Description
Taylor & Francis The Modern Percussion Revolution Journeys of the Progressive Artist 2014 Edition by Kevin Lewis, Gustavo Aguilar
More than eighty years have passed since Edgard Varese's catalytic work for percussion ensemble, Ionisation, was heard in its New York premiere. A flurry of pieces for this new medium dawned soon after, challenging the established truths and preferences of the European musical tradition while setting the stage for percussion to become one of the most significant musical advances of the twentieth century. This 'revolution', as John Cage termed it, was a quintessentially modernist movement - an exploration of previously undiscovered sounds, forms, textures, and styles. However, as percussion music has progressed and become woven into the fabric of Western musical culture, several divergent paths, comprised of various traditions and a multiplicity of aesthetic sensibilities, have since emerged for the percussionist to pursue.This edited collection highlights the progressive developments that continue to investigate uncharted musical grounds. Using historical studies, philosophical insights, analyses of performance practice, and anecdotal reflections authored by some of today's most engaged performers, composers, and scholars, this book aims to illuminate the unique destinations found in the artistic journey of the modern percussionist. Table of contents :- Preface Kevin Lewis and Gustavo Aguilar Part 1: Looking Back, Moving Ahead 1. Not Knowing, the Cart Got in Front Gustavo Aguilar 2. What of the Performers? The Case of the Percussion Group Cincinnati and the Need to Reconsider Percussion Chamber Music Historiography Thomas J. Kernan 3. At Loose Ends with Anticommunication Allen Otte 4. Writing (at the End) of New Music Christopher Shultis Part 2: Exploration, Discovery, and Illumination 5. Abstracted Resonance: The Percussion Music of Peter Garland John Lane 6. The Speaking Percussionist as Storyteller Bonnie Whiting 7. I Drum the Body Electric Rob Esler 8. The Search for Self: An Exploration of the Percussion Music of Stuart Saunders Smith Kevin Lewis Part 3: Conversing about the Journey 9. A Conversation with William Winant Thad Anderson 10. Percussive Thoughts Fritz Hauser 11. On the Nature of Percussion Masterworks Bill Sallak Part 4: Reflections on Paths Traveled 12. Meandering Steven Schick 13. Bagatelles Robyn Schulkowsky 14. Composing, Thoughts Stuart Saunders Smith 15. Letter to a Young Percussionist (Preferences in Percussion, 2010) Allen Otte