Nate's Notes

[EigenUser]

So, I've decided to start a section where I'll post "guides" to various pieces of interest to me. I have been keeping some of them in a sort of diary on my computer, but I've realized that others might be interested in reading them as well (I always enjoy reading other people's takes on various pieces whether I agree or not). Most of what I write about here will be post-1900 and I'd even like to incorporate some short sound clips and score clips within the text. Over time I plan on adding new work descriptions as well as revising older ones.

Of course, feel free to comment. I will say that my personal views on some pieces may vary from ones commonly accepted or ones the composer was a proponent of, so I don't at all claim to be definitive.

So far, I have:
1) Bela Bartok: Concerto No. 2 for Piano and Orchestra
2) Gyorgy Ligeti: San Francisco Polyphony
3) Maurice Ravel: La Valse
4) Gyorgy Ligeti: Clocks and Clouds
5) Morton Feldman: Rothko Chapel

Next up will almost definitely be Ligeti's "Clocks and Clouds" or the "Piano Concerto". Or both  ! Then, maybe Bartok's "Dance Suite" and Ades' "Asyla". I'm considering Feldman's "Rothko Chapel" and Gershwin's "Cuban Overture" or "An American in Paris", too. I'll get the the Ligeti Piano Concerto eventually, but it's a very dense and complicated work so I'll have to plan a bit.

I'd also like to add Maurice Ohana's cello concerto "In Dark and Blue", but I am fairly new to the piece and I need to do more research (I want to get the score and a biography from interlibrary loan when I return to my university next Fall). Maybe I'll do one soon and revise it later.

Edit: Now with eye-grabbing  COLOR for the titles! 

[EigenUser]

Bela Bartok: Concerto No. 2 for Piano and Orchestra

Despite the often rough and percussive writing in his music, I usually hear a certain sense of optimism -- even cheerfulness -- in the work of Bartok. Not that his music evokes images of grand celebrations with colored lights. This is something much more primal sounding, almost definitely due to the folk influences of his music.

If there was one piece that I could use to argue that Bartók's music was, in fact, rather cheerful, it would have to be his "Concerto No. 2 for Piano and Orchestra" (1931). Written to balance out the harshness and roughness of his first piano concerto of 1926, it is about as jubilant as Bartók gets. Yet, the work was written during one of the many turbulent times in the composer's life. In fact, it's 1933 German premiere was the last performance Bartok was to ever give in this country, occurring just before the rise of the Nazis.

The first movement is scored for piano, brass, winds, and percussion only – no strings. This is likely an influence of Stravinsky's earlier "Concerto for Piano and Winds". As heard from bar one, Stravinsky's influence permeates the entire work, but it is Bartók's style that makes it so unique. One of my favorite things about this piece is that each entity has its own melody. I usually divide the movement piece into three main sections. In the first section, the orchestra is in charge of the horn calls, flourishes, and fanfares that seem to pose an open-ended question to the piano soloist [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/owd1zu0llr1rxmy/BartokPC2-1.mp3[/audio]. The piano responds first with a "Petroushka"-inspired melody, then with a series of triplets (showcasing the soloist's dexterity), and then with a hammering of open-fifths. A light scherzo-type section briefly interrupts, but the open-fifths continue and build into stronger dissonances. This is very typical of Bartók's writing – he takes a melody, familiarizes the listener with it, begins to canonize it, and eventually it is wrapped around itself so many times that minor seconds end up dominating the section. Finally, it comes to a screeching halt. One of my favorite parts of this first section is when the piano has rhythmic major sevenths in the low register accompanied by the tambourine [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/lbltesh7prv5aly/BartokPC2-2.mp3[/audio]. It is too quiet for dissonance to prevail, but it creates an air of mischief (with woodwinds interjecting a couple of times). The second section contains the same melodies as the first, but this time they are inverted (mirrored across a note-axis; for the main theme, it is D, I believe) [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/xqwszlw2blshq8a/BartokPC2-3.mp3[/audio] . A triumphant fanfare brings the soloist into an intense repetitive cadenza, thus starting the third (and final) section. The movement ends on another hugely triumphant fanfare with the piano ascending the keyboard in the key of G.

