recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Hannah Lash (1981-Present)

## Introduction

Hannah Lash is a American composer who was born in 1981. Her music is regarded as being “striking and resourceful…handsomely brooding,”. She obtained her Ph.D in composition from Harvard and has taught in a few locations including Harvard and Yale. This interesting compositional style she creates has been recognized all over the United States and even internationally, as well. She has commissioned pieces for The Fromm Foundation, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Carnegie Hall, Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, American Composers Orchestra, The Naumburg Foundation, The Orpheus Duo, The Howard Hanson Foundation’s Commissioning Fund, Case Western Reserve’s University Circle Wind Ensemble, MAYA, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the Arditti Quartet, the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival and the Aspen Music Festival and School, and so many other that it is hard to list them all. Her pieces have won her many awards

## Work Analysis

The specific piece of Lash's that I wanted to look into was "C". Lash states specifically about this piece that: "C is a piece about the expansion of material in a motor-like, additive process. Its anchor and beginning are the C-octaves, which spin out of the rest of the material in relentless perpetual motion." This piece is for an interesting combination of Xylophone and Piano. This minimalist styles composition has a lot of characteristics of minimalist music that we know like the constant repetition of certain lines. It is a very pleasing listen because the two instruments timbres are very similar so it blurs the line of what the piano is playing and what the xylophone is playing. The piece overall is very mesmerizing but at the same time it is so compelling and interesting that it keeps you on your toes the entire time, waiting to see how the piece will vary next.

## Comparisons

I would compare this specific piece to the minimalist music of Steven Riech. It has that characteristic that definite Reich's music of the consistent repetition with slight variations along the way. The piece develops socially overtime but only slight changes occur as the piece goes on. The same compelling nature of Lash's music is present in Reich's music, which makes sense as to why I enjoy the minimalist style so much. The pieces that these composer make are just so fun and lighthearted and are not trying to overwhelm the listener with sounds. It is a refreshing break from the busy music that characterizes a lot of atonal music.

## Observations

I really enjoyed this piece, the simple idea of everything being based around C is so simple but he development of that specific idea makes it so much more that just a meaningless piece. It is that complex simplicity that makes minimalist styles of music so appealing to my ears and personal aesthetic. What I have learned from this is more of my personal style and what I like in music.
Ben Johnston (1926 - Present)

## **Introduction**

Ben Johnston was born on March 15th, 1926, in Macon, Georgia.  In 1949, Johnston would receive his BFA at William & Mary College in Virginia and his MMus a year later at the University of Cincinnati’s Music Conservatory. 2 years later,  Johnston would then find himself studying at Mills College in Oakland, California, with Darius Milhaud to earn his MFA. He would continue studying music in New York where Johnston would work with John Cage from 1959 to 1960. With years of knowledge from his studies, Johnston would become a contemporary composer in Just Intonation. \*would not allow me to upload photo\*

https://www.talkclassical.com/39521-ben-johnston.html - photo

## **Work Analysis**

In 1973, Ben Johnston would release his most known and performed piece, String Quartet No. 4. The quartet is made up of 2 Violins, Viola, Cello and takes inspiration from Amazing Grace. Johnston wrote the piece from the idea of how it would sound if Beethoven covered it later in his career. With Johnston’s Just Intonation background, he uses the technique of microtones to create notes that aren't normally on a equally tempered piano.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhZd4Tea2cM

## **Comparisons / Observation**

After looking deeper into the method of microtones Ben Johnston used in his string quartet, appreciation for him much is very much needed. Johnston created whole scales from the overtone series filled with these microtones; they looked almost like mathematical equations. The piece overall is enjoyable to listen to as it takes Amazing Grace which is a widely known song and presents in a way never heard while also adding more textures in the process.

## **Works Cited**

http://composers21.com/compdocs/johnstob.htm

https://www.npr.org/sections/deceptivecadence/2016/12/31/507542859/ben-johnston-hears-the-notes-between-the-notes

http://sharanleventhal.com/2016/09/21/an-introduction-to-the-string-quartets-of-ben-johnston/
Last Name, First Name (Born - Died )

## **Introduction**

   Write something to introduce your composer here. Brief but informative, with a short biographical sketch. Include a photo of your composer.

## **Work Analysis**

You will pick one work on which to make an analysis. Use all the tools you have available to you to analyze aurally. If a score is available, use it. Here you should be analytical. You should include a link to recording (YouTube, Spotify, etc.) and also any other information (link to a score, etc.)

## **Comparisons**

Here you will put your composers work, especially what you learned through the analysis, in broader context. What other composers have influenced this composer and why? How? What music is similar? What other works by other composers can you compare and contrast? Why? What is the legacy of this person's music?

## **Observations**

Here you will make a personal observation. What did you learn and how did this impact your own knowledge? What do you think of this music? You can be more opinionated, but please back up your opinions with details.

