Song of Fire

One of the best known Russian composers of the 20th century, Dimitri Shostakovich achieved fame in the Soviet Union under the patronage of Leon Trotsky’s chief of staff. As he explored the more dissonant style of his international peers, however, his music came under attack by the Stalinist bureaucracy. His music was denounced twice — in 1936 and 1948 — and periodically banned. The first denunciation coincided with the Great Terror, in which “enemies” of the state were imprisoned or killed, and Shostakovich’s music was deemed to be “primitive, coarse and vulgar” by the newspaper Pravda. The subtext was that it was decadent like the West, and insufficiently celebratory of the working class. Consequently, commissions dried up and his income fell by three-quarters. [Read more →]

Tags: art, culture by Jon O
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Although better known for his art and mechanical engineering inventions, Leonardo da Vinci was a skilled poet, singer and musician. He designed or improved several instruments, including a silver lyre in the shape of a horse’s head that contemporaries described as having a more resonant and beautiful tone than traditional lyres made of wood. Vasari, the Renaissance biographer of famous artists, described da Vinci as an “excellent musician.” An exhibit at the National Geographic Museum in D.C. explains that da Vinci “introduced improvements on many popular musical instruments… simplifying their playing technique and creating new sound effects.” His improvements for the flute included keys and extra finger holes. [Read more →]

Tags: culture, history, percussion by Jon O
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For a hundred years, municipal and national governments have gone through cycles attempting to combat noise pollution, initiating studies that repeatedly demonstrate how noise harms human health — sort of like a CD stuck on auto-repeat. Unfortunately, there is little progress to be shown for a century of effort. This is what we learn in George Prochnik’s recent book, “In Pursuit of Silence: Listening for Meaning in a World of Noise.” Noisy environments cause hearing loss, increase anxiety and stress, and are associated with greater numbers of birth defects. As the 2008 San Francisco noise map to the left shows, the fight continues. [Read more →]

Tags: culture, literature by Jon O
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Ah, those nasty two words every musician dreads: copyright infringement. The list of the accused covers many of the luminaries from the last 40 years, and covers most genres. What makes infringement so worrisome is that it is often done unintentionally. Were you really influenced by a song you don’t even remember hearing? Musical style relies on stock phrases and musical patterns to establish identity, and this is particularly pronounced in popular music where fewer chords limit the range of possible melodies. Blues is the best known example at the extreme end of the spectrum, every song being built on the same chord progressions and general melodic structure. Plagiarism and blues is almost an oxymoron.

Here is a rundown of some of the better known cases (in both the legal and non-legal sense). It offers an interesting perspective on the variety of situations and attitudes involved. [Read more →]

Tags: culture by Jon O
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