Sound Art
History of Western Music
1685Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frederick Handel are born. They become principal classical composers of the Baroque period. Bach, who fathers 20 children, explores musical forms associated with the church and Handel works as a dramatic composer.1689Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas opens in
London.1703Vivaldi becomes violin master at Venice's La Pieta orphanage. He writes more then 400 concertos for La Pieta in his 35-year service there.1705Reinhard Keiser uses French horns for the first time in opera in his production of Octavia.1725Vivaldi writes The Four Seasons.1733The comic opera, La Serva Padrona,
from Battista Pergolesi's serious opera Il Prigionier Superbo, wows Europe with its humorous story and enchanting music.1735Handel produces his last great operatic success, Alcina, which features dancer Marie Salle.1742Handel's Messiah premieres in Dublin to an enthusiastic audience.1750Bach dies. The end of the
Baroque period is often seen in conjunction with his death. The highly ornate style of the Baroque period gives rise to the more simple, clarified styles of the Classical period, which sees the emergence of symphonies and string quartets.1761Franz Joseph Haydn becomes Vice-Kapellmeister to the Esterhazy family and
Kapellmeister in 1766. Though living virtually as a slave to the family, he had at his disposal an impressive orchestra. During his 30-year service to the family, he completes 108 symphonies, 68 string quartets, 47 piano sonatas, 26 operas, 4 oratorios and hundreds of smaller pieces.1762Christoph Willibald von Glück sets out to
reform opera with his Orfeo ed Euridice. He wants to restore opera to what the original composers intended it to be—an art form marked by high drama, few recitatives and orchestral set-pieces.1786Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro premieres in Vienna.1787Mozart's Don Giovanni debuts in Prague.1797Franz Peter Schubert is
born in Vienna. Though many musicians make Vienna their home, Schubert is the only one to be born there.1803Beethoven produces his third symphony, Eröica. This piece marks the beginning of the Romantic period, in which the formality of the Classical period is replaced by subjectivity.1807Beethoven completes his
Symphony No. 5, which many consider to be the most popular classical work ever written.1810Robert Schumann is born in Germany.1815Schubert writes “Der Erlkönig,” his first public success and most famous song.1816Gioacchino Rossini's The Barber of Seville, based on Pierre Beaumarchais's play, debuts in Rome. His
Otello opens in Naples.1818Beethoven's hearing has deteriorated so badly that he no longer can hear the piano and must communicate with conversation books.1821Carl Maria von Weber's Der Freischutz debuts in Berlin, and he becomes the master of German opera.1826Mendelssohn writes the overture to A Midsummer
Night's Dream, which debuts in Stettin in 1827.1832Schumann's career as a pianist is over as one of his fingers becomes paralyzed.1839The New York Philharmonic is established.1851Verdi's Rigoletto debuts in Venice.1853Richard Wagner publishes the librettos to Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring Cycle): Das Rheingold,
Die Walküre, Seigfried and Die Götterdämerung. The Ring Cycle is considered one of the most ambitious musical projects ever undertaken by a single person.1854Liszt conducts the first performance of his symphonic poems in Weimar. The symphonic poem is an orchestral work, often in one movement, and is usually based
on a literary idea. Liszt is credited with creating the genre. His symphonic poems include Orpheus, Les Preludes and Mazeppa.c. 1860The slave trade introduces West African rhythms, work songs, chants and spirituals to America, which strongly influence blues and jazz.Gustav Mahler is born in Bohemia.1871Verdi's Aïda
premieres in Cairo.1874Verdi's Requiem, his most respected work, premieres in Milan.1876Tchaikovsky completes Swan Lake. It opens in 1877 at Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre.Wagner's The Ring Cycle is performed in full at the Bayreuth Festival. The opera house was built to accomodate Wagner's works.Johannes Brahms
completes his First Symphony. Twenty years in the making, the symphony received mixed reviews but would become one of the most popular ever written.1877Thomas Edison invents sound recording.Camille Saint-Saën's Samson et Dalila debuts in Weimar.1878Thomas Edison patents the phonograph.1880John Paine's
symphony, In Spring, debuts in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is the first American symphony published in the United States.Tchaikovsky writes the 1812 Overture, commemorating Russia's defeat of Napoleon.1881The Boston Symphony Orchestra is established.1882The Berlin Philharmonic is established.1883The
Metropolitan Opera House opens in New York.1885Gilbert and Sullivan finish The Mikado, which premieres in London.1888Strauss writes the symphonic poem, Don Juan, which brings him international fame.1890Tchaikovsky's The Sleeping Beauty debuts in St. Petersburg.1891Carnegie Hall opens in New York.1893Dvorak
composes his best and most popular work, From the New World.1896Ragtime, a combination of West Indian rhythm and European musical form, is born.1900Jean Sibelius's Finlandia premieres in Helsinki.1901Mahler's Fourth Symphony, his most popular, debuts in Munich.1902Claude Debussy introduces impressionism to
music in Pelléas and Mélisande at the Opéra Comique in Paris.1904The London Symphony Orchestra is established.1908A major change in classical-music style comes about with the release of Arnold Schoenberg's Book of Hanging Gardens. The harmony and tonality characteristic of classical music are replaced by
dissonance, creating what many listeners consider to be noise.1910Igor Stravinsky completes The Firebird for Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. Stravinsky will become one of the greatest composers of the 20th century.1911Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier premieres in Dresden.1913Billboard magazine publishes a list of the
most popular vaudeville songs. It's the predecessor to their trademark charts.1916Charles Ives finishes his Fourth Symphony, his defining piece.1919After moving from its southern rural roots, jazz establishes Chicago as its capital. The city will become home to such jazz greats as trumpeter Louis Armstrong and pianist Jelly
Roll Morton.1923“Queen of the Blues” Bessie Smith records her first song, “Down Hearted Blues,” which becomes an immediate success.1924The Juilliard School opens in New York.Maurice Ravel's Bolero opens in Paris.George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue premieres in New York.1925Alban Berg's Wozzeck opens in
Berlin.1932Jazz composer Duke Ellington writes “It Don't Mean a Thing, If It Ain't Got That Swing,” a song that presaged the swing era of the 1930s and 1940s.1933Laurens Hammond introduces his Hammond organ.1936Electric guitars debut.1937Bela Bartok's masterpiece, Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta,
premieres in Basel.The Glenn Miller Band debuts in New York.1938Roy Acuff joins the Grand Ole Opry and brings national recognition to the Nashville-based radio program.1942Bing Crosby releases "White Christmas," from the film Holiday Inn. The song goes on to be the all-time, top-selling song from a film.RCA Victor
sprays gold over Glenn Miller's million-copy-seller Chattanooga Choo Choo, creating the first "gold record."1945Benjamin Britten's Peter Grimes premieres in London, which signals the rebirth of British opera.1948Columbia Records introduces the 33 1/3 LP (“long playing”) record at New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. It allows
listeners to enjoy an unprecedented 25 minutes of music per side, compared to the four minutes per side of the standard 78 rpm record.194945 rpm records are sold in the U.S.1951In an effort to introduce rhythm and blues to a broader white audience, which was hesitant to embrace “black music,” disc jockey Alan Freed uses
the term rock 'n' roll to describe R&B.Elliott Carter composes his String Quartet No. 1 and becomes a leading avant-garde composer of the 20th century.1954Bill Haley and the Comets begin writing hit songs. As a white band using black-derived forms, they venture into rock 'n' roll.Pierre Boulez completes Le Marteau Sans
Maître (The Hammer Without a Master).1956With many hit singles (including “Heartbreak Hotel”), Elvis Presley emerges as one of the world's first rock stars. The gyrating rocker enjoys fame on the stages of the Milton Berle, Steve Allen and Ed Sullivan shows, as well as in the first of his many movies, Love Me
Tender.1957Leonard Bernstein completes West Side Story.1958Billboard debuts its Hot 100 chart. Ricky Nelson's "Poor Little Fool" boasts the first No. 1 record.Elvis Presley is inducted into the U.S. Army (March 24).1959The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences sponsors the first Grammy Award ceremony for
music recorded in 1958.Frank Sinatra wins his first Grammy Award -- Best Album for Come Dance with Me.1960John Coltrane forms his own quartet and becomes the voice of jazz's New Wave movement.1961Patsy Cline releases “I Fall to Pieces” and “Crazy.” The success of the songs help her cross over from country to
pop.1963A wave of Beatlemania hits the U.K. The Beatles, a British band composed of John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney, take Britain by storm.The Rolling Stones emerge as the anti-Beatles, with an aggressive, blues-derived style.1964Folk musician Bob Dylan becomes increasingly popular
during this time of social protest with songs expressing objection to the condition of American society.The Beatles appear on The Ed Sullivan Show.1967The Beatles release their break-through concept album, Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.Psychedelic bands such as The Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane
enjoy great success during this period with songs celebrating the counterculture of the '60s.1969In August, more than half a million people attend the Woodstock music festival in Bethel, N.Y. (near Woodstock, N.Y.) Performers include Janis Joplin; Jimi Hendrix; The Who; Joan Baez; Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young; Jefferson
Airplane; and Sly and the Family Stone.A Rolling Stones fan is killed at the group's Altamont, California, concert by members of the Hell's Angels.1970The Beatles break up. By the end of the year, each member had released a solo album.1971Jim Morrison dies in Paris at age 27 (July 3).The Allman Brothers' Duane Allman
dies in a motorcycle accident at age 24. (Oct. 29).1972Women dominate the 1971 Grammy Awards, taking all four top categories. Carole King won Record, Album and Song of the Year, while Carly Simon takes the Best New Artist award.1973The Jamaican film The Harder They Come, starring Jimmy Cliff, launches the
popularity of reggae music in the United States.1974Patti Smith releases what is considered to be the first punk rock single, “Hey Joe.” Punk roars out of Britain during the late-'70s, with bands such as the Sex Pistols and the Clash expressing nihilistic and anarchistic views in response to a lack of opportunity in Britain,
boredom, and antipathy for the bland music of the day.1976Philip Glass completes Einstein on the Beach, the first widely known example of minimalist composition.1977Saturday Night Fever sparks the disco inferno.Elvis Presley dies at Graceland, his Memphis, Tenn. home. He was 42.1978Sony introduces the Walkman, the
first portable stereo.1979The Sugar Hill Gang releases the first commercial rap hit, “Rapper's Delight,” bringing rap off the New York streets and into the popular music scene. Rap originated in the mid 1970s as rhyme spoken over an instrumental track provided by snatches of music from records. Over the decades, rap
becomes one of the most important commercial and artistic branches of pop music.1980John Lennon of the Beatles shot dead in New York City.1981MTV goes on the air running around the clock music videos, debuting with “Video Killed the Radio Star.”1982Michael Jackson releases Thriller, which sells more than 25 million
copies, becoming the biggest-selling album in history.1983With the introduction of noise-free compact discs, the vinyl record begins a steep decline.1984Led by Bob Geldof, the band Band Aid releases "Do They Know It's Christmas," with proceeds of the single going to feed the starving in Africa.1985Madonna launches her
first road show, the Virgin Tour.Dozens of top-name musicians and bands perform at the Live Aid concerts in Philadelphia and London. The shows benefit African famine victims.1987Though African, Latin American,and other genres of international music have been around for centuries, a group of small, London-based labels
coin the term “world music,” which helps record sellers find rack space for the eclectic music.1988CDs outsell vinyl records for the first time.1990Euro dance band Milli Vanilli admits to lip-synching hits such as "Girl You Know Its True," and has its Grammy award revoked.1991Seattle band Nirvana releases the song “Smells
Like Teen Spirit” on the LP Nevermind and enjoys national success. With Nirvana's hit comes the grunge movement, which is characterized by distorted guitars, dispirited vocals,and lots of flannel.1992Compact discs surpass cassette tapes as the preferred medium for recorded music.1994Woodstock '94 commemorates the
original weekend-long concert. Green Day and Nine Inch Nails join Woodstock veterans including Santana and Joe Cocker.1995The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum opens in Cleveland. Renowned architect I. M. Pei designed the ultra-modern, 150,000 square-foot building.Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia
dies.1996Janet Jackson becomes the highest-paid musician in history when she signs an $80-million deal with Virgin Records.Jazz great Ella Fitzgerald dies.1998Legendary crooner Frank Sinatra dies of a heart attack at age 82.The first MP3 player is introduced, the Saehan/Eiger Labs F10/F20.1999The merger of two major
recording labels, Universal and Polygram, causes upheaval in the recording industry. It is estimated that the new company, Universal Music Group, controls 25% of the worldwide music market.Woodstock '99 kicks off in Rome, N.Y. Concertgoers complain that the spirit of the original Woodstock has been compromised and
commercialized.Napster, the first widely used peer-to-peer file-sharing program, is introduced. At one point, the service is home to more than 24 million users.2001Apple introduces the iPod, which goes on to revolutionize the music industry and the way music is sold. As of late 2006, 70 million iPods had been sold and
consumers had purchased some 1 billion songs from the iTunes digital music store.2002Bruce Springsteen begins The Rising tour, visiting 46 different arenas in 46 different cities. The tour later stops at stadiums across the world and includes 10 consecutive shows at New Jersey’s Giants Stadium.2005In May, Live 8 is hosted
at ten different sites around the world in an attempt to raise poverty awareness prior to July’s G8 conference. The free event is highlighted by a reunion of the original Pink Floyd lineup. It is the first time the band has played together in 24 years.2006“The Godfather of Soul” James Brown dies of heart failure on December 25th
at age 73.Nearly 800 different record stores, including all Tower Records retailers, close their doors as the industry sees a seventh-straight year of declining sales largely attributed to the increase in sales of digital music.2007After years of consolidation, 70% of the world’s music is sold by one of four companies: Universal,
Sony BMG, EMI, and Warner. All of these companies are part of large media conglomerates.The Rolling Stone’s multi-year A Bigger Bang tour surpasses U2’s Vertigo tour to become the top-grossing tour of all time, earning $437 million. 2003 Apple Computer introduces Apple iTunes Music Store, which allows people to
download songs for 99 cents each. 2007 Record Store Day is founded during a meeting of record store owners in Baltimore. It becomes an annual international celebration of the independently owned record store held every third Saturday in April.2009Michael Jackson, the pop icon, dies suddenly in Los Angeles, California, on
June 25, 2009, of cardiac arrest. His death stunned fans around the world. He had been set to embark on a comeback tour at the time of his death. 2011Troubled singer Amy Winehouse dies on July 23 after a very public battle with drug and alcohol abuse. Praised by critics for revitalizing the music scene in Britain and a
trailblazer for other female artists, Winehouse is 27 when she dies, passing away at the same age as rock stars Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Jim Morrison.
201One of the biggest pop singing sensations of all-time, Whitney Houston, is found dead in her room at the Beverly Hills Hilton. Her death comes on the eve of the Grammy Awards and while a pre-Grammy party is being held downstairs at the hotel. The cause of Houston's death is later ruled an accidental drowning. One of
the world's best-selling artists from the mid80s through the late 1990s, Houston is also known for her film work, including The Bodyguard (1992) with Kevin Costner. The film's soundtrack has sold more than 42 million copies in the world and includes "I Will Always Love You," arguably Houston's best loved song.
2013inyl records continue to make a strong comeback. While CD sales decline 14.5% and digital sales decline 2%, vinyl sales increase 33.5% for the year. According to Nielsen SoundScan, for the sixth consecutive year, the music industry sees an increase in vinyl sales. In fact, more vinyl albums are purchased in 2013 than
anyother year since Nielsen SoundScan started keeping score.
History of Western Music, 1685 - 1904
1685Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frederick Handel are born. They become principal classical composers of the Baroque period. Bach, who fathers 20
children, explores musical forms associated with the church and Handel works as a dramatic composer.1689Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas opens in
London.1703Vivaldi becomes violin master at Venice's La Pieta orphanage. He writes more then 400 concertos for La Pieta in his 35-year service
there.1705Reinhard Keiser uses French horns for the first time in opera in his production of Octavia.1725Vivaldi writes The Four Seasons.1733The comic opera,
La Serva Padrona, from Battista Pergolesi's serious opera Il Prigionier Superbo, wows Europe with its humorous story and enchanting music.1735Handel produces
his last great operatic success, Alcina, which features dancer Marie Salle.1742Handel's Messiah premieres in Dublin to an enthusiastic audience.1750Bach dies.
The end of the Baroque period is often seen in conjunction with his death. The highly ornate style of the Baroque period gives rise to the more simple, clarified
styles of the Classical period, which sees the emergence of symphonies and string quartets.1761Franz Joseph Haydn becomes Vice-Kapellmeister to the
Esterhazy family and Kapellmeister in 1766. Though living virtually as a slave to the family, he had at his disposal an impressive orchestra. During his 30-year
service to the family, he completes 108 symphonies, 68 string quartets, 47 piano sonatas, 26 operas, 4 oratorios and hundreds of smaller pieces.1762Christoph
Willibald von Glück sets out to reform opera with his Orfeo ed Euridice. He wants to restore opera to what the original composers intended it to be—an art form
marked by high drama, few recitatives and orchestral set-pieces.1786Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro premieres in Vienna.1787Mozart's Don Giovanni debuts in
Prague.1797Franz Peter Schubert is born in Vienna. Though many musicians make Vienna their home, Schubert is the only one to be born there.1803Beethoven
produces his third symphony, Eröica. This piece marks the beginning of the Romantic period, in which the formality of the Classical period is replaced by
subjectivity.1807Beethoven completes his Symphony No. 5, which many consider to be the most popular classical work ever written.1810Robert Schumann is born
in Germany.1815Schubert writes “Der Erlkönig,” his first public success and most famous song.1816Gioacchino Rossini's The Barber of Seville, based on Pierre
Beaumarchais's play, debuts in Rome. His Otello opens in Naples.1818Beethoven's hearing has deteriorated so badly that he no longer can hear the piano and
must communicate with conversation books.1821Carl Maria von Weber's Der Freischutz debuts in Berlin, and he becomes the master of German
opera.1826Mendelssohn writes the overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream, which debuts in Stettin in 1827.1832Schumann's career as a pianist is over as one of
his fingers becomes paralyzed.1839The New York Philharmonic is established.1851Verdi's Rigoletto debuts in Venice.1853 Richard Wagner publishes the librettos
to Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring Cycle): Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Seigfried and Die Götterdämerung. The Ring Cycle is considered one of the most
ambitious musical projects ever undertaken by a single person.1854Liszt conducts the first performance of his symphonic poems in Weimar. The symphonic poem
is an orchestral work, often in one movement, and is usually based on a literary idea. Liszt is credited with creating the genre. His symphonic poems include
Orpheus, Les Preludes and Mazeppa.c. 1860The slave trade introduces West African rhythms, work songs, chants and spirituals to America, which strongly
influence blues and jazz. Gustav Mahler is born in Bohemia.1871Verdi's Aïda premieres in Cairo.1874Verdi's Requiem, his most respected work, premieres in
Milan.1876Tchaikovsky completes Swan Lake. It opens in 1877 at Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre.Wagner's The Ring Cycle is performed in full at the Bayreuth
Festival. The opera house was built to accomodate Wagner's works. Johannes Brahms completes his First Symphony. Twenty years in the making, the symphony
received mixed reviews but would become one of the most popular ever written.1877Thomas Edison invents sound recording. Camille Saint-Saën's Samson et
Dalila debuts in Weimar.1878Thomas Edison patents the phonograph.1880John Paine's symphony, In Spring, debuts in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is the first
American symphony published in the United States.Tchaikovsky writes the 1812 Overture, commemorating Russia's defeat of Napoleon.1881The Boston
Symphony Orchestra is established.1882The Berlin Philharmonic is established.1883The Metropolitan Opera House opens in New York.1885Gilbert and Sullivan
finish The Mikado, which premieres in London.1888Strauss writes the symphonic poem, Don Juan, which brings him international fame.1890Tchaikovsky's The
Sleeping Beauty debuts in St. Petersburg.1891Carnegie Hall opens in New York.1893Dvorak composes his best and most popular work, From the New
World.1896Ragtime, a combination of West Indian rhythm and European musical form, is born.1900Jean Sibelius's Finlandia premieres in Helsinki.1901Mahler's
Fourth Symphony, his most popular, debuts in Munich.1902Claude Debussy introduces impressionism to music in Pelléas and Mélisande at the Opéra Comique in
Paris.1904The London Symphony Orchestra is established.1908A major change in classical-music style comes about with the release of Arnold Schoenberg's
Book of Hanging Gardens. The harmony and tonality characteristic of classical music are replaced by dissonance, creating what many listeners consider to be
noise
History of Western Music, 1910 - 1972
1910Igor Stravinsky completes The Firebird for Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. Stravinsky will become one of the greatest composers of the 20th
century.1911Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier premieres in Dresden.1913Billboard magazine publishes a list of the most popular vaudeville songs. It's the predecessor
to their trademark charts.1916Charles Ives finishes his Fourth Symphony, his defining piece.1919 After moving from its southern rural roots, jazz establishes
Chicago as its capital. The city will become home to such jazz greats as trumpeter Louis Armstrong and pianist Jelly Roll Morton.1923“Queen of the Blues” Bessie
Smith records her first song, “Down Hearted Blues,” which becomes an immediate success.1924The Juilliard School opens in New York. Maurice Ravel's Bolero
opens in Paris. George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue premieres in New York.1925Alban Berg's Wozzeck opens in Berlin.1932Jazz composer Duke Ellington
writes “It Don't Mean a Thing, If It Ain't Got That Swing,” a song that presaged the swing era of the 1930s and 1940s.1933Laurens Hammond introduces his
Hammond organ.1936Electric guitars debut.1937Bela Bartok's masterpiece, Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, premieres in Basel. The Glenn Miller Band
debuts in New York.1938Roy Acuff joins the Grand Ole Opry and brings national recognition to the Nashville-based radio program.1942 Bing Crosby releases
"White Christmas," from the film Holiday Inn. The song goes on to be the all-time, top-selling song from a film. RCA Victor sprays gold over Glenn Miller's millioncopy-seller Chattanooga Choo Choo, creating the first "gold record."1945Benjamin Britten's Peter Grimes premieres in London, which signals the rebirth of British
opera.1948Columbia Records introduces the 33 1/3 LP (“long playing”) record at New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. It allows listeners to enjoy an unprecedented
25 minutes of music per side, compared to the four minutes per side of the standard 78 rpm record.194945 rpm records are sold in the U.S.1951In an effort to
introduce rhythm and blues to a broader white audience, which was hesitant to embrace “black music,” disc jockey Alan Freed uses the term rock 'n' roll to
describe R&B. Elliott Carter composes his String Quartet No. 1 and becomes a leading avant-garde composer of the 20th century.1954Bill Haley and the Comets
begin writing hit songs. As a white band using black-derived forms, they venture into rock 'n' roll. Pierre Boulez completes Le Marteau Sans Maître (The Hammer
Without a Master).1956With many hit singles (including “Heartbreak Hotel”), Elvis Presley emerges as one of the world's first rock stars. The gyrating rocker enjoys
fame on the stages of the Milton Berle, Steve Allen and Ed Sullivan shows, as well as in the first of his many movies, Love Me Tender.1957Leonard Bernstein
completes West Side Story.1958Billboard debuts its Hot 100 chart. Ricky Nelson's "Poor Little Fool" boasts the first No. 1 record. Elvis Presley is inducted into the
U.S. Army (March 24).1959The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences sponsors the first Grammy Award ceremony for music recorded in 1958.Frank
Sinatra wins his first Grammy Award -- Best Album for Come Dance with Me.1960John Coltrane forms his own quartet and becomes the voice of jazz's New Wave
movement.1961Patsy Cline releases “I Fall to Pieces” and “Crazy.” The success of the songs help her cross over from country to pop.1963A wave of Beatlemania
hits the U.K. The Beatles, a British band composed of John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney, take Britain by storm.The Rolling Stones
emerge as the anti-Beatles, with an aggressive, blues-derived style.1964Folk musician Bob Dylan becomes increasingly popular during this time of social protest
with songs expressing objection to the condition of American society. The Beatles appear on The Ed Sullivan Show.1967The Beatles release their break-through
concept album, Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Psychedelic bands such as The Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane enjoy great success during this
period with songs celebrating the counterculture of the '60s.1969In August, more than half a million people attend the Woodstock music festival in Bethel, N.Y.
(near Woodstock, N.Y.) Performers include Janis Joplin; Jimi Hendrix; The Who; Joan Baez; Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young; Jefferson Airplane; and Sly and the
Family Stone. A Rolling Stones fan is killed at the group's Altamont, California, concert by members of the Hell's Angels.1970 The Beatles break up. By the end of
the year, each member had released a solo album.1971Jim Morrison dies in Paris at age 27 (July 3).The Allman Brothers' Duane Allman dies in a motorcycle
accident at age 24. (Oct. 29).1972 Women dominate the 1971 Grammy Awards, taking all four top categories. Carole King won Record, Album and Song of the
Year, while Carly Simon takes the Best New Artist award.1973 The Jamaican film The Harder They Come, starring Jimmy Cliff, launches the popularity of reggae
music in the United States.
History of Western Music, 1972 - 2007
Smith releases what is considered to be the first punk rock single, “Hey Joe.” Punk roars out of Britain during the late-'70s, with bands such as the Sex Pistols and
the Clash expressing nihilistic and anarchistic views in response to a lack of opportunity in Britain, boredom, and antipathy for the bland music of the
day.1976Philip Glass completes Einstein on the Beach, the first widely known example of minimalist composition.1977Saturday Night Fever sparks the disco
inferno. Elvis Presley dies at Graceland, his Memphis, Tenn. home. He was 42.1978Sony introduces the Walkman, the first portable stereo.1979The Sugar Hill
Gang releases the first commercial rap hit, “Rapper's Delight,” bringing rap off the New York streets and into the popular music scene. Rap originated in the mid
1970s as rhyme spoken over an instrumental track provided by snatches of music from records. Over the decades, rap becomes one of the most important
commercial and artistic branches of pop music.1980John Lennon of the Beatles shot dead in New York City.1981MTV goes on the air running around the clock
music videos, debuting with “Video Killed the Radio Star.”1982Michael Jackson releases Thriller, which sells more than 25 million copies, becoming the biggestselling album in history.1983With the introduction of noise-free compact discs, the vinyl record begins a steep decline.1984Led by Bob Geldof, the band Band Aid
releases "Do They Know It's Christmas," with proceeds of the single going to feed the starving in Africa.1985Madonna launches her first road show, the Virgin
Tour. Dozens of top-name musicians and bands perform at the Live Aid concerts in Philadelphia and London. The shows benefit African famine
victims.1987Though African, Latin American, and other genres of international music have been around for centuries, a group of small, London-based labels coin
the term “world music,” which helps record sellers find rack space for the eclectic music.1988CDs outsell vinyl records for the first time.1990Euro dance band Milli
Vanilli admits to lip-synching hits such as "Girl You Know Its True," and has its Grammy award revoked.1991Seattle band Nirvana releases the song “Smells Like
Teen Spirit” on the LP Nevermind and enjoys national success. With Nirvana's hit comes the grunge movement, which is characterized by distorted guitars,
dispirited vocals, and lots of flannel.1992Compact discs surpass cassette tapes as the preferred medium for recorded music.1994Woodstock '94 commemorates
the original weekend-long concert. Green Day and Nine Inch Nails join Woodstock veterans including Santana and Joe Cocker.1995The Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame Museum opens in Cleveland. Renowned architect I. M. Pei designed the ultra-modern, 150,000 square-foot building. Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia
dies.1996Janet Jackson becomes the highest-paid musician in history when she signs an $80-million deal with Virgin Records.Jazz great Ella Fitzgerald
dies.1998Legendary crooner Frank Sinatra dies of a heart attack at age 82.The first MP3 player is introduced, the Saehan/Eiger Labs F10/F20.1999The merger of
two major recording labels, Universal and Polygram, causes upheaval in the recording industry. It is estimated that the new company, Universal Music Group,
controls 25% of the worldwide music market. Woodstock '99 kicks off in Rome, N.Y. Concertgoers complain that the spirit of the original Woodstock has been
compromised and commercialized. Napster, the first widely used peer-to-peer file-sharing program, is introduced. At one point, the service is home to more than 24
million users.2001Apple introduces the iPod, which goes on to revolutionize the music industry and the way music is sold. As of late 2006, 70 million iPods had
been sold and consumers had purchased some 1 billion songs from the iTunes digital music store.2002Bruce Springsteen begins The Rising tour, visiting 46
different arenas in 46 different cities. The tour later stops at stadiums across the world and includes 10 consecutive shows at New Jersey’s Giants Stadium.2005In
May, Live 8 is hosted at ten different sites around the world in an attempt to raise poverty awareness prior to July’s G8 conference. The free event is highlighted by
a reunion of the original Pink Floyd lineup. It is the first time the band has played together in 24 years.2006“The Godfather of Soul” James Brown dies of heart
failure on December 25th at age 73.Nearly 800 different record stores, including all Tower Records retailers, close their doors as the industry sees a seventhstraight year of declining sales largely attributed to the increase in sales of digital music.2007After years of consolidation, 70% of the world’s music is sold by one
of four companies: Universal, Sony BMG, EMI, and Warner. All of these companies are part of large media conglomerates. The Rolling Stone’s multi-year A Bigger
Bang tour surpasses U2’s Vertigo tour to become the top-grossing tour of all time, earning $437 million
History of Western Music, 2003 - 2015
2003 Apple Computer introduces Apple iTunes Music Store, which allows people to download songs for 99 cents each. 2007 Record Store Day is founded during a meeting of
record store owners in Baltimore. It becomes an annual international celebration of the independently owned record store held every third Saturday in April.2009 Michael Jackson,
the pop icon, dies suddenly in Los Angeles, California, on June 25, 2009, of cardiac arrest. His death stunned fans around the world. He had been set to embark on a comeback
tour at the time of his death.2011Troubled singer Amy Winehouse dies on July 23 after a very public battle with drug and alcohol abuse. Praised by critics for revitalizing the music
scene in Britain and a trailblazer for other female artists, Winehouse is 27 when she dies, passing away at the same age as rock stars Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and
Jim Morrison.2011 One of the biggest pop singing sensations of all-time, Whitney Houston, is found dead in her room at the Beverly Hills Hilton. Her death comes on the eve of the
Grammy Awards and while a pre-Grammy party is being held downstairs at the hotel. The cause of Houston's death is later ruled an accidental drowning. One of the world's bestselling artists from the mid80s through the late 1990s, Houston is also known for her film work, including The Bodyguard (1992) with Kevin Costner. The film's soundtrack has sold
more than 42 million copies in the world and includes "I Will Always Love You," arguably Houston's best loved song. 2013 Vinyl records continue to make a strong comeback. While
CD sales decline 14.5% and digital sales decline 2%, vinyl sales increase 33.5% for the year. According to Nielsen SoundScan, for the sixth consecutive year, the music industry
sees an increase in vinyl sales. In fact, more vinyl albums are purchased in 2013 than any other year since Nielsen SoundScan started keeping score.
Thaddeus Cahill
Thaddeus Cahill, Teleharmonium. 1897. Electronic music via telephone lines.
Futurists
Luigi Russolo (April 30, 1885 - February 4, 1947) was an Italian Futurist painter and composer,
and the author of the manifesto The Art of Noises (1913). He is often regarded as one of the first
noise music experimental composers with his performances of "noise concerts" in 1913-14 and
then again after World War I, notably in Paris in 1921. He is also one of the first theorists of
electronic music.
Macchina Tipografica (c. 1913 – 21)
The Futurist Intonarumori by Russolo (part 1)
The Futurist Intonarumori by Russolo (part 2)
Lecture on the Futurists (Russolo and Marinetti) and their impact on electronic music
Theremin
Leon Theremin performing a trio for theremin, voice and piano, c. 1924.
Harry Partch
Play this clip. Part Three.
Harry Partch and his Strange Musical Instruments (Part One; Part Two; Part Three)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytN-9Uuuj3M&feature=relmfu
Barstow, 1943 (eight inscriptions from hitchhikers graffitti)
Castor and Pollux, 1952
Exordium from Delusion of the Fury, 1965-66
Karl Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen, Elektronische Musik Studie I, created in 1953 by recording and manipulating
sine waves on tape recorders. (Click here)
John Cage
The German pianist Tim Ovens plays the 10th sonata of John Cages
"Sonatas & Interludes" for prepared piano
Prepared Piano
4’33”
Cage on Silence (local)
Robert Moog
Robert Moog Interview
Keith Emerson performance in 2004 on a Moog Synthesizer c. 1968.
Brief History of the MiniMoog
Minimalism
Philip Glass: Violin Concerto no. 1 mvt. 3
Steve Reich: Clapping (1972). Live performance in 2012 with Reich.
Steve Reich: Clapping (animation)
Steve Reich: soundtrack from the Bloodbath scene of “The Hunger Games.” (local drive)
See also, Laura Spiegel interview of her contribution to Hunger Games:
http://www.wired.com/2012/03/rare-electronic-music-hunger-games/
British Synth
Jeffrey Shaw:
http://www.jeffrey-shaw.net/html_main/frameset-works.php
Conlan Nancarro
Toccata For Violin and Player Piano, 1935 (local)
Study for Player Piano No. 21 (Canon X), 1961 (local)
Wendy Carlos Williams
Switched On Bach, 1968 (local)
Morton Subotnick
Silver Apples of the Moon, 1966/67 (local)
This was one of the first pieces of genuine "electronic music"
as opposed to a spliced up tape of sound effects. It took a
year to write and was composed and played on a specially
designed machine that used pressure plates instead of keys.
Every other electronic
piece owes this seemingly discordant
mish-mash of sounds something.
Alvin Lucier
I Am Sitting in a Room (1969)
Music on a Long Thin Wire (1977) (local)
Music on a Long Thin Wire (version 2 in Paris) (local)
In his own words (1992): "Music on a Long Thin Wire is constructed as follows: the wire
is extended across a large room, clamped to tables at both ends. The ends of the wire
are connected to the loudspeaker terminals of a power amplifier placed under one of the
tables. A sine wave oscillator is connected to the amplifier. A magnet straddles the wire
at one end. Wooden bridges are inserted under the wire at both ends to which contact
microphones are imbedded, routed to the stereo sound system. The microphones pick
up the vibrations that the wire imparts to the bridges and are sent through the playback
system. By varying the frequency and loudness of the oscillator, a rich variety of slides,
frequency shifts, audible beats and other sonic phenomena may be produced."
However, Lucier admits a long thin wire is only used to impress, a short thin wire would
have worked as well if not better, and he discovered that the best way to produce
variation in the sonic phenomena was to pick a setting and leave the setup alone.
--Wikipedia
Don Buchla
History
Jamming
En Plein Vol (local) translation: “in mid air”
Phil Dadson
From Scratch, 1984 (part 1; part 2; part 3)
Sonic Architecture
Cantus, Mine in Minnesota
Aeolian Harps and Flutes
Doug Hollis: A Sound Garden,
Tonkin Liu: The Singing Ringing Tree (local)
The Wind Harp
Wind Plays Harp
Richard Lerman
Travelon Gamelon
Travel Gamelon Promenade (local)
Soundscape: Death Valley Cycle 2
Janet Cardiff
To Touch, 1993
Ghost Machine, 2005
Storm House, 2010
40 part Motet
Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller (2012)
Chris Cox
remix
Christian Marclay
Telephones, 1995 (local)
Night Music, 1985
White Noise (1993) by artist and
musician Christian Marclay. In this
work, Marclay covers the gallery
walls by pining hundreds of found
photographs face down. The
wallpaper of images reveals only
the markings on the backs of the
photographs—date stamps, hand
scrawled notes, signatures and
water stains which give personal
context to a hidden images. There
is an intense desire to peel up the
corner of the photograph and
peek at the image behind. The
situation creates a frustrating
partial narrative for the viewer
similar to Carroll’s anonymous
image piles. Most snapshots
become a souvenir of personal
memory, an incomplete
experience, not a precise visual
record.
Guitar Drag, 2000
David Byrne
Playing the Building, 2005
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=WZpQUfg8QkY
(local)
Recording full band on an iPad
Twentieth Century Music
The years spanning the end of the nineteenth century and the earliest part of the twentieth were a time of great
expansion and development of, as well as a dramatic reaction to, the prevailing late Romanticism of previous
years (think Beethoven in particular). In music, as in all the arts, expression became either overt (as in the early
symphonic poems of Richard Strauss (1864-1949), the huge symphonies of Gustav Mahler, or the operas of
Giacomo Puccini or Richard Wagner), or was merely suggested (as in the so-called "impressionist" music of
Claude Debussy). The previous century's tide of Nationalism found a twentieth century advocate in the
Hungarian Béla Bartók.
It was a time of deepening psychological awareness, with the works of both Nietzsche and Freud in circulation;
and the horrors of the First World War brought death and destruction to the very doorsteps of many people
living in Europe. Possibly in reaction to such influences, the expressionistic music of Arnold Schoenberg and his
disciples germinated and flourished for a time. Experimentation and new systems of writing music were
attempted by avant-garde composers like Edgard Varèse (who was a great influence on Frank Zappa…listen to
his Ionisation for 13 percussion players from 1929–1931). And although none gained a foothold with the
public, these techniques had a profound influence on many of the composers who were to follow.
Twentieth Century Music
Twentieth-century music has seen a great coming and going of various movements, among them postromanticism, serialism and neo-classicism in the earlier years of the century, all of which were practiced at one
time or another by Russian composer Igor Stravinsky.
An American composer, Charles Ives, was a early
adopter of dissonance and experimental genres (see in particular his “4th of July ” symphony. More recently,
aleatory or "chance" music, neo-romanticism, and minimalism have been in vogue by a handful of American
composers. With the commercial dissemination of music through the various media providing music as a
constant background, the general populace has largely dismissed much of the music produced using bold, new,
or experimental styles, preferring to turn to the forms and genres (and often the composers) with which it is
most familiar. Many of the greatest and best-known composers of this century, including Russian composers
Sergei Rachmaninoff, Sergei Prokofiev, and Dmitri Shostakovich, and British composer Benjamin Britten, have
been those who have written music directly descended from the approved models of the past, while investing
these forms with a style and modernistic tone of their own.
Electronic Music
•
Electronic music refers to music that emphasizes the use of electronic musical instruments or electronic
music technology as a central aspect of the sound of the music.[1] Historically electronic music was
considered to be any music created with the use of electronic musical instruments or electronic
processing, but in modern times, that distinction has been lost because almost all recorded music today,
and the majority of live music performances, depends on extensive use of electronics.[2][3] Today, the term
electronic music serves to differentiate music that uses electronics as its focal point or inspiration, from
music that uses electronics mainly in service of creating an intended production that may have some
electronic elements in the sound but does not focus upon them.[4]
•
Contemporary electronic music expresses both art music forms including electronic art music,
experimental music, musique concrète, and others; and popular music forms including multiple styles of
dance music such as techno, house, trance, electro, breakbeat, drum and bass, industrial music, synth
pop, etc.
•
A distinction can be made between instruments that produce sound through electromechanical means as
opposed to instruments that produce sound using electronic components.[5]
•
Examples of electromechanical instruments are the teleharmonium, Hammond B3, and the electric guitar,
whereas examples of electronic instruments are a Theremin, synthesizer, and a computer.[6]
Electronic Music
Contents
•
1 History
– 1.1 Late 19th century to early 20th century
– 1.2 Post-war years: 1940s to 1950s
– 1.3 1960s to late 1970s
– 1.4 Late 1970s to late 1980s
– 1.5 Recent developments: 1980s to early 2000s
– 1.6 Circuit Bending
•
2 Overview
– 2.1 Genres
– 2.2 Notable record labels
•
3 See also
•
4 References
•
5 Further reading
•
6 External links
•
7 Footnotes
Random Links
•
Sound Installations: http://wearefrukt.com/source/art-sound-5-innovative-music-installations