## **Works Cited**

Here you will list all of the sources you used to do your research on this composer and the music. Be complete and make sure the links work.
Frederic Rzewski (1938-Present)

## **Introduction**

Rzewski is an American composer and pianist born in Massachusetts in 1938. Many of his pieces incorporate social and political themes.

## **Work Analysis**

I chose to analyze Coming Together by Rzewski. This piece starts off like a modern day rap song. It’s almost a spoken word piece put over music. This could be a precursor to modern rap because Rzewski is known for talking about political and social themes in his music. The music behind him adds a flair to his voice and compliments his voice and story throughout the piece.

## **Comparisons**

   This song reminded me of the Velvet Underground song Heroin. The voice tells a story while the music behind the voice adds to the mood. The song Heroin is almost the same way where the band adds to the story that Lou Reed is telling through speaking and not really singing.

## **Observations**

I am not the biggest fan of this piece for a few reasons. The first reason is that I am not a fan of spoken word over music. It isn’t something I would go out of my way to listen to. The next reason is that I feel the vocalist sounds like he is running out of breath every single time he speaks (not for effect in my opinion).

## **Works Cited**

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederic\_Rzewski

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSuuwJFw4wU
Pierre Boulez (1925 - 2016)

## **Introduction**

**Serialist composer Pierre Boulez was born March 26th, 1925, in Montbrison, France. Boulez was a major in Mathematics at Collège de Saint-Étienne and would also take music lessons there. From 1944 - 45, while at the Paris Conservatory, Boulez would be taught by organist and composer Olivier Messiaen. A year after, Boulez would also be fortunate enough to be trained in Arnold Schoenberg's 12-tone system by a student of his, René Leibowitz.**

## **Work Analysis**

**In 1952, Pierre Boulez would finish and release his 3 movement piece Structures. He would later add onto it. Structures 1a, as it would be referred to as after the later addition, was a 2 Piano work made from a serialist viewpoint that uses mathematical sequences to create the foundation that the music builds from with the bulk of the piece coming from the Tone matrix and Set pitch succession. Boulez would also also pay homage to those that taught him by implementing a basic series from Messiaen’s Mode de valeurs et d'intensités into the piece while also using Schoenberg's 12 tone row. Even though this work is filled with the influence of those who taught him and uses a system that some deem to create “predetermined” sounds, Boulez’s serialist thought stands out as he would expand onto the ideas given to him by his influencers. In regards to the tone row, Boulez would expand upon Schoenberg's by changing its pitch, duration, and overall dynamics.**

**https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmErwN02fX0**

## **Comparisons**

**Since this piece focuses on Boulez’ influences, it is clear to this the connections to Arnold Schoenberg and Olivier Messiaen with the use of the 12 tone row and series that they used.**

## **Observations**

**Works Cited**

**http://www.toddtarantino.com/hum/structures.html**

**https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pierre-Boulez**

**https://www.allmusic.com/composition/structures-book-i-for-2-pianos-mc0002381806**
Carl Schimmel (1975-Present)

## **Introduction**

Schimmel is a composer based out of Iowa and Illinois. He was born in 1975. He uses literary and older musical references in his recent music. He is currently the Associate Professor of Music Theory and Com

   position at Illinois State University.

## **Work Analysis**

I chose to analyze Roadshow for Otto by Schimmel. The piece gets off to a quick start as a bunch of quick phrases and then resolves. Schimmel utilizes long rests throughout this piece and uses space well. This piece is written for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano. There is a part with the violin just before the three minute mark in the piece where it sounds like a dance is about to happen. He seems to also utilize jazz elements in this piece as well.

## **Comparisons**

This piece reminded me of Beethoven's fifth symphony if it had a little brother. I

   don't know why. I think it is just the fact that there is just so much going on right at the beginning that it almost jumped out at me and scared me.

## **Observations**

I enjoyed the piece mostly. There are contrasting styles and genres in this piece that seem to work well. It seems the further in time we get, the more styles are going to be mixed with a standard classical style.

## **Works Cited**

http://www.carlschimmel.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDx4HShncw8
Gabriela Lena-Frank (1972-Present)

## Introduction

Gabriela Lena-Frank was born in Berkeley, California in 1972 and is a composer of a very contemporary form of classical music. She is known as being one of the most significant female composers in history. In her music she likes to explore different aspects of her own personal heritage. Each song is very specific in how it expresses said heritage, and even when she is not composing she still is well regarded as a virtuosic contemporary performer.

## Work Analysis

The piece of Lena-Frank's that i wanted to look into was "Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout". This piece sort of perfectly enrapture what I know to be Andean music. The introduction is very reminiscent of native Andean music, and the violins are basically mimic the sound of the woodwind instruments of the Andean area. The music is very compelling and is a nice step away from complete atonality that we have been focusing on in class. The instrumentation of this song is epic and is reminiscent some pieces we have listened to with very large orchestrations. This piece has a very specific reference point of the Andean Mountain area and does an absolutely perfect job of translating that sound into an orchestral being. Sometimes you cannot even tell which instruments are playing because the technique being used to create the sounds on instruments like the violin are so interesting in term of timbre. The main stringed instrumentation references back to latin america, where stringed instruments make up a lot of the very characteristic sound.