The second movement of the concerto opens up with strings alone (they had been silent in the entire first movement) playing pianissimo stacked fifths – sounding like something from a sci-fi film [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/i5fb4cnpiwm643t/BartokPC2-4.mp3[/audio]. The piano emerges [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/9mnp9wsk257zf2q/BartokPC2-5.mp3[/audio] carrying a pristine melody (accompanied by pianissimo timpani rolls) that soon grows louder and louder, only to fade into the sea of stacked fifths in the strings again. It almost seems that the movement is over, but an unusual resolution of the piano's theme to D# is uncomfortably foreboding [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/k3nfmjzqdy2pnr3/BartokPC2-6.mp3[/audio] . As expected by this, the timpani (and perhaps the base drum, I forget) has (have) another drumroll, this time getting louder and louder until something very strange happens – the piano enters with pianissimo sixteenth-notes at a tempo of around q=160-170 bpm, thus beginning a feverish and nightmarish section. Many melodies from the first movement are recalled [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ux9h4g919p5x4dq/BartokPC2-7.mp3[/audio], but they are more chromatic and often accompanied by muffled cluster chords – hardly the jubilant-sounding fanfares that they once were. I think that Bartók did an excellent job of capturing a nightmare-dream sequence here. It sounds as if the listener is being chased through an unfamiliar and constantly-changing environment. The section ends as quickly as it began, and the slow chorale returns with a few differences.

The third movement begins instantly with a boom from the bass drum igniting a pentatonic scale-run from the soloist – abruptly ending and giving way to more huge booms from the timpanist [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/3neclqmr6q3dih2/BartokPC2-8.mp3[/audio]. Fading away, the timpanist becomes an accompaniment to a simple and dance-like piano melody in minor thirds (perhaps vaguely recalling the melody from the second movement of his "Dance Suite"). The fanfare and Petroushka-style melodies are re-introduced, but this time in triplets. In general, the third movement of his "Concerto No. 2 for Piano and Orchestra" consists of themes from the first movement interrupted by the new minor-third melody [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/nb38sanwufe0j67/BartokPC2-9.mp3[/audio].

The ending, however, is brilliant – beyond brilliant, even. I like to say that out of all of the endings of all types of media (music, books, movies, etc.), the ending to the second piano concerto is the best. This is, of course, being facetious, but you get the picture. The orchestra leads a fanfare paralleling the one leading into the cadenza from the first movement. This time, however, things are a little different. When a listener hears the boom of the bass drum that follows, they expect to hear what they heard three times before – the timpani with its barbaric forte eigth-note accompaniment to the piano's minor-third melody. Not exactly – now the piano carries the harsh accompaniment as well as the expected theme, and a harsh (à la his first piano concerto) duet between the percussive piano and bass drum ensues. The strings soon enter, exchanging frantic double sixteenth-notes with the piano, the entire orchestra leads up to a dissonant and loud cymbal crash.

After an unsettling pause, Bartók decides to use up every last ounce of energy the soloist might have by giving a series of chaotic triplet whole-tone-esque scales in presto and pianissimo. This accompanies the orchestra which carries muffled melodies from the past movements. The scales somehow morph into arpeggios, and a beautiful (but very brief) short section follows – again based off of previous thematic material. Anyone who knows the music of Béla Bartók, however, knows that he would never end such a brilliant work quietly (save for his "Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion"). The piano rises above with stacked fourth arpeggios, and another fanfare (this time, the final one) is pursued. Although the 20-or-so bars are very similar to the ending of the first movement, one particular difference is what makes this the best ending ever. Just after the final triplets from the trumpet (ending on a D), the piano begins slowly playing a series of playful sixteenth-note arpeggios accompanied by pizzicato strings. This part always makes me smile – it sounds so childish and fun-loving, as if throwing all worries out and all caution to the wind (note that this section until the last note is very brief – only around 10 seconds; my description is long because I just love it). As the arpeggios continue, the tempo increases dramatically in a huge accelerando and the piano picks up a running modal scale (G,A,C,D,F) that literally scales the keyboard from the lowest G to the highest G, accompanied by the orchestra with eighth notes [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/7t4xot6il36hoyg/BartokPC2-10.mp3[/audio]. In many pieces with loud endings, there is this incredible moment where the orchestra just reverberates after the last note. For me, I think that it exists the strongest in this piece.

