This is a study of experimental and innovative American music in the 20th century, with biographies, evaluation and discography of its pioneering composers. On the East Coast, early in the 20th century, this spirit of innovation was captured by Charles Ives (whose music lay virtually ignored and unperformed until the world caught up with him, 40 years later). On the West Coast, Henry Cowell and John Cage encountered critical resistance. The Americans invented a new musical language, seeking to redefine what could or could not be embraced by the term "music". The life and work of the major American innovators are investigated - including Carl Ruggles, Edgard Varese, Harry Partch, Colin McPhee, Lou Harrison and members of America's youngest composing generation - revealing the often idiosyncratic nature of these characters. This text is part of the 20th-century composers series, examining composers in a biographical context, and offering a comprehensive study of key figures in the creation of 20th-century music. None of the books in the series presume a knowledge of specialized terms or musical notation. Each book in the series features a list of works, a bibliography, and a discography.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Ives, Varèse, Cowell, and Cage, four composers influential on the American music scene in the 21st century, are the principal players in American Pioneers. Ives and Cage get top billing, though, as Alan Rich aims to show how a genuine "American" classical idiom rose during the closing years of the 19th and 20th centuries. Ives comes across as a true original; in England they would have called him "eccentric." Cranky, obstreperous, and in some ways indifferent to actual performances of his music, he rates as a kind of musical Thoreau.
When Cage studied with Schoenberg, the redoubtable founder of the Second Viennese School told Cage that he was more of an inventor than a composer. Cage took the comment as a compliment, and his experiments with unusual methods of producing (or not producing) sound support Schoenberg's opinion. Cage is on record as claiming that "everything is music." Though he treats Cage sympathetically, Rich acknowledges that certain aspects of Cage's music and philosophical pronouncements leave him open to a charge of charlatanism. For a reader trying to understand the intellectual undercurrents of later 20th century music (and indeed the whole world of art), the detailed discussion of Cage's thought and methods is invaluable.
About the Author
Alan Rich is an American critic with a passion for contemporary music. He writes for the Los Angeles Weekly and is author of a number of books and a series of interactive music programs for computers
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Insight into four musical maverics,
By Norman Rosenfield (Providence, RI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: American Pioneers: Ives to Cage and Beyond (20th Century Composers) (Paperback)
While not a definitive work on any of the composers featured here, this book quickly gets you where you need to be to get a handle on what makes these musical whackos tick. Good blend of biographical data, quotes, photos and graphics. If you don't want to spend a lot of time flipping pages checking out those who've pushed the musical envelope in the past century, this is a worthwhile read.
1 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Fast, Furious, but nevertheless fearless.,
By
This review is from: American Pioneers: Ives to Cage and Beyond (20th Century Composers) (Paperback)
References were readable but lacked depth, width and a modicum of height. However overall clarity was sharp with only bluntness at the edges. Whilst all the comments were pertinent was the pertinence too compartmentalised or too open? Dang me if I didnt just whoop and holler at finding the late neo-classicists described as New Classic Latecomers
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