## Comparisons

I would compare this piece to Symphony No. 4 by Shastakovich but with a latin american edge. This piece sounds like it would be absolutely fantastic to hear played by that large orchestra we saw at the Boston symphony hall. It seems as if this piece could accompany a film very weak, the storytelling through the music is very apparent and is so well done that it is hard to not feel inspired by it.

## Observations

I very much enjoyed the music of Lena-Frank, she takes music of today and gives it a personal twist that allows her music to stand alone as something that is very aurally interesting and refreshing to listen to. I learned from this that you often get the best music by putting your most authentic self into it. Gabriela certainly is going to be an inspiration for me moving forward in life.

## Works Cited

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriela\_Lena\_Frank

http://www.musicsalesclassical.com/composer/long-bio/gabriela-lena-frank
Unikitty One Hour of Relaxing Yule Log

This article needs a Image in it's Infobox.
You can help LEGO Cinematic Wiki by adding it.

## Episode Information

### TV Show

Unikitty!

Unikitty One Hour of Relaxing Yule Log is a Semi "Movie" released by Cartoon Network at Christmas Time in 2017. It is 59 minutes and consists entirely of Unikitty sleeping on a log in front a fire with instrumental Christmas music.
Stacy Garrop (1969-Present)

## Introduction

Stacy Garrop is a composer with a very dramatic and storytelling musical style. She got her education from University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, University of Chicago, and Indiana University-Bloomington. She taught for about 16 years after getting her music education, but after that time she decided to become more of a freelance composer. Her style is not limited to one genre of music. Her music catalog is composed of orchestra, wind ensemble, choir, art song, string quartet, piano trio, saxophone chamber group, and an evening-length oratorio. This wide range of styles has allowed for her to be very flexible in her commissioned works, in which she has had many.

## Work Analysis

The work of Stacy's that I wanted to look into was "Tantrum", a piece for alto saxophone and piano. This specific piece is an interesting listen due to the subject of what the instruments are portraying. This piece is in 3 movements, I - Obsessive Behavior, II - Lost, and III - Fits and fists. This a very fitting progression and the music supports that progression as well with the aggression sort of building in the song until the very last movement where the dynamic of the instruments becomes so powerful. It is an amazing representation and sty telling of the thought process of a tantrum being thrown. The combination of these two instruments are brilliant, they are both instruments that can play with dynamics very easily so the combination of the two allows for the raw emotion of the piece to ebb and flow between the loud and soft dynamics in the piece.

## Comparisons

I want to compare this piece to The Rite of Spring by Stravinsky. Stravinsky always did a fantastic job of pulling the raw emotion out of a piece just by the dynamic and harmonic changes within the piece itself. Stacy Garrop does an excellent job of that same concept but just on a smaller scale with only 2 instruments here. The saxophone seems to be calling out and crying for help at times. The legacy of this piece is the ability fo characterization in a piece, just because an instrument cannot express the words of the emotion it is evoking, the way the notes are played can do just as well of a job of storytelling as actual lyrics can.

## Observations

I really liked this piece, pieces that are able to fully tell a story that is easily grasped by the audience always appeal to me. It is much more interesting to follow a specific story or emotion through a piece of music than to jsyt be following blindly a score that does not seem to be trying to say anything. I learned a little bit more about what I specifically like in music through this piece.

## Works Cited

https://www.garrop.com

http://www.cedillerecords.org/artists/stacy-garrop
Lukas Foss (1922-2009)

## **Introduction**

Foss, born in Germany as Lukas Fuchs in 1922, was a German-American composer, pianist, and conductor. He studied with the likes of Paul Hindemith and Leonard Bernstein. He died of a heart attack after spending his fin

   al years with Parkinson’s disease in 2009.==**Work Analysis**==

I chose to analyze Night Music by Foss. This piece starts with a mix of staccato notes and legato phrases with its instruments and it was written for the Northwood Symphonette for brass quintet and chamber orchestra. Foss was commissioned to do this piece the morning of the day John Lennon was shot and killed. This event has been believed to have heavily influenced the composition. It was primarily written for brass quintet and chamber orchestra and is written in three different parts.

## **Comparisons**

It almost has an element of jazz due to his relationship Leonard Bernstein. It almost sounds like it could fit into the musical West Side Story at certain parts. For example, the beginning piano part sounds very similar to some of the pieces in that musical.

## **Observations**

I believe that this piece is one of the more pleasing ones to listen to that I have been analyzing because it is what I’m used to listen to. It almost has a jazzy element to it that creates and evokes a different feel than other composers and pieces of the time.

