HENRY COWELL

<table><tr><td>COMPOSER</td><td>1-5</td></tr><tr><td>PIANIST</td><td>6,7</td></tr><tr><td>EDITOR OF NEW MUSIC</td><td>8</td></tr><tr><td>PROMOTER OF PERFORMANCES OF MUSIC</td><td>9,10</td></tr><tr><td>DIRECTOR OF MUSICAL ACTIVITIES</td><td>11</td></tr><tr><td>LECTURER</td><td>12</td></tr><tr><td>AUTHOR</td><td>13-15</td></tr><tr><td>MUSICOLOGIST</td><td>16-20</td></tr><tr><td>REVIEWS OF HIS WORK</td><td>21-23</td></tr></table>

Lives in Menlo Park, California (within two miles of Stanford University and thirty miles of San Francisco) where he was born in 1897.

Studied exclusively in the United States in his early years, for the most part independently; including, however, work in music at the University of California (three and one half years) and at the Institute of Applied Music in New York.

Received the Guggenheim Fellowship for study of extra-European music in the Archives of the University of Berlin, 1931-1932.

Has toured the United States from coast to coast every year since 1920.

Has made five concert tours of Europe.

Exclusive management, The Concert Guild, Steinway Hall, New York.

Compiled June 1934 by
Olive Thompson Cowell
171 San Marcos Avenue
San Francisco, Calif.

HENRY COWELL, COMPOSER.

1

Compositions by Henry Cowell, which have been published.

For piano

<table><tr><td>Advertisement</td><td>Episode</td></tr><tr><td>Amiable conversation</td><td>Exultation</td></tr><tr><td>Anger dance</td><td>Fabric</td></tr><tr><td>Antimony</td><td>Harp of life</td></tr><tr><td>Dynamic Motion</td><td>Snows of Fujiyama</td></tr><tr><td>Six Angs</td><td>Three Irish Legends</td></tr><tr><td>Fluctuating</td><td>Scooting</td><td>The tales of Manaunaun</td></tr><tr><td>Fruiting</td><td>Wafing</td><td>The hero son</td></tr><tr><td>Fleeting</td><td>Soothing</td><td>The voice of Lyr</td></tr></table>

All the above piano works published by Associated Music Publishers
(Breitkopf and Hartel), New York

Lilt of the Reel ) by State Edition, Moscow
Tiger, ) distributed by Universal Edition, Vienna

Suite for violin and piano, by Associated Music Publishers, New York

For string piano

Aeolian Harp, by W. F. Quincke Company, Los Angeles

Banshee, by W. A. Quincke Company, Los Angeles

Danshee, by State Edition, Moscow

Fiece for piano with strings, by Courier Musicales, Paris

Sinister Resonance, by Fro Musica Edition of Hansen Verlag, Copenhagen

For voice

Manaunaun's Birthing, by Curwen and Son, London

Sunset-Rest. For low voice. Distributed by New Music Edition,
San Francisco

Where she lies, by Curwen and Son, London

For chamber orchestra

Exultation, by Edition Adler, Berlin

Quintet with thunder-stick. Ensemble. Minature score,
Associated Music Publishers

Sinfonietta for small orchestra, Edition Adler, Berlin

For full orchestra

Concerto for piano and orchestra, by Edition Smart, Paris

Reel, for full orchestra. distributed by New Music Edition,
San Francisco

Synchrony, by Edition Adler, Berlin

HENRY COWELL, COMPOSER

2

Unpublished compositions include

For full orchestra

Symphony 1919

Vestiges 1920

Two Appositions 1931

Rhythmicana for
rhythmicon and orchestra 1931

Three Irish dances 1933

For chamber orchestra

Polyphonica 1928

Four Continuations for string orchestra

Six Carinal Developments for 1932

Clarinet and chamber orchestra 1934

Ostinato Pianissimo for percussion

Suite for chamber orchestra (orchestra

Chamber music

Quartet for two flutes and two strings 1917

String quartet 1919

Ensemble for oboe and two strings 1922

Piano trio 1925

String quartet 1929

Six casual developments for clarinet and piano 1933

Hornpipe for violin and piano 1934

For piano, about 350 works, including

Trumpet of Angus Og 1924

Domnu, Mother of Waters 1928

It isn't it 1928

March of Invincibility 1929

Gig 1930

Whirling Dervish 1931

Hornpipe 1933

For voice, about 150 works, including

Chorus for women's voices 1927

Eternity for soprano and piano 1934

Retrospection with flute obligato,
for soprano and piano 1934

Arrangements of two English folk songs 1934

Performances of compositions by Henry Cowell for records

Player-piano recordings

The Tides of Mananaun, played by Margaret Nikoloric. Welte Mignon Record
Domnu, Mother of Waters, played by Henry Cowell, Duo Art Record

Advertisement )

Amiable Conversation ) Played by Henry Cowell

Antimony ) Pleyel Company, Paris

Tides of Mananaun )

What's this? )

HENRY COWELL, COMPOSER

Performance of compositions by Henry Cowell

For full orchestra

Concerto for piano and orchestra. Henry Cowell at the piano.

