This is an excellent place to start, or to extend your knowledge of one of contemporary musics underrated figureheads, in a welldocumented, superbly produced. His contribution to the world of music was summed up by virgil thomson, writing in the early 1950s. Henri troyats tolstoy, and robert massies recent catherine the great come to mind as i write. Pulse by henry cowell percussion ensemble music sheet. Etude from the old country, from the heaven ladder, book 5. March 11, 1897 december 10, 1965 was an american composer, music theorist, pianist, teacher, publisher, and impresario. The afrocuban dance with a fast, syncopated beat, heard in the dance at the gym, is the. If you are interested in piano music and the course of 20th century musical history then you owe it to yourself to become acquainted with the remarkable worlds created by henry cowell. This is a list of solo piano pieces by henry cowell. A list of works in the composer category that are not included here can be found on this page. Making music for modern dance katherine teck oxford. Joan peyser is the editor of the musical quarterly. Henry cowell s music covers a wider range in both expression and technique than that of any other living composer. All compositions described by william lichtenwanger in his book the music of henry cowell.
Since its original publication in 1930, henry cowell s new musical resources has become recognised as one of the few seminal technical studies to be written by a twentiethcentury composer. As was so often the case with him, cowell returned to the banshee inrearranging it for piano and orchestra as the first movement of his irish suite. Piano musicwritten in and revised inassert that each phrase of anger dance may be repeated many times, depending on how angry the player is able to feel. About at the midpoint of last nights concert hon oring henry cowell, at the juilliard concert hall, mr. Henry cowell song in the songless 1921 a piece by composer henry cowell, recorded live on thursday, november 12, 2009, during henry cowell the whole world of music, an event produced by other minds. Pulse by henry cowell, dedicated to john cage and his percussion group, is scored for six players.
Although henry cowell first appeared in public at age six as a violinist, his real career began as a pianist and composer of progressive music in 1912, when he presented a group of his pieces. Henry dixon cowell was an american composer, music theorist, pianist, teacher, publisher. For this new edition, david nicholls has provided an explanatory essay and annotations to cowell s text. Works on this discthe majority of which are recorded for the first time, many from unpublished manuscriptswere composed for doris humphrey, charles weidman dance of sport, bonnie bird, and martha graham heroic dance and suite for woodwind quintet. A man made of music to my short list of those that in and of themselves make for a great read.
The anger dance was composed at a time when i had been very much annoyed by the fact that a doctor to whom i showed a bentup leg suggested that it should be cut off immediately. Henry cowell, american composer who, with charles ives, was among the most innovative american composers of the 20th century. Henry cowell the piano music of henry cowell 1963, tan. Published on jul 7, 2018 the anger dance was composed at a time when i had been very much annoyed by the fact that a doctor to whom i showed a bentup leg suggested that it should be cut off. Click on a cd or book to view the cover and peruse the contents. Sidney robertson cowell, an ethnomusicologist, writer and the widow of the composer henry cowell, died on thursday at her home in shady, n. Letters from henry cowell to lilly popper, music division, the new york public library repository music division access to materials some collections held by the dance, music, recorded sound, and theatre divisions at the new york public library for the performing arts are held offsite and must be. Location was the valley presbyterian church in portola valley, ca. Henry cowell at pytheas contemporary, modern, new, non. Overture to the schillinger system 1941 henry cowell, who is the greatest living composer. New musical resources henry cowell, cambridge univ.
Check out anger dance by henry cowell on amazon music. Player one has woodblocks and dragons mouths, player two has chinese tomtoms and drums, three, rice bowls and cup gongs, four, cymbals and gongs, and five, pipe lengths and brake drums. Henry cowell at san quentin, a concert by sarah cahill and the ives quartet. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Henry cowell the piano music of henry cowell discogs. Elements of musical theater include all of the following except. The revival of deep song, a solo that martha graham created for herself in 1937 during the spanish civil war, as well as the reentry into her dance companys repertory of several pieces from. Henry cowell march 11, 1897 december 10, 1965 was an american composer, musical theorist, pianist, teacher, publisher, and impresario. Cowell grew up in poverty in san francisco and on family farms in kansas, iowa, and oklahoma. Stanford libraries official online search tool for books, media, journals, databases, government documents and more. So just who was henry cowell and why, in 1865, did he buy half interest in a santa cruzbased lime manufacturing business.
Cowell aimed to point out the influence the overtone series has exerted on music throughout its history, how many musical materials of all ages are related. Traditionally, collaborations between dancers and composers are rife with problems of hierarchy. Sarah cahill, whose piano playing is an ideal voice for many modern composers, is also an inspired combiner of music and physical settings. Please consult the manual of style for creating composer work lists. Each player has two sets of three like instruments. Henry cowell may have been fascinated by irish myths, but of the millions of people and thousands of. Piano sheet music book by adolphecharles adam 18031856, henry cowell 18971965, and ella ketterer. Cowell returned to his home in the california foothills in 1910, his permanent home until 1936.
The table below gives the following information for works by henry cowell where applicable. The name lives on through henry cowell redwoods state park, cowell beach, cowell street, and cowell college, to name just a few. Making music for modern dance traces the collaborative approaches, working procedures, and aesthetic views of the artists who forged a new and distinctly american art form during the first half of the 20th century. A womans guide to changing the patterns of intimate relationships paperback march 25, 2014. The henry cowell papers document the composers life in great detail. Henry cows personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer chris cutler, bassist john greaves, and bassoonistoboist lindsay cooper were important longterm members alongside frith and hodgkinson. Youll find a wide selection of henry cowell sheet music, songbooks, and music books at sheet music plus. Sidney and henry cowell association for cultural equity. Another novel method advanced by cowell, in pieces such as aeolian harp ca. Henry cowell dancing with henry new discoveries in the. Sonya kumiko lee piano directedfilmedproduced by johnny kwon. The legacy and traditions of the concert saxophone are alive and thriving at to the fore publishers. Henry cowell, a few years before his death in 1965, chose and recorded 20 of his own piano pieces, going from his first composition 1912, spreading out over.
Henry cow were an english experimental rock group, founded at cambridge university in 1968 by multiinstrumentalists fred frith and tim hodgkinson. The banshee 1925 by american composer, henry cowell. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. He acquired a piano at age 14, and the following year he gave a concert of his. As you can glean from the title, this collection focuses on henry cowell s collaborations with choreographers. The music of henry cowell, performed on jan 29, 2010 at. His contribution to the world of music was summed up by virgil thomson, writing in the early 1950s henry cowell s music covers a wider range in both expression and technique than that of any other living composer.
Whose poetry did george crumb set in his second book of madrigals. The book offers riveting firsthand accounts from innovative artists in the throes of their creative careers and provides a crosssection of the challenges faced by modern. Click on a title to view a few pages of the music and to learn about the composer and his work. Uncovering the story of henry cowell and his family is not easy. Sidney cowell, 92, ethnomusicologist and teacher the new.
Henry cowell march 11, 1897 december 10, 1965 was an american composer. A good biography can be as engrossing as any fiction and now i add joel sachss henry cowell. Henry cowell musical autobiography other mindsinternet archive the joy of noise henry cowell, audio culture, continuum, intl press, books. List of solo piano compositions by henry cowell wikipedia. All musical selections published by associated music publishers, inc.
Henry cowell is the author of new musical resources 4. Piano teaching classics by adolphecharles adam 18031856. Please take a moment and browse through this special catalogue of music, books and cds. Henry cowell sheet music and music books at sheet music plus. By contemporary standards, strumming the innards of a piano is old hat just as conventional as taking a fist to a piano and calling it art.
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