   ​​​​​​​

## **Works Cited**

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lukas\_Foss

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGsKGLWWPgU
Karsten Fundal (1966-Present)

## Introduction

Karsten Fundal is a Danish composer from Valby, Copenhagen, Denmark. He was born is 1966 and takes a lot of his inspiration in his music from his personal life. His music not only evokes emotion but also includes a social context about "establishing a kind of humanity and being something". A meeting with Nigel Osborne and Morton Feldman took a huge role in Fundal's development as a composer.

## Work Analysis

For Fundal's work I wanted to look into his piece, "A Portrait of Silence" from 2011. This piece is very ambient with its main purpose being how to navigate the physical acoustic space. This piece uses 2 percussionists, saxophone, and piano. This piece has a few repeating sections but the sound develops over time, becoming slightly more ambient as the time goes on. This piece seems to operate more like a sound painting than a phyical piece of music. The music is being used to paint this aural canvas with sounds. Some of the sounds used include bells, marimbas, and other pitch based percussion instruments.

## Comparisons

This piece seems to be very similar to the work of Stockhausen. This very ambient, atonal approach to music is something that characterizes them both. The sounds made fill the empty space of the piece and give the music a physical atmosphere to occupy. The legacy of the music of Karsten Fundal definitely is the continuation of Stockhausen ideal of a three dimensional soundscape. The different harmonics of the instruments used in A Portrait of Silence intermingle in interesting ways that give the piece interesting timbres to play with.

## Observations

I do not think i enjoyed this piece. With more of the modern ambient music it doesn't seem to be revolutionizing the music world, like when Stockhausen did in his career. I feel like there are more ways for artist and composers to play with ambient music that would allow for a lot of it not to just sound the same. I learned that music really is timeless from this piece because you could compare Stockhausen's early work to this and it could still be just as, if not more, modern in sound.

## Works Cited

http://www.musicsalesclassical.com/composer/long-bio/karsten-fundal

http://www.karstenfundal.com
Kaija Saariaho (1952-Present)

## Introduction

Kaija Saariaho is a Finnish composer who was born in Helsinki, Finland in 1952. She is a composer that spearheaded the way for electronic music composition. Most of this composition is from live electronic and playing around with tape. This work with electronics led to a spectral view of harmony where she would examine the spectrum of the sound to create specific harmonic structures. After this time, she turned to composing opera, to which she was very successful; over her career she has been given many awards for her outstanding work as a composer.

## Work Analysis

The piece of Saariaho's I chose to look at was from her more electronic music time, "Lichtbogen". This is a piece that has a lot going on, there are many elements of traditional orchestra music, from the violins and woodwind, to the piano. Each of these timbres are being used to create this harmonic structure that is extremely hypnotizing. There are times where the woodwinds and the violins do not even sound like the instrument whatsoever. The interesting harmony that Saariaho uses allows for these traditionally orchestral instruments to have an existence in the electronic music world that is extremely interesting to listen to. This piece does not seem to have a recognizable form, but the repetition of motives, like a trill are constantly used throughout the piece. Utilizing the tops and bottoms of each of these instruments ranges allows the timbre's of said instruments to become so ambiguous, it can often be confusing to understand what instrument is playing what.

## Comparisons

I would compare this piece directly to Stockhausen and his specific impact on this sound. This piece creates a soundscape that allows of the listener to think of this music in more that just the aural sense. This influence directly is from the three dimensional soundscape that Stockhausen created utilizing elements like panning, reverb, and timbre. Over time this piece slowly becomes more and more experimental and ambient with it's sound.

## Observations

I really enjoyed this piece. The constant development of the sound into something that becomes more and more ambient is very interesting to listen to. I learned not to judge a book by its cover in terms of long pieces like this, when you start off this piece it seem just like a interesting atonal piece, but as the sound develops, you begin to realize that this is more of an electronic music piece than anything.
Joan Tower (1938-Present)

## Introduction

Joan Tower is an American composer who was born in 1938 in New Rochelle, New York. She studied at both Columbia University and Bennington College. She is known for her very fantasy-like compositional style that can be seen in her orchestral arrangements. She also has been teaching at Bard College since 1972. She has been regarded as one of the most important American composers of today. She has received multiple Grammy awards in her career spanning more than 50 years.

## Work Analysis

I chose to examine Tower's "Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman #6". The concept behind these fanfares is that it is playing of the idea of Aaron Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man but for powerful women. These are shorter pieces that go along with Tower's narrative of being a trailblazer for female composers everywhere. This piece is very similar to the traditional tone pieces that we have examined in the past, but then the piece throws in some very vital and exclamatory dissonances that draw in the attention of the listener. This piece has contrasting sections of quiet natured sounds that are then blown out of the water by these empowering sections full of sound from every section in the orchestra.This piece gives a lot of emphasis to the lighter timbre woodwind instruments, with many of the main melodic motives being on those instruments, possibly referring to the traditionally lighter nature of "traditional" women and then having those same melodic ideas in the brass section showing the powerful side of women.