Havana Philharmonic Orchestra, Pedro San Juan conducting. 1932

Conductorless Orchestra of New York. 1932

Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Howard Ranson conducting. 1932

Reel (one of Three Irish Dances)

Rundfunk Orchestra, Copenhagen. Fritz Mahler conducting. 1933

New Chamber Orchestra, New York. Bernard Hermann conducting. 1933

Radio Symphony Orchestra. Columbia Broadcasting System. New York
Philip James conducting. 1933

Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. Hollywood Bowl. Nicolas Slonimsky
conducting. 1933

Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Eugene Goosens conducting. 1934

Reel and Hornpipe (two of Three Irish Dances)

Havana Philharmonic Orchestra. Amadeo Roldan conducting. 1933

Three Irish Dances (Reel, Gig, and Hornpipe)

Knickerbocker Orchestra. Brooklyn. J. Edward Powers conducting. 1933

Synchrony

Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Nicolas Slonimsky conducting. 1932

Budapest Symphony Orchestra. Nicolas Slonimsky conducting. 1932

L'Orchestre Symphonique de Paris. Nicolas Slonimsky conducting. 1931

Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra. Leopold Stokowski conducting. 1932

Two Appositions

L'Orchestre Symphonique de Paris. Nicolas Slonimsky conducting. 1932

HENRY COWELL, COMPOSER

4

## Performances of compositions by Henry Cowell

### For chamber or small orchestra

Concerto for piano strings and chamber orchestra. Henry Cowell at the piano.

Boston Chamber Orchestra. Nicolas Slonimsky conducting. 1929

St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. John J. Becker conducting. 1932

### Exultation for chamber orchestra

Rundfunk Orchestra. Breslau, 1932

Caribbean Orchestra. Santa Clara, Cuba. A. Caturla conducting. 1933

### Four Continuations for string orchestra

Knickerbocker Orchestra. J. Edward Powers conducting. 1933

### Polyphonica for chamber orchestra

Pan American Orchestra. Nicolas Slonimsky conducting. 1932

St. Paul Orchestra. John J. Becker conducting. 1933

### Scherzo (From Sinfonietta)

Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. Howard Hanson conducting. 1931

### Sinfonietta

Tandler's Little Symphony, Los Angeles. Adolph Tandler conducting, 1928

Boston Chamber Orchestra. Nicolas Slonimsky conducting. 1928

Madrid Symphony Orchestra. Pedro San Juan conducting. 1932

Pan American Orchestra. New York. Nicolas Slonimsky conducting. 1931

Vienna Volks Orchestra. Anton Webern conducting. 1922

Havana Philharmonic Orchestra. Pedro San Juan conducting. 1931

### Six casual developments, for clarinet and chamber orchestra.

Pan American Orchestra. Martha Graham, dancing. Nicolas Slonimsky, conducting. 1934

### Suite for chamber orchestra

Vronides Sinfonietta Orchestra. New York. Christos Vrionides conducting. 1934

HENRY COWELL, COMPOSER

5

Chamber works

Composition for string piano with Ensemble

Stringfield Ensemble, New York. Lamar Stringfield conducting. 1926

Chapter in seven paragraphs for violin, viola, and cello

Tandler's Little Symphony, Los Angeles, Adolph Tandler conducting. 1927

Hans Lange Quartet, New York. Copland-Sessions concerts. 1929

Dances of activity:
* Labor - piano percussion
* Play - percussion and flute
* Organization - piano percussion

New York. Sophia Delza dancing. 1934

Quartet for string quartet

Persinger Quartet, Los Angeles. 1926

New World Quartet, New York. 1928

Brosa Quartet, New York. 1933

Steel and Stone, for nine instruments.

New York. Charles Weidman dancing. 1932

Suite for violin and piano, Henry Cowell at the piano. 1926

New York
Boston

Berlin
Warsaw

Vienna
Budapest

Brno

Individual artists giving public performances of compositions by Henry Cowell

Pianists

Clarence Adler, New York

Joseph Adler, New York

Frederick Bristol, New York

Richard Buhlig, New York

Gitta Bradova, Chicago

Percy Grainger, New York

Edwin Hughes, New York

Georgia Kober, Chicago

Walter Rummel, London

Artur Schnabel, Berlin

Irwin Schulenff, Prague

Imre Weisshaus, Budapest

Dancers

Yvonne Daunt, Paris

Sophia Delza, New York

Elsa Findley Ensemble, New York

Martha Graham, New York

Henri, New York and Berlin

Doris Humphreys, New York

Charles Weidman, New York

Singers

Ev. Gauthier, New York and Paris

Roland Hayes, New York

Radianna Pasmore, New York

Cellists

May Muckle, London

Dorothy Pasmore, San Francisco

HENRY COWELL, PROMOTER OF PERFORMANCES OF MUSIC

10

PAN AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF COMPOSERS.

