年轻的时候标新立异,蔑视传统,要不俗。但回头想想,自己的思维和审美却很传统,而从某种角度上来说,是和自己的生活一样随大流的。现在上了点岁数,经了点世事,倒不再挣扎,很放松的接受,很大方的承认自己比较传统的审美情趣。但生活里,总是要多姿多彩才好,现代冲击传统,融合古典,这样才够有趣。
1/12/2008,在芝加哥现代艺术博物馆的Double Bill: Contempo+Grazyna Auguscik Sextet featuring Jarek Bester 音乐会,不能说很好听。但确实有趣好玩,很有意思。
上半场是现代音乐。三首曲子。台湾留美作曲家,Rice Univ大学教授 Chen Shih-Hui的”伏II“,前苏联作曲家Sofia Gubaidulina的"De Profundis",以及芬兰指挥家,作曲家Esa-Pekka Salonen 的”Floof“。
”伏II“是琵琶和五种西洋乐器的合奏。听的没什么惊喜,算是很平稳的一首曲子。但我对旋律尤其是小调有一种固执的迷恋,所以,当琵琶突然弹奏出一小段一小段很上口的小调时,我还是满喜欢的。感觉那些有旋律的音符能连成蜿蜒的曲线,从喉咙里把你心里的压抑的或者没有注意到的感触扯出来,让人觉得痛快舒心。作品很能反映作者的性格。我擅自推测陈教授应该是一个随和平静四平八稳的人,和她的曲子一样。
Gubaidulina的"De Profundis",是一架纽扣手风琴(accordion)的独奏。听起来第一个感觉是怪。嗡嗡嗡的高密集度的声音一波波传出来,像百万大军夜行的步伐,像教堂里万人齐颂的轰鸣,像火车驶过山洞隧道的回音,像胸腔里瘀积的悲愤突然喷发出来的声响。总之,让人不住的讶异的微微颔首。坐在第一排,能清楚的看到演奏家的每一次呼吸每一个动作。盯着他看久了,我自己似乎都不能呼吸了。因为那个换气太难了。chen后来说,Gubaidulina的音乐,向来有很神经很怪的一面。但这个演奏家把这个曲子演砸了,断断续续的,没有一气呵成,所以整个曲子的意思都没有表现出来。经过行家点拨,我才哦的一声明白过来。但对于accordion,我还是喜欢它传统的音质,清亮苍远的,让人感觉到白桦树灰白天空宽阔大河的那种音质。
最最有趣的曲子是这首"Floof"。演奏的过程中不断的有人笑出声来,因为这首曲子太好玩了。你听到那个地方,不可能正襟危坐的,肯定被逗的扑哧一声笑出来。这首曲子灵感来自读芬兰科幻小说Stanislaw Lem的〈Cyberiad〉。所以曲子也充满了一些奇怪的想法和声音,丰富而又幽默。物理学家Fabian跟我说里面有Markov Chain(学理科的童鞋们都知道这东东吧)。我讶异的瞪着大眼睛,虽然我自己没听出来(汗~还需要再听一次仔细琢磨),但还是对音乐里的这种数学美感击倒。
接下来休息时间。打击乐手的小女儿,和妈妈一起走上舞台。金色头发穿着花裙子的花一样的女孩一下子就跳到爸爸身上,爸爸抱着她旋转了半圈,问她过的怎样。多么温馨甜美的场面。
下半场是爵士。吉他,贝思,鼓,小提琴。还请了演奏"De Profundis"的accordion演奏者和eighth blackbird的大提琴手。我听爵士,很容易被感动。因为它是抒情的,忧伤的,而又瞬间爆发出激情的。只能让我想起一个词”伤花烂漫“。 accordion在乐队里发出传统的音质,这让我很开心。我最喜欢的,当然是鼓手。chen说他看见鼓手在架子鼓后面激情百倍的演出,想到如果我坐在那里应该很可笑。我就想画一副画,铁面铮铮的架子鼓后,一个长发飞扬的女孩。哈哈~我很想画一系列乐手的画,可惜现在手太潮画不出来那种感觉来。在加勒比海游船上看拍卖的画,我最喜欢的是中国画家chen hua的一副拉大提琴的女孩。很印象派,那个神韵真美。最喜欢的曲子,却是根据波兰歌曲改编的。一首舒缓,一首是欢快的舞曲。看看吧,听了一晚上现代音乐,现代作曲家绞尽脑汁搞出来的怪花样,却只是让我欢喜一下,感动一下。而传统的小调轻易就把我击倒。我说过,我对小调没有免疫力。对我来说,这个小调,包括一切旋律性强的曲式。
- Re: 动听的不过是旋律-听double bill音乐会有感posted on 01/13/2008
被XX音乐“击倒”,多么生动的中文啊。 记得我第一次看到这种描述是在一个文艺小资的博客里。后来我自己竟不知觉地也用上了,说被哀婉的中国乡村音乐击倒。
greentea wrote:。而传统的小调轻易就把我击倒。
- posted on 01/16/2008
看来又是一位认为现代音乐是噪音的人. 不知道cafe里有没有欣赏现代音乐的爱乐乐友?
greentea wrote:
听起来第一个感觉是怪。嗡嗡嗡的高密集度的声音一波波传出来,像百万大军夜行的步伐,像教堂里万人齐颂的轰鸣,像火车驶过山洞隧道的回音,像胸腔里瘀积的悲愤突然喷发出来的声响。总之,让人不住的讶异的微微颔首。坐在第一排,能清楚的看到演奏家的每一次呼吸每一个动作。盯着他看久了,我自己似乎都不能呼吸了。因为那个换气太难了。
听了一晚上现代音乐,现代作曲家绞尽脑汁搞出来的怪花样,却只是让我欢喜一下,感动一下。 - Re: 动听的不过是旋律-听double bill音乐会有感posted on 01/16/2008
st dude wrote:
看来又是一位认为现代音乐是噪音的人. 不知道cafe里有没有欣赏现代音乐的爱乐乐友?