## Comparisons

I want to compare this to the Age of Anxiety. The Age of Anxiety was such a grand piece that had a really powerful meaning behind it, and Tower's collection of Fanfares are taking that idea and applying it to the feminist ideology of being a powerful being as a woman. It is nice to see these ideas of modern society being brought into the spotlight by music that can traditionally be seen as being from the past.The legacy this piece has is bringing women to the forefront of orchestral music and composition, a viewpoint that really has not been explored and given credit in the music world until as of late.

## Observations

I think this piece, and line of compositions, is absolutely incredible. They do a great job at not only telling a story but that inspiring the listener at the same time, you cannot help but feel empowered by music specifically made to empower. I learned from this that there is power in perfectly understanding who you are and sticking with what you bring to the table. Joan never backed down despite being in a field that sometimes can put women in the corner, she took that stance and became that Uncommon Woman that she composes about.

## Works Cited

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joan-Tower

http://www.musicsalesclassical.com/composer/short-bio/joan-tower
Eric Whitacre (1970 - Present)

## **Introduction**

Eric Edward Whitacre was born Friday, January 2, 1970 and is a Grammy-winning American composer, conductor, and speaker, known for his choral, orchestral and wind ensemble music. He is also known for his "Virtual Choir" projects, bringing individual voices from around the globe together into an online choir. In March 2016, he was appointed as Los Angeles Master Chorale's first artist-in-residence at the Walt Disney Concert Hall.Whitacre was born in Reno, Nevada, to Ross and Roxanne Whitacre. He studied piano intermittently as a child and joined a junior high marching band under band leader Jim Burnett. Later Whitacre played synthesizer in a techno-pop band, dreaming of being a rock star.Though he was unable to read music at the time, Whitacre began his full musical training while an undergraduate at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, eventually taking a BM in Music Composition.Whitacre states that the first work that he sang, Mozart's Requiem, changed his life. He studied composition with Ukrainian composer Virko Baley and choral conducting with David Weiller, completing his BM in Music in 1995.

https://ericwhitacre.com/biography

- Photo

## **Work Analysis**

*October* is a contemporary piece for concert band that was written by Eric Whitacre in 2000. Based on the guidelines as established by the authors of Teaching Music through Performance in Band, October is a Grade 5 piece.Eric Whitacre composed October with the intention of evoking a peaceful musical representation of the month he has called his favorite, and the feelings this month evokes for him. Whitacre writes in a programme note:Something about the crisp autumn air and the subtle changes in light always make me a little sentimental, and as I started to sketch I felt the same quiet beauty in the writing. The simple, pastoral melodies and the subsequent harmonies are inspired by the great English Romantics, as I felt this style was also perfectly suited to capture the natural and pastoral soul of the season.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EoUAbODO34

## **Observations**

The instrumentation of October is standard for most high school concert bands.[7] There are thirty-three different parts. Players can double up for the two flute parts, the three clarinet parts and the saxophone and trumpet parts. The oboe, E♭ clarinet, bass clarinet, bassoon, horn, trombone, euphonium and tuba parts will probably each be played by just one performer. The band should be about sixty-five members strong or a little more. This is a practical number for a high school band, although it will depend on the school district. With sixty-five players, some of them will be the only performer of their particular part. Two of the instruments that Whitacre used, the E♭ clarinet and the bass trombone, are high school instruments, not middle school.

## **Works Cited**

http://gradworks.umi.com/32/15/3215248.html
**https://ericwhitacre.com/music-catalog/wind-symphony/october**

https://ericwhitacre.com/music-catalog/wind-symphony/october

http://www.gaffneyledger.com/news/2007-12-03/LifeStyles/017.html
Lisa Bielawa (1968-Present)

## Introduction

Lisa Bielawa is an American composer from San Diego, California. She moved to New York after she graduated with a degree in Literature from Yale. Her works span may different genres and even locations, some to be performed in the traditional Hall, but some are meant to be observed in public spaces and online mediums as well. She also toured as vocalist for the Philip Glass Ensemble in the 90's. A lot of her inspiration for her work comes from her background of literature.

## Work Analysis

The piece of music that i wanted to dive deeper into was "The Trojan Woman". This is a piece in 3 movements each characterizing a different trojan woman, Hecuba, Cassandra, and Andromache. All three of these movements vastly differ from one another. The first, Hecuba, being tender and sweet. The second, Cassandra, is very uptempo and intense. The final, Andromache is a minimal, ambient movement with long held notes and sparse melodies. All three of these women were involved with the story fo the trojan war in some way, shape, or form, and each movement represents the stories of each of these women so perfectly. The main theme of literature is true though this piece as well, where themes of the Iliad come into play. This point of inspiration is clear and well thought out throughout the piece. Giving each of these movements its own mood allows for the character they are describing to come to life right in front of you.