Henry Cowell, Director of the North American section, 1929-1933, and responsible for all the activities of the entire association. (1929-1933)

Performances of modern music in:

<table><tr><td>New York (several)</td><td>Bogota</td><td>Berlin</td><td>Budapest</td></tr><tr><td>St. Paul</td><td>Ceracas</td><td>Hamburg</td><td>Copenhagen</td></tr><tr><td>Havana</td><td>Mexico City</td><td>Paris</td><td>Vienna</td></tr></table>

Performances of modern music over the radio:

New York, WEVD station, every week for one year, 1933.

Affiliation with the Deutsche-Ibero Musikverein in 1933.

INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE CONCERTS

Henry Cowell, Permanent Commissioner for the United States.

An organization to promote international exchange concerts.

Founded in 1930 by Dr. Hans Pless, Vienna, who is general director.

Ten exchange concerts arranged by Henry Cowell in the fall, 1933.

Compositions by Americans presented in:

<table><tr><td>Copenhagen</td><td>London</td></tr><tr><td>Cracow</td><td>Moscow 3</td></tr><tr><td>Cuba 2</td><td>Paris 2</td></tr><tr><td>Havana</td><td>Pozman</td></tr><tr><td>Kiev</td><td>Stockholm</td></tr><tr><td>Lemberg</td><td>Vienna 2</td></tr><tr><td>Leningrad 2</td><td>Warsaw</td></tr></table>

Compositions by foreigners presented in:

<table><tr><td>Baltimore - Cuban</td><td>Kansas City - French</td></tr><tr><td>Baton Rouge - Russian</td><td>Minneapolis - Russian</td></tr><tr><td>Chicago - Cuban</td><td>Philadelphia - English</td></tr><tr><td>Chicago - Danish</td><td>Pittsburg - Polish</td></tr><tr><td>Chicago - Swedish</td><td>St. Louis - Russian</td></tr><tr><td>Denver - French</td><td>St. Petersburg, Fla. - German</td></tr><tr><td>Evansville, Ind. - Russian</td><td>San Francisco - Russian</td></tr><tr><td>... Seattle - Russian</td><td></td></tr></table>

Ten exchange concerts broadcast over the radio, Station WEVD, spring, 1933.

NEW MUSIC SCHOOL FOR SOCIAL RESEARCH CONCERTS. (See page 11)

Affiliations

Henry Cowell is on the boards of:

<table><tr><td>League of Composers</td><td>West coast representative, Yuddo Festival</td></tr><tr><td>International Composers Guild</td><td>November Gruppe, Berlin<br/>Triton Society, Paris</td></tr><tr><td>International Society for Contemporary Music</td><td>American Russian Institute<br/>German American Students Exchange</td></tr><tr><td>Society for Contemporary Music, Amsterdam</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Dutch Society for Contemporary Music, Amsterdam</td><td></td></tr></table>

11

HENRY COWELL, DIRECTOR OF MUSICAL ACTIVITIES, NEW SCHOOL FOR SOCIAL RESEARCH.

Under the direction of Henry Cowell since 1931, lectures and concerts on modern music and comparative music, as well as symposiums and workshops in creative music, have been presented at the New School for Social Research in New York.

## Lecture courses on music

The value of music. Charles Seeger. 12 lectures, fall 1931

Philosophy and music. Charles Seeger, 12 lectures, fall 1932

The place of music in society. Henry Cowell. 12 lectures, spring 1933

The meaning of music. Charles Seeger. 12 sessions, spring 1934

## Lecture courses on modern music

The appreciation of modern music. Henry Cowell. 12 lectures, spring 1932

Contemporary American music, a symposium under the direction of Henry Cowell. 12 sessions, fall 1933

Roots of contemporary music. Roger Sessions. 12 lectures, fall 1933

## Lecture courses on comparative musicology

Comparison of musical systems of the world. Henry Cowell, Charles Seeger, and others. 12 sessions, spring 1932

Music systems of the world. Henry Cowell, Charles Seeger, and others, 18 sessions, October 1932 - March 1933

Music systems of the world (Comparative musicology). Henry Cowell. 12 sessions, fall 1933

Music systems of the world (Comparative musicology). Charles Seeger, 12 sessions, spring 1934

## Work courses in music

Modern harmony. Wallingford Riegger. 10 sessions, fall 1932

A physico-mathematical theory of musical composition. Joseph Schillinger. 10 sessions, fall 1932 (not given)

Melody writing. Charles Seeger. 10 sessions, spring 1933

Theory and practice of combining rhythms. Henry Cowell. 10 sessions, spring 1933

Musicological method. Charles Seeger. 10 sessions, fall 1933

New possibilities in piano playing. Henry Cowell. 10 sessions, fall 1933

## Concerts under the auspices of the New School

Series of twelve concerts, modern and comparative music. October 1931 - March 1932

Series of nine concerts, modern and comparative music. October 1932 - February 1933

Series of six concerts, modern and comparative music, fall, 1933

HENRY COWELL, LECTURER

12

In addition to the courses given by him at the New School for Social Research he has offered courses at different universities and colleges.

