Pierre Boulez

The concert is Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, performed by The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Stéphane Denève, recorded in high definition at Orchestra Hall in December 2013. Symphonie Fantastique composed in 1845, by Hector Berlioz (1803–1869), is a program symphony; a five movement orchestral work that tells the story described by the CSO (2013) “as a purely musical melodrama”, a colorful illustration of the life of an artist, “replete with unrequited love, witches, guillotines and

John Cage, an American composer, once stated “There is no such thing as an empty space or an empty time. There is always something to see, something to hear.” In Cage’s musical career, he challenged the concept of sound by finding a compelling beauty in silence. His philosophy was that silence let people feel the sounds in the environment and that silence can give off a deep pleasure, which is shown in his piece “4’33”. However, silence isn’t viewed as a common conception of music, and at first

John Cage is a controversial composer. Some may say he revolutionized music composition and changed music history of the 20th century, yet others do not even acknowledge his compositional contributions as music. I believe John Cage was a brilliant artist, and his works push the boundaries of both sound and music to create a genre of his own by using the elements of silence and chance. Through his compositional development, one can track his changing music philosophy as it grew from a limited notion

Throughout this course, the composers we studied all had different approached to creating music, and that is why many of them are well known today. The three most notable composers who combine unusual elements in their music were Frank Zappa, John Cage, and Pamela Z. Frank Zappa was an American artist who had no desire to fit into a single style of music, and he had no interest in creating music for cultural conventions. He created music in the manners he saw fit. His music has influence from rock

Lucy Tonic Blog: Top 10 Varies Top 10 Soundtracks from 2000-2010 5/4/15 Top 10 Soundtracks from 2000-2010 My definition of a great soundtrack is one that you can play straight through, discovering new tracks while enjoying old classics. Here is a list of the top ten soundtracks from 2000-2010 (for the top five indie soundtracks from this decade, click here.) Number Ten: Accepted Released in 2006, the Accepted soundtrack sounds modern all around despite containing a couple classic tracks

On November 3rd, 2016 I had a pleasure of attending James Levine’s symphony at Chicago Symphony Orchestra. James Levine is an American pianist and conductor, mainly known for being a music director of the Metropolitan Opera. He suffered many health conditions that have put his conducting aside. At the end of 2015, he left his position as a director to become an emeritus of the Metropolitan Opera. One of the interesting facts about Mr. Levine is that many of the sources do not mention is his disability

Secularism Long before the October Crisis in the 1970’s, the Parti Quebecois has been trying to separate from Canada. The Parti Quebecois has implemented their own charter called Bill 60 in order amend the current Canada Charter of Rights and Freedoms which is entrenched in the Constitution of Canada. If this proposed bill were to be passed, it will cause many problems amongst the citizens of Quebec in terms of diversity as it will be banning some of the most important guaranteed rights stated in

“The choice, however, is as clear now for nations as it was once for the individual: peace or extinction. ” 1 and Lester B. Pearson was definitely a man of peace. To those who don’t know who Lester B. Pearson is, he’s the fourteenth Prime Minister of Canada, that served from April 22. 1963 - April 20. 1968 2. During his time as Prime Minister, he’s accomplished many things, and that’s why I believe that Lester B. Pearson is the greatest Canadian. Not many people recognize what the Suez Crisis is

The Iranian Hostage Crisis of 1979 was an event that profoundly impacted Western-Iranian relations, to the extent that its residual effects still linger today. Iran’s revolution of 1979 resulted in a regime change that saw U.S.-supported Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi toppled by the formerly-exiled Ayotollah Khomeini, who promptly instated a strongly anti-Western regime that established itself as ideologically in direct opposition to many Western values. This anti-Western, and particularly anti-American

Since its inception in 1982 the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, very much like its primary architect Pierre Trudeau, has been one of the most celebrated yet controversial elements of Canadian politics and governance. Revealing how this dynamic emerged requires a nuanced understanding of the motivation behind the Charter and the techniques it employed to succeed. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, like the entire patriation process, was motivated by and mobilized support through