[Octave]

I'm going to have to wait for more downtime to read this first post, but great that you are doing this.  The sound-samples are going to be especially welcome, I think....thank for going to that extra trouble. 
I'll check out the Bartok post later this week.

[EigenUser]

I'm going to have to wait for more downtime to read this first post, but great that you are doing this.  The sound-samples are going to be especially welcome, I think....thank for going to that extra trouble. 
I'll check out the Bartok post later this week.

No problem. I love music and I love writing, so it's a lot of fun when I have time! I hope that you enjoy it.

[EigenUser]

Gyorgy Ligeti: San Francisco Polyphony

At the United States premiere of Ligeti's "Melodien" (1970), conductor Zubin Mehta was so aloof with the score that he was (somehow!) completely unaware of the existence of a 2nd horn in the orchestra. Normally seen with a warm and down-to-earth disposition, the composer was so deeply insulted and infuriated that he refused to shake hands with Mehta after the performance. Only weeks later, however, the work was performed by the San Francisco Symphony under the baton of Seiji Ozawa. Ligeti was amazed at how clean the performance, since the orchestra had only began rehearsing the work a couple of weeks prior. It's no surprise then why he agreed to accept a commission for the 60th anniversary of the San Francisco Symphony.

Ligeti's compositions often have titles that are both very catchy and highly descriptive, and "San Francisco Polyphony" is definitely among them. The music is closely intertwined with the vibrant, colorful, and busy city. Furthermore, it is highly polyphonic music -- that is, music which contains several independent layers. The latter is a continuation of the compositional ideas explored in "Melodien". Rather than employing his trademarked micropolyphony with long-durational pitches (as in "Atmospheres" or "Lontano") or with musical realizations of mechanisms (as in "Chamber Concerto"), he does so here with melodies, hence the title of the preceding composition "Melodien".

The work is unusually romantic (that is, appealing to the senses -- not evoking a candle-lit dinner for two) for the twentieth-century and evokes imagery of rush hour and fog over the Golden Gate bridge, among other scenes. This is evident right from the very first measure (marked "Andantino suave e cantabile"), where several highly lyrical melodic figurations are heard [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/x77nhvkeofs6ke1/LigetiSFP-1.mp3[/audio]. Several figurations seem to hurriedly come to the forefront for a very brief period, only to recede into the distance just as quickly. This gives the listener a sort of musical translation of watching the height of rush hour from a 2nd-story apartment window. Certain people stick out among the crowd as they walk nearer, each with their own character. Some that seem more prevalent include things like [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/10hj6a76jc6vzan/LigetiSFP-2.mp3[/audio] and [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/pkft84oer5kousf/LigetiSFP-3.mp3[/audio]. All of this continues as the aggravation of stagnant city traffic gets its turn to be musically depicted [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/p5cmwda4aerllib/LigetiSFP-4.mp3[/audio]. A few more figurations pop up [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/fwkqjbu63vij15f/LigetiSFP-5.mp3[/audio] just before the melodic texture thins and fog seems to set in among the streets with the arrival of a static chord [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/7qsbrut7x64y054/LigetiSFP-6.mp3[/audio]. French (fog?) horns emerge from the chord and more melodic fragments are heard, but within the context of the fog.

A frenzy of agitated strings erupts, receding into a background which the next section is to be drawn upon. Marked "heroically" in the score, the themes presented here are longer and more winding than before [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/aa10h7v47neb9jn/LigetiSFP-7.mp3[/audio]. In fact, this section can almost be thought of as the "development" section of the work in a sort of avant-garde way. Similar to what happened before, the textures thin out into a static fog, though more ominous than the previous one [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/fanln3wienx115t/LigetiSFP-8.mp3[/audio]. The strings increase in dynamic and in pitch, culminating in a gong crash (semi-amusingly, Ligeti instructs the bass section to play a low C with a "brutal scratching noise" in the score). The fog clears and piccolos play trills, occasionally doubled several octaves lower by bassoons [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/87rx222jzyxfit5/LigetiSFP-9.mp3[/audio]. Similar to before, this section can arguably be called the recapitulation -- not in the classical terms of melody, but in idea. Similar melodic figurations are heard. One, in particular, stands out as overtly romantic in quality [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ble2v0k8maustvw/LigetiSFP-10.mp3[/audio]. From here up to the end, the orchestra races to the end as the repeated six-note ostinato is passed from section to section. Finally, it is taken up by the whole orchestra, grows unbearable in volume, and is fantastically (yet rudely) cut off with a fortissimo whip-crack [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/s4vygbldtx6ydt0/LigetiSFP-11.mp3[/audio]. In the score, the very-Ligetian instruction "stop suddenly -- as if torn off" accompanies the last barline. The last measure, a silent fermata with a marked duration of 10 seconds, requires that "during the fermata, the conductor and the players remain completely motionless".