*The appreciation of modern music.* University of California Extension
Division, San Francisco. 10 sessions spring 1934

*The appreciation of modern music.* Stanford University. summer quarter 1934

*The appreciation of modern music.* Mills College. summer session 1934

*Comparative musicology.* Mills College. summer session 1933

*Comparative musicology.* Stanford University. summer quarter 1934

And other courses, such as,

*Theory and practice of rhythm.* Ann Mundstock studio, San Francisco
16 sessions spring 1934

*Music as a social force.* Forum School of Social studies. San Francisco
10 sessions spring 1934

*Comparative musicology.* Denny-Watrous Gallery, Carmel. 10 sessions spring 1933

*Comparative musicology.* International Institute, San Francisco
6 sessions spring 1934

*International exchange concerts.* Lecture on the music. WEVD radio station
New York, 10 half-hour programs spring 1933

Individual lectures - types

*Some aspects of a rhythmic harmonic series.* New York Musicological Society
1931

*Some aspects of comparative musicology.* New York Musicological Society 1932

*The psychology of the Oriental and Occidental as portrayed in music.*

2 lectures, Stanford University. Psychology Department summer 1933

*American music.* Stanford University. General Assembly, summer 1933

*Folk music of the world.* International House. Berkeley, summer 1933

*Nationalism vs. Internationalism in music.* Debate: Oscar Thompson vs Henry Cowell. Pierre Deguyter Club, New York, November 1933

*American music.* Matinee Morning Musicale. Steinway Hall, New York, 1933

*New techniques of piano playing.* Piano Teachers Congress, Steinway Hall 1933

*Music of the world.* Stanford University. Music students, spring 1934

*Music of the world.* Stanford University. Public lecture, spring 1934

*The cultural aspects of music.* Junior College, Menlo Park, California 1934

*Creative music for children.* YMCA Conference for California Camp Directors
San Francisco, April 1934

*New Musical Resources.* Adams-Danysh Gallery, San Francisco. May 1934

*American music.* California Federation of Music Clubs. President's meeting.
San Francisco April 1934

HENRY COWELL, AUTHOR

13

NEW MUSICAL RESOURCES, written by Henry Cowell in 1919, and published by Alfred A. Knopf in New York, 1930.

"The purpose of NEW MUSICAL RESOURCES is not to attempt to explain the materials of contemporary music, many of which are not included in its discussion, but to point out the influence the overtone series has exerted on music throughout its history, how many musical materials of all ages are related to it, and how, by various means of applying its principles in many different manners, a large palette of musical materials can be assembled. Some of them are in use, some of them are presaged in contemporary music, and some of them seem to be unused so far. Whether such materials are or are not in use it is not the purpose to discover; rather the purpose is to show the coordination of all possible musical materials within a certain overtone radius, regardless of whether they are in actual use. The very fact that such materials are built on the overtone series, which is the greatest factor in musical relationship, shows that they probably have potential musical use and value. That many of them remain as yet unused or only very tentatively suggested makes the field which is opened up all the richer."

From the introduction by the author.

NEW MUSICAL RESOURCES has been reviewed in musical periodicals, as well as in the American Mercury, Nation, New Republic, London Spectator, La Revue Musicale, Musicalia.

AMERICAN COMPOSERS ON AMERICAN MUSIC: a symposium edited by Henry Cowell, and published by Stanford University, 1933.

The following chapters were contributed by Henry Cowell:

Introduction

I. Trends in American music

IV. Edgar Varese

VII. Roy Harris

X. John J. Becker

XII. Henry Brant

XIV. Carlos Salzedo

XVI. Nicolas Slonimsky

XVIII. Charles Seeger

XX. Charles E. Ives

In this book there is a chapter on Henry Cowell, written by Nicolas Slonimsky.

AMERICAN COMPOSERS ON AMERICAN MUSIC has been reviewed in such periodicals as, Modern Music, Musical Quarterly, Musical Courier, Nation, New Republic, Musical Times (London), Tijdsblat voor Hedendaagse Museik (Amsterdam), La Russische Musicale (Turin), Zeitschrift für Musik (Vienna), Svenska Dagbladet (Stockholm).

HENRY COWELL, AUTHOR

14

Articles by Henry Cowell published in periodicals

On music in general.

Harmonic development in music. Freeman 3:63-65; 85-86; 111-113 March 30, April 6, 13, 1931. (In collaboration with Robert L. Duffus.)

The process of musical creation. American Journal of Psychology. 37:233-236 April, 1926

Experiments with ultra-modern songs. Singing. 1:17 June 1926

Unlocking the secrets of "modern" scores. Singing and Playing. 2:18 Dec 1927

Our inadequate notation. Modern Music. 4:29 March 1927

The impasse of modern music: searching for new avenues of beauty. Century. 114: 671-677 Oct. 1927. (This article was written by Valeska Bari from notes taken at five lectures by Henry Cowell in San Francisco in 1926.)

