Browsing by Author "Applebaum, Edward"
Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item Celestial(2001) Tonkin, Christopher; Applebaum, EdwardThis piece for chamber orchestra explores the superimposition of musical fragments upon others of different metrical values. The title of the piece refers to the closing section in which three different musical ideas of three conflicting underlying metrical values run simultaneously to produce an effect similar to the "clockwork of the universe". These three fragments are explored first separately in the exposition. Each is given development both individually and alongside others. The final section of the piece combines all three simultaneously in their original forms.Item Dual Origins(2000) Rosenthal, Aaron Elliot; Applebaum, EdwardDual Origins is a through-composed poem for orchestra, which addresses a series of oppositions and extreme contrasts. Among these contrasts are the dynamic (loud vs. soft) and registral (high vs. low) extremes of the orchestra, the ensemble's varying timbres (strings, winds, and percussion), the music's degrees of dissonance and consonance, and the existence of a tonal center versus what's commonly referred to as tonal ambiguity. The majority of the musical material is derived from the simple whole-step motive that opens the piece, and in the absence of any traditional formal structure, this motivic unity creates an alternate type of cohesion that serves as the glue between the individual sections. The last of these sections is a climactic conclusion, at which point the piece's various conflicts have all found either compromise or conquest.Item "Etudes pour piano, premier livre" of Gyorgy Ligeti: Studies in composition and pianism(2001) Tsong, Mayron Kacy; Applebaum, EdwardIn Ligeti's own description of the Piano Etudes, he says, they are "Etudes in a compositional and pianistic sense"1 that "behave like growing organisms."2 Upon more detailed analysis, Ligeti's complex ideas of organic structure and illusion are revealed. However, the complicated, yet highly organized configuration does not detract from poetic expression. In this respect, they are like the Etudes of Chopin and Debussy. Although Chopin, Debussy, African idioms, Nancarrow and jazz are compositional influences in Ligeti's Piano Etudes, these pieces are altogether unique. By revealing his musical and extra-musical inspiration, Ligeti is only referring to the musical/aesthetic environment in which he composes. In his Piano Etudes, Ligeti has uniquely assimilated this environment and the result is music that breathes and communicates on a personal level. Their directness of communication, innovative rhythmic texture, and virtuosic pianism place them among the most attractive and important works of contemporary piano literature. 1In an introductory lecture for a performance of Desordre in Gutersloh on May 5, 1990 as described in liner notes to Erato ECD 75555, 1990 (Notes translated by Sid McLauchlan, performed by Pierre-Laurent Aimard). 2Gyorgy Ligeti, translated by David Feurzeig and Annelies McVoy in the liner notes to "Works for Piano, Volume 3: Etudes, Musica ricercata," Sony Classical SK 62308, 1997 (Pierre-Laurent Aimard).Item The stylistic traits of Charles Griffes's piano music: "Roman Sketches", Op. 7 and Piano Sonata (1917--1918)(2001) Fabbro, Renato Sergio; Applebaum, EdwardLike most composers, Charles Griffes's piano works display certain recurring stylistic traits. These traits transcend the three periods in which his music is categorized. A comparison of two of his best known piano works, Roman Sketches, Op. 7 and the Piano Sonata (1917--18), illustrates the significant compositional techniques that he continued to use as his style matured. Examples from other piano works are included in this document although the focus is primarily on these two. The comparisons also highlight the traits that Griffes added or abandoned in his later years.* *Originally published in DAI, Vol 62, No. 7. Reprinted here with corrected author name.Item Wet Crimson on Chiricahua(1998) Clark, Patrick David; Applebaum, EdwardThe acoustic scale, derived as it is from the overtone series lends both a tonally functional power and harmonic clarity to my work for large orchestra. The fact that the overtone series, through its first 14 members sounded simultaneously, produces an X $\flat$7 9 $\sharp$11 13 chord, which has a powerful dominant function, insures that a "pan-diatonic" use of a pitch field comprised of these pitch-classes will have a forward-pushing harmonic tension. The close relationship which these notes have to the octatonic and whole-tone scales justifies my pitch-field modulations from the acoustic scale to these modes. These secondary modes also produce strong dominant sonorities. Additionally, because of their symmetrical construction, they are useful to create harmonically static and ambiguous passages. Finally, harmonic resolution can be reserved for the use of diatonic pitch-fields (owing to the asymmetry of their construction). I have attempted to maintain harmonic clarity through the greater part of the work by using triadic constructions as opposed to overly dense pitch-clusters. The contrasting of a triad from one mode against a triad from another mode produces greater chromaticism and tension than sonorities derived from a single pitch-set. This work represents for me a response to the over-fragmentation of materials resulting from unrelenting non-functional harmony which dominates much music today. Specifically, the Chant and Organum sections serve to bring a sense of resolution to the ambiguous symmetrical harmonies which precede them. Resolution of instability is, I think, a necessary process in music which is fundamental to most people's ontological conception of the world. The Coda allows the material to drift back into "uncertainty" which is again, for most of us, the human condition. I have attempted to satisfy an internal and abstract sense of esthetic balance without resorting to purely cerebral means.