It isn't entirely clear why Ligeti chooses to end this piece in such a dramatic way. What does this nearly-unbearably ecstatic ending have to do with San Francisco? Or, being one of the last compositions of his to use micropolyphony, perhaps he is slamming the door on this style that he felt he had exhausted.

One can only wonder.

Below: The last two pages of the score. For some reason known only to DropBox, the photo is appearing upside-down. Right-click on the image and select "view image" to see it right-side-up, as Ligeti intended.

[EigenUser]

Maurice Ravel: La Valse

I remember telling a non-musician friend about Ravel's "La Valse". I pathetically described it as "a waltz, but scary", to which he laughed and replied "a scary waltz?".

For some reason, Ravel's "La Valse" conjures up scenes that could be right out of Stephen King's "The Shining". The combination of very refined elegance and sheer terror seems to be the underpinnings of both the orchestral masterpiece and the hit novel. You can almost put some sort of (cheesy  ) narrative with the music:

"While he knows that he has to be alone, he can't help but notice the bass-beats of what seems to be a waltz (boom-chuck-chuck) coming from a ballroom two stories below. He approaches the ballroom entrance and listens to the various waltzes that seem to be taking place on the other side. Opening the door to the barely-lit ballroom, shadowy figures seem to be dancing. As his suspicions subside, he begins dancing himself. The waltzing becomes more and more lively, so much so that it borders on threatening and cataclysmic. The shadowy figures begin spiraling around faster and faster. Suddenly, the ballroom lights turn on. The shadowy figures are shown to be skeletons, and the ballroom is old and decaying."

It isn't surprising, as Ravel was an avid reader of Edgar Allan Poe, once even making a comment that Poe was his greatest teacher in composition. King's "The Shining" makes several obvious references to Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death" as well. Even more importantly, however, is the relationship of "La Valse" to World War I. Ravel had been planning to write a Viennese waltz for orchestra since 1906, but he never really got around to completing it. He vehemently denied any influence of the war on his waltz and only cites his earlier idea. However, this doesn't explain the work's uncharacteristically violent ending. During the war, Ravel seemingly wanted nothing more than to be dropping bombs from planes. Due to his very small height and fragile health, however, the best he was able to do was drive wounded soldiers from the front to hospitals.

Perhaps it is possible to reconcile both opposing views: the first half of the work is pre-war Vienna, whereas the second half is post-war Vienna. More concretely put, the waltzes in the first section of the piece are presented as "ideal" and the waltzes in the second half of the piece are the same melodies, but grotesquely distorted.

The work opens up with a mysterious and shadowy rumbling in the basses, from which the standard three-beat "boom-chuck-chuck" emerges [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/zmzci6jo22lhbtw/RavelLaValse-1.mp3[/audio] . A pair of bassoons bring in the first theme, presented in a tonally-ambiguous way [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/lkpssm1jik3ahss/RavelLaValse-2.mp3[/audio] . Wispy trills from the strings attempt to provide a tonal framework. Clarinets lead the listener to the muted viola section, whose timbre has the quality of a dusty old record from the 1930s [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/p5p38oih774wlfg/RavelLaValse-3.mp3[/audio] . The harp adds a Ravelian elegance to the so-far dark piece, only to be blurred by the eerie flutter-tongued chromatic scales from the flute [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/4kvqssga8203af8/RavelLaValse-4.mp3[/audio] . Various similar gestures and false-starts occur until the violas take lead once again, now accompanied by arpeggios in the clarinets [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/mt8s90lrczzlr6r/RavelLaValse-5.mp3[/audio] . Finally, the darkness seems to subside for the time being with the entrance of the violins [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/z5q9fc0mbv04b47/RavelLaValse-6.mp3[/audio] . Other instruments join in and Ravel brings us to the work's first (of many to come) fortissimo [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/26be782ro00ruyw/RavelLaValse-7.mp3[/audio] . Even at this early point, the crescendo is a little bit unsettling (especially for a waltz), accompanied by a rising chromatic scale in the trombones.