New terms for new music. Modern music. 5:21 May 1928

The joys of noise. New Republic. 59:287 July 31, 1929

Batons are scepters. New Freeman. 1:374-376 July 2, 1930

Music of and for the records. Modern Music. 8:32-34 March 1931

The basis of musical pleasure. American Mercury. 24:372-376 November 1931

Creation and imitation. The Fortnightly. San Francisco 1:5-7 December 1931

Future musical trends. Maandeblad voor Hedendaagische Muzeik, Amsterdam. November 1932

Rhythmicon. Melos Zeitschrift für Musik. Mainz. Spring 1933 (Translated by Hans Guttmann)

Toward neo-primitivism. Modern music. 10:149-153 March-April, 1933

Double counterpoint. Dune Forum, Oceano, California. 1:78-79 March 15, 1933

How should music be danced? Dance Observer. June 1934

Jazz. Trend (spring) 1934

Music in Russia. Pritomnost. Prague. September 1930 (In Czechish)

Conservative music in radical Russia. New Republic. 59:339 Aug.14, 1929

A musician in Russia. The Churchman. 141:10, 11 April 26, 1930

Playing concerts in Moscow. Musical Courier. 102:5, 30, 31 May 23, 1931

Reviews of music:

Review of the season 1927. Americana Annual, 1928

Review of the season 1928. Americana Annual, 1929

Review of the season 1929. Americana Annual, 1930

Review of the season 1930. Americana Annual, 1931

Review of the season 1931. Americana Annual, 1932

Review of the season 1932. Americana Annual, 1933

Review of the season 1933. Americana Annual, 1934

15

HENRY COWELL, AUTHOR

## Articles by Henry Cowell published in periodicals

### American Music

**American composers.** Uj Fold, Budapest. April 1927 (In Hungarian)

**Modern American composers.** Crescendo, Budapest. October 1927 (In Hungarian)

**American polyphonists.** Musicalia, Havana. July, August 1930 (In Spanish)

**American music.** Melos Zeitschrift, Berlin. August, October, December 1930, August 1931 (In German)

**American composers.** Music and Revolution, Moscow. February 1930 (In Russian)

**The development of modern music.** American composers. Reprint from the Proceedings of the Ohio State Educational Conference. Ohio State University Bulletin. v 36 no 3 September 15, 1931

**America takes a front rank in year's modernist output.** Musical America. 41:5,35 March 1925

**Four little known composers.** Aesthete Magazine, Chicago. 1:1,10,20 August 1928

**Three native composers.** New Freeman, May 3, 1930

**Music of Edgar Varese.** Modern Music.5:9 January 1928

**Carlos Chavez.** Pro Musica Quarterly. 7:19 June 1928

**Analysis of an unfamiliar modern composer** (Nicolas Slonimsky). Singing and Playing.3:26 August 1928

**Carl Ruggles.** Carmelite, Carmel, California. August 1930

**Charles Louis Seeger, Jr.** The Fortnightly, San Francisco. January 15, 1932

**Roy Harris, an American composer.** Sackbut, London. 12:133-136 April 1932

**Charles E. Ives.** Disques, Philadelphia. 3:374-377 November 1932

**Charles E. Ives** Modern Music, 10: November 1932

**Recent creative tendencies in American music.** Soviet Music June 1934 (In Russian)

### Comparative musicology

**Moravian music.** Pro Musica Quarterly. v 7 June 1927

**Hidden Irish treasure.** Modern Music. 6:31-33 May 1929

**Music of the hemispheres** (Chinese music). Modern Music. 6:12-18 March 1929

**Chinese music.** Pritamnost, Prague. November 7, 1929 (In Czechish)

**Vocal innovators of Central Europe.** Modern Music. 7:34-38 February 1930

**The "Sones" of Cuba.** Modern Music. 8:45-47 January 1931

**Irish traditional music.** Irish Review (spring) 1934

**Oriental music.** In Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences.

For monographs on comparative musicology, see page 19

HENRY COWELL, MUSICOLOGIST

16

In the field of experimental musicology:

Original ideas relating to the theoretical and technical aspects of music

Original ideas in musical theory:

Physical relation between tone and rhythm

Construction of a system of dissonant counterpoint

Application of overtone series to rhythmic relation in duration, stress, tempo

Application of overtone series to musical history

Application of overtone series to development in modern music

Actual musical construction of new rhythms and harmonies

Calculation of relationship between moving tempos

Organization of a system of polyharmony

Organization of a system of polytonality

Organization of a System of utilization of tone clusters

Original schemes of notation:

Tone clusters necessitating three new types of notes

Rhythms belonging to rhythmic systems necessitating seven new types of notes

String piano which has necessitated about 100 reference symbols

Moving clusters necessitating four new types of notes

Notation for the rhythmicon (invented by him), which requires a new special notation

New musical terms invented:

<table><tr><td>Tone cluster</td><td>Polytime</td></tr><tr><td>String piano</td><td>Polymeter</td></tr><tr><td>Percussion piano</td><td>Polyaccent</td></tr><tr><td>Rhythmicon</td><td>Polytempo</td></tr></table>

<table><tr><td>Cross time</td><td>Scales of rhythm</td></tr><tr><td>Cross accent</td><td>Scales of tone quality</td></tr><tr><td>Cross tempo</td><td>Scales of noise values</td></tr></table>

