiated from a tie in that the notes have different pitches. Legato, like staccato, is a kind of articulation. There is an intermediate articulation called either ''mezzo staccato'' or ''non-legato'' (sometimes referred to as '' portato''). Classical string instruments In music for Classical string instruments, legato is an articulation that often refers to notes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Motif (music)
In music, a motif () or motive is a short musical idea, a Salience (neuroscience), salient recurring Figure (music), figure, musical fragment or succession of notes that has some special importance in or is characteristic of a musical composition, composition. The motif is the smallest structural unit possessing theme (music), thematic identity. History The defines a motif as a "melodic, rhythmic, or harmonic cell (music), cell", whereas the 1958 maintains that it may contain one or more cells, though it remains the smallest analyzable element or phrase within a subject (music), subject. It is commonly regarded as the shortest subdivision of a Theme (music), theme or Phrase (music), phrase that still maintains its identity as a musical idea. "The smallest structural unit possessing thematic identity". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Grove and Éditions Larousse, Larousse also agree that the motif may have harmonic, melodic and/or rhythmic aspects, Grove a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Figure (music)
__NOTOC__ A musical figure or figuration is the shortest idea in music; a short succession of notes, often recurring. It may have melodic pitch, harmonic progression, and rhythmic meter. The 1964 '' Grove's Dictionary'' defines the figure as "the exact counterpart of the German 'motiv' and the French 'motif: it produces a "single complete and distinct impression". To the self-taught Roger Scruton, however, a figure is distinguished from a motif in that a figure is background while a motif is foreground: Allen Forte describes the term ''figuration'' as being applied to two distinct things: A phrase originally presented or heard as a motif may become a figure that accompanies another melody, such as in the second movement of Claude Debussy's ''String Quartet The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical en ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polytempo
The term polytempo or polytempic is used to describe music in which two or more tempi occur simultaneously. In the Western world, the practice of polytempic music has its roots in the music theory of Henry Cowell, and the early practices of Charles Ives. Later on, composer Elliott Carter, in the fifties, began polymetric experiments in his string quartets that inevitably amounted to polytempic behavior by nature of several competing lines at different surface speeds. At around the same time, composer Henry Brant expanded on Ives's ''The Unanswered Question'' to create a spatial music in which entire ensembles, separated by vast distances, play in distinct simultaneous tempi. Some types of African drumming exhibit this phenomenon. Today's composers are employing polytempi as a compositional strategy to create total and complete independence of line in polyphonic music. Composers such as Conlon Nancarrow, David A. Jaffe, Evgeni Kostitsyn, Kyle Gann, Kenneth Jonsson, John Arrigo-Ne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fugue
In classical music, a fugue (, from Latin ''fuga'', meaning "flight" or "escape""Fugue, ''n''." ''The Concise Oxford English Dictionary'', eleventh edition, revised, ed. Catherine Soanes and Angus Stevenson (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2006). ) is a Counterpoint, contrapuntal, Polyphony, polyphonic Musical composition, compositional technique in two or more voice (music), voices, built on a Subject (music), subject (a musical theme) that is introduced at the beginning in imitation (music), imitation (repetition at different pitches), which recurs frequently throughout the course of the composition. It is not to be confused with a ''fuguing tune'', which is a style of song popularized by and mostly limited to Music history of the United States, early American (i.e. shape note or "Sacred Harp") music and West gallery music, West Gallery music. A fugue usually has three main sections: an exposition (music), exposition, a development (music), development, and a final ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Warsaw Autumn
Warsaw Autumn () is the largest international Polish festival of contemporary music. It was established in 1956 by two composers, Tadeusz Baird and Kazimierz Serocki, and officially established by the Head Board of the Polish Composers' Union. It is an annual event, normally taking place in the second half of September and lasts for 8 days. History The first festival took place in 10–20 October 1956. In 1957 and 1982 there was no festival. The first years of the festival, reaching back to the late 1950s, was a period of particular magnificence. From the beginning of its existence the festival's program foundations were clear. The festival's leading aim was (and is) to present new music from Poland and around the world. Adrian Thomas notes that the music performed at Warsaw Autumn between 1958 and 1961 "clearly charts the process of informing Polish audiences and composers of what was happening in the West. At the same time, the amount of Polish repertoire increased from 25% ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
