简介：Serieslookingattherevolutionin20thcenturymusic. WreckingBall ItbeginsbyexaminingtheshiftinthelanguageandsoundofmusicfromthemelodiesandharmoniesofgiantssuchasMozart,HaydnandBrahmsintothefragmented,abstract,discordantsoundofthemostradicalcomposersofthenewcentury-Schoenberg,Webern,Stravinskyandbeyond.Itexamineshowthisnewmusicwasaresponsetothehugeupheavalintheworldatthestartofthe20thcentury,withitsdevelopmentsintechnology,science,modernartandthetumultoftheFirstWorldWar.Featuringperformancesofsomeofthekeyworksoftheperiod,performedbytheLondonSinfonietta,membersoftheAuroraOrchestraandcomposerandpianistTimothyAndres,thestoryofthisepisodeinmusichistoryisbroughttolifethroughthecontributionsofthebiggestnamesinmodernclassicalmusic,amongthemSteveReich,JohnAdams,MichaelTilsonThomas,PierreBoulez,GeorgeBenjaminandAlexRoss,musiccriticoftheNewYorker. FreeforAll Part2examineshowthefreewheelingmodernismthathadshockedaudiencesinthefirsttwodecadesofthecenturycameunderstatecontrol.Initially,manypractitionersthoughtthetotalitarianregimeswouldbegoodformusicandthearts.WhatfollowedinGermanywasabanonmusicwrittenbyJews,African-Americansandcommunists,whileintheSovietUniontherewasaprohibitiononmusictheworkerswereunabletohum.Afterthecataclysmofthe1940s,anewgenerationofcomposers-Boulez,Stockhausen,Xenakis,Nono,Ligeti-turnedtheirbackonwhattheysawasthediscreditedmusicofthepastandtriedtoreinventitfromscratch.Or,atleast,fromserialism,whichbecameasmuchofastraitjacketastotalitarianism'sstrictureshadbeen.Butfromthisperiodofavant-gardeexperimentation,whichmanylistenersfoundbafflingandterrifying,camesomeofthemostinfluentialandradicalmusicalinnovationsofthecentury. EasyListening SeriesconcludeswiththefocusshiftingtotheUnitedStatesinthepost-waryearsofthe1950sandbeyond.Beginningwitharguablythemostnotoriousworkof20thcenturyclassicalmusic,JohnCage's'silent'composition4'33",itlooksathowaseriesofmaverickAmericansre-inventedthesoundofclassicalmusicintoamoresimpleform,bringingbackharmoniesandrhythmsthatmadeitincreasinglypopularwithaudiencesacrosstheworld.Italsoexamineshowthismusicfounditswayintoaspiritualrealm,withthestrainofpared-downreligiouscompositionthatcametobeknownas'holyminimalism'.FromtheMaverickconcerthallinWoodstock,NewYorktoanOrthodoxcathedralinEstoniatoacarparkinPeckham,southLondon,thestoryistoldbyastellarline-upofcontributorsincludingPhilipGlass,SteveReich,JohnAdams,ArvoPärtandJohnTavener.…