<table><tr><td>Counterchord</td><td>Harmonies of rhythm</td></tr><tr><td>Counterharmony</td><td>Melodies of rhythm</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Polyphony of rhythm</td></tr></table>

"My interest in the theory underlying new materials came about at first through wishing to explain to myself, as well as to others, why certain materials I felt impelled to use in composition, and which I instinctively felt to be legitimate, have genuine scientific and logical foundation. I therefore made an investigation into the laws of acoustics as applied to musical materials. Some of the results of the investigation convinced me that although my music itself preceded the knowledge of its theoretical explanation, there had been enough unconscious perception so that the means used were not only in accordance with acoustical law, but are perhaps the best way of amalgamating sounds formerly considered discords; namely by sounding together a number of tones related through the higher reaches of the overtones, in the same spacing in which they occur in the overtone series. Some of the results of this probing into acoustical relationships form the basis of this work."

Henry Cowell in the introduction to his book

NEW MUSICAL RESOURCES

HENRY COWELL, MUSICOLOGIST

17

Investigations

Independent research in the overtone series, the nature of noise, elements of music, physics of rhythm, harmony and melody of rhythm.

Inauguration of tests for musical reactions on persons; some were conducted at the University of California, some at Stanford University, and some independently. These experiments included tests for pleasure or displeasure in consonants and dissonants, and tests for pleasure or irritation for loudness and softness.

Experiments with children

Class in the playing of rhythm, children 6 - 12 years old, Greenwich House Music School. 8 sessions, spring 1933

Class in the production of Hindemith's Cantata, Wie bauen eine Stadt, Henry Street Settlement Music School. 8 rehearsals, spring 1933

Demonstration of acoustical instruments with different classes of elementary school children. 1934

Inventions

The *rhythmicon*, a new musical instrument invented by Henry Cowell and executed by Leon Theremin, 1931. (See next page for a full description.)

Recordings

Five records of different rhythmical combinations on the rhythmicon.

Writings

NEW MUSICAL RESOURCES, a book written by Henry Cowell in 1919 and published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1930. (See page 13)

For articles on experimental musicology, see references on page 14.

Affiliations

Secretary, New York Society for Musicology

Member, Advisory Board, American Library of Musicology

HENRY COWELL, MUSICOLOGIST

18

The *rhythmicon*, a new musical instrument invented by Henry Cowell and executed by Leon Theremin. 1931.

The rhythmicon makes possible the production of rhythms of all types by the holding of keys on the keyboard. As long as the key is held, the corresponding rhythm will be sustained. Rhythmic harmonies produced by sounding several rhythms together are made easy and practical to perform. The rhythm is related to sound scientifically, so that a tonal harmony corresponding to the rhythm in vibration ratio is always heard. The sound and rhythm are both produced by a new principle of television, and are caused by the influence of light on a photo-electric cell.

The purpose of the instrument is twofold: to enable the productions of rhythm and related tone beyond a point where they have been able to be produced by any known means before now, to be used:

* For making rhythmical melody and harmony for use in musical composition.

* For carrying on numerous rhythmical physical and psychological scientific experiments.

"My part in its invention was to invent the idea that such a rhythmic instrument was a necessity to further rhythmic development, which has reached a limit, more or less, or performance by hand, and needed the application of mechanical aid. That which the instrument was to accomplish, what rhythms it should do, and the pitch it should have, and the relation between the pitch and rhythm are my ideas. I also conceived that the principle of broken up light playing on a photo-electric cell would be the best means of making it practical. With this idea, I went to Theremin, who did the rest -- he invented the method by which the light could be cut, did the electrical calculations, and built the instrument."

Henry Cowell has given public demonstrations of the rhythmicon at the New School for Social Research in New York, and before audiences in and around San Francisco in 1932. He has also written compositions for it, including Rhythmicana, for the rhythmicon and orchestra.

Homer Henley in the San Francisco Argonaut (May 20, 1932) says:

"Then Henry Cowell, who will become known to the world, some day, as the Edison of music, introduced to the audience (The New Music Society of California) his latest invention, the rhythmicon, an extraordinary and undoubtedly an epoch-making discovery ....

"The rhythmic-control possibilities in playing and imparting exactitudes in cross rhythms are bewildering to contemplate and the potentialities of the instrument should be multifarious beyond this ....

"Mr. Cowell used his rhythmicon to accompany a set of violin movements which he had written for the occasion .... The accompaniment was a strange complexity of rhythmical interweavings and cross currents of a cunning and precision as never before fell on the ear of man, and the sound pattern was as uncanny as the motion.

"The writer believes that the pure genius of Henry Cowell has here put forward a principle which will strongly influence the face of all future music."

HENRY COWELL, MUSICOLOGIST

19

In the field of comparative musicology

Investigation of extra-European musical systems by means of the records of primitive music in the archives of the University of Berlin, under the auspices of the Guggenheim Foundation, 1931-1932.