我也不喜欢现代音乐,总觉得实验性质太浓厚,坐在观众席,就像被强迫面对着心理医生。
沈都德的这个回帖不够五十个字,态度欠严肃,建议重写。
- posted on 01/17/2008
我也不喜欢现代音乐,总觉得实验性质太浓厚,坐在观众席,就像被强迫面对着心理医生。
现代音乐无人谈, 无法谈, 不能谈. 因为无人听, 无法听, 不能听. 这是我以前的想法. 现在在听上仍然基本上是"二无一不"政策, 但是在谈上确实有点想法改变.
我偶尔在想, 为什么现代音乐家把音乐写成这个样子? 让人人听了后都在喊是噪音,充满了焦虑和不安. 都说这是古典音乐的晚期浪漫主义把音乐推向极限后的必然结果. 想当初, 贝9是最大的交响乐, 70分钟. 到后来马勒的交响乐几乎每一部都是这个长度, 有的(第5?)长达100多分钟. 这还不够, 大小号数量增加一倍. 这仍还不够, 人声也要增加.乐章当然也增多了. 这样的篇幅,别说饭都做完了, 就是黄花菜都凉了. 你们老瓦家的格纳的作品也是巨长无比,比我的贴子要长多了. 听说最近20-30年现代音乐也在回归. 也不知道回归到哪里? 晚期浪漫? 早期古典?
当然, 上面这些都是音乐界的看法. 依我的看法, 人肯定是越来越聪明. 只是时代在异化. 20世纪的音乐家天生就是哲学家, 19世纪的音乐家天生就是文学家, 18世纪巴赫他们天生就是宗教家. 哲学家的头脑, 文学家的何尔蒙,宗教家的心灵….你说我这话有没有道理? 如果你同意的话, 你就可能同意我下面这些谬论.
在那条线上我们谈语言. 世界上没有一个语言完美地让哲学家满意的. 因为语言来自日常生活.我们认为我们生活的这个世界是实实在在的, 是可靠的. 所以我们信赖我们的语言, 习惯我们的语言. 哲学家看到的世界和我们看到的世界往往是相反的(是, 人人都说他们是神经病). 他们认为我们看到的是表面现象,他们看到的是本质. 他们觉得要用产生于生活的我们的语言去否定我们的表面现象的世界从而揭示世界的本质,很难! 所以他们要改变甚至重新创造语言(维特根斯坦).
20世纪的现代音乐家也一样. 他们看到了20世纪的科学进步下的快乐背后的空虚, 虚假, 焦虑, 不安…甚至被掩盖了的痛苦. 他们和哲学家一样, 试图改变传统的语言, 也就是传统的音乐语言. 于是乎, 十二音音乐、序列主义、表现主义..都来了. 我们的耳朵本来已经习惯了18,19世纪建立起来的调性感觉(如: 大调音乐的幸福感,安详感,小调音乐的悲伤感,忧郁感…), 一下子被这新的音乐语言打乱了. 所以我们听到的是"噪音", 让我们倍受煎熬. 这种煎熬正是虚假的快乐和真实的空虚的综合作用结果.音乐揭示了真缔. 现代音乐家者, 哲学家也.
我也不听现代音乐. 但是我猜想,也许20世纪的现代音乐才是真正的音乐. 当然也许20世纪的现代音乐仍是一个过渡阶段,是一个伟大的文艺复兴来临的前期. Who knows. 目前我肯定知道的是,20世纪伟大的音乐成就是大众音乐. 这个由你来谈. 谈谈歌词也行. 时间可以拖延到本周末. 字数: 4个乐章, 每章2000字.
Greentea 1, st dude 1, 老瓦 0
老瓦 wrote:
我也不喜欢现代音乐,总觉得实验性质太浓厚,坐在观众席,就像被强迫面对着心理医生。
沈都德的这个回帖不够五十个字,态度欠严肃,建议重写。
- posted on 01/17/2008
st dude wrote:
我也不听现代音乐. 但是我猜想,也许20世纪的现代音乐才是真正的音乐. 当然也许20世纪的现代音乐仍是一个过渡阶段,是一个伟大的文艺复兴来临的前期. Who knows. 目前我肯定知道的是,20世纪伟大的音乐成就是大众音乐. 这个由你来谈. 谈谈歌词也行. 时间可以拖延到本周末. 字数: 4个乐章, 每章2000字.
Greentea 1, st dude 1, 老瓦 0
都德,你是哪壶不开提哪壶,如果流行音乐只算市井文化,这里要谈殿堂音乐就根本没有我的份。那就说几句题外话,按照以往惯例,两千字的作文要求,我只能写八百字,分四次完成:))
现代音乐不受听,原因很多,我先列几条个人意见。首先,我认为现代音乐家的地位被捧得太高,逐步脱离了普罗大众的生存习惯。当音乐从巴赫时代的教堂走入莫扎特时期的贵族家庭,音乐家本身的地位仍然很低下,基本属于仆从的级别,他们的主要任务是博取主子的欢心,作品若不体现人类大同的审美,就领不到饭票,后果极其严重。贝多芬开始了“签约”生涯,作曲家拥有独立完整的人格,可以“玩”音乐了,这也从他离经叛道的风格中体现出来。后来到了浪漫时期,作曲家加入了中产阶级,随着工业革命的到来和民族概念的强化,音乐的使命是要体现一个民族的高尚属性。十九世纪末留声机的发明,让音乐有了复制的可能,所以音乐家尤其是演奏家可以免去走街串巷的劳累,呆在家中就可以提成版税。这个由艺术到商业的变革,大幅提高了作曲家的经济地位,也大大加深音乐与大众的鸿沟。二十世纪的作曲专注民族之下的更小的范畴,开始个性化的尝试,主动走向人民的对立面,所以不能拥有广大听众,也是情理之中的事。
其次,从文化根源方面,早在最后一位古典大师马勒健在的时候,就已经开始了现代音乐的异化。马勒音乐生涯的辉煌巅峰,是担任维也纳歌剧院总监的十年,也是德奥民族气焰迅速膨胀的年代,他以放弃犹太教而改信天主教的代价,虽然给自己挣得帝国最高的职业音乐头衔,但并没能改变自己边缘人的社会地位,就如历史学家Beller评价的,“Jews are at the center of culture but the edge of the soceity.” 马勒的弟子勋伯格,也就是最最革命的十二音体系的开山鼻祖,早年一度皈依路德教,直到面临大清洗而开始流放生涯时,才彻底归属他自己的犹太根基。十九世纪后半叶,达尔文的进化论盛行于世,勋伯格审视了犹太民族的寄生和附属传统,也试图用社会进化论来解释古典音乐退化的不归路,他说过古典音乐对音调的唯美追求,终将自我毁灭于“inbreeding and incest”。
下面再谈第三个原因。
Greentea 1, st dude 1, 老瓦 0.5
- posted on 01/18/2008
我前一阵对cafe做了一些考古研究, 取得了一定成果. 我惊奇地发现Maya Cafe其实诞生于音乐和诗歌的摇篮之中. 前辈们的兴趣和造诣主要在音乐和诗歌上. 我整理了一部分他们关于音乐的主题. 参看下面的链接,全部都是关于音乐的. 内容很丰富. 所以我们再谈, 如果是古典音乐的话, 恐怕要重复他们谈过的东西了. 除了你那篇著名的未完成的80年代大陆流行音乐回顾, 我没有发现专门谈现代音乐和大众音乐的线, 有的只是提了一下. 所以, 现代音乐和大众音乐是空白. 如果能填补一下不是很好吗? 等你写完, 再做评论.
