Performance and Reception of Bartók’s Violin Music during His First Concert Tour of the United States (1927–1928)

During his first concert tour of the United States (1927–1928) Bartók played primarily his own music in lecture-recitals, orchestra performances, and chamber music concerts in fifteen American cities. Over the course of the tour, he collaborated with violinists Jelly d’Arányi and Joseph Szigeti to present a few of his works for violin and piano to members of musical clubs in New York City and Philadelphia, and before dignitaries at the Hungarian Embassy in Washington, D.C. – namely his Sonata for Violin and Piano no. 2 (1922), Hungarian Folk Tunes, for violin and piano (arranged by Joseph Szigeti, 1926), and Romanian Folk Dances for Violin and Piano (arranged by Zoltán Székely, 1925). In Boston and New York, Bartók played on recitals that also included performances of his String Quartets nos. 1 and 2. In this article I document the American reception of Bartók’s violin music during his U.S. recitals of early 1928. Music criticism in American newspapers and music journals, as well as detailed program notes from the string quartet performances, have been taken into account to reveal the assessment of Bartók’s violin music and string quartets and the characterization of the composer in the American press and concert halls. The reviews have also been considered in comparison to later recordings of the violin and piano works made by Bartók and Szigeti.

TROPISMS – A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE GENESIS OF A COMPOSITION, STRING QUARTET NO. 5, DANCERS ON A PLANE

This article considers the nature of the relationship between composers and musicologists and explores the aesthetic roots and ideas of my 5th String Quartet, Dancers on a Plane, which has recently been the subject of a musicological study.

The Effect of Register, Direction, and Magnitude on Musicians’ Evaluations of Chamber Ensemble Intonation: A Within-Study Comparison for Analysis of Repeated Measures

This study had two primary purposes: (1) to investigate the effect of register, direction, and magnitude on musicians’ evaluation of chamber ensemble intonation, and (2) determine whether a novel nonparametric technique, ordinal pattern analysis (OPA), was a viable alternative to repeated-measures analysis of variance (rANOVA). I digitally mastered a recording of a string quartet performing a phrase from Capriol Suite by altering the intonation of the violin or cello voice ±20 and 30 cents sharp and flat. Participants ( N = 72) completed a discrimination task and an evaluation task with the recordings, with task order, and within-task item order presented in a random order. Analysis using rANOVA revealed significant differences due to register, direction, and magnitude: Excerpts with cello errors were rated as more in tune than excerpts with violin errors; excerpts with flat errors were rated as more in tune than excerpts with sharp errors, and excerpts with 20-cent magnitude errors were rated as more in tune than excerpts with 30-cent magnitude errors. OPA results were consistent with rANOVA results. Substantive implications for music teaching and learning are discussed alongside methodological considerations and implications for music education research using repeated-measures designs.

The Interpersonal Entrainment in Music Performance Data Collection

The Interpersonal Entrainment in Music Performance Data Collection (IEMPDC) comprises six related corpora of music research materials: Cuban Son & Salsa (CSS), European String Quartet (ESQ), Malian Jembe (MJ), North Indian Raga (NIR), Tunisian Stambeli (TS), and Uruguayan Candombe (UC). The core data for each corpus comprises media files and computationally extracted event onset timing data. Annotation of metrical structure and code used in the preparation of the collection is also shared. The collection is unprecedented in size and level of detail and represents a significant new resource for empirical and computational research in music. In this article we introduce the main features of the data collection and the methods used in its preparation. Details of technical validation procedures and notes on data visualization are available as Appendices. We also contextualize the collection in relation to developments in Open Science and Open Data, discussing important distinctions between the two related concepts.

Spectral Aesthetics and ecological listening in the music of Helena Tulve

This chapter analyzes Estonian composer Helena Tulve's unique timbral process in four works: Sula (1999); L'Équinoxe de l'âme for soprano, triple harp or kannel, and string quartet (2008); Arboles lloran por luvia for voices and nyckelharpa (2006); and I am a River for chamber choir (2009). L'Équinoxe de l'âme (The Equinox of the Soul) is based on a text by the Persian mystic and philosopher Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi on the mythical Persian firebird Simurgh. Rather than portraying dissolving as in the orchestral work ice—Sula means to thaw or melt—the timbral transformations of Équinoxe evoke sparks bursting into flame, as well as a philosophical rumination on existence. The remaining vocal works similarly treat their texts with a programmatic flair that blurs the line between the materiality of the sound and its contemplative mood. Tulve's compositional approach can be considered post-spectral in its influences and attention to timbral detail. However, she is also motivated by ecological concerns, and counts herself among a small group of contemporary Estonian composers devoted to expressing this philosophy through music. Her influences meld in a music that prioritizes “slowness”: a sustained focus on spectral detail that reflects the composer's deep-rooted ecological concerns. The chapter thus draws on ideas from ecological theory, timbral analysis, and speculative aesthetics to show how Tulve's compositions express form through timbre and its expression in space, and reflect an ecological aesthetic of listening.