Many other waltz melodies are heard in succession, though really not developed upon. Each seems to have its own character -- some are loud and boisterous whereas others are decadent and light. During one of the lighter figures (reminiscent of a music box), we reach a major turning point in the piece. A massive crescendo collapses into trills which descend in octaves and we are back where we began, in the shadowy world of basses and bassoons [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/gnzknsdp22tywtj/RavelLaValse-8.mp3[/audio] . Each of the previous waltz themes heard is heard again, though with a different orchestration. They also seem to intersect each other several times out of their previous order. Various loud sections threaten the listener with an increasing frequency, yet it isn't entirely clear until the massive crash of the gong that destruction has irreversibly taken over [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/3s5ud619ec4qsc2/RavelLaValse-9.mp3[/audio] . The last minute and a half of "La Valse" might qualify as some of the most terrifying music composed. The waltz themes are at first slowed down and harmonically distorted, accompanied by fortissimo bass drum and timpani. String glissandos wail amongst the cacophony as a sort of siren. After this moment of grotesque shock following the gong, the orchestra quickly picks up the pace and seems to run in circles, panicking [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/gse6ahcndwuhyqa/RavelLaValse-10.mp3[/audio] . Chromatic scales are no longer just unsettling -- they are downright terrifying. At one point, Ravel even seems to "pull the carpet from underneath our feet" by completely dropping the first beat of three (leaving us with "-chuck-chuck") [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ho41b157e7lbm88/RavelLaValse-11.mp3[/audio] . An orchestra-wide accelerando relents only once, giving a very short time for the strings to lyrically reminisce of the past [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/c2casqemwrzoz4r/RavelLaValse-12.mp3[/audio] . The brilliantly-orchestrated cacophony builds with such violence that it even resembles the fatal sounds of trench-warfare. Finally, it ends -- though, not without a total assurance that the waltz has been destroyed. Ravel ends the work in 4/4, thus completely annihilating waltz form (as if he hadn't done so enough already) [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/r1ao5i778w47ndw/RavelLaValse-13.mp3[/audio] .

Ravel has finally let go of his cherished 19th-century ideal of pre-war Europe, but not without a fight.

[Karl Henning]

Nicely done; thanks for this thread!

[North Star]

Nicely done; thanks for this thread!

+1, top-notch stuff.

[EigenUser]

Nicely done; thanks for this thread!

+1, top-notch stuff.

Thanks! I appreciate the encouragement! 

[North Star]

Any plans to include Gerhswin, Debussy, Feldman or some of the various other adodecaphonic () composers' works?

[TheGSMoeller]

Maurice Ravel: La Valse

I remember telling a non-musician friend about Ravel's "La Valse". I pathetically described it as "a waltz, but scary", to which he laughed and replied "a scary waltz?".

The last minute and a half of "La Valse" might qualify as some of the most terrifying music composed.

I just recently attended a concert of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra performing La Valse, which was preceded by a performance of the 2 piano version with conductors Robert Spano and Donald Runnicles at the keys. Being familiar with the piece and it's orchestral textures, I was shocked (not in a disappointing way at all) that I found the piano version to come across as more intense and even more macabre. I found more of the lines audible than when sometimes hidden behind percussion and brass.

Anyway, it's a great piece, and your notes were enjoyable to read. Thanks for the post, Nate. 

[EigenUser]

Any plans to include Gerhswin, Debussy, Feldman or some of the various other adodecaphonic () composers' works?

Adodecaphonic. I like it  . I suppose you could also say aatonal  . Not that the latter at all implies the former.

Absolutely. I'm currently working on the Ligeti "Clocks and Clouds" at the moment (literally), but I have been considering works by all three of the composers that you have mentioned. I plan on including Feldman's "Rothko Chapel" because it is probably the shortest works of his that I enjoy (though, I hate to write about a work that is hailed as the composer's most popular). For Gershwin, I can't decide if I'll write about "An American in Paris" or "Cuban Overture". I've played "An American in Paris" in orchestra before so I know the score inside-out (so it would be easier for me to write about), but "Cuban Overture" isn't as well-known. I'm sure both will eventually end up here -- maybe the "Piano Concerto in F" as well, later on. I'd like to write about Debussy's "La Mer" (does anyone ever get sick of this piece?), but I think I'll take care of "Jeux" first because I think that it is so under-rated.