老瓦 wrote:
都德,你是哪壶不开提哪壶,如果流行音乐只算市井文化,这里要谈殿堂音乐就根本没有我的份。那就说几句题外话,按照以往惯例,两千字的作文要求,我只能写八百字,分四次完成:))
Maya Cafe 2007年以前的音乐讨论大全(还有很多, 请继续补充)
http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1081911901 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1083792275 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1086832749 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1098968515 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1090360200 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1090890190 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1091483477 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1167278998 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1167248965 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1167095901 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1142061334 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1142784207 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1141352542 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1138299602 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1135121360 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1131119961 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1131121436 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1130972226 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1130218511 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1130156208 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1116369393 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1115178671 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1112373361 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1110642019 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1144780296 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1143185726 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1143437571 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1127159983 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1127099068 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1126880874 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1125672890 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1125277428 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1124500272 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1124458487 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1123861461 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1122585873 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1122576622 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1118945324 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1105764766 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1089205533 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1088527131 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1083445560 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1091483869 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1092688213 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1093245514 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1100325757 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1106110376 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1106110295 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1108268202 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1109781671 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1117010727 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1125505743 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1129836205 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1093015903 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1097515899 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1051200695 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1051110299 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1051242670 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1051196856 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1077955778 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1079399661 http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1081360146 - Re: 动听的不过是旋律-听double bill音乐会有感posted on 01/18/2008
老圣功德无量,能否把这些关于音乐的帖子汇总独立开一个贴并置顶呢? - Re: 动听的不过是旋律-听double bill音乐会有感posted on 01/19/2008
我们正在改版咖啡,这些功能都会加上的。
小曼 wrote:
老圣功德无量,能否把这些关于音乐的帖子汇总独立开一个贴并置顶呢? - posted on 01/19/2008
st dude wrote:
我前一阵对cafe做了一些考古研究, 取得了一定成果. 我惊奇地发现Maya Cafe其实诞生于音乐和诗歌的摇篮之中. 前辈们的兴趣和造诣主要在音乐和诗歌上. 我整理了一部分他们赜谝衾值闹魈? 参看下面的链接,全部都是关于音乐的. 内容很丰富. 所以我们再谈, 如果是古典音值幕? 恐怕要重复他们谈过的东西了. 除了你那篇著名的未完成的80年代大陆流行音乐回顾, 我没有发现专门谈现代音乐和大众音乐的线, 有的只是提了一下. 所以, 现代音乐和大众音乐是空白. 如果能填补一下不是很好吗? 等你写完, 再做评论.
那就凑满八百字打住:) 就现代作曲的特征,与其说技法的故意退化,不如说是感知的刻意超前。后马勒的作曲家们在肯定古典音乐带来愉悦心境的同时,认定了现代音乐是寻觅苦难真象的过程,这里抄几句勋伯格为纪念马勒所写的文字:"What the classics has found, however, is above all: comfort......the thinker, who keeps on searching, does the opposite. He shows that there are problems and that they are unsolved." 若具体到音乐元素的层次,以减七和弦为例,在传统曲谱中也许用来表达瞬息的哀怨,也许表现过度张驰的情绪,但最终是要回归到主和弦上,就如同好莱坞的悲剧,一定要有一个圆满结局,一定要使观众有重新回到剧场的信心。然而现代音乐的辞典里,减七的功能多半不是过渡,而是结局本身,至于听众脆弱的心灵能否承受,那已不是作曲家操心的义务,勋伯格在回顾《莎乐美》观后感的另一句话就是 "If it is art, it is not for all, or if it is for all, it is not art", 耻与广大人民为伍的居心昭然若揭:-P
再有,后工业化的生活方式中,音乐只是所谓七大消遣中的一员,连万民宠儿电影的境遇都每况愈下(让位于互联网的八卦艺术,还有更迅猛的忽悠艺术:),人民的选择机会极大化,个体的欣赏口味细分化。因此和其他被颠覆的传统艺术一样,严肃音乐只作为音乐本身的一个 genre的sub genre, 那种大众情人似的作品只能是与商业嫁接的产儿,比如百老汇音乐剧,比如Celtic Woman之类。最后一点,古典音乐的起家,本是在宏伟肃穆的教堂赞颂上帝,当人间乏味的语言不够用了,音乐就肩负起塑造“高大全,真善美”的使命。而在万能的宗教业已失去魅力的今天,在尼某人宣布“上帝死了”之后的二十世纪,古典音乐的“堕落” 曲线,实际沿袭了从赞美上帝到描绘人性的事实回归。至于人性究竟是怎么回事,与勋伯格同时期的波德莱尔等人已经做了文字的陈述,作曲家们所需完成的,就是给它再加上一道非语言的注释,非幻觉的赤裸真实.......Life makes everything ugly, or isn't it?