Musical Time in a Fast World

In this chapter Wilson addresses the relation between musical temporality and dominant conceptions of time under recent or ‘liquid’ modernity. He argues that the sonic arts (music, sound art, etc.) variously withdraw from and/or embrace normative time-making—thereby critically calling into question our assumptions about lived temporality. Wilson engages two examples, both intimately connected with the city of New York and the year 1983: Morton Feldman’s minimal yet durational String Quartet No. 2, and Bill Fontana’s Oscillating Steel Grids along the Brooklyn Bridge, the latter of which involved sounds from this bridge (traffic, the metal strut work, etc.) relayed live and broadcast in downtown Manhattan. Both works criss-crossed different temporalities and lived rhythms that contrasted with the speed implicit in 1980s hypercapitalism, forming dialogues between musical time and the cultures of its production.

Franghiz Alizadeh’s Composition ‘Wahe’ (‘Oasis’) for String Quartet and Tape Recorder

The article examines the chamber-instrumental work of Franghiz Alizadeh, a prominent representative of the modern Azerbaijani school of composition, People’s Artist, awarded the honorary title of ‘Artist of Peace’ by UNESCO. The article also highlights the characteristics of the musical and harmonic language, original timbre combinations, unusual dynamics, methods of using modern musical techniques of chamber-instrumental works of Franghiz Alizadeh, which is an area of her creative work that combines East-West music synthesis. The article analyzes Franghiz Alizadeh’s composition ‘Oasis for tape recorder and string quartet and gives specific features of the work. The article emphasizes that Franghiz Alizadeh’s presentation of Oriental thought in a synthesis of modern methods in the composition ‘Oasis’ is a unique feature of the work. The purpose of the research is to analyze the composition of Franghiz Alizadeh’s ‘Oasis’ and to determine the individual stylistic features of the composer. The interpretation of important innovations in Franghiz Alizadeh’s chamber-instrumental work and the discovery of its connection with modern music culture is especially emphasized. The basis of the research is the involvement of Franghiz Alizadeh, a prominent representative of the modern Azerbaijani school of composition, in the research work of the composition ‘Oasis’, which has not been subjected to scientific and theoretical analysis. The research methodology is based on music-analytical, theoretical, and historical analysis. It was noted that Franghiz Alizadeh’s chamber-instrumental work was formed in the context of the development of modern music, and modern technical methods were manifested uniquely. At the same time, the methodological basis of the article is based on the scientific-theoretical principles and research of Azerbaijani and foreign musicologists. The scientific novelty of the research is that for the first time, the general features of Franghiz Alizadeh’s chamber-instrumental creative work were studied within the framework of Azerbaijani music science, and the composer’s composition ‘Oasis’ was analyzed in detail. At the same time, based on the analysis, the article presents a detailed scientific study of the composition ‘Oasis’, which is of great importance in the work of the composer. Conclusions. The comprehensive analysis of Franghiz Alizadeh’s chamber-instrumental work and especially the composition ‘Oasis’ in the presented article allows drawing important conclusions about the features of the composer’s creative style. Franghiz Alizadeh is a modern Azerbaijani composer distinguished by her original creative style, and it was noted that the deep content of her works, distinguished by her unusual style of performance, is important in our national music art. It was noted that the East-West synthesis is dynamically manifested in the composer’s work, and this feature is directly felt like her works. From this point of view, F. Alizadeh’s camera-instrumental work is distinguished by the difference of modern writing techniques with rich images, and she has achieved great success not only in her native Azerbaijan but also far beyond its borders. It should be noted that Franghiz Alizadeh’s works, which combine East-West synthesis, have been performed in many countries and met with success. From this point of view, the composition of ‘Oasis’ differs by its rhythmic structure, artistic content, and texture form. It is especially emphasized that the unusual performance of the composition ‘Oasis’ was used to reveal a certain image. It is noted that the composition has a different musical language, along with deep content and non-traditional features. The combination of serial technique and mugam elements gives the composition ‘Oasis’ originality. It is noteworthy that the tape was used as an integral part of the camera-instrumental work. It was noted that the composition "Oasis", as a work of synthesis of theatre and music, has a theatrical effect. Franghis Alizadeh is currently living the period of wisdom in her work and enriches the professional music of Azerbaijan with her unusual works of modern type, which combine East- West synthesis.