Zo Muse

Dissertation Musings

2007-11-26T13:48:00.000-05:00

The dissertation investigates key percussion works written between 1931 and 1941 by Edgar Varèse, Henry Cowell, and John Cage. My inquiry focuses on how changes in technology in the early-twentieth century can be linked to aesthetic developments that led to a new level of experimentation with sound in the first percussion works. Ignited by innovations such as the phonograph, sound film, and technologies of speed, this leap in the mechanical reproduction had a profound effect on ways of hearing and seeing. Some consider that photography paved they way for abstraction in painting. Similarly, the gramophone led to the emancipation of sound. In addition, I seek to contrast how machine-age aesthetics moved from being represented in a surface way in works like Antheil’s Ballet mécanique towards a deeper integration into the sonic and formal structures as found in Varese's Ionisation and the mathematically conceived forms of Cage’s three Constructions in Metal.

The goal is to explore these works in light of the larger historical forces of modernity. How was the radical notion of music based not on pitch but on sound and rhythm received? Further, how was the use of non-Western percussion instruments understood; as representing “foreign,” “exotic” sounds or objectively as a “new musical resource” (Henry Cowell). Taken together in a percussion ensemble, these various instruments constitute a musical collage perhaps echoing collage and photo collage experiments by Dada artists close to Varèse and Cage. Though percussion music has traditionally been marginalized in the study of Western music, I believe these works constitute a key moment in twentieth-century music: the transition from a harmonic basis of understanding music toward a sound-based one that opened up new paths of musical expression. Exploring how these early percussion works initiate this new paradigm in music is a key aspect of this dissertation.

Boys at the Cavs Game

2007-02-12T17:49:00.000-05:00

Lara Kalafatis took us to see the Cleveland Cavaliers play the L.A. Lakers on Sunday. It was a great game. Kobe looked sweet with the fade-away jumpers. LeBron looked like a bull charging down the lane; he either scores or runs over the opponent.
Sebastian kept score the whole game and Ben sat on Lara's lap content with some lady-time.

Moondog came to pay a special visit. We all got hugs.
Ben was hoisted high in the air
and Lara got a little extra action....
We love Moondog.
He gave each boy a t-shirt and a mini-moondog.

MoonDog

Alex Ross

2007-01-20T21:13:00.000-05:00

I think Alex Ross is one of the most insightful critics working today. It helps he writes for the New Yorker, far and above the only magazine I'd want if stranded on a desert island. Okay, I'd ask for at least one other choice... Though his praise of R. Strauss is a bit perplexing, his writing on John Adams (Dr. Atomic) and Tan Dun's opera are right on. Also, now that I think of it, his article on Feldman last year took readers to a new level of appreciation for Feldman's concept of time. Like his abstract exp. friends working on every larger scales of color, form and space, Feldman attempted the same expansion with time. Ah, a memory. This reminds me of Marilyn Nonken's performance of Triadic Memories at the Cleveland Museum of Art a few years back. For sure, an amazing mind-expanding concert experience. For more on Alex's writings, see his blog at:
http://www.therestisnoise.com/

Youth

2007-01-18T20:21:00.000-05:00

Usually at this time of the year, I get a little down. The dry air makes my skin a little tighter and the wrinkles more pronounced. I feel like a tom tom tuned too tightly. Some say beauty is wasted on the youth. I take a more Freudian view. I think as we get older, some of us internalize youthful vigor. For example, my friend Richard, newly minted at fifty, loses twenty years when his inner-child is loosened upon the world by a magic key called a Hendrick's Martini. Or, last Saturday, Richard transformed into little Dickie (his childhood nickname) when he shared his garden vegetables (which are still growing in January) with us for dinner. Now look at that face. Doesn't Dickie looks like he's presenting his veggies at show and tell or a local 4-H contest?

Having kids to compare my inner-youth meter is helpful though not always accurate. Sometimes I get too goofy. "Let's watch all the Star Wars movies today...," I say, expecting immediate applause and the Bill Cosby chant "Dad is Great..." Instead I get: "Don't you think that would be too much T.V." Party poopers...

Youth

Ok Soun at the MIA

2007-01-14T21:41:00.000-05:00

I spent a day with Ok Soun Eicher at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts last week. We were there for five hours. Together we looked at Chinese porcelain (Celadon, mainly), admired Tang Horses, exchanged opinions about Japanese culture in front of a tea house (Tatami mats are never arranged in an obvious symetrical pattern); and dined together in the cafe. It was an unforgettable day for its stillness and serentity. Here are some pictures of my remarkable friend.

New Album 1/14/07 9:35 PM

New Album 1/13/07 4:46 PM

Ben is Four

2007-01-13T17:49:00.000-05:00

Ben turned four on January 7th while we were in MN. He's a fan of Lightening McQueen, of CARS fame, and got a couple of Lighting McQueen cars and a pair of CARS PJs. He's completely branded as a PIXAR/DISNEY entity. These are some pictures of Ben with his cousin Elie, Ben with his Cake; Ben with his cool R/C car; and Ben at the Bloomington Arts Center. Grandma Rita made the glowing "castle" cake.

New Album 1/13/07 4:46 PM

Family of Docters

2007-01-11T20:57:00.000-05:00

After knowing this family since 1990, I still find the talent of the Docters amazing and daunting. Mother Rita is a supremely talented music educator and children's choral director (I've begged her for years to write a book on educating children about music).
I still remember about ten years ago, when sister Kari played the cello for our wedding. It like she was transported to another world when playing Bach. Her husband, Bruno, is a fine violinist, too. They make a remarkable duo when they're not playing in the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and a formidible trio when violist Kirsten joins. What should we call this string trio? The Docter Eicher Trio? That's gotta a nice ring. They performed a concert called "A Family Affair" in honor of Dave and Rita's 40th wedding anniversary last Sunday. The trio they performed was Ernst von Dohnanyi's Serenade for violin, viola & cello in C major, Op. 10. A wide-ranging work touching often on Hungarian folk themes, it could be paired well with an early quartet by Bartok or Ligeti.
Pete reins as the star of the family, and why not? As a famous animator and director for Pixar, he attracts media attention whenever he's home. In my eyes, his "lemon drops" were a smash hit at our holiday dinner.
Father Docter is simply a lovely, generous soul. A retired music history professor, he's part of an impressive family that loves to travel and gather for reunions. If there's a common link between the Docters, it would be that their children (and now grandchildren Benjamin, Sebastian, Elizabeth and Nicholas) are at the center of their lives.

Photos: Sleepy Ben with Grandpa Docter and Cousin Elie reading to Ben.

Musing

2007-01-09T21:57:00.000-05:00

I've always wondered what it would be like to share musings about family, art, cooking, pictures, love, life, and other philosophical idears with the world. Here it goes. Welcome all!