Thanks for the suggestions!

[EigenUser]

I just recently attended a concert of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra performing La Valse, which was preceded by a performance of the 2 piano version with conductors Robert Spano and Donald Runnicles at the keys. Being familiar with the piece and it's orchestral textures, I was shocked (not in a disappointing way at all) that I found the piano version to come across as more intense and even more macabre. I found more of the lines audible than when sometimes hidden behind percussion and brass.

Anyway, it's a great piece, and your notes were enjoyable to read. Thanks for the post, Nate.

That's interesting -- it really must have been an outstanding performance. I always find it interesting to hear different arrangements of works for exactly the reason you give. Different combinations of instruments seem to bring out different lines.

[North Star]

I love Argerich & Freire in La Valse
https://www.youtube.com/v/L2DxxblM_Es

Adodecaphonic. I like it  . I suppose you could also say aatonal  . Not that the latter at all implies the former.

Absolutely. I'm currently working on the Ligeti "Clocks and Clouds" at the moment (literally), but I have been considering works by all three of the composers that you have mentioned. I plan on including Feldman's "Rothko Chapel" because it is probably the shortest works of his that I enjoy (though, I hate to write about a work that is hailed as the composer's most popular). For Gershwin, I can't decide if I'll write about "An American in Paris" or "Cuban Overture". I've played "An American in Paris" in orchestra before so I know the score inside-out (so it would be easier for me to write about), but "Cuban Overture" isn't as well-known. I'm sure both will eventually end up here -- maybe the "Piano Concerto in F" as well, later on. I'd like to write about Debussy's "La Mer" (does anyone ever get sick of this piece?), but I think I'll take care of "Jeux" first because I think that it is so under-rated.

Thanks for the suggestions!

Clocks & Clouds, An American in Paris & Rothko Chappel are all great choices.
As for Debussy - there's always Khamma, if you want underrated. Will all be orchestral?

[EigenUser]

Gyorgy Ligeti: Clocks and Clouds

For most of his childhood, the young Gyorgy Ligeti wanted to become a scientist. Despite preparing for this career choice throughout high school, he was rejected from the academy of sciences in 1930s Hungary because he was Jewish. His second choice of education was to go to the conservatory. While becoming a composer, he always kept his interest in math science alive. This is evident from the composition works like "Continuum" (based off of ideas in calculus) to the dedication of his 17th piano etude to close friend Heinz-Otto Peitgen, a leading fractal mathematician.

Ligeti's "Clocks and Clouds" is a relatively-short composition from 1972-1973 that takes its title from Karl Popper's 1966 philosophical essay "Of Clouds and Clocks". In this, Popper makes a compelling and easily-understood argument that scientific phenomena can be broken down into two main categories. The "clocks" are things that we can depend on such as, well, clocks. A clock can be easily measured, taken apart, and reconstructed. "Clouds", on the other hand, are things that we can only get a general, macroscopic view of – things whose inner-workings we are unable to understand in a deterministic way. A cloud cannot be easily measured nor can it be taken apart. Furthermore, Popper argues that clouds are really made up of a cumbersome number of clocks – so many that the whole cannot be understood completely. It isn't at all surprising that the meteorologist Edward Lorenz was making major breakthroughs in what we now tend to call "chaos theory" – most easily defined by a sensitivity to initial conditions. Lorenz's major work in this area is known as "The Butterfly Effect" from the famous question he posed "can the flap of a butterfly's wings in Brazil cause a tornado in Oklahoma?"

Throughout the 1960s, Ligeti was composing with two distinct sounds described perfectly by Popper's essay. The "clouds" category includes works such as "Atmospheres" (1961), Lontano (1967), and the first movement from his "Cello Concerto" (1966). Examples of pieces falling under the "clocks" description are the third movement of his "Chamber Concerto" (1969) and the third movement of his "String Quartet No. 2" (1968). This "mechanical" style can be traced back to his semi-comical 1962 "Poem Symphonique pour 100 Metronomes", in which 100 metronomes are wound-up and left to unwind at various tempos.