- posted on 01/20/2008
Greentea 1, st dude 1, 老瓦 2
老瓦谈得很全. 与现代音乐有关的工业化发展,消费文化,大众媒介的历史文化背景和原因都包括了. 让我们看到了现代音乐或是人的自我异化或是其结果的积极扬弃,或是一场悲剧(失败的实验品), 诊断的很精辟.
这里抄几句勋伯格为纪念马勒所写的文字:"What the classics has found, however, is above all: comfort......the thinker, who keeps on searching, does the opposite. He shows that there are problems and that they are unsolved."
勋伯格的这话听起来就和我们以前听到的音乐学院大教授对流行歌曲斥之以鼻的态度类似. 浪漫主义从高潮到晚期及当时的歌剧就相当时的流行音乐. 也证实了现代音乐可以看成一场知识精英文化运动(intellectual movement),反对晚期浪漫主义所代表的小资人文主义精神. 马勒的例子就是挺典型的. 他的前2,3部交响乐本来都是标题性音乐,可他自己后来更愿意把它们看做是无标题的. 往往艺术观念和思想发生变化时, 艺术家对待自己早先的作品的态度也随之变化.
然而现代音乐的辞典里,减七的功能多半不是过渡,而是结局本身,至于听众脆弱的心灵能否承受,那已不是作曲家操心的义务
还有形式.奏鸣曲为基本形式的是不是具有普遍合理性的最佳形式. 当然,还有调性,长度安排等. 这些最终可能需要物理学, 心理学的研究结果来决定.
勋伯格在回顾《莎乐美》观后感的另一句话就是 "If it is art, it is not for all, or if it is for all, it is not art", 耻与广大人民为伍的居心昭然若揭:-P
Stravinsky说的更狠: 把听众都送到地狱里去,"to send them all to hell". 似乎只有这样的音乐才能让人们真正感受到人间地狱, 也只有人间地狱的煎熬才能让人们反思, 让人们深刻, 而不是停留在感情的comfort的层次上. 他的《春之祭》, 听现代音乐的必听入门之作(因为按后来标准还不是很"现代"). 据说第一次在巴黎剧场上演时, 因观众不满引起骚动. 在场听众分成两派, 大动拳脚, 警察出动. Stravinsky本人中途逃离剧场.
老瓦 wrote:
那就凑满八百字打住:) - posted on 01/27/2008
勋伯格去世已经半个多世纪,Stravinsky 去世也三十多年了,他们在一个世纪前创作的音乐,还能被人称为现代音乐,也看出他们对音乐的影响有多么深。其实,比他们更现代的当代音乐也早已半世纪多了。
前些天读完 GEB,里面有几段关于当代音乐 (John Cage) 的讨论。我觉得因 Hofstadter 的背景,他的看法很有启发。
In music, in particular, John Cage has been very influential in bringing a Zen-like approach to sound. Many of his pieces convey a disdain for "use" of sounds--that is, using sounds to convey emotional states--and an exultation in "mentioning" sounds--that is, concocting arbitrary juxtapositions of sounds without regard to any previously formulated code by which a listener could decode them into a message. A typical example is "Imaginary Landscape no.4". I may not be doing Cage justice, but to me it seems that much of his work has been directed at bringing meaninglessness into music, and in some sense, at making that meaninglessness have meaning. Aleatoric music is a typical exploration in that direction. There are many other contemporary composers who are following Cage's lead, but few with as much originality. A piece by Anna Lockwood, called "Piano Burning", involves just that--with the strings stretched to maximum tightness, to make them snap as loudly as possible; in a piece by LaMonte Young, the noises are provided by shoving the piano all around the stage and through obstacles, like a battering ram.
Imaginary Landscape no.4: This piece is a classic of aleatoric, or chance, music--music whose structure is chosen by various random processes, rather than by an attempt to convey a personal emotion. IN this case, twenty-four performers attach themselves to the twenty-four knobs on twelve radios. For the duration of the piece they twiddle their knobs in aleatoric ways so that each radio randomly gets louder and softer, switching stations all the while. The total sound produced is the piece of music. Cage's attitude is expressed in his own words: "to let sounds be themselves, rather than vehicles for man-made theories or expressions of human sentiments."
==
Let us take up once more the difference between sending a record of Bach's music into space, and a record of John Cage's music. Incidentally, the latter, being a Composition of Aleatorically Generated Elements, might be handily called a "CAGE", whereas the former, being a Beautiful Aperiodic Crystal of Harmony, might aptly be dubbed a "BACH". Now let's consider what the meaning of a Cage piece is to ourselves. A Cage piece has to be taken in a large cultural setting--as a revolt against certain kinds of traditions. Thus, if we want to transit that meaning, we must not only send the notes of the piece, but we must have earlier communicated an extensive history of Western culture. It is fair to say, then, that an isolated record of John Cage's music does not have an intrinsic meaning. However, for a listener who is sufficiently well versed in Western and Eastern cultures, particularly in the trends in Western music over the last few decades, it does carry meaning--but such a listener is like a jukebox, and the piece is like a pair of buttons. The meaning is mostly contained inside the listener to begin with; the music serves only to trigger it. And this "jukebox", unlike pure intelligence, is not at all universal; it is highly earthbound, depending on idiosyncratic sequences of events all over our globe for long periods of time. Hoping that John Cage's music will be understood by another civilization is like hoping that your favorite tune, on a jukebox on the moon, will have the same code buttons as in a saloon in Saskatoon.
On the other hand, to appreciate Bach requires far less cultural knowledge. This may seem like high irony, for Bach is so much more complex and organized, and Cage is so devoid of intellectuality. But there is a strange reversal here: intelligence loves patterns and balks at randomness. For most people, the randomness if Cage's music requires much explanation; and even after explanations, they may feel they are missing the message--whereas with much of Bach, words are superfluous. In that sense, Bach's music is more self-contained than Cage's music. Still, it is not clear how much of the human conditions is presumed by Bach.
==
A large number of influences, which no one could hope to pin down completely, led to further explorations of the symbol-object dualism in art. There is no doubt that John Cage, with his interest in Zen, had a profound influence on art as well as on music. His friends Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg both explored the distinction between objects and symbols by using objects as symbols for themselves--or, to flip the coin, by using symbols as objects in themselves. All of this was perhaps intended to break down the notion that art is one step removed from reality--that art speaks in "code", for which the viewer must act as interpreter. The idea was to eliminate the step of interpretation and let the naked object simple be, period. ("Period"--a curious case of use-mention blur.) However, if this was the intention, it was a monumental flop, and perhaps had to be.
