Avant-Garde Music Composers PDF

10  Avant Garde - closely related with electronic music. - this movement dealt with the parameters or the dimensions of sound in space. The avant garde style exhibited a new attitude toward musical mobility, whereby the order of note groups could be varied so that musical continuity could...

10  Avant Garde - closely related with electronic music. - this movement dealt with the parameters or the dimensions of sound in space. The avant garde style exhibited a new attitude toward musical mobility, whereby the order of note groups could be varied so that musical continuity could be altered. Improvisation was a necessity in this style, for the musical scores were not necessarily followed as written The unconventional methods of sound and form, as well as the absence of traditional rules governing harmony, melody and rhythm, make the whole concept of avant garde music quite strange to ears accustomed to traditional compositions. Avant-Garde Composers GEORGE GERSHWIN– (1898-1937) - Born in New York to Russian Jewish immigrants - His older brother Ira, was his artistic collaborator who wrote the lyrics of his songs. - His first song was written in 1916 and his first Broadway musical, La La Lucille, in 1919. - He is a true “crossover artist”, in the sense that his serious compositions remain highly popular in the classical repertoire. - He is considered the “Father of American Jazz”, his mixture of the primitive and sophisticated” give his music an appeal that has lasted long after his death. - Gershwin’s musical compositions total around 369 which include orchestral music, chamber music, film musicals etc. - He died in Hollywood, California, USA on July 11, 1937  Gershwin works include the following: La La Lucille Rhapsody in Blue (1924) An American in Paris (1928) Porgy and Bess (1934)- remains to this day the only American opera to be included in the established repertory of this genre. LEONARD BERNSTEIN– (1918-1990) - Born in Massachusetts, USA -endeared himself to his many followers as a charismatic conductor, pianist, composer and lecturer. - His big break came when he was asked to substitute for the ailing Bruno Walter in conducting the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in a concert on November 14, 1943. - His philosophy was that the universal language of music is basically rooted in tonality. - Bernstein is fondly remembered for his television series “ Young People’s Concerts’ (1958-1973) and “Harvardian Lectures”- a six volume set of his papers syntax, musical theories and philosophical insights. - His musical compositions total around 90. - He died in New York City, USA on October 14, 1990.  Bernstein works include the following: West Side Story (1957) Candide (1956) Mass (1971) –which he wrote for the opening of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C. On the Waterfront (1954) PHILIP GLASS – (1937) -one of the successful minimalist composer. - His distinctive style involves cell-like phrases emanating from bright electronic sounds from the keyboard that progressed very slowly from one pattern to the next in a very repetitious fashion. - Born in New York, USA of Jewish parents, Glass became an accomplished violinist and flutist at the age of 15. - He formed the Philip Glass Ensemble and produced works such as Music in Similar Motion(1969) and Music in Changing Parts(1970) which combine rock type grooves with perpetual patterns played at extreme volumes. - He completed the trilogy with operas Satyagraha(1980) and Akhnaten(1984), based on the lives of Mahatma Gandhi, Leo Tolstoy, Martin Luther King and Egyptian pharoah. His musical compositions total around 170. Today Glass lives alternately in Nova Scotia, Canada and New York, USA.