scholarly journals VАRIABILITY, APHORISTIC PHRASE AND PLAYING AS AESTHETIC AND STRUCTURE-FORMING PRINCIPLES IN "MOVEMENTS FOR 13 STRINGS INSTRUMENTS" BY SIMEON PIRONKOV

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 1817-1822
Author(s):  
Zdravka Hvarkata
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Igor Stravinsky ◽  
Exact Expression ◽  
Orchestral Music ◽  
String Instruments ◽  
Musical Thought ◽  
Plural Form ◽  
Ballet Music ◽  
External Connection ◽  
Over Time

The composition “Movements for 13 string instruments” was completed in 1967 and belongs to the group of works by Simeon Pironkov whose titles include the word “music” – “Night music”, which is written the year before, “Ballet music in memory of Igor Stravinsky”, created at the beginning of the ‘70s of the last century, and “Music for two pianos and orchestra”. The external connection is the genre uncertainty of their names, which is equally characteristic of the notion “movements” which emphasizes the continuity of the musical process over time without suggesting a connection to a particular genre. At the same time, unlike the three “music”-s, the plural form used in the title – “movements” – draws attention to the plurality of the musical impulses that make up the whole musical thought. The strength of the 13 string instruments indicates the belonging of the work to the chamber orchestral music and fits it into the objective European tendency towards chamberhood, which was established in the first decades of the twentieth century. Listeners are unexpectedly involved in “Movements for 13 string instruments” to hear about eight minutes 37 of micro-episodes – movements that resemble fast-moving movie frames or short theatrical scenes – before the colorful kaleidoscope of parallel-moving melodic lines, clusters, peculiar rhythmic formulas and characteristic strokes to be abruptly cut off by the “guillotine of the four-bars final” (according to the exact expression of the musicologist Rosalia Bix). The versatility of the used vehicles of expression and the masterful handing of them are important prerequisites for the artistic impact of the work, recreating with a laconic expression part of the ever flowing life stream in the form of a series of changing movements. At the same time, it is also a way of the composers playing with its own creation, an expression of the typical for the 20th century tendency for the art to entertain with its means. In any case, “Movements for 13 string instruments” express the youthful spirit of their creator, because, according to the extremely inventive maxim of the theater producer Nicolay Georgiev, “man has stopped playing not because he is old but he is old because he has stopped playing”.

A Tower of Tangled Histories: The Upper Silesia Tower in Poznań and the Making of an Unromantic Poland, 1911–1955

Slavic Review ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (3) ◽  
pp. 566-590
Author(s):  
Patryk Babiracki
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
National Identity ◽  
Cold War ◽  
World War I ◽  
Material Structure ◽  
World War ◽  
Upper Silesia ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
The City ◽  
Over Time

Engaging with regional, international, and spatial histories, this article proposes a new reading of the twentieth-century Polish past by exploring the vicissitudes of a building known as the Upper Silesia Tower. Renowned German architect Hans Poelzig designed the Tower for the 1911 Ostdeutsche Ausstellung in Posen, an ethnically Polish city under Prussian rule. After Poland regained its independence following World War I, the pavilion, standing centrally on the grounds of Poznań’s International Trade Fair, became the fair's symbol, and over time, also evolved into visual shorthand for the city itself. I argue that the Tower's significance extends beyond Posen/Poznań, however. As an embodiment of the conflicts and contradictions of Polish-German historical entanglements, the building, in its changing forms, also concretized various efforts to redefine the dominant Polish national identity away from Romantic ideals toward values such as order, industriousness, and hard work. I also suggest that eventually, as a material structure harnessed into the service of socialism, the Tower, with its complicated past, also brings into relief questions about the regional dimensions of the clashes over the meaning of modernity during the Cold War.

scholarly journals “Reminisces of a Dead World”: Neoclassical Impulses in Stockhausen’s Gesang der Jünglinge

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Faulkenberry
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Technical Innovation ◽  
World War ◽  
Strong Connection ◽  
Karlheinz Stockhausen ◽  
Musical Thought ◽  
Biblical Story ◽  
Musical Traditions

In the years following World War II, integral serialist composers declared their intent to defy all previous musical conventions and eradicate all “rem-inisces of a dead world” from their music. Karlheinz Stockhausen was no exception, asserting his desire “to avoid everything which is familiar, generally known or reminiscent of music already composed.” However, Stockhausen’s Gesang der Jünglinge, de-spite its reputation for technical innovation, bears a strong connection to prior musical traditions. In this regard, Stockhausen resembled the neoclassical school of composers that sought to accommodate antiquated musical materials within a modern con-text.To demonstrate these similarities, I apply to Gesang a model of neoclassicism developed by Martha M. Hyde, a scholar on twentieth-century mu-sic. Hyde identifies two modes by which a neoclassi-cal piece “accommodates antiquity”: metamorphic anachronism and allegory. I argue both are present in Gesang. First, Stockhausen adopts elements of the sacred vocal tradition—including a child’s voice and antiphonal writing—and morphs them into something modern. Second, Stockhausen uses the Biblical story on which Gesang is based as an alle-gory for his own conflicted relationship with the mu-sical past. This analysis reframes Gesang’s signifi-cance and connects Stockhausen’s work to seem-ingly unrelated trends in twentieth-century musical thought.

