Interludes for Prepared Piano
Instructions Check the video and answer the questions. #1 John Cage Sonatas and “Interludes for Prepared Piano, Sonata II” (1946-48) This piece is written for piano but certainly doesn’t sound like the traditional tone color of the piano. Describe the tone colors that are generated by this “prepared piano.” What is a prepared piano? How are some of the particular tone colors that you hear produced by this acoustic instrument? What influenced Cage to invent “the prepared piano”?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oL_UdQf704A You can watch a short video on how to prepare a piano here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myXAUEuECqQ #2 Edgard Varese “Poème électronique” (Electronic Poem: 1958) The first stage of music produced electronically in the twentieth-century was called “musique concrete.” Composers recorded sounds onto audiotape, and then manipulated them in the studio to produce a fixed performance of the piece. Varese’s Poem Electronique is perhaps one of the most famous of these works. read about it in your textbook before you listen. Try to put yourself back in 1958 and think about the technology that was available at that time. Listen carefully to try to discern some of the raw sound material. How do you think this piece was received in 1958? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTMSllIv2lw #3 John Adams “Short Ride on a Fast Machine” (1986) John Adams is most often referred to a “postminimalist” composer. Listen to his “Short Ride in a Fast Machine” and discuss why this piece could be described as “minimalist.” Does this piece aptly portray its title? What specific types of musical techniques does he use in this piece to create perpetual motion? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LoUm_r7It8 #4 Kaija Saariaho “L’amour de loin” (Love from Afar: 2000) Saariaho’s career has produced music that has used techniques of live electronics, mixed media (music, text, tape, electronics, dance, video). What is the impact of the mix of traditional instruments and electronic sounds? How does this opera compare with the others we have studied in class, i.e. Mozart, Verdi, Wagner? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKBm9mKWJVU #5 Tania Leon “Inura” (2009) Using the vocabulary you have learned so far in the course, describe the basic characteristics of this piece. Explain how Leòn utilizes call and response during this movement. Discuss the role of the percussion during this movement. Be specific. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WCsr4qeij4
