This anthology of essays; interviews; and autobiographical pieces provides an invaluable overview of the evolution of contemporary musicmdash;from chromaticism; serialism; and indeterminacy to jazz; vernacular; electronic; and non-Western influences. Featuring classic essays by Stravinsky; Stockhausen; and Reich; as well as writings by lesser-known but equally innovative composers such as Jack Beeson; Richard Maxfield; and T. J. Anderson; this collection covers a broad range of styles and approaches. Here you will find Busonis influential "Sketch of a New Esthetic of Music"; Partchs exploration of a new notation system; Babbitts defense of advanced composition in his controversial "Who Cares If You Listen?"; and Pauline Oliveross meditations on sound. Now updated with fifteen new composers including Michael Tippet; Gyouml;rgy Ligeti; Gunther Schuller; Ben Johnston; Sofia Gubaidulina; and William Bolcom; this important book gathers together forty-nine piecesmdash;many out of print and some newly written for this volumemdash;which serve as a documentary history of twentieth-century music; in theory and practice. Impassioned; provocative; and eloquent; these writings are as exciting and diverse as the music they discuss.
2012-10-12 2012-10-12File Name: B009W3J3XQ
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Excellent resourceBy Park LoverExtremely well-written in a style that demystifies "green" and summarizes practices internationally. Possibly tilted towards authors home in U.K. but still is useful for U.S. circumstances.