The Meaning[s] of "Without": An Exploration of Liszt's Bagatelle ohne Tonart

2004 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 230-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Berry
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Musical Thought ◽  
Early Twentieth Century ◽  
The Future ◽  
Piano Composition ◽  
Musical Evolution ◽  
Future Direction ◽  
Theoretical Issues ◽  
The Way

In this essay, I explore historical and theoretical issues germane to an understanding of an 1885 piano composition with an intriguing title: LisztÕs Bagatelle ohne Tonart--a bagatelle "without tonality" or "without a key." After briefly describing the workÕs history and musical associations with other compositions by Liszt, I survey two present-day approaches that reveal ways in which the work defies tonality: octatonic interpretations via set-class examinations, and Schenker-influenced prolongational models. I then turn to focus instead on how the Bagatelle fit within the framework of nineteenth-century musical thought; how its processes were supported by contemporaneously evolving theories of chromaticism. Partly through an analysis based on the practice of Gottfried Weber (1779-1839), I demonstrate that the Bagatelle is not a piece "without tonality" as much as it is one "without the fulfillment of the tonic." It maintains harmonic tension by avoiding anticipated resolutions, as well as by preserving a sense of ambiguity as to what the actual "missing" key is. Next, I consider why Liszt was prompted to write a piece in such a manner. We know that he was a proponent of musical progress--of Zukunftsmusik ("music of the future")--but for this fact to be relevant we must confirm, first, that Liszt had definite ideas about a Zukunftsharmoniesystem; and second, that such a system is reflected in the processes exhibited by the Bagatelle. I argue that the BagatelleÕs traits are indeed in accordance with theoretical views about musicÕs future direction, to which Liszt subscribed. Relevant theories of Karl Friedrich Weitzmann (1808-80) and Franois-Joseph FŽtis (1784-1871) are assessed. Lastly, in a "Schoenbergian epilogue" I explore connections between LisztÕs operations and SchoenbergÕs ideas, addressing historical associations that conjoin their views of composing "ohne Tonart."I conclude that the 1885 BagatelleÕs attenuation of tonality was part of a tradition that extended from the mid-nineteenth into the early twentieth century--one that stretched from Liszt and his contemporaries through Schoenberg and his pupils and beyond, embracing along the way the theoretical prescriptions of Weitzmann, FŽtis, and Schoenberg himself. The various threads of theory and analysis explored in this article contribute to an understanding of the same strand of musical evolution: the increasing circumvention of tonality to the point that a piece could be written "ohne Tonart."

THE FORM OF THE SUITE IN BALLET AND ITS METRORHYTHMIC ORGANIZATION

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 41-46
Author(s):  
A. V. Galyatina ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Igor Stravinsky ◽  
Musical Form ◽  
Classical Dance ◽  
Swan Lake ◽  
Corrective Effect ◽  
Xixth Century ◽  
Ballet Music ◽  
Virtual Time ◽  
Temporal Proportions ◽  
Compositional System

The article reveals the peculiarities of metrorhythmic organization of the classical dance cycle (suite), typical for Russian ballet of the XIXth century and its evolution in the early XXth century under the influence of innovations in the field of rhythm in the ballets by Igor Stravinsky. The purpose of this article is to find mechanisms of interaction between dance and music based on coordination of their temporal parameters. The material of analysis is the classical dance cycle that performs both compositional and dramaturgical functions in the ballet. Apart from the metrorhythmic and compositional system of organizing time in ballet music, other types of time can be distinguished: real, psychological (subjective) and conceptual, artistic time organizing the processes of the characters' life cycle and the development of action in the virtual time of the artwork. In a classical dance cycle in each number, real time predominates, but when the numbers alternate, subject to the principle of contrast, the conceptual time has a corrective effect. The alternation of musical and choreographic numbers in a ballet determines the rhythm of the form or "compositional rhythm" (according to V. P. Bobrovsky). The correlation of temporal proportions of numbers is considered on the example of ballets "Swan Lake" by P. Tchaikovsky and "Petrushka" by I. Stravinsky. The compositional unit is the duration of the stage segment of the musical form, the change of which creates the rhythm of the form.

