Music Since World War II, Concert Review - Essay Example

Music Since World War II, Concert Review The Second half of the 20th Century saw revolutionary changes in the music scenario because of the increased worldwide popularity for radio across the world and music which started to have an audience which was not limited to concerts and clubs. Musicians and music artists became quite famous across the country and sometimes their fame spread worldwide. Audiences were given a wide variety of music to listen to. With the advent of television, music performance became increasingly visual. Headphones made possible people sitting close to one another listening to entirely different types of the music and with the invention of electronic instruments, the concepts of music have undergone drastic changes which accelerated the process of development of new forms of music. There are many types and styles of music written since World War II, the only limit is the composer’s imagination. They are looking for different modes of expression. Composer Arnold Schoenberg experimented strange and unorthodox tonal schemes and harmonies. Bela Bartok, a Hungarian composer, combined the Twentieth Century forms with music of Hungarian peasants. Edgard Varese who belongs to the group of ‘Avant-garde’ experimented with the manipulation of rhythms. Igor Stranimsky, throughout his entire career made experiments with kaleidoscopic rhythms and instrumental colors. So it is very clear that composers since Second World War made lots of experiments with traditional instruments and modes of expression. Yet some of the greatest composers of the twentieth century, such as Giacomo Puccini, an Italian opera composer and Sergei Rachmaninoff, the Russian composer, followed traditional forms of music history. Music since World War II has seen several new and eclectic styles. Concert of Ottawa Presents a French Connection Under the musical direction of David Currie, the Ottawa Orchestra presented a concert entitled ‘A French Connection’ comprising of the compositions of Pierre Merure, Steven Gellman and Camille Saint Saens. Pierre Merure discovered French music and developed an interest for orchestration which was very much visibly noticeable in his very first work ‘kaleidoscope’ This is the most favorite piece of the French and Canadian and one of the popular and best liked of Canadian Composer Pierre Mercure’s Kaleidoscope through the colorful pattern of colors. Steven Gellman began writing music since he was nine years of age and was awarded the BMI Award to Student Composers in 1964. The Ottawa Symphony Orchestra has featured many of his works and His Viola Concerto has its world premiere at this concert and this is truly appreciated by the erudite audience. Camille Saint was a child prodigy and he could play all of Beethovan’s 32 Piano Sonatas by heart when he was just 10 years old. He was hailed as the next Mozart and one of the greatest organists of his time. And there is no music in this world that can enthrall the audience like Camille Saint- Saens, the Organ Symphony, which fully utilizes the sound of the organ to create a truly resounding and enthralling sound appreciated by all the audience It was truly a masterpiece rendered by the greatest living French pianist of his time and is hailed to be the all time greatest in the annals of the organ playing and shall always be remembered for his magnificent contribution to the cause of the French music history. Concert: Oliver Knussen Oliver Knussen is one of the leading music figure in the world. He made his debut with the London Symphony Orchestra in 1968. Some of his famous works are ‘Hums and songs of Winnie-the-Pooh’, (1970) the Second Symphony, Ocean de Terre, Ophelia Dances. With the works of ‘Coursing’ and third Symphony, he became leading contemporary British music. The National Arts Centre’s Orchestra’s first music festival was headed by leading music figure in the contemporary world, the British composer, Oliver Knussen. The Concerts features music of the 21st Century as well as the 20th Century. The first music featured on March 7th with soprano Elizabeth Keusch as soloist. In the second programme, ensemble of National Arts Centre orchestra as well as American new music ensemble Eighth was Blackbird participated. Diva Knussen performed his Second Symphony in the National Arts Centre Orchestra in 2001. Since 2004,he conducted his Canadian Premiere of his violin Concerts with Pinchas Zeherman as soloist. Last year he won the $100,000 Michael Ludwigh Nammers Prize in Musical Composition from the Northwestern University School of Music in Illinos. He was referred by Award Committee as “uniquely focused, vibrantly varied music and his total embrace – as a profoundly influential composer, conductor and educator – of today’s musical culture.” (National Arts Center). American soprano Elizabeth Keusch performed Oliver Krussen’s recently composed ‘ Songs for Sue.’ He composed the songs in the memory of his wife, Sue, who died in 2003. The concert opened with a work of Knussen – Two Organa which is a pair of miniatures composed in 1994. It uses the organo procedure, the oldest form of polyphonic music. Another significant feature of the concert was the Pricola Mucsica notturna (a little night music) composed by Italian composer Luigi Pallapissola in 1954. The concert closed with Schoenberg’s Picrrot Lumaire. It was composed in 1912 for a Viennese actress. In 1980, Oliver Knussen dedicated his time for ‘operatic double bill’ in association with Maurice Sendak. Since 1983, he served as an Artistic director of the Alderburgh Festival till 1998, between 1986 and 1993; he headed contemporary music activities at the Tangewood Music Centre. During this period he became very famous as conductor with the appearances at London Sinfonietta, BBC Symphony Orchestra Philharmonia, CBSO and Scottish Chamber of Orchestra. Later on he conducted his show in many parts of the world. Many of his later works such as flourish with fireworks, songs without voices, the horn concerts and Two Organa have become very famous. He became Music Director in 1998 and was appointed as Conductor Laureate. He is a recipient of many national and international Awards. He is a Honorary member in the American Academy of Arts and letters Royal Scottish Academy of Music and drama awarded him a Honorary Doctorate Degree. Concert: Winds of the national arts centre The National Arts Centre is the home to the famous NAC orchestra which presents the highest excellent standards in music, English and French theatre, dance forms etc. It uses its infra-structural facilities to develop an international class of musicians and has also its broad band technology to gain inroads to the international community. It also helps focus on youth talent by allowing youth to discover their latent potential in fine arts. It has several programs for young artistes and produces course materials for study for young students from the pre-school stages to tertiary educations stages with its new and varied programs. The NAC also conducts regular Tours across the globe and offers curriculum for young artistes programs, Conductors’ Programs and Young Composers Programs. The basic idea is to nurture the young talents so that they could render excellent compositions such as rendered by Debussy. The Debussy is a small piece of wonder and is a part of the concert of winds of the national arts centre and one never gets tired of hearing of it. In the present rendering the piano could only indirectly take the place of the effects of harp and string, but the piece “The Afternoon of the Faun” is, in essence, a string of wind solos and it has been well executed. The creator of this piece is not very clear and it may be the result of the joint efforts of all the concerned artistes. Work Cited National Arts Center. Available from: http://www.nac-cna.ca/en/nacnews/viewnews.cfm?ID=1368 [Accessed on Apr 2, 2007]. Read More