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Lousadzak, op. 48 (1944)
Alan Hovhaness' piano concerto Lousadzak, op. 48 was inspired by Hermon DiGiovanno, a Greek mystic painter whom the composer considered "a tremendous influence and guide in my work" (Hovhaness). DiGiovanno had spoken of a "strange murmuring effect" he heard in a visionary state; Hovhaness set out to create a musical equivalent of this effect in Lousadzak. The resulting quasi-aleatoric technique required different sections of the orchestra to repeat specific melodic patterns continuously at their own speeds without reference to other parts of the orchestra. Described by Hovhaness as a 'spirit murmur,' the technique became one of the composer's signature stylistic traits. The work's title is an invented Armenian word which translates roughly to "'dawn of light,' meaning a kind of spiritual dawn or spiritual journey" (Hovhaness).
Among the most prolific composers of the 20th century, Alan Hovhaness (1911-2000) composed over 400 pieces, 67 of which were symphonic works. His music is predominantly religious or mystical in nature and often bears the influences of musical traditions of Armenia, India, and the Far East. Hovhaness:
"To me the hundreds of scales and ragas possible in Eastern musical systems afford both disciplines and stimuli for a great expansion of new melodic creations. I am more interested in creating fresh, spontaneous, singing melodic lines than in the factory-made tonal patterns of industrial civilization or the splotches and spots of sound hurled at random on a canvas of imaginary silence. I am bored with mechanically constructed music and I am also bored with the mechanical revolution against such music. I have found no joy in either and have found freedom only within the sublime disciplines of the East."
Born Alan Hovhaness Chakmakjian to Armenian and Scottish parents in Somerville, Massachusetts, Hovhaness began composing at an early age. He studied music at Tufts University in nearby Medford and later composition with Frederick Converse at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. During the 1930's and 1940's Hovhaness took an interest in Eastern music, attending Indian music and dance performances and performing Armenian liturgical music as organist of the St. James Armenian Apostolic Church in Watertown. In 1942 he attended the composition class at the Berkshire Music Center (now Tanglewood) in Lenox, Massachusetts; partly due to criticism he received there from Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copland, he reconsidered his musical direction, destroyed many of his previous compositions, and began creating works more directly influenced by his Armenian heritage.
In 1948 Hovhaness taught for three years at the Boston Conservatory; by the time he relocated to New York City in 1951, he had gained a considerable reputation and was able to devote himself entirely to composition. Grants from the Fulbright, Guggenheim, and Rockefeller Foundations later enabled Hovhaness to travel to Greece, India, Japan, and Korea to study the traditional musics of each country. He served as composer-in-residence at the University of Hawaii in 1962, and with the Seattle Symphony in 1966, settling in Seattle, Washington in the early 1970's. Hovhaness' music has been recorded on many labels including Albany, Bis, Crystal, Delos, First Edition, Klavier, Koch International Classics, mode, Naxos, New Albion, Sony Classical, and Telarc.
related websites
http://www.hovhaness.com
Keith Jarrett is an internationally-known jazz and classical pianist and composer. He began playing piano and composing at an early age, and for a year studied at the Berklee School of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. After moving to New York City in 1965, Jarrett performed with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and toured worldwide with the Charles Lloyd Quartet for several years. He was a member Miles Davis' fusion ensemble from 1969 to 1971, and also formed two of his own groups: one with bassist Charlie Haden, drummer Paul Motian, and later saxophonist Dewey Redman; the other with saxophonist Jan Garbarek, bassist Palle Danielsson, and drummer Jon Christensen. Jarrett gained international recognition in the 1970's with his concerts of extended solo improvisations, including Solo Concerts Bremen/Lausanne (1973) and The Köln Concert (1975), the latter one of the best-selling jazz albums in history. Since then Jarrett has also performed classical repertoire from J. S. Bach to Arvo Pärt and composed works for orchestra and chamber ensemble. He regularly performs and records in a "standards trio" with bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Jack DeJohnette. Jarrett's many honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship, Léonie Sonning Music Prize, and Polar Music Prize from the The Royal Swedish Academy of Music. Much of his output can be found on the ECM label.
The American Composers Orchestra was founded in 1977 by composers Francis Thorne and Nicolas Roussakis, conductor Dennis Russell Davies, and flutist/conductor Paul Lustig Dunkel. Dedicated to the creation and performance of music from the United States, the orchestra has performed works by more than 500 composers, including over 100 world premieres and newly-commissioned works. Its activities include an annual concert series at Carnegie Hall in New York City, recordings and radio broadcasts, educational programs, new music reading sessions, and composer fellowships. Among the orchestra's honors include the American Music Center Letter of Distinction, MetLife Award for Excellence in Community Engagement, and 29 times the ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming. Currently led by music director Steven Sloane and artistic director Robert Beaser, the orchestra has recorded for Argo, CRI, ECM, Musicmasters, New World, Nonesuch, Point, and Tzadik labels.
related websites
http://www.americancomposers.org
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