Recently I have been making an attempt at exploring, and identifying with, more modern and contemporary classical music. Some composers I have studied earlier in the course, such as Steve Reich, and others I have found through my own research, such as John Adams and George Crumb.
Studying this course even for such a short time has shifted my perception of certain works, and I am now more open to trying out music that before I would have found completely unappealing. When I listened to Reich's 'Different Trains' for a previous exercise in this course, I found the subject matter interesting, but felt that it is something I probably wouldn't listen to again. However only yesterday I revisited this work, experiencing it again and with much more enjoyment. I also did some further reading on the piece, and noticed techniques that I hadn't the first time of listening. One example would be the voice recordings. The first time of listening I was intrigued by the notion of using fragments of recorded voice taken from interviews, but this time I realised that Reich was actually using the voice fragments as melody, and restating this melody in the strings.
As I write this, I am listening to John Adams' 'Dr Atomic Symphony', orchestral work taken from his 'Dr Atomic' opera. I have been striving to watch traditional opera since the start of this course, but this may spur me to try some contemporary opera.
Another composer I have 'tried again' is Mark-Anthony Turnage. I had previously seen the premiere of one of Turnage's works performed live at the opening concert of the BBC Proms 2012. This piece is called 'Canon Fever', and I remember at the time being decidedly unimpressed. In the last few days though I have listened to some of Turnage's other works and enjoyed them. With my new and brightening outlook on contemporary classical music, I contemplate listening again to 'Canon Fever', and note whether I have a change of opinion.
No comments:
Post a Comment