- Re: 动听的不过是旋律-听double bill音乐会有感posted on 01/27/2008
很高兴我的一块烂砖头引出这么上好的金玉来。:)学习中。。。 - posted on 01/27/2008
我觉得Cage也过去了,现在好象电音乐最时兴。前不久遇到一个先锋
作曲家,叫Steve Lampert,听了他的创世纪,感象又回到从前。
他当然推崇Charles Dodge的音乐。CD中说解决了什么勋伯格悬而未决
的问题,我也未听出来。倒是他的创世有点海顿。
又到林肯中心掏了一堆Electronic Music来听,现在都DVD了,听着感
觉还是不如上回原汁原味的爪哇音乐:
http://www.mayacafe.com/forum/topic1sp.php3?tkey=1173064399 爪哇,爪哇宫廷甘美兰
&&&
我借的音乐有几张Morton subotnick的, 还有,名字记不得了。
记得画面上有小老鼠与捕鼠架在纠缠等等。
阿姗 wrote:
勋伯格去世已经半个多世纪,Stravinsky 去世也三十多年了,他们在一个世纪前创作的音乐,还能被人称为现代音乐,也看出他们对音乐的影响有多么深。其实,比他们更现代的当代音乐也早已半世纪多了。
前些天读完 GEB,里面有几段关于当代音乐 (John Cage) 的讨论。我觉得因 Hofstadter 的背景,他的看法很有启发。
- Re: 动听的不过是旋律-听double bill音乐会有感posted on 01/28/2008
终于把大仙抬出来了。。。。以上说的都对,纯现代的本来听的很少,胡乱侃点皮毛。只觉得古典的撑了三百年,是不断丰富和完美的过程,而现代的近一百年来的实验基调未变。
- posted on 01/28/2008
勋伯格去世已经半个多世纪,Stravinsky 去世也三十多年了,他们在一个世纪前创作的音乐,还能被人称为现代音乐,也看出他们对音乐的影响有多么深。其实,比他们更现代的当代音乐也早已半世纪多了。
是, 影响很深,但不广. 就象老瓦说的, 在象牙塔的顶端, 与人民为敌, 与数学教授, 物理教授少数人为伍. 或用数学作曲, 或把音乐不看成语言而看成一个个音响的object, 当然感兴趣的听众只有数学教授,物理教授,心理学教授和他们的学生等一小撮人了. 以美国为例. 自六,七十年代以来, 几乎所有大学的音乐系全部被现代音乐占领, 尽管勋伯格等早已去世. 再看看现在的著名现代音乐家, 没有几个不是带着教授/系主任/院长头衔的. 再去大学里看看近几十年的音乐会, 大量演奏的是现代音乐,包括greentea自己介绍的这一场. 当代音乐变成了一种academic,或intellectual的事情了.
不过, 别误会. 对音乐的任何探讨和追求都是应该的, 非常有意义的. 最起码现代音乐帮助人们加深了对音乐本质的认识.就象你举的凯齐的例子, 的确很有启发. 我觉得通过对音乐本质的认识, 反过来对听古典音乐和其他音乐也有帮助. 我只是和老瓦有同感,觉得现代音乐的发展很有趣, 和18,19世纪的古典音乐发展很不一样. 现代音乐发展, 一方面各种流派层出不穷,另一方面听众日益减少.
阿姗 wrote:
勋伯格去世已经半个多世纪,Stravinsky 去世也三十多年了,他们在一个世纪前创作的音乐,还能被人称为现代音乐,也看出他们对音乐的影响有多么深。其实,比他们更现代的当代音乐也早已半世纪多了。
前些天读完 GEB,里面有几段关于当代音乐 (John Cage) 的讨论。我觉得因 Hofstadter 的背景,他的看法很有启发。 - Re: 动听的不过是旋律-听double bill音乐会有感posted on 01/28/2008
以上说的都对,纯现代的本来听的很少,胡乱侃点皮毛。老瓦 0(态度消极, 2个credits全部抹杀).不要找借口. 这部Imaginary Landscape no.4 我们就是听了, 我们又能说出什么来? 12个收音机先后随机放音乐? 我听一个收音机的自动扫描选台,过一会儿心脏都要崩溃了.
老瓦 wrote:
终于把大仙抬出来了。。。。陨纤档亩级裕肯执谋纠刺暮苌伲屹┑闫っV痪醯霉诺涞某帕巳倌辏遣欢戏岣缓屯昝赖墓蹋执慕话倌昀吹氖笛榛魑幢洹?
- posted on 01/28/2008
Regarding the concert, particularly the piece Fu II composed by Chen,I have a few thoughts about the use of pipa in contemporary ensemble music writing.
There are in general two types of ways of using pipa, one regards pipa as a new timbre, and the other way is to take pipa as how it sounds with its own tradition.
In the first one, composer can use it in any inrtumental
context,and treat it equally as every other instrument, no matter the Western or the Eastern. As long as all the pipa performing techniques are correctly applied, the music idea of the composer will be presented very well. The fact is that the composer’s abstract compositional idea becomes first, and the pipa’s cultural practice becomes second. No matter how you name your piece, this approach makes the music unable to give audience a direct impression what pipa is and where it comes from. What we hear is the realization of the composer's craft.
In the second way, a composer takes pipa as a Chinese
traditional instrument which has 2000-year tradition, and compositional process and concert listening experience could be very different from the first. The performing techniques of pipa are extremely idiomatic,or even dogmatic, and pipa players are all trained from their early age obeying austere rules. To write so-called contemporary musical sounds for pipa needs
lots of compromise between your idea and pipa. The
compositional process can get really difficult, because you have to deal with pipa’s cultural imagery, identification and recognition. It is very difficult to write a passage which can present pipa’s personality and characters very well, meanwhile you also want to keep your idea intact. furthermore, you have to also define the relationship between pipa with other
instruments. In the case of pipa with western instruments, you unavoidably touch the fact that there is a confrontation between East and West. This approach gives audience a direct impression of what pipa is.
For composers, you can stand on either side, as long as you think you get good ideas. Personally, I think the first approach is more related to the after war II musical ideology and pratise, which more addresses the importance of sheer invention and rule-breaking concept. It does not touch the cultural differences (probablly that is what globalization means...) at the most direct angle, but presents what we all have commonly. Afterall, you deal with oneself.
The second one stresses the difference between the
instruments, and their own cultural connotations. it does have a quick impact to audience. I think this apporach is getting more popular, becuase it constantly shifts in the grey area between academic, main stream, popular, folklore, and classical, romantic.etc. Here, you deal with several selves. Interestingly, it connects the WAY Chinese Daoism deeply preaches.
How do you guys think about the concept and practice of East Meets West in music making? What is good and what is bad? Are there particular excellent pieces you can introduce here?
- Re: When pipa meets West...posted on 01/29/2008
chicago wrote:
How do you guys think about the concept and practice of East Meets West in music making? What is good and what is bad? Are there particular excellent pieces you can introduce here?
东西合璧的大师,最知名是坂本龙一,Ryuichi Sakamoto。他的专集应该不少,但最有名的是电影配乐,从《末代皇帝》了解一点,后来还有《小活佛》, 《德里达》等, - posted on 01/29/2008
How do you guys think about the concept and practice of East Meets West in music making? What is good and what is bad? Are there particular excellent pieces you can introduce here?
哇, 谁说作曲家高高在象牙塔的顶端与人民为敌? 对不起, 就是我和老瓦说的.惭愧. Chicago的问题就是考虑搅颂? 与其说这是作曲家面临的问题, 不如说也是我们听众面临的一个问题.假如我们去听Chicago的一个含有琵琶的作品,那么我们对这个作品的期望是好听第一还是琵琶特色第一? 这里的术语"好听"和"琵琶特色"都是通俗的不准确的表达,"好听"大概指的是音乐美学(现代)意义下的好听, "琵琶特色"指的是特殊美学意义下的特色(比如,民族的, 东方的). 简单地说, 我们是去听"好听", 还是去听琵琶? 我以我自己为例来回答Chicago先生的问题. 我的愿望是既要"好听"也要"琵琶特色".但这不是回答, 这是站着说话不腰疼, 是不现实奢望. 我真正的现实的回答是, "好听"第一, "琵琶特色"第二. 也可以说,我是先听好听, 再听琵琶特色.
如果天下51%的听众都和我一样, Chicago, 你创作音乐时就可以以第一种方法为主, 把琵琶的音色仅仅作为众多音色的一种. 而以第二种方法为特殊方法, 偶尔用它写一部作品, 比如干脆就专门写一部琵琶协奏曲满足剩下49%听众的需要.
当然, 如果按第一种方法, 也许正象你说的, 人们会认为在这种方法中east never really meets west. 其实, 把琵琶的音色加入到交响乐中去本身, 我猜想就已经很不容易了. 何况再想一下, 即使在西洋乐器的配器结合中, 往往是管乐器的音色总是占优势, 谁和它重叠, 谁都要"牺牲"---被溶化到管乐器的音色里去了. 最典型的就是弦乐. 它和一些管乐一叠加, 自己音色就被熔化了, 但是它使整个管乐的音色流动起来了, 听起来舒服多了. 提琴的功劳摆在那里. 还有, 弦乐被熔化后的其他效果,比如使叠加对象音色变柔变暗等等, 也都是很有价值的贡献. 提琴的这种熔化自己音色,照亮他人的蜡烛精神, 这种"无色英雄"的精神永存, 被我们听众欣赏和认可. 提琴可以当"无色英雄", 为什么琵琶非要搞特殊不当呢(假如有这种机会的话)?
当然天下听众不都是和我一样. 我说的也是外行的一种感受. 不, 其实连感受都谈不上, 因为这样的音乐我听得很少. 纯粹是在谈思想, 准确地说, 空想. 另外, 我发现如果按照你说的, 第一种方法是现代音乐思想, 第二种方法是古典的, 那么我的音乐思想还挺"现代的". 这和我实际是言行不一致的. 但仔细想, 其实, 这主要还是在指方法. 严格说来, 只要增加了琵琶,不管方法如何,创作精神就是现代的,革命的.
再另外,chicago, 如果你能用中文写, 我猜想会有更多的人回答你的问题.
另另外, 我听过一部古琴和小提琴的二重奏. 曲名忘了.两个字的名字. 印象一般吧, 否则也就能记住曲名了.
chicago wrote:
Regarding the concert, particularly the piece Fu II composed by Chen,I have a few thoughts about the use of pipa in contemporary ensemble music writing.
There are in general two types of ways of using pipa, one regards pipa as a new timbre, and the other way is to take pipa as how it sounds with its own tradition.
- posted on 01/30/2008
现在的作曲家大都依赖大学而生,瞧不起为商业创作的。现在的诗人也
有这种趋势,都学院派了,自个提出问题,自个解决问题,他们提出
的问题和解决的问题,都比哥德巴赫猜想还要抽象。
st dude wrote:
勋伯格去世已经半个多世纪,Stravinsky 去世也三十多年了,他们在一个世纪前创作的音乐,还能被人称为现代音乐,也看出他们对音乐的影响有多么深。其实,比他们更现代的当代音乐也早已半世纪多了。是, 影响很深,但不广. 就象老瓦说的, 在象牙塔的顶端, 与人民为敌, 与数学教授, 物理教授少数人为伍. 或用数学作曲, 或把音乐不看成语言而看成一个个音响的object, 当然感兴趣的听众只有数学教授,物理教授,心理学教授和他们的学生等一小撮人了. 以美国为例. 自六,七十年代以来, 几乎所有大学的音乐系全部被现代音乐占领, 尽管勋伯格等早已去世. 再看看现在的著名现代音乐家, 没有几个不是带着教授/系主任/院长头衔的. 再去大学里看看近几十年的音乐会, 大量演奏的是现代音乐,包括greentea自己介绍的这一场. 当代音乐变成了一种academic,或intellectual的事情了.