While compositions such as the "Chamber Concerto" and "String Quartet No. 2" do include both "clouds" and "clocks", they are presented in separate movements. It is in "Clocks and Clouds" where Ligeti seamlessly connects one to the other. Being one of his last works using micropolyphony, it is a great summing up of a stylistic period. On top of this, it's strong roots in tonality coupled with a clear musical objective (clocks versus clouds) make it a great starting point for listeners new to Ligeti's musical language.

The instrumentation is odd enough to deserve recognition as well. The work is scored for 5 flutes, 5 clarinets, 3 bassoons, 2 trumpets, 2 harps, celesta, vibraphone, violas, cellos, basses, and 12-part womens' choir. No violins allowed!

The work opens using a sort of "fanning" (or "diffusing") device very common in Ligeti's oeuvre. He takes two pitches (reminiscent of Debussy's "Sirenes" from "Trois Nocturnes", I might add) and repeats them [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/wr0mpttbi0h8yj2/LigetiClocksAndClouds-1.mp3[/audio] , very gradually adding one extra note at a time [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/lazub7muodnbfqm/LigetiClocksAndClouds-2.mp3[/audio] . The fanning also takes place in terms of rhythm (triplets slowly become sixteenth-notes, which slowly become quintuplets, etc.) and timbre (imperceptible shifts between flutes, clarinets, and eventually bassoons) [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/vxc11ozoy5czht7/LigetiClocksAndClouds-3.mp3[/audio] . All of the textures mix together and form a kind of continuous "mist", or drone [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/8opfh9ztx00zjkq/LigetiClocksAndClouds-4.mp3[/audio] . In fact, it is surprising to see that no section has any held notes here written in the score.

The orchestra suddenly drops in volume at the instant that the choir enters [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/td3re1xj8udadkv/LigetiClocksAndClouds-5.mp3[/audio] , giving the effect that we're listening to the orchestra through a thick haze. The choir's gradually-changing syllables produce the same effect of shifting timbres, continuing the fanning effect. Quarter-tones are used to transition between various chords in a hauntingly beautiful way [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ppo4bdquhgqwqgy/LigetiClocksAndClouds-6.mp3[/audio] . At one point, Ligeti seems to be reminiscing of a particular section in his earlier orchestral work "Lontano" (1967) when the whole orchestra suddenly plays a tritone [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/rvy8vmnl9j5xju8/LigetiClocksAndClouds-7.mp3[/audio] , an odd (but welcome) discontinuity in this piece. Similar to before, the voices fan out in pitch and land on an F-sharp major chord augmented by an E-sharp and accompanied by the original F-B tritone in the low strings [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ouwvxc4t4pct283/LigetiClocksAndClouds-8.mp3[/audio] . Gradually, we are taken from the smooth, laminar world of "Lontano" to the hypnotic sounds of mechanical ticking [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/4kcjx6drhbaqoqt/LigetiClocksAndClouds-9.mp3[/audio] .

The following section consists of several stunningly beautiful cadences that resolve dramatically with crescendos in the choir. Ligeti uses his gradual shifting to turn these resolutions into new cadences, resolves them -- and so on and so forth [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/oi96n4v2cr60blx/LigetiClocksAndClouds-10.mp3[/audio] . Some of this process is accompanied by mechanical ticking in the two harps, celesta, and vibraphone, and some of it occurs smoothly [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/jnq4fi7vgoweymz/LigetiClocksAndClouds-11.mp3[/audio] . The section culminates in a breathtakingly dramatic chord which brings to my mind a vivid photograph of a nebula from Hubble [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/sdwnyu0jd2sxkxh/LigetiClocksAndClouds-12.mp3[/audio] . A crescendo in the viola section leads the choir (altos, in particular) back into another episode of syllabic "clocks", winding down over the course of a minute [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/oce4fec64s1itk2/LigetiClocksAndClouds-13.mp3[/audio] .