## Comparisons

I want to compare this to Easley Blackwood and his experimental work with microtonality. A large majority of Bielawa's piece has a signature style that is tonal in terms of melody but when it comes to harmony and what is actually going on within the music the atonal influence starts to come out. This is similar to Blackwood's music where the music itself is very pleasing to listen do and gives a sense of tonality when in reality it is working against those notions of tonality altogether. It also seems to have influence from Joan Tower where there is a powerful female presence behind how the piece was composed that comes through very vividly.

## Observations

I very much enjoyed this piece. There was a little piece of something for everyone, whether you like the traditional tonal styles or more of the experimental side. I learned that the perception fo tonality is more a spectrum rather than just a black or white thing, pieces can use tonality in interesting way to further enhance how the piece develops over time.
Sofia Gubaidulina (1931 - Present)

## **Introduction**

​​​​​​Sofia Gubaidulina was born in Chistopol in the Tatar Republic of the Soviet Union in 1931. The vast majority of her career and time spent composing was in Moscow and she did not visit North America until 1987. Her compositional interests lie within the realms of experimentation and improvisation with Russian and Asian folk music instruments. An important characteristic of her perspective as a composer is her firm belief in mysticism and its relationship to music.

## **Work Analysis**

Piano Sonata (1965) - This piece for solo piano follows a traditional formal structure with 3 movements: Allegro (sonata form), Adagio, and Allegretto. Four primary pitch sets are used throughout the entire piece and are given names: “spring”, “struggle”, “consolation”, and “faith”. The first movement is characterized by a “swing” feel (syncopation and dotted rhythms) and an ostinato bass line over which the right hand plays several interval configurations of minor and major seconds. The second theme of this movement is much slower in tempo and it makes use of variations of the ostinato pattern from the primary theme, even muting strings throughout to further develop each motive. The development section utilizes the pitch sets with more stress on melody and the recapitulation brings material from the first theme to higher registers on the piano. The Adagio movement is reminiscent of the first movements second theme in that it returns to a slow tempo but with a more ominous tone and an increased use of muted strings. This movement follows a simple ternary form with a cadenza placed before the return of its A section. The final Allegretto movement is composed of 7 “episodes” throughout which there is a gradual increase of energy and complexity.

## **Comparisons**

The way in which Gubaidulina integrates her spirituality and venture toward the divine may be comparable to that of Stravinsky in the latter part of his life. This can be understood conceptually and even as a matter of musical analysis. The compositional style of some of her other vocal and orchestral pieces have reminded me of several others by different composers, but the Agnus Dei from Stravinsky’s Mass stood out in particular. This was especially the case after understanding that Gubaidulina often used harmony based not on triad structure but on intervallic and contrapuntal design, similar to the cadential framework of the Agnus Dei.

## **Observations**

I became particularly intrigued with Gubaidalina’s music after reading about her profound interest in mysticism. It is a fascinating idea that music can be made with the intention of stepping toward or even unifying with the transcendent or divine. Musical instrumentation and arranging certainly offer various means for making this attempt and I enjoyed interpreting the ways that Gubaidulina explores these potentials.

## **Works Cited**

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia\_Gubaidulina

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sofia-Gubaidulina
George Crumb (1929-Present)

## Introduction

From Charleston, West Virginia, George Crumb is a avid user of unusual tone colors and other uncommon musical choices like notation. (ex. using a mallet to play the contrabass.)

He had formal music education in college (Bachelor's and Master's degrees) and earned his living by teaching piano and composition.

## Work Analysis

The Crumb piece I will be analyzing is Star-Child. This piece won a Grammy award in 2001 for Best Classical Contemporary Composition, and for a good reason. It is divided into 7 movements, and throughout the 7 movements the percussion section uses some very interesting instruments from iron chains to thunder sheets. This kind of percussion gives the piece a lot of personality and the vocal parts are extremely powerful and extremely interesting to listen to. Only one of the movements uses the entire ensemble, that is the 4th movement, Music Apocolypica. The most interesting part about this composition is the fact that it requires 4 different conductors because of the sheer size and complexity of the piece. Looking at the piece from a objective perspective, it perfectly accomplishes what it is trying to do. It has parts of sheer atmospheric nature, and other parts that feel art song-is in nature. It is a very other worldly experience that incorporates some of the old and brings it in with the new.

## Comparisons

I would compare the more atmospheric parts of this piece to the work of Milton Babbitt and other serialist composers. This serialist effect definitely has a large influence of Crumb's work but Crumb also utilizes the serialist ideals with a grain of salt, only using it when it is necessary. I think Crumb also pushed the envelope on what an ensemble should consist of, encouraging people to push the envelope and try new combination of instruments and how those ensembles are conducted.