不过, 别误会. 对音乐的任何探讨和追求都是应该的, 非常有意义的. 最起码现代音乐帮助人们加深了对音乐本质的认识.就象你举的凯齐的例子, 的确很有启发. 我觉得通过对音乐本质的认识, 反过来对听古典音乐和其他音乐也有帮助. 我只是和老瓦有同感,觉得现代音乐的发展很有趣, 和18,19世纪的古典音乐发展很不一样. 现代音乐发展, 一方面各种流派层出不穷,另一方面听众日益减少.
阿姗 wrote:
勋伯格去世已经半个多世纪,Stravinsky 去世也三十多年了,他们在一个世纪前创作的音乐,还能被人称为现代音乐,也看出他们对音乐的影响有多么深。其实,比他们更现代的当代音乐也早已半世纪多了。
前些天读完 GEB,里面有几段关于当代音乐 (John Cage) 的讨论。我觉得因 Hofstadter 的背景,他的看法很有启发。 - posted on 01/30/2008
Personally I don't care much for East meets West in music making. I feel this concept is getting old. Maybe there's still much to explore in this area, but I feel pessimistic, because the present globalization has created too much noise for people to experience true music. Perhaps a composer should not ask what the listeners want to hear, but what he wants the listeners to listen once he has decided who his listeners are.
chicago wrote:
How do you guys think about the concept and practice of East Meets West in music making? What is good and what is bad? Are there particular excellent pieces you can introduce here? - Re: When pipa meets West...posted on 01/31/2008
对我这个门外汉听众来说,我并太不关心曲子有多高的技巧,用什么乐器(当然,对乐器有些小偏好但并不影响整体)。能够感动我,让我随之欢欣或者哀伤就够了。汗~~~ 这个标准太含糊太个人化了。呵呵~~ - posted on 01/31/2008
Personally I don't care much for East meets West in music making. I feel this concept is getting old. Maybe there's still much to explore in this area, but I feel pessimistic, because the present globalization has created too much noise for people to experience true music. Perhaps a composer should not ask what the listeners want to hear, but what he wants the listeners to listen once he has decided who his listeners are.
----I totally agree that as a composer we have a bit of ability to educate audience, and to lead audience to a broader perspective of music. East meets West in this context is neither an action nor technique, but a unavoidable cultural phenomonon. thus, it is meaningful to discuss what actually meets up in EAST-MEET-WEST. We are all sensitive listeners, and we all want to be active listeners. that means you hear something, otherwise you only listen something, but hear nothing. The globalization is permeating everywhere, even music. But the tradition of a culture will never lose, only transform... So i am interested to know how the chinese tradition or western tradition transform in East Meets West according to your hearing?
- posted on 02/01/2008
Sadly, I'm a listener who is not very excited about new sounds, so I am not a good one to talk about creating new sounds in East meets West concepts. Let someone else talk about their feelings bah.
===
Wednesday, my classmate gives me her new piano piece to practice, to be performed next Tuesday at school. She didn't have time to learn it herself, and I had to perform something to earn my "new music" credit.
It is a two-voice fugue, dedicated to Bach. We listened to the computer generated performance. It is a straight forward 2-part fugue, highly chromatic, rhythmically driven, very fast, about 4 minutes long. I like it immediately. When my husband heard it, he said it sounded like Baroque music but out of tune. My husband is not a musician and he only likes Blues and Rock. I only explained to him one time the characteristics of Baroque music, and I was surprised that he could recognized these traits in the new fugue right away. The the "out of tune" effect is created by the many minor seconds. I'm impressed how effectively my classmate has conveyed her idea to a lay listener.
Although interesting, my husband does not like the piece, because at the end of the day, it does not make him feel good. His favorite music now is the "Book of Secrets" CD I gave him for Christmas.
This piece turns out to be very difficult for me. I am not used to play modern music. With traditional music, if I make a mistake, I would know right away and learn to correct it next time. With the irregular new music, I cannot tell if I'm playing it right or wrong, so it's like I'm learning it for the first time over and over again.
My classmate is from China, and is a talented and diligent young composer. She is applying for doctorate programs in composition. I believe she will go far. I hope one day when she is successful and famous, I will be remembered to be the one who "premiered" her Two-Voice Fugue, dedicated to J.S. Bach.
- posted on 02/01/2008
正好读了一点,也跟着附个风雅。Some excerpts from what I read. Had to type it in so bear with the typos, if any.
[new music]
...music historian and professor ... Rothstein decried a lack of interest in the new music, attributing it to a century of music appreciation courses. ...
By "new music", Mr. Rothstein probably meant that of the avant-garde, such as twelve-tone composers continuing the tradition of theorists Schoenberg and Babbitt... If this is the case, he is partially correct, in that there is no public interest in them, and particularly wrong, in attributing this to music appreciation courses. There is no interest in such artists simply because they are uninteresting. Some of them, in their search to challenge the definitions of music, have produced pieces so self-consciously opposed to the current understanding that it alienates the majority of the public, and appears to do so deliberately. ...The problem is accentuated by the fact that some of them do felt contempts for their audience, honestly considering the masses to be asses for not accepting their own extreme theories. Those who choose to pursue radically different approaches to composition may achieve personal artistic satisfaction, but they must also be prepared never to gain popular acceptance for their work. Even the most well known of these may achieve little recognition outside academic circles, a was the case with Babbitt himself.
Strictly speaking works by avant-garde artists may be called "new music" due to their recent creation, but the term may be better reserved for referring to those that guide existing trends in new directions and have actual influence on the mainstream. ... - posted on 02/10/2008
Sadly, I'm a listener who is not very excited about new sounds, so I am not a good one to talk about creating new sounds in East meets West concepts. Let someone else talk about their feelings bah.
