Functionality and history of electronics in regards to the performance practice of the following works: Temazcal (1984), Javier Álvarez, and Memory Palace (2012), Christopher Cerrone

Master's Project (M.Mu.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2016The Electroacoustic pieces; Temazcal (1984), by Javier Alvarez (b.1956), and Memory Palace (2012) by Christopher Cerrone (b.1984), each employ different types of electronic technologies in their realization through performance. This paper will discuss the origin and history of the technology applied respectively in the works. I will examine the role of percussion within the works, specifically in regards to learning and problem solving through technological challenges in order to effectively perform the compositions. By looking at Temazcal and Memory Palace through the context of their historical significance as electroacoustic works, the inherent functionality of the technology employed in each, and the resultant performance practices that have subsequently developed, a greater musical appreciation and understanding of electroacoustic works, in general, is possible

Mozart and l'impresario

In May 1856, less than a year after opening, Jacques Offenbach’s Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens mounted a production of Mozart’s Der Schauspieldirektor entitled L’Impresario. Originally written in 1786 as a play with music consisting of no more than an overture and four numbers, Der Schauspieldirektor posed problems for would-be performers throughout the nineteenth century. Attempts to turn it into a one-act comic opera included adding numbers from Cimarosa’s L’impresario in angustie (1791), and from operas by Dittersdorf and others (1814). Louis Schneider’s solution for Berlin (1845) lengthened the opera by adding in songs and romances from elsewhere in Mozart’s own output. This served as the basis for Offenbach’s version a decade later, when Léon Battu and Ludovic Halévy wrote a completely new libretto to turn the Singspiel into an opéra bouffe for Offenbach’s troupe. L’Impresario enhanced the status of the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens when previously its activities had barely been considered seriously by the press, and also contributed significantly to the enshrinement of Mozart in Paris in his centenary year. Offenbach’s cast, selected from recent Conservatoire graduates, avoided the comic duo who had ensured the troupe’s earlier success in an attempt to sustain an image of the work to equal that of Don Giovanni or Le nozze di Figaro. In complicating the relationship between composer and entrepreneur both on and off the stage, L’Impresario brought Mozart into Offenbach’s theatrical world and invited operatic collusion between what was emerging as high and low art: the reception of Mozart and operetta

"La musique devient ce qu'elle est" : dynamique musicale et traces matérielles

L'un des éléments sur lesquels se fondait la critique adornienne de la musique de Stravinsky relevait de cette fameuse «pseudomorphose de la musique sur la peinture»,' laquelle allait lui permettre non seulement de mettre l'accent sur le statisme de la musique du compositeur russe, mais aussi d'étendre cette lecture a la production musicale du second après-guerre. En effet, dans sa réactualisation de la critique stravinskienne, datant des années 60, le philosophe notait la proximité que lui paraissait entretenir la musique récente avec la musique de Stravinsky, bien qu'elle semblât dériver plus directement de celle de Schônberg: là aussi, la musique ne serait plus en mesure de satisfaire I' "obligation qu'elle a de devenir"

Ars Informatica -- Ars Electronica: Improving Sonification Aesthetics

In this paper we discuss æsthetic issues of sonifications. We posit that many sonifications have suffered from poor acoustic ecology which makes listening more difficult, thereby resulting in poorer data extraction and inference on the part of the listener. Lessons are drawn from the electro acoustic music community as we argue that it is not instructive to distinguish between sonifications and music/sound art. Edgar Var`ese defined music as organised sound and sonifications organise sound to reflect some aspect of the thing being sonified. Therefore, we propose that sonification designers can improve the communicative ability of their auditory displays by paying attention to the æsthetic issues that are well known to composers, orchestrators, sound designers & artists, and recording engineers

Sur l’importance des disques et du recording dans la musique populaire et la techno

International audienceDepuis qu'Edison a inventé le phonographe un nouveau mode de stockage de la musique est venu s'ajouter au corps des individus et à la notation : les disques. Cela signifie, qu'en plus d'aller à la musique (jouer d'un instrument ou assister à un évènement musical), la musique vient à nous. C'est donc par l'intermédiaire des enregistrements que, dans une très grande mesure, nous découvrons, aimons, apprenons et transmettons la musique. Autrement dit, ce que l'on appelait jadis, et assez improprement, la culture orale, a trouvé son médium, un objet léger et bourré d'informations précieuses qui circule et s'échange facilement

Boston University Symphony Orchestra Concerto Concert, April 27, 2010

This is the concert program of the Boston University Symphony Orchestra Concerto Concert performance on Tuesday, April 27, 2010 at 7:30 p.m., at the Tsai Performance Center, 685 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts. Works performed were Concerto in G for Flute and Orchestra, K. 313 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Diversions by Jonathan Blumhofer, Concerto in E minor for Cello and Orchestra by Edward Elgar, and Concerto in E-flat for Piano and Orchestra, "Emporer" by Ludwig van Beethoven. Digitization for Boston University Concert Programs was supported by the Boston University Center for the Humanities Library Endowed Fund

Boston University Symphony Orchestra, September 25, 2008

This is the concert program of the Boston University Symphony Orchestra performance on Thursday, September 25, 2008 at 7:30 p.m., at the Tsai Performance Center, 685 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts. Works performed were "Sarabande" from Pour le Piano and "Danse" from Tarantelle styrienne by Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel, Concertino for Trumpet and Orchestra by Richard Cornell, and Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73 by Johannes Brahms. Digitization for Boston University Concert Programs was supported by the Boston University Center for the Humanities Library Endowed Fund