Preparing Atopy. A lecture in 6 parts. Part six: The High Window
(This is the English translation of a 6 part lecture that I gave in Mainz about the possibilities of what I call „atopical“ music)
Markiert: pop music
Preparing Atopy. A lecture in 6 parts. Part five: Playback
(This is the English translation of a 6 part lecture that I gave in Mainz about the possibilities of what I call „atopical“ music)
Preparing Atopy. A lecture in 6 parts. Part two: The Big Sleep
(This is the English translation of a 6 part lecture that I gave in Mainz about the possibilities of what I call „atopical“ music)
THE BIG SLEEP
I am often asked at parties what kind of music I write. This is a horribly difficult question to answer. Because “music” is of course a near endless term. “Music” can be St. John’s Passion or the music of the „Beatles“, both is „music“. I also think it is reasonable that both of it can be called “music”. Because in all kinds of music – be it popular music, dance music, Jazz music, improvised music, ethnical music, experimental music, film music – the chances to encounter horribly bad music are absolutely equal. This is the common trait of all music. But in each of these “genres” we can of course also find works of genius. For me there is no quality difference between the music of the Beatles and the music of Stockhausen. I actually also know which of these two I absolutely prefer!
Preparing Atopy. A lecture in 6 parts. Part 1: The long Goodbye
(This is the English translation of a 6 part lecture that I gave in Mainz about the possibilities of what I call „atopical“ music)
THE LONG GOODBYE
It’s downright impossible to talk about the end of something. Endings tend to come later than one thinks, and when they come early, one usually didn’t expect them.
But still, I want to say it here, because it is true and because it is important to understand the full ramifications of this truth: that what we call “Classical Music” is…perhaps not completely dead, yet. But completely futile.
Where is the turnaround?
The German word „Wende“ is difficult to translate. Basically it means “a change of direction”, a “turnaround”. It is very often used in politics to denote a change of government, or in economics to describe the change from a baisse to a hausse or vice versa.
Basically a “Wende” decides what paradigms will replace the old paradigms from now on. A paradigm change (like recently in the cultural politics of the Netherlands) is rarely a sudden thing. It has a preparing history and then a culmination point at which you suddenly realize that the train has left the station and will not turn back anymore.
