3. Early 20th century, new approaches to composition: Stravinsky’s ever-changing rhythms Schoenberg’s atonal, twelve- tone writing Ives’s three tempos and rhythms simultaneously Late 20th century, continued searching for new ideas: Non-western music influential in development of new approaches to composition

4. Born outside of San Francisco, California Irish father exposed him to Irish Appalachian, Chinese, Japanese, and Tahitian music Attended University of California at Berkeley Taught courses in world music in New York Won Guggenheim Foundation grant to study in Berlin, focused on gamelan music with Raden Mas Jodjhana of Java Wrote music for dancers; believed music should not dominate dance Suggested music segments be played in any order the dancers choose Aleatoryindeterminacy, chance music Aleatory, indeterminacy, or chance music : use of randomness where performers play or sing anything they want for a given amount of time Studied with Charles Seger “Advertisement” (1914) and “Tiger” (1928) popularized the tone cluster “Aeolian Harp” (1923): player uses one hand to silently depress piano keys, reaches over keyboard with the other to strum strings “The Banshee” (1925): player strums and scrapes the piano strings while assistant holds down damper pedal Persian Set (1957 ) for orchestra composed after long visits to Iran, India, and Japan

5. Listening excerpt from CD 2, track 40, page 359 Composed in 1925 Solo piano music Rubato tempo No regular repeating sections, plucked melody gives sense of unity One acoustic grand piano with lid removed Duple Meter Two people needed to play this piece; one plays entire piece by sweeping fingers across, or up and down, the strings; one sits at keyboard and holds down damper pedal Listen to the opening of this excerpt:

6. Born in Los Angeles, California Music of Changes (1951): toss coins to determine which sections of music to be performed Returned to California, studied with Arnold Schoenberg and Henry Cowell 1940, hired to provide music for dance production, no room on stage for instruments other than piano Replicated sound of African dance by placing bolts, screws, bamboo, and pieces of weather stripping on and between piano strings; became known as prepared piano Composed concerto for prepared piano and orchestra Discovered Zen Buddhism, studied with Indian singer and tabla player Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano (1946-1948) set of 16 sonatas Also studied I Ching (Book of Changes) ; reader determines which section to read by throwing coins or yarrow stalks 1930, left college to travel in Europe 1952, went into anechoic (isolation) chamber at Harvard University; discovered not silence, but sounds of his body Most famous composition, 4’33’’, performer sits at piano for 4 minutes and 33 seconds without making a sound Composed theatrical works and used electronics mixed with live sounds Atlas Eclipicalis (1961-1962): map of heavens supplied note heads Best known composer of chance music

7. Listening Example from CD 2, tracks 41-42, pp. 360-361 Composed in 1948 Solo piano 92 beats per minute Binary form Prepared piano Duple meter Listen to the A section Listen to the B section

8. Advanced electronic technology in mid 20 th century changed music composition and performance Magnetic tape, synthesizers, and computers allowed composers to control every aspect of music Accurate rendition of music without live performers possible Musique concrète : sounds prerecorded and manipulated

9. Synthesizers and computers create sounds by imitating musical instruments or natural sounds; also produce unique sounds Electronics allowed composers freedom Not limited by number of fingers or technical difficulty Movie and television composers stopped writing for live orchestras and used computers and synthesizers

10. Born in Paris, moved to New York in 1915 Challenged tradition by defining music as “organized sound” Compositions employ unusual combinations of instruments; recall noises of mechanized society Ionisation (1933) for percussion ensemble uses standard orchestral percussion and exotic instruments Déserts (1954) use of live and recorded sounds “Poèm électronique” (1958) : electronically produced sounds and musique concrète Performed at Brussels World Fair in 1958 Recorded to be played from 425 speakers around inside of oddly shaped building These types of electronic sounds can be heard in reruns of television show The Twilight Zone

11. Listening Excerpt from CD 6, track 17, p. 365 Composed in 1958 Taped electronic work Some returning sounds, no structured repeating or contrasting sections Electronic generators, church bells, organs, human voices, sirens No meter Listen to the opening of this selection:

12. Born in northern California in 1935 Member of San Francisco Tape Music Center, experimented with tape loops and multi-tracking sounds Transferred to University of California at Berkeley, received master’s degree in composition in 1961 Attended San Francisco State College “In C” (1964), most famous piece, first called “The Global Villages for Symphonic Pieces,” takes repetition and music fragments and makes it live Early example of minimalism – minimal amount of music material repeated many times with subtle differences Aleatoric : musicians can play on any instrument they choose as long as they play the written notes; musicians can begin any time and repeat each pattern as many times as desired before moving on to next pattern Studied in India with Pandit Pran Nath 1970’s: taught composition and courses in Indian music at Mills College in Oakland, California 1978, “Shri Camel”: tuned electric pianos and organs to Indian scales 1980 “Songs for the 10 Voices of the Two Prophets” composed using Hindu vocals accompanied by improvisations on synthesizer 1980s: worked with Kronos Quartet Composed 9 string quartets, a keyboard quintet, and a concerto for string quartet and orchestra

13. Listenin Excerpt from CD 6, track 18, p. 366 Composed in 1965 Aleatory Moderate tempo Much repetition of each individual cell, or motive, but no repeats of cells heard earlier in composition Any instrument the musicians choose that can play a C Major scale Varied meter, but pulse remains a steady beat Recording an aleatoric piece contradicts the essence of the style Listen to the opening of this selection: