Contemporary Music Seminar
Fall 2012
Weeks 4 and 5 Names and Terms:
Names:
Adorno, Theodor Wiesengrund (1903-1969): Philosopher, sociologist, critical
theorist, and composer. Composition student of Alban Berg. Member of the
Frankfurt School of critical theory (along with Walter Benjamin, Marcuse, etc.).
Highly influential on Nono and Lachenmann, as well as Stockhausen and Boulez. In
particular, Adorno’s notions of regressive listening, the commercialisation of music
by the “culture industry,” musica negativa, and the relationships between art,
society, and human suffering were important for “critical music” composers.
Kremer, Gidon (1947-): Latvian violinist, active in Germany. Has performed the
works of 20th century composers extensively, including Luigi Nono’s La lontananza
nostalgica utopica futura. For this piece, he was deeply engaged in Nono’s creative
process from the work’s conception to its premiere.
Lachenmann, Helmut (1935-): German composer; student of Luigi Nono. Has been
a regular guest at the Darmstadt Summer Courses since the 1970s.
Marx, Karl (1818-83): German philosopher/economic theorist. Active in London.
Best known works: The Communist Manifesto and Capital (Das Kapital). Influential
upon Adorno, Nono, and Lachenmann.
Nono, Luigi (1924-1990): Italian composer. Highly political. Associated with
Stockhausen, Boulez, and Maderna in the 1950s at Darmstadt. Lachenmann’s
mentor.
Works:
Nono:
Il canto sospeso (1955-56)
La fabbrica illuminata (1964)
Fragmente-Stille. An Diotima (1979-80)
Incontri (1955)
La lontananza nostalgica utopica futura (1988-89)
Prometeo (1984-85)
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Lachenmann:
Accanto (1975-76)
Guero (1970)
Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern (1990-96)
Mouvement—vor der Erstarrung (1982-84)
Pression (1969)
Terms:
All-interval series: a tone row used by in Boulez (in Le marteau sans maître) and
Nono (in Il canto sospeso) that consists of all pitch intervals in succession.
Bourgeois: middle class. Typically used by composers to refer to conservative or
out-dated values and tastes.
Critical music: also known as “political music, ”“engaged music, ” etc. Music that
focuses upon the relationships between musical (and/or textual) material and the
political, historical, economic, or sociological contexts from which that material
derives, or in which it is situated. This term applies to works composed by Nono,
Lachenmann, and other composers since the 1960s. In the 1950s, Nono separated
himself from the non-political and objective approaches to material development
typical of his Darmstadt colleagues (Stockhausen and Boulez in particular).
Fibonacci series: a recursive numerical series, in which each number is the sum of
the 2 preceding numbers. (1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21…) Used by Nono in Il Canto sospeso to
determine durations.
Musique concrète instrumentale: term invented by Lachenmann to describe his
approach to “freeing” and exploring instrumental playing techniques and sounds
that have been rejected or ignored by previous generations of composers.
Negation: resistance to and expansion of compositional or listening habits by taking
opposing compositional approaches. Stockhausen and Boulez’ serial approaches
were negations of tonality; Lachenmann’s musique concrète instrumentale was a
negation of 19th century concepts of beauty.
Palindrome: a word, phrase, or passage of music that is the same forwards and
backwards (e.g., “race-car” or “Rise to vote, sir” in English). The first movement of
Webern’s Sinfonie op. 21, as well as Nono’s Incontri are palindromes.
Regressive listening: term used by Adorno and others to describe passive listening
habits. Both Nono and Lachenmann have focused in their music upon cultivating
new modes of listening, and re-awakening active listening.
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