"The Dean of American Composers,” Aaron Copland, born November 14, 1900, was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own music as well as other American music. He became one of the century’s foremost composers with highly influential music that, according to bio.com, “had a distinctive blend of classical, folk and jazz idioms,” an expressive modern style. Some of Copland’s most well-known pieces included Fanfare for the Common Man, El Salon Mexico and Appalachian Spring, for which he won the Pulitzer. An Oscar-winning writer of film scores as well, Copland died on December 2, 1990. The open, slowly changing harmonies in much of his music represent what many people consider to be the epitome of American
“The K’e” was composed by Celius Dougherty, who was born in Glenwood, Minnesota in 1902. His mother was a very talented musician for her entire life, and greatly impacted Dougherty and his musical career. He studied piano and composition with Donald Ferguson at the University of Minnesota from 1920 to 1924, where he also performed his own piano concerto with orchestra, won the Schubert Club's piano competition, and frequently accompanied a voice faculty member, Gertrude Hull, who introduced him to his publisher, the G. Schirmer Company.
Today's music scene is slowly growing, and differentiating in styles. One of the newest styles of music that has broken out is a generally unrecognized genre of music called "Geek Rock." By taking the meaningful lyrics of Emo, the heavy guitar riffs of Grunge, and the do-it-yourself attitude of Indie rock, this genre forms a new-wave approach to music. Many new artists have been categorized under this label, including Ben Kweller, Ozma, and Rooney. Rivers Cuomo, front man and lyricist of Weezer, is predominantly responsible for this underground rock movement. By transferring his life experiences into a musical statement, Rivers Cuomo has the ability to appeal to his fans on a new level.
I would say that the mood in John Prine's music is basically depressing. The two songs that I could relate to were Sam Stone and Grandpa was a Carpenter. The first song on the Prime Prine album, which is called Sam Stone, would make people very depressed and think of some instance in their own life when something similar has happened. The music seems to remind me of people who live in poverty and need to turn to drugs to ease their failure. When you think of the lyrics in the song you think about how this happened in so many different cases. It wasn't just this one guy and his family. This song relates to many different families at the time.
On November 6th, 1854, John Philip Sousa was born in Washington D.C. His Father, John Antonio Sousa was Portuguese, while His Mother Maria Elisabeth Trinkhaus Was Bavarian. The first instrument John ever played was the violin. He also sang, and played instruments such as the piano, flute, trombone, and baritone. When John was 13, his father enlisted him in the Marine Corps Band so he wouldn’t join the circus, however he did play drums for Pt Barnum, the Circus King. John remained with the Marines until he was twenty years old.
George Gershwin was arguably the greatest influence on 20th century music. Gershwin’s music was composed of both popular and classical musical genres, but his most popular refrains are extensively known. Gershwin’s work have been used and heard in many movies, plays including Broadway, and fit for television. George Gershwin today remains one of the greatest and most influential musical composers and pianists of all time.
"He just got his music out of the air," said one neighbor. One cannot hear the word "ragtime" without thinking of the "King of Ragtime," Scott Joplin. He is clearly one forerunner in the field of American music, particularly at the turn of the twentieth century.
Nearly a century’s worth of compositions has earned Aaron Copland extensive recognition as the foremost American composer of his time. Ironically, Copland was raised the son of Russian Jewish immigrants and inhabitant of a colorless city environment, yet would become known for producing the music of “rugged-souled Americans” (Mellers 4). Unbounded by historical musical constraints such as those present in the culture of France, where Copland studied for many years, Copland found himself free to explore and experiment in pursuit of a unique, undoubtedly American sound.
One man made his impression on the music world soon after he arrived to America. His
John Milton Cage Jr. also known as John Cage was born in Los Angeles, California on September 5, 1912. Although he passed away on August 12, 1992 his legacy as an American composer, music theorist, writer, and artist lives on. Not only was he a participant in a wide variety of music genres but he became the father of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments. Cage also became very active in a lot of contemporary and unique artistry and many of his influences can be found in the works of musicians globally. Every great artist has someone or something they can look to as a basis and guideline to start off their own work. In John’s case, he used South/ East Asian cultural components, largely implementing
Edward Kennedy Ellington, American jazz composer, orchestrator, bandleader, and pianist, is considered to be the greatest composer in the history of jazz music and one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century. He composed over 2000 works and performed numerous concerts during his musical career. A compilation of some of his most popular music is collected on a CD called "The Popular Duke Ellington."
John Philip Sousa, “The March King,” helped musicians gain rights to music, and made American history with the march “The Stars and Stripes Forever.” Sousa isn’t thought about by most modern people, however musicians think of Sousa as a hero. Musicians can create a piece and not have to worry about the piece getting stolen, or misused by other people. Sousa also requested an instrument that changed the marching band field. Sousa was a great band leader, a great musician, and an important part of music history.
The music created by the legendary Scott Joplin can be heard everywhere around the world, even to this day. Many of his works are immediately recognizable to millions of people, including myself. I was not even aware that I knew any of Scott Joplin’s masterpieces, but I certainly did. The composition entitled The Entertainer has been featured countless times in movies and games that I have experienced and its catchy beat was cemented in my mind (IMDb). Joplin was the king of the ragtime musical genre, and his name is synonymous with that period of music.
For this essay I will be looking at the work of Hans Zimmer to discuss how music in film engages the viewer and evokes emotion and pulls the viewer toward the film. Hans Zimmer is a German born music composer. Hans Zimmer’s love of music stems from his childhood when he learned how to play various instruments. Before Zimmer began composing music for films he was in a well-known band. The band was called The Buggles whom were famous for their song Video Killed the Radio Star. After the Buggles Zimmer played in other bands but never had another hit. As Zimmer has progressed as a film composer so has his list of nominations and awards. Zimmer has won 4 Grammy Awards and 2 Golden Globes and many more for his outstanding film scores. The reason I chose to write this essay on Zimmer was that his genres and music score are extremely versatile ranging from animations to comedy to dark thrillers. This is important to highlight as it shows Zimmer can create almost any atmosphere with his music whether it be sad or creating tension that all cause us to engage with the film. Zimmer's use of themes and introduction of different instruments allowed him to create these wonderful engaging film score. In this essay I will look at three films by Hans Zimmer these are The Holiday Rush and Rain Man.
In conclusion, Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was of the most talented jazz composers and pianists of the 20th century and did amazing work and composed some of the most famous compositions of jazz. He has gave so many jazz composers motivation to do what they love and think outside the box, he was a genius. His compositions will live through the decades inspiring musicians and composers, his talent will live forever.
In conclusion, Henry Purcell was a man full of music who passed away at an early age. He got discovered by composing for the royal and noble because his father was so well-known at the chapel. Henry Purcell was a composer in the 17th century and was a Baroque composer. He did not just write for plays and for theatre, but he also composed the piece at Queen Mary II’s funeral and his own funeral.