As the last of the altos ticks, the drones in the orchestra form a backdrop for various mechanical ticking from the winds, harps, and cellos (pizzicato). The orchestral drone becomes the "Ligeti chord" (as seemingly named by scholars who have studied much of his work) [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/gnp0k1rl96k2rpc/LigetiClocksAndClouds-14.mp3[/audio] . More and more notes are added to the chord until it finally bursts, releasing a sudden flurry of mechanical choral writing [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ulvmho48w7lg2bu/LigetiClocksAndClouds-15.mp3[/audio] . This time, though, the syllables chosen are much softer, less-percussive sounds (favoring consonants like the English "z" and "sh" rather than the previous "d" and "g"). The syllables wind down and the sung notes become longer and longer in duration, until the choir has landed on an agreed chord. Similar things are happening simultaneously in the orchestra -- note the bassoons and violas playing a rapid succession of C-major scales (between notes "D" to "A", though), yet winding down as the durations of each note become longer [audio]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/gdxtp7rvm5yihyq/LigetiClocksAndClouds-16.mp3[/audio] . Even though notes other than those in a C-major scale are present, the cluster chord fading out in the cellos and basses has a strong taste of C-major.

Who says that 20th-century music can't be beautiful?

Below: My copy of the enormous conductor's score compared to a yardstick.

[EigenUser]

I love Argerich & Freire in La Valse
https://www.youtube.com/v/L2DxxblM_Es
Clocks & Clouds, An American in Paris & Rothko Chappel are all great choices.
As for Debussy - there's always Khamma, if you want underrated. Will all be orchestral?

For the most part, it will mostly be orchestral because this is what I know the most of. I've always been very fond of the Ravel "Introduction and Allegro", though, so I might write about that eventually.

I just heard about "Khamma" the other day, actually, and about how most of it was orchestrated by a friend (or student, I forget) of his. I thought about the "Le Martyre de Saint Sebastian" fragments, but I think that this is kind of a dull piece, though I absolutely enjoy it for its beauty.

[North Star]

Another interesting read, about Clocks & Clouds. Poem Symphonique pour 100 Metronomes is a cool work, and remarkable as the metronomes end up synchronizing. I recall reading some time ago (last year) that scientists had just discovered this phenomenon (!) - I guess too few scientists listen to Ligeti.

For the most part, it will mostly be orchestral because this is what I know the most of. I've always been very fond of the Ravel "Introduction and Allegro", though, so I might write about that eventually.

I just heard about "Khamma" the other day, actually, and about how most of it was orchestrated by a friend (or student, I forget) of his. I thought about the "Le Martyre de Saint Sebastian" fragments, but I think that this is kind of a dull piece, though I absolutely enjoy it for its beauty.

Koechlin is the orchestrator - and another rather under-appreciated 20th century composer; a crucial link between Debussy & Messiaen.
..Which reminds me - what do you think of Messiaen?   (and what about Dutilleux or Sibelius?)

You like Le Martyre because it's beautiful, but you also think it's dull?  Oh well, you also don't like 2nd Viennese School...

[EigenUser]

Another interesting read, about Clocks & Clouds. Poem Symphonique pour 100 Metronomes is a cool work, and remarkable as the metronomes end up synchronizing. I recall reading some time ago (last year) that scientists had just discovered this phenomenon (!) - I guess too few scientists listen to Ligeti.
Koechlin is the orchestrator - and another rather under-appreciated 20th century composer; a crucial link between Debussy & Messiaen.
..Which reminds me - what do you think of Messiaen?   (and what about Dutilleux or Sibelius?)

You like Le Martyre because it's beautiful, but you also think it's dull?  Oh well, you also don't like 2nd Viennese School...

Thanks, glad you liked it!

I like Messiaen. Recently, I've been over-indulging on the "Turangalila-Symphonie". While there are some things I don't like about it, I enjoy the work overall. "Et Exspecto Resurrectionem Mortuorum" is really cool, too. I'm not all that familiar with Dutilleux (though I remember enjoying his first symphony) and I am embarrassed to admit that I haven't really heard much Sibelius at all  . I should change this sometime soon, I suppose.

About "Le Martyre" -- it's really more my fault than it is the work's fault. I listen to it often, but it is more of "background music" for me. It's just not as memorable for me as, say "Prelude a l'Apres-Midi d'un Faun", "Trois Nocturnes", "La Mer", or "Jeux".

[TheGSMoeller]

The audio samples are not visible to me, is there a way I can correct this? If not it's alright, I have these pieces so I can listen along. 

[North Star]

The audio samples are not visible to me, is there a way I can correct this? If not it's alright, I have these pieces so I can listen along. 

Try clicking the hyperlink in a post header and see if they start working.