Authority in Experience

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alireza Doostdar
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Religious Experience ◽  
Personal Experience ◽  
Empirical Observation ◽  
Scientific Experiment ◽  
Cumulative Learning ◽  
Over Time

This chapter examines the place of personal experience in contemporary Iranian spirituality, What is known as “experience” is equivalent to the Persian word tajrobeh (Arabic tajriba). The sense of tajriba is linked as scientific experiment or methodical empirical observation to Spiritism. As a kind of experience associated with cumulative learning and mastery over time, a sense of tajrobeh comes close to the German concept of Erfahrung. This chapter first considers the concept of “heart” before discussing tajrobeh in terms of Erlebnis, experience that is more personal, immediate, intense, and perhaps ineffable than what Erfahrung implies. It then explores the views of Arezu Khanum on heart, Abdol-Karim Soroush on religiosity, and Mostafa Malekiyan on spirituality and religious experience. It also shows that in the twentieth century, the terms tajrobeh and Erlebnis converged in Iranian reformist formulations of “religious experience” inspired by modern European thinkers.

Crossing the Last Frontier: Transatlantic Movements of Asian Maritime Workers, c. 1900-1945

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Balachandran
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Cultural Factors ◽  
Immigration Policies ◽  
World War ◽  
The Us ◽  
Migration Network ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Us Immigration

This essay explores the maritime migration network between Asia and America by way of Europe during the first half of the twentieth century. It pays particular attention to the maritime activity of ‘lascar’ seamen, and the movement of labour between Britain, America, India, China, and Hong Kong. It examines the changes that underwent the network over time, the quantities of migrants and their intended destinations, and the period of upheaval caused by each World War. It also examines the racial, social, political, and cultural factors that shaped British and US immigration policies during the period. It concludes by stating that the US was undoubtedly a primary destination for Asian labourers, despite the well-broatcast perils relating to wages, racism, nationalism, and subjugation.

Conclusion

2021 ◽  
pp. 149-154
Author(s):  
Jenifer L. Barclay
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Civil War ◽  
Beliefs And Practices ◽  
Over Time

The complexities of life for slaves with disabilities continued into the Civil War as some became “contraband.” With emancipation, the experiences of freedpeople with disabilities, including veterans, grew more obscure. The use of disability as a marker of inferiority, however, expanded in potent new ways by drawing on the ideology of ableism during Reconstruction to legitimize white dominance. Using the lens of intersectionality, it is clear how the antebellum era’s multitude of disabling narratives of race substantiated the racial order of society and established an enduring set of foundational myths, beliefs, and practices about race. Over time, overt analogies between blackness and disability gave way to more subtle suggestions of black inferiority and “damage imagery” that echoed well into the twentieth century.

Origins

Artful Noise ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 5-25
Author(s):  
Thomas Siwe
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Igor Stravinsky ◽  
Artistic Expression ◽  
Bela Bartok ◽  
Darius Milhaud ◽  
Early Twentieth Century ◽  
Cultural Movements ◽  
Unique Manner ◽  
To Come

This opening chapter contains a discussion of two early twentieth-century European art and cultural movements, Dadaism and Futurism, whose adherents rejected established modes of artistic expression and often staged provocative events to gain the public’s attention. In addition, there is a detailed look at the seminal works of three major composers, Igor Stravinsky, Darius Milhaud, and Béla Bartók, whose innovative use of percussion in their compositions gave license to those who followed. Each of the three composers exploited percussion in a unique manner, contributing to the standard literature and presaging what was to come.

The Changing Fortunes of Syncretism

2020 ◽  
pp. 19-54
Author(s):  
Ross Kane
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Early Twentieth Century ◽  
Over Time

Syncretism’s varying connotations have become sedimented within the word over time. To unearth the perceived challenges around syncretism, the chapter studies the word’s history up to the early twentieth century—its use, how it has been deployed, about whom, and for what ends. The word “syncretism” has been used to reconcile opposing factions, neutrally describe religious mixture, and disparage religious mixture. In Christian circles, the term’s pejorative turn came only recently, in the early twentieth century. This shift relates to wider fears among Christians during this period as Christianity spread in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. These fears relate to two key themes, revelation and race.

Union and its Challengers in the United Kingdom

2021 ◽  
pp. 21-36
Author(s):  
Michael Keating
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
The State ◽  
Clear Distinction ◽  
World War Two ◽  
World War ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Parliamentary Sovereignty ◽  
Nineteenth And Twentieth Centuries ◽  
Over Time

The United Kingdom was created over time without a clear plan. Creation of the state largely coincided with the creation of the Empire so that there was not a clear distinction between the two. The union preserved many of the elements of the pre-union component parts, but was kept together by the principle of unitary parliamentary sovereignty. Within the union, the distinct nationalities developed in the modern period and produced nationalist movements. Most of these aimed at devolution within the state, but some demanded separation. Management of these demands was a key task of statecraft in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In the post-World War Two era, the nationalities question appeared to have gone away but it returned in the 1970s. Devolution settlements at the end of the twentieth century represented a move to stabilize the union on new terms.

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