/LC.GIF&client=easterncarolinaedu)
"Maximum clarity" and other writings on music / Ben Johnston ; edited by Bob Gilmore.
| Author/creator | Johnston, Ben |
| Other author | Gilmore, Bob, 1961-2015, editor. |
| Format | Book |
| Publication Info | Urbana : University of Illinois Press, ©2006. |
| Description | xxxviii, 275 pages : illustrations, music ; 24 cm. |
| Subjects |
| Uniform title | Literary works. Selections |
| Series | Music in American life Music in American life. ^A223005 |
| Contents | Ben Johnston: a chronology / Bob Gilmore -- On music theory. Aesthetic theory; philosophical background for mathematical theory; musical background for application of mathematical theory -- Scalar order as a compositional resource -- Proportionality and expanded musical pitch relations -- Microtonal resources -- Tonality regained -- Music theory -- Rational structure in music -- A notation system for extended just intonation -- On musical aesthetics and culture. Musical intelligibility: where are we? -- A talk on contemporary music -- Festivals and new music -- Three attacks on a problem -- On context -- Contribution to IMC panel -- How to cook an albatross -- Art and survival -- On bridge-building -- Seventeen items -- Art and religion -- Extended just intonation: a position paper -- A.S.U.C. keynote address -- Just intonation and mere intonation -- Without improvement -- Maximum clarity -- Some compositions. On String Quartet no. 2 -- On Sonata for Microtonal Piano -- The genesis of Knocking Piece -- Quintet for Groups: a reminiscence -- On Carmilla -- On Crossings (String Quartet no. 3 and String Quartet no. 4) -- On The Age of Surveillance -- On String Quartet no. 5 -- On String Quartet no. 6 -- On Journeys -- On Sleep and Waking -- On other composers. Letter from Urbana -- To Perspectives of New Music re. John Cage -- The corporealism of Harry Partch -- Harry Partch/John Cage -- Harry Partch's Cloud-Chamber Music -- Beyond Harry Partch -- Regarding La Monte Young. |
| Abstract | Described by New York Times critic John Rockwell as "one of the best non-famous composers this country has to offer," Ben Johnston reconceives familiar idioms--ranging from jazz to Southern hymns--using just intonation. Johnston studied with Darius Milhaud, Harry Partch, and John Cage, and is best known for his String Quartet No. 4, a complex series of variations on Amazing Grace. This volume reveals he is also a truly literate composer, who writes and speaks about music with eloquence and charm. This book spans forty years and brings together forty-one of Johnston's most important writings, including many rare and several previously unpublished selections. They include position papers, theoretical treatises, program notes, historical reflections, lectures, excerpts from interviews, and letters, and they cover a broad spectrum of concerns--from the technical exegesis of microtonality to the personal and the broadly humanistic. The volume concludes with a discography of all commercially available recordings of Johnston's music. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references (pages 263-265), discography (pages 267-269), and index. |
| LCCN | 2006000325 |
| ISBN | 0252030982 (cloth : alk. paper) |
| ISBN | 9780252030987 |
Availability
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Music | Closed Stacks - Ask at Circulation Desk | ML410.J67 A25 2006 | ✔ Available | Place Hold |