Episode #2
Andrew Norman: Better Living Through Architecture
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
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Andrew Norman
(Opera Philadelphia)
Andrew Norman was
a well-feted kid composer, a precocious pre-adolescent who wrote works
with grand, filmic gestures for his middle school orchestra and had the
local newspapers filling their style sections with profiles invoking
Mozart. Then he went to college.
All of a sudden, Norman's musical world exponentially
widened; he was exposed to styles and practices so far outside of his
previous experience that he stopped composing altogether. How could he
write what he had been writing in a world rich with Lachenmanns,
Xenakises and Carters, who were manipulating, torquing and stifling
sound to create a whole different world of music? Norman almost left
music entirely for architecture, but in flirting with this other career,
he actually found his way back to composition, ultimately birthing a
style that stunningly weds texture and drama in a unique and wonderful
way.
Hosted by:
Nadia SirotaProduced by:
Alexander OveringtonContributors:
Thea Chaloner
Andrew Norman: Movement One
Andrew Norman's teenage years were already filled with composing, but
it took a college freak-out and some initially scary interactions with
modernism to develop his current voice. Listen to the first movement of
Meet the Composer Episode Two.
Andrew Norman: Movement Two
It's not just the ideas and final products that make Andrew Norman's
music enthralling. Extended techniques, such as bowing a viola near the
bridge, contribute to his unique timbre. Listen to the second movement
of Meet the Composer Episode Two to hear demonstrations and
explanations.
Andrew Norman: Movement Three
Play for orchestra is a massive, inspired work. In movement
three of Meet the Composer: Andrew Norman, discover the history of
Norman's piece and hear how video game-inspired philosophy came to
fruition in a 47-minute symphonic cloud.
Andrew Norman: Playlist
Hear a piece of music you loved in the show and want to learn or hear
more? Click ahead for a complete breakdown of all the music used for
scoring and illustration in episode two – Andrew Norman: Better Living
Through Architecture – along with buy links to the albums.
The Q2 Music e-newsletter. Live webcasts, new-music releases, on-demand concerts, 24-hour marathons and more.
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