阿姗谈的和chicago谈只是对音乐语言感兴趣的某个地方不同,其实都是现代音乐家的音乐探索. 似乎chicago的兴趣在交响, 所以考虑的是如何加入新的音响,考虑的是新的乐器的安排和它们的音色作用, 而阿姗和她的朋友的兴趣在独奏. 所以兴趣在音乐的调性. 故意走调, 制造新意. 不管交响还是独奏, 他们谈的都是在追求艺术形式和风格上的新奇, 阿姗似乎更坚持为艺术而艺术,对其它何义务不感兴趣.chicago似乎还有east meets west的"义务"或者兴趣. 我想这一点点区别可能是阿姗和她的朋友还是学生, 还在做作业, 只对自己的教授负责. 而Chicago考虑听众稍微多一点. 不管怎么说, 他们都是在搞现代音乐. 我不知道诸位是否还有兴趣继续聊聊他们对现代音乐的看法.
Although interesting, my husband does not like the piece, because at the end of the day, it does not make him feel good. His favorite music now is the "Book of Secrets" CD I gave him for Christmas.
你的朋友没有解释她/他用了那么多minor second interval 效果的目的是什么? 我猜想是造成bitter的感觉吧. 夹在你朋友的”highly chromatic, rhythmically driven”的音响中, 企图造成一种bitter, sweet, bitter, sweet…的效果. 而你先生的耳朵太纯太甜了, 所以对”bitter”效果敏感, 结果是偏偏忍受不了这种bittersweet的"折磨". 我没有听到音乐, 只是根据我的经验猜想.
This piece turns out to be very difficult for me. I am not used to play modern music. With traditional music, if I make a mistake, I would know right away and learn to correct it next time. With the irregular new music, I cannot tell if I'm playing it right or wrong, so it's like I'm learning it for the first time over and over again.
当然不容易. 你这么说让我想到了20年前还在学校的时候, 读到的刘索拉那篇轰动一时被成为中国第一篇前卫小说《你别无选择》(后来得知谭盾等现在名人都是小说里面的音乐学院的那些学生原形). 他们现代, 前卫,超俗. 主角(谭盾??,假设是他吧)的现代作品中没有一个和弦是协调的.所以他练习现代作品时候, 嘴里总是大叫: 他妈的, 力度, 力度! 整天寻找音乐的力度. 因为是和声的不和谐, 要想从中表现出什么东西出来, 只有靠砸键盘在力度上下工夫, 否则上脚揣踏板就行了. 所以"谭盾"一开始砸键盘找力度, 他的roommates就要躲在被窝里.
而且这些玩现代音乐的"谭盾"们从来不洗澡(和我们的qinggang很不一样), 不换衣服, 披头散发,宿舍里乱轰轰的. 目的就是追求不和谐, 习惯不和谐. 因为干干净净, 整整齐齐在他们眼里看就是一种和谐,不是他们现代意识所要寻求的. 所以, 我猜想, 练习现代先锋音乐(avant-garde music)重要一点, 就是首先要培养一种"现代气质".
Moab所摘录的, 尽管字面上我读懂了, 但是我还没有太明白作者想要说明什么观点.
阿姗 wrote:
Sadly, I'm a listener who is not very excited about new sounds, so I am not a good one to talk about creating new sounds in East meets West concepts. Let someone else talk about their feelings bah. - posted on 02/10/2008
上次的后来才写完。借绿茶MM的地方放着。也顺便回答了 st dude 的几个问题。剩下的问题我要再有时间才能回复。
East Meets West
I practiced Tan's fugue a few hours each day. By the end of the 4th day, I could only get to 1/3 of the tempo she indicated. There were only two days left before the performance. We took the music to our piano teacher and asked him to coach me. He first listened to the computer rendition of the piece. He shook his head and said that the piece was probably too difficult to learn in one week. One would need at least 2-3 weeks. Although the computer version is less than 4 minutes, he found it quite long, because the same patterns were played over and over again throughout without enough variations. Bach's fugues were usually only 2 pages long, but Tan's fugue was 12 pages. Some composers like Beethoven and Tchaikovsky repeated themes many times in their music too, but their themes were pretty and easy listening, so we would not mind hearing the themes again and again. Tan's modern theme was not easy to listen to, so after a while it became too much for him.
The piece would be too hard to learn in a week, because a contemporary piece uses a different set of music language that is not familiar to us. If it's a piece by Bach or Beethoven, we have probably heard it before, or at least we understand the music language, so it is easier to learn. A contemporary piece is like foreign language to us (although there are people who specialize in performing modern music), and it adds another level of difficulty to the music. Our piano teacher said that he didn't like to perform contemporary pieces because it could be very ungrateful--after you have learned it for a few weeks, you would only play it once and never again. "If you learn a Mozart or a Schubert piece, you will have chances to perform it again, but not a contemporary piece." He would only do a contemporary piece if in the end there's a recording session to release the performance on a nice label or something, so afterward he could claim to have premiered the piece.
I suggested to cut the piece shorter so I would have a chance to learn it in the next two days. I was only joking, for I knew not how to cut a fugue. Or I could take some time to learn it and play it for the concert next term. Tan suggested playing the computer version for the concert. Our teacher vetoed, saying the computer could never be a substitute for live music. He also said that Tan should try to let me participate in the performance, because I had been practicing for a week and he would feel bad if my effort all wasted.
Eventually we decided that Tan and I would play it together, Tan play the left hand and I play the right hand.
We practice together for a couple of hours, and then had another rehearsal the next day. It was so much easier to play it this way--a fugue for two voices are supposed to be played separately anyway. As I got used to the music, I came to really liking it. I could see the variations within the fugue, and it was no longer a piece of long and unapproachable music for me. I was even dreaming with the music in my head at night.
Tan gave a introduction to the piece before our performance. She said this piece was written with "East meets West" in mind. The theme was taken from traditional Chinese music, and the fugal treatment was western. I wished she could have told me about it before. She also changed the title from Two-Voice Fugue to Two-Bird Fugue. Then I realized that the minor seconds were the bird figures in Chinese music. She also explained other aspects of her music, but I could not hear it on the backstage. I wanted her program note.
The performance was fun, despite of the many wrong notes. Everyone loved the fugue.
Tan's parents did not come for the performance, because they could not afford the tickets. "They don't like my music anyway. They think it is too weird". I don't know what to say. Her parents pushed her to learn music when she was a little girl, and they used to spank her too. Last year when Tan first came to our school, her parents were at her concert, and they sent flowers on stage for her. But now they are indifferent, or even discourage her music pursuit. She is of Lang Lang's age.
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