## Observations

The piece is like a musical equivalent of an Epic poem like the Iliad, the piece is so huge in it's sound that it is so enticing. I really enjoyed just listening to this piece without really focusing on what was going on, it is a great piece to just listen to to help focus and/or just zone out and be transported to another world.

## Works Cited

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George\_Crumb

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star-Child

https://nmbx.newmusicusa.org/George-Crumbs-StarChild-wins-Grammy/
Oliver Knussen (1952-Present)

## **Introduction** [1]

Knussen was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1952. He began composing at the age of six. His father was principal double bass of the London Symphony Orchestra.

## **Work Analysis**

I chose to analyze Knussen's Symphony No. 3. This piece is written in three movements. The first movement is significantly shorter than the other two. Knussen uses chromatic runs and extremely dissonant harmonies that create a tension in the listener. He then resolves sometimes to diatonicism, but only for a brief moment. His use of chromaticism give the piece an energy and fury like an angry bird.

## **Comparisons**

It reminds me of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring. I can almost hear birds chirping and all singing out of key. It sounds like there is a sense of anger with the percussion as well with it's crescendo dynamics as it builds up at, what seem to be, random points in the piece. There are a lot of things happening melodically like Stravinsky's Rite of S

   ​​​​​​​pring.

## **Observations**

I enjoyed the piece overall. I just wish that there was less about and inside the piece to make it easier for me to understand. The way that Knussen grouped which instruments to play at certain times was interesting to me as he creates tensions and resolutions.

## **Works Cited**

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver\_Knussen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnol0WRWt6A
Karlheinz Stockhausen (1928 - 2007)

## Introduction

Karlheinz Stockhausen was a german composer who was one of the most important, but also controversial, composers of his time. His career spanned from the 20th into the early parts of the 21st century. He also was one of the main theorists behind the concepts of electronic music. His music is serial in style, but the concepts he looked into with his approach to music was revolutionary, and very influential for avant garde composers to come after him. His studies of music dove deeper into psychology and acoustics of the music he was creating.

## Work Analysis

The work I thought was the most interesting from Stockhausen was Oktophonie. This was a piece created in 1990-1991. It is very interesting, playing with many different aspects of music like panning, and other electronic music effect. The piece overall has a very ambient sound that at the same time is very eerie and off-putting. This piece uses those concepts of panning and reverb to create a three-dimensional song space. Stockhausen also used the concept of micro-composition in this piece. Micro-composition is where instead of thinking of each sound as a whole, he would take a sample of a few different textures and pitch and use those together to create a very complex polyphonic texture. This piece, when looked at from the different sound sources, has 8 different lines going on at the same time. This way of composing music is actually very easy to process and understand how it came to be. It is very simplistic in what it is trying to do and is long enough to give the listener enough time to process what is going on.

## Comparisons

I would compare this to Star-Child. The ambient nature of both of these pieces make them both very similar. They both have a lot going on but what is going on is stretched out over a long period of time. The entire would of electronic music is what mainly has influenced Stockhausen's compositional style. You can tell from his music that a lot of what he does is experimenting with what can be achieved by electronic means and using that to develop or create a story. In this case this piece actually goes through a story of a war, with missiles and bombs exploding in the background while chaos ensues in the foreground.

## Observations

This specific piece really appealed to my interest, considering I have already gone through the Electronic Music series. This specific piece makes you really appreciate where music is today, without these experiments with a three-dimensional space created just by listening to the music we would not have those ideas fleshed out in our music of today. You can hear the influence and perk of using spacial elements in the music, it gives the listener a physical connection to what is going on in the music around them.

## Works Cited

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karlheinz\_Stockhausen

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Karlheinz-Stockhausen

http://stockhausenspace.blogspot.com/2015/02/oktophonie.html
Season One

## ***Twists***

1. ***Big Brother Bloodlines.*** There were two sets of siblings in the game. City and Tymonster, and Daph and Jennifer. If one of the siblings gets evicted, the other get evicted aswell. If one of the siblings faces the live vote and eviction and SURVIVES, they nominate a third houseguest each week.
2. ***Frenimes.*** Each week, the Head of Household and/or a bloodline holder must nominate three/two houseguests in total for eviction. Those houseguests, will not be able to be nominated next week. But if one of them becomes the replacement nominee, they are not immune next week.
3. ***Double Eviction Twists.*** Each time there is a double eviction, there will be a brand new set of twists that nulls all previous twists before it(Frenimes and Big Brother Bloodlines) for that week. The current DE twists are: ***Public Vote, Triple Nominees, HOH chooses POV players & Tie-Eviction.***
4. ***Triple Eviction Twist + Jury & Eviction CBS.*** City and Shadow re-entered the game. There was a triple eviction to even out the game again.
5. ***Big Brother Flashbacks Week.*** The houseguests played competitions they have already played before. All of them compete in every competition. The HOH nominates three houseguests. The houseguests vote out two of the three. The POV can veto two nominees.

