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Blackbox #012: The Music of Noise

In this episode I would like to talk about understanding “noise” as a musical element and discuss briefly two milestone pieces that show different approaches to integrating noise into a composition: Poème électronique by Edgar Varèse and Guero by Helmut Lachenmann.

Enjoy!
- Seda

Watch&Read
Art of Noises (1913) by Luigi Russolo

Poème électronique by Edgar Varèse (audio only)

Poème électronique by Edgar Varèse (original video)

Background on Poème électronique

Guero by Helmut Lachenmann (video)

Excerpts in the podcast come from:
CD 1: Electro Acoustic Music: Classics, Neuma Records, 1990
CD 2: Lachenmann, Piano Music / Marino Formenti, Col Legno, 2003

Blackbox #007: “A Child’s Play” Listening to Helmut Lachenmann

Helmut Lachenmann and Seda RöderIn this episode of Blackbox I would like to talk about a piece that caused a very interesting discussion on my YouTube Channel: “Ein Kinderspiel” (A Child’s Play) by Helmut Lachenmann. I am hoping that this episode will help you to develop a new listening strategy for this very interesting piece while also clarifying its context a little bit.

As always please don’t hesitate to contact me with questions or comments. Enjoy!

–Seda

Seda plays Benefit Concert for AMREF

AMREF Benefit Concert PosterYou’re cordially invited to a special music event in Cambridge on September 25. Noted MIT piano instructor and Harvard Fellow Seda Röder will give a benefit concert at MIT’s Killian Hall focusing on contemporary German piano music.

The concert will explore the nexus between tradition and innovation. Ms. Röder will introduce each work of the program, which includes pieces by the following distinguished composers:

  • Alban Berg
  • Hans Werner Henze
  • Helmut Lachenmann
  • Karlheinz Stockhausen
  • Hans Tutschku

The final piece of the program, Hans Tutschku’s Zellen Linien, brings together “man and machine.” By adding computer-generated sounds to the live performance of the pianist, the audience will be able to experience a unique soundscape moving through a three-dimensional listening space.

Details

Where: Killian Hall. MIT
Rm. 14W-111, MIT Hayden Library Bldg, 160 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA
For a map click here
When: September 25, 2009 @ 8pm
Suggested donation is $10

Pre-concert podcasts and free recordings of the works are available on http://www.sedaroeder.com/MIT.