Shortly before the printing of this issue, George Crumb passed away at his home in Media, Pa. on 6th February 2022. We hope that this issue will add to the celebration of his memory and his music's lasting contribution to the world.
Introduction
In 1997, New York University presented George Crumb’s composition Vox Balaenae (1971) for electric flute, cello and amplified piano at an on-campus performance, preceded by a talk with the composer. This was my first personal interaction with Crumb and his musical style and thought. It was also the beginning of a twenty-four-year influence that he and his music has had on my musical development.
During the talk with Crumb, audience members were invited to ask him questions about his technique. I raised my hand and asked for his thoughts on improvisation: ‘What is your opinion regarding the use of improvisation in your concert works?’.
As an improvisor and composer, unfamiliar with Crumb’s liberal style of sophisticated notation at that time, my impression was that much of Vox Balaenae's character must have been at least informed by improvisational practice. With its amorphous metres and unpredictable patterns, Vox Balaenae sounded to me in performance almost like a jazz piece!
However, George Crumb responded to my question by stating that he believed that there really isn’t any specific need for improvisation or aleatory in this work and that all of these techniques work just fine as notated music within the score.
To me, his observation was just as intriguing as it was paradoxical. How could such a spontaneous music restrict itself to notational conventions? What aspects of performance practice were needed to successfully interpret George Crumb’s music that could make it seem like an improvisation? What kind of music notation could create this sort of effect?
Contemporary Western musical notation is an incredibly complex language with thousands of graphic symbols, geometric and symmetrical functions, and a highly sophisticated (and often disputed) grammar. Properly notated contemporary music can have the appearance of a kind of artwork drawn in an alien language; one that is as visually stimulating as it is full of literal information. Moreover, some trained musicians know that there is a strong correlation between the way the musical notation looks on the page with how well it sounds when performed. Therefore, there must be visual connections between music notation and musical performance.
There is also the sense of satisfaction that a composer feels when they look at a completed work, in this context a written composed work. This is analogous to the feeling visual artists have when they complete a painting or a sculpture, except in the case of music, the work must still be interpreted by musicians for it to be fully appreciated. An unperformed concerto or symphony has some sort of unreleased visual potential, much like a bird in a cage. In notated music the symbols are to be performed and even improvised upon––further increasing the scope for interpretation.
Thus, George Crumb’s suggestion that improvisation does not have a place in his compositions may be rooted in his notational practice, but it could also be part of a personal choice not to use it as a conscious device. It may also have to do with his sense of visuality and how this corresponds with the sounds he is seeking from the musicians. At the time of this publishing, George Crumb recently completed composing Books 1 and 2 of Metamorphoses for amplified piano (2019 and 2020) that are strongly inspired by paintings of visual artists. In the interviews I conducted with George Crumb between 2013 and 2018, published at the end of this special issue, we discussed his process and composing for these works. These discussions may also give some insight into his process of interpretation on the sonification of visual works.
This issue of Contemporary Music Review is substantiated by excellent scholarly contributions presenting new investigations on George Crumb’s style, idea, notation, sound, and origins. Abigail Shupe’s article uniquely cross-compares the string quartette Black Angels with the Vietnam War by likening the work to George Crumb’s own comments through the lens of Tim O’Brien’s novel The Things They Carried. Marilyn Nonken focusses on pianists David Burge and Robert Miller and discusses how both these performers of Crumb’s Makrokosmos I (1972) and II (1973) helped bring about the awareness of this seminal work. Examining temporality and texture in the recordings of Music for a Summer Evening, Philipp Lalitte’s article analyses the evolution of varying interpretations on this work. Robert Cooke’s article explores Vox Balaenae through intersecting Crumb’s work with that of scientific research and artistic response to the sounds of the whale. Kristina Knowles also looks at Vox Balaenae in her article by examining Crumb’s highly original rhythmic language. Her article probes gesture and notation in Crumb’s music to build-up and round-out the canon of theoretical studies on the composer.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank the peer reviewers of these articles who have given their time and support to ensure the academic integrity of this issue. I would like to personally thank Peter Nelson for his guidance, mentorship, and trust in allowing me to undertake the role of editor for this issue.
Disclosure Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Yati Durant
Yati Durant is a US born composer, lecturer, trumpeter, and conductor living in Edinburgh, UK. He holds a Meisterklasse Konzertexam from the Hochschule für Musik Köln and a Ph. D. in Composition from the University of Edinburgh. He is a multi-instrumentalist and active performer and composer of contemporary classical, jazz, improvisatory, electronic, and music for film and media. His compositions and film scores have received many prizes from international festivals, and he has received commissions and premieres from many well-known artists and ensembles from around the world. He directed the MSc Composition for Screen at the University of Edinburgh (2010–2019) and he has been General Director of the International Media Music and Sound Arts Network in Education (IMMSANE) since 2019. Web: www.yatidurant.com