## Houseguests

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Season One Cast

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***Lyric***

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***Snow***

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***Full***

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***Ghost***

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***City***

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***Tymonster***

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***Pixel***

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***Reality***

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***Zack***

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***Bad***

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***Noob***

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***Garrett***

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***Daph***

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***Jennifer***

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***Aperson***

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***Shadow***

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***B3X***

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Basic Longterms ~ Big Brother One

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Luigi Nono (1929-1990)

## Introduction

Luigi Nono was an Italian composer who mainly focused on music that had elements of serialism and aleatory music and incorporating electronic music into that formula. As you might suspect from the description of his musical style, his music is very much looking at music from a post-tonal lens.

## Work Analysis

*Promoteo* is a serialist-style opera. There seems to be no real form to what is going on vocally and in the background. The background parts are played on instruments but it is hard to tell if the instruments sounds is pure or being altered in some way because they mostly are used to fill the dissonant chords created by the voices. The piece as a whole is extremely unnerving. Nono self labeled the piece as a "tragedia dell'ascolto" or a "tragedy of listening". The piece itself is divided into 9 different sections or cantatas, but those sections are very hard to separate from one another, with the only defining borders between the sections being brief silences. The overall feeling of the piece is very minimal, with subtle instrumentation under the vocalists to allow the anguish in the voice to shine. The overall complexity of the piece seems as if it would be a nightmare to try to sing due to the little instrumentation to assist in referencing notes, and the overall range the song spans is mind-bogglingly large.

## Comparisons

I would compare this specific piece to Schoenberg's *Ewartung* and to Stravinsky's *L'Histoire Du Soldat*. Both of these pieces used the same emphasis on the vocal aspect of the piece, with the instrumentation being more of a supporting role in expressing the feeling of the piece. Nono is taking what others expect from a musical composition and flipping that on it's head. Nono wanted others to think about their definition of music and expand it by forcing those who listen to process that the nature of this music might not be what society deems "music" but that it is still music, nonetheless.

## Observations

I still am not sure how I feel abut this piece. There are parts that are very interesting to me in terms of the vocal dissonances. The only think that is not allowing me to absolutely love this piece is how it doesn't really change dynamically as a whole, the vocals have major dynamic changes and I wish the supporting instruments under that could have had a more dynamic change to further expand that vocal dynamic, rather than leaving it just to seem like the vocalist are being louder just for fun.

## Works Cited

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Luigi-Nono

http://www.luiginono.it/en/

http://d-sites.net/english/nono.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prometeo

http://www.musicweb-international.com/SandH/2008/Jan-Jun08/prometeo1005.htm
Chen Yi (1953 - Present)

## **Introduction**

Chen Yi was born April 4, 1953) is a Chinese violinist and composer of contemporary classical music. She was the first Chinese woman to receive a Master of Arts (M.A.) in music composition from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. Chen was a finalist for the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Music for her composition Si Ji (Four Seasons), and has received awards from the Koussevitzky Music Foundation[1] and American Academy of Arts and Letters (Lieberson Award), as well as fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. In 2012, she was awarded the Brock Commission from the American Choral Directors Association.

http://www.instantencore.com/contributor/contributor.aspx?CId=5003300 - Photo

## **Work Analysis**

Paradigm Lost-  a string of important and boundary-busting releases on Innova, ECM, and many other labels, this collection firmly establishes PRISM’s own XAS label, and offers a kind of “State of the Union” address for the saxophone quartet. The album title is also well-considered. If there ever was a paradigm for a saxophone quartet, PRISM has long since dispensed with it, through a radical re-examination of what the saxophone can do…and who it can do it with. The quartet has worked with choirs, chamber ensembles, jazz bands, and the weird and wild instrumentarium designed by Harry Partch. As it happens, the works on this album, whatever their origins, are simply for saxophone quartet, but they all come from a place of collaboration, with composers who reflect the musical and cultural diversity of 21st century America.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2x20BnWuQY

## **Comparisons**

As like a raging fire was a departure for the composer from her typical joyful music. It began with explosive energy and even some anger. The chromatic ascending and descending scales on the violin and cello added depth to the piece. Contrasting this was piano turned artillery, lobbying ‘shots’ of struck chords over the bow of the audience. This song used many of the same symbolism that was present in her previous pieces.

## **Observations**

Chen Yi’s “Angel Island Passages”…is a setting of writings on the walls of building in Angel Island, in the San Francisco Bay, where Chinese immigrants awaited their fate. The singers, expressively accompanied by the Cypress String Quartet, faithfully projected the anxiety and homesickness of these people, as well as the emerging feelings of hope for a new day: “I am an American,” they sang. This song was an inspiring one that I enjoyed listening too.

==**Works Cited**

https://www.presser.com/composer/chen-yi/

http://www.koussevitzky.org/grantscomplete.html