I was particularly intrigued by the Hindemith piece in Megan's presentation. For a Hindemith piece, it was surprisingly tonal and accessible to the listener. That being said, as Megan mentioned, it did use quite a few rhythmic techniques, which is common with 20th century music. Just to name a few I heard upon the first listening, irregular rhythmic groupings, mixed meter, polymeter, polyrhythm, ostinatos and simultaneous speeds.
It was also interesting to hear the Canzona Bergamasca with a bass trombone instead of a tuba. The other piece that piqued my interest was the Carlos Chavez Soli I for Brass Trio. I found it interesting that the tempos were specified, yet the tempo could not be interpreted from the music presented. I am also curious if he used any twelve tone techniques or cell theory.
I agree about the Hindemith---while it seemed different, I was still able to pick out some quartal harmonies that made it seem more like Hindemith's compositional trademark. :)
ReplyDeleteI think that Hindemith is more accessible than we might think because it's so hard to play. We worked on the Symphonic Metamorphosis for band and the audience really enjoyed that one. I think the audience can appreciate Hindemith's music and they can sense the difficulty of his writing too.
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