Monographs (unpublished)

The music of Iceland

The music of the Cacausus

The use of music among primitive peoples

Rhythm in primitive music

The scales of primitive music

The use of slides in primitive melody

Association with the following experts:

<table>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>American Indian music</td>
      <td>Professor Helen Roberts, Yale University</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Arabic music</td>
      <td>Robert Lachmann, Bibliothek National, Berlin</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Balinese music</td>
      <td>A. F. Roemahlaiselan, dancer and musician, Bali</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Central African music</td>
      <td>Professor Herskowitz, Northwestern University</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Chinese music</td>
      <td>Chih Meng, Director, China Institute in America</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Cuban music</td>
      <td>Professor Kiang Kang-hu, McGill University</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Czechish native music</td>
      <td>Amadeo Roldan, Havana</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>East Indian music</td>
      <td>Prof. Samumoorthy, University of Madras</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Hungarian native music</td>
      <td>Sarat Lahiri, North India</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Irish traditional music</td>
      <td>Eileen Curran, Traditional singer, New York</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Japanese music</td>
      <td>Soichi Ichikawa, Museum of Natural History, New York</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Javanese music</td>
      <td>T. Tamada-shakuhashi player, San Francisco</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Polynesian music</td>
      <td>Raden Mas Jodjana, Java</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Primitive music</td>
      <td>Professor von Hornbostel, University of Berlin</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Russian native music</td>
      <td>Joseph Schillinger, Leningrad</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Turkestanian music</td>
      <td>Victor Beleieff, Moscow</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

HENRY COWELL, MUSICOLOGIST

20

## In the field of comparative musicology

Recordings: copies, made by Henry Cowell, 1933

Hornbostel demonstration collection of 120 records from all over the world. The originals of this collection were borrowed from explorers and private persons, and private records not on sale. Records from

Annam Cambodia East India Madagascar South Sea Islands
Burma China Korea Siam Western and Central Africa

Recordings: original records, made by Henry Cowell, 1933

### Andalusian music - Antonio Perez

Gypsy songs with guitar accompaniment and solo guitar. (6 records)

### Argentine and Chilean gaucho songs

Argentine gaucho Indian accompanying himself on a guitar (25 songs)

### East Indian music - Sarat Lahiri and an Indian girl (6 records)

2 Esraj solos 2 citar

1 Tabla and banja 2 songs with drum accompaniment

### Flamenco gypsy music (6 records)

### Haitian African natives - 2 dances (2 records)

### Irish traditional music - Eileen Curran, New York (10 records)

Druidic religious rites

Gaelic bardic chanting

Christianized traditional religious singing

Secular songs - dance songs and obscene songs

### Russian Armenian music

Ancient religious chants with instrumental accompaniment (2 records)

Georgian dance music with tar and alkawall (2 records)

Writings and lectures in comparative musicology: see references on pages 11,12 and 15.

## Affiliations

Member, Executive Committee, American Society for Comparative Musicology

American Representative, Gesellschaft zur Erforschung der Musik des Orients

## In the field of historical musicology

Recordings: New School Grainger Records (18 records)

Ensemble music of the 16th and 17th century of England and Flanders played by Percy Grainger and Durieux Ensemble, New York.

REVIEWS OF HENRY COWELL AND HIS WORK

21

References to his work in lectures by:

<table><tr><td>Marion Bauer, New York</td><td>Roy Harris, New York</td></tr><tr><td>Marc Blitzstein, Philadelphia</td><td>K. Kuznetsov, Moscow</td></tr><tr><td>John J. Becker, St. Paul</td><td>Jeanne de Mare, Paris</td></tr><tr><td>Richard Buhlig, New York</td><td>Paul Rosenfeld, New York</td></tr><tr><td>Alejandro Caturla, Havana</td><td>Dane Rudhyar, New York</td></tr><tr><td>Carlos Chavez, Mexico City</td><td>Nicolas Slonimsky, Boston</td></tr><tr><td>Aaron Copland, New York</td><td>Hans H. Stueckenschmidt, Berlin</td></tr><tr><td>Percy Grainger, New York</td><td>Lewis M. Terman, Stanford University</td></tr></table>

References to his work in books:

AMERICAN COMPOSERS ON AMERICAN MUSIC: SYMPOSIUM. Stanford University Press
VI. Henry Cowell, by Nicolas Slonimsky 1933

TWENTIETH CENTURY MUSIC. Marion Bauer. G. P. Putnams, 1934

BY WAY OF ART. Paul Rosenfeld. Coward McCann, 1928.

References to his work in periodicals:

Issac Goldberg. Chiefly about Henry Cowell. Disques. 205-208, July 1931

Homer Henley. New future for rhythms. Argonaut. 110:10 May 20, 1932

Homer Henley. The anatomy of dissonance. Argonaut. 110:10 May 27, 1932

Paul Rosenfeld, Musical Chronicle. 76:388-390 April 1924

Paul Rosenfeld. American premiere. New Republic. 70:273 April 20, 1932

Musicalia (Havana). 15-16, April 1931 18-19; 31-33

Two pieces for piano. By Henry Cowell. Universal Edition. Mos cow.

Reviewed in American Mercury 23:121 May, 1931

Press comments from New York:

W. J. Henderson in The Sun: "Let it be known that Mr. Cowell produced some extraordinary and genuinely musical effects with his tone-clusters. He contrived to make a melody stand out, although surrounded by a bewildering cloud of other tones and overtones. So, after all, the advocates of the new methods win, for probably only Mr. Cowell can weave these singular sonorous webs."

Lawrence Gilman in The Herald-Tribune: "Mr. Cowell's musical writing is well worth while. We enjoyed Mr. Cowell's lean, muscular, fibrous style. His music is closely knit, free of surplusage; it has tang and substance and profile."

Pitts Sanborn in The Telegram: "Mr. Cowell is not only endowed with a sensitively musical temperament but possesses that prizable and perilous attribute, an acute intelligence."

Noel Strauss in The Evening World: "He spurned empty cleverness, and was not too advanced or extreme to scorn the voicing of true human emotions. The andante and Largo bits were eloquent outpourings of the spirit, conveyed with real melodic allure."

22

Press Comments from the United States:

Edwin Hughes in The Christian Science Monitor, Boston: "I consider Cowell an important innovator and one of the most original figures of the American Schools."

Edward Durney in The Buffalo Evening News: "Henry Cowell, who has opened new pianistic vistas with his tonal effects."

Maurice Rosenfeld in the Chicago Daily News: "It is something strikingly original. Mr. Cowell disclosed a talent for the instrument, and also a proficiency in its manipulation."

James Rogers in The Cleveland Plain Dealer: "Most persuasive of all the heralds of the new era in music."

Luigi Vianni in The Kansas City Journal-Post: "Henry Cowell is a cultured and sincere musician, and one of the few modernists who have something original to say."

Bertha Knisely in The Los Angeles Record: "Henry Cowell is assuredly a very significant factor in whatever this generation has to contribute to music."

Redfern Mason in The San Francisco Examiner: "Cowell is a serious minded musician, and his innovations are of far reading consequence."

Marjory M. Fisher in The San Francisco News: "Henry Cowell's famous "tone clusters" are probably the most startling and original contribution any American has yet contributed to the field of music. Cowell has developed a technique that gives the piano a sonority and tonal variety akin to that of an orchestra."

The Detroit Evening Times: "A fine piance, completely achieving what it sets out to do. The Banshee is absolutely fascinating."

The Philadelphia Bulletin: "No one, perhaps, is better fitted to explain the aim and meaning of modern music."

The Pittsburgh Press: "He achieved ravishing and picturesque effects."

The Portland (Oregon) Spectator: "No such clear, logical and convincing exposition of modern music has ever been heard before in Portland."

The Seattle Times: "He has technical excellence, and magnificent dramatic power."

The Toledo Times: "He is the most interesting of all the Moderns."

23

Foreign Press Comments

**Amsterdam.** Algemeen Handelsblad: "Mr. Cowell creates his own literature, which is something very new, and also genuinely serious and idealistic."

**Berlin.** Addph Weissman: "Mr. Cowell's 'Advertisement' is a work of genius."

**Budapest.** Anton Molnar in Zenei Semle: "Cowell's work is some of the most valuable of all modern music."

**Havana.** Musicalia: "One of the most notable composers of the United States

**Lima.** El Commercio: "Henry Cowell's works possess positive merit."

**Leipzig.** The Leipzig Abendpost: "He enriches the possibilities of the piano so as to produce broader and deeper experiences in music."

**London.** Daily Times: "The new technique is certainly interesting. His playing is good and the wildest things were done with evident care, and the utmost seriousness."

**Milan.** Corriere Della Sera: "During the entire program the public manifested a vital interest, and vigorously applauded."

**Montreal.** G. D. Bell in The Montreal Star: "The music was really impressive. The Banshee contained the weirdest wails and mutterings of which a piano is capable."

**Paris.** Le Figaro: "The United States possesses at present a number of modern composers, among whom the most distinguished is Henry Cowell by virtue of his genuine talent and very real originality. He expresses in the most adequate manner, his very individual ideas."

**Prague.** Narodni Noviny: "Henry Cowell is a great creator, and there is certainly much of value in his compositions."

**Rotterdam.** Courant: "The audience followed the demonstration with deep interest, and gave hearty applause."

**Stockholm.** "Cowell is unquestionably a genuine musician; and one sees that he has studied and experimented for many years to bring about his results, and that his studies have serious value. But he is not only an experimentalist; he is truly great in the realm of sound-imagination."

**Toronto.** The Toronto Star: "Henry Cowell proved to be a sensation. The ultra-moder note is combined with a poignant beauty that thrills and startles. There was an elevation, a dominating force in his passages which had an electrifying effect on the audience."

**Venice.** Il Gazettino: "Henry Cowell has acquired a mastery of every possible instrumental effect."

**Vienna.** Dr. Felber in Wiener Morgan Zeitung; "His effects become genuinely artistic materials, in which the most distantly related tones are felt to be concords. These sounds as boundaries of acoustical phenomena are well handled by Mr. Cowell, an honest, highly gifted musician."