New Book on Ligeti: Gyorgy Ligeti: Of Foreign lands and Strange Sounds

I have just finished reading the above new book on Ligeti ed. by Louise Duchesneau (Ligeti's assistant) and Wolfgang Marx published by Boydell Press (my first copy fell apart). It is based on papers from a conference held in Dublin in 2007 but is now much expanded. There is some really excellent material here for Ligeti scholars, particularly the chapters on analysing the sketches by Jonathan Bernard and Richard Steinitz which give insights into how Ligeti wrote his music. Bernard usefully provides categories for the various sketch-types at the Sacher Foundation, and the colour plates of the sketches are amazing - especially those of Atmospheres and San Francisco Polyphony which are vividly graphic and quite colourful.
     The chapters by Ligeti's composition students, Manfred Stahnke and Wolfgang Schultz are also very revealing about how Ligeti taught his students and his relationships with them. Stahnke says that Ligeti was both "extremely exciting...[and] also vicious and unfair not only towards other, well-known composers, but towards his own students as well." (p. 223) Clearly this was quite an idiosyncratic approach to teaching which would not be tolerated today, although it seems that his students went back for more. Stahnke also states that "Ligeti was not a real teacher. Or rather, that he was a 'transposed' teacher, one who had long ago left behind the traditional 'keys' of teaching and now strived to discover new territory." (p. 225) It is clear that Ligeti approached his teaching in a similar fashion to his composition- that there are no easy answers and that every position had to be challenged. Stahnke also said that later on  "I once told [Ligeti] that he was like a vampire who bled us dry of all our ideas. A slight giggle to himself was his only reaction." (p. 227) To a certain extent all composers who teach gain from their own students, but of course students will also gain from their teachers - although they may not be aware of the extent to which they have benefited.

A Week Teaching Music at Oldenburg University

The week of 31st October I was at Oldenburg University as part of the Erasmus Scheme. This all occurred because the Professor of Music there Violeta Dinescu approached and invited me to go and teach. This was my first such trip and I was not really sure what to expect. It was a most enjoyable week during which I learnt much about the system in Germany and their approach to teaching music - the lecturers there were very welcoming (especially the composer Roberto Reale who was a great help). The following observations may not be precisely correct but they are what seemed to be the case to me at the time.
   It seems to me that lecturers at Oldenburg are much more independent than is the case the UK - there seemed to be a greater autonomy in the courses and what was offered by lecturers. In some of the courses/modules there were student from all years which is quite different from what happens at Kingston (although some 3rd year classes are taken by MAs). The students at Oldenburg seemed to be very serious and committed students, although this might be because they were all planning to become music teachers. The course has 3 years for the BA and a further 2 years for the MA. Before they can teach in schools they also have to undertake school observations. Students at Oldenburg have a good theoretical background and all seemed to have some ability on the piano. They seemed a little reticent and reserved in my classes but that may have been because they had to speak in English.
   It was good to see lots of practical music-making going on to a good standard (I heard the Wind Ensemble and Choir). I particularly enjoyed playing 'Katzen Musik' (Cat music) with Axel Fries - it was a really inspiring class exploring improvising with bottles and wine glasses. One quirk of the German system caught me out and that was the 'academical quarter hour' - all classes start 15 minutes late and finish 15 minutes early - no-one had told me that because it is so ingrained in Germany. I thought this was an excellent idea, as in UK there is often no time between classes. However they do start at 8 am (or 8.15) which would be less popular. It was also odd to see chalk still being used and I was pleaseed to see some OHPs. The German students are also very polite and at the end of classes all knock on the tables in approval. The food in the canteen was also excellent and apparently all organic - I really enjoyed eating at the Culinarium where the food was cooked in front of you. All in all, Oldenburg is an excellent place to visit.

The Basics of Composing Music: a Personal View

I have just spent a week music teaching at Oldenburg University which was both enjoyable and rewarding. It took me a while to realise that there is an academical quarter hour - all sessions start 15 minutes late and end 15 minutes early - an excellent idea I think. As part of my teaching I decided to think up a beginners' guide to composing as some of the students had done little (although they were excellent students). In fact I didn't have time to cover all the elements below in the class.

A Very Brief Beginners' Guide to Composing Music:

Stage 1

1. Listen to lots of different music - live and recorded.

2. Decide what music you really like.

3, Analyse in depth the music you really like - find out how it is put together in detail.

4. Try to create your own versions of the music you like - perhaps mixtures of different music.

5. Get your music played.

Stage 2

6. Before starting a piece think about what the concept (idea) of the work might be - what are you aiming for?

7. Think about the structure you need - look at possible other models.

8. What instruments  are you going to use? Make sure you find out about them.

9. Try to make the most of your musical material - use improvisation to help your ideas grow.

10. Try to avoid being too repetitive or too fragmented - find a balance between these two extremes.

11. Always be self-critical of your work.

12. Compose music because you want to  - not for any other reason.

13. Get a thick skin as you will need it - but do listen and consider criticism.

14. Don't just try to please your teacher- that is always a dangerous path. What happens when your teacher changes or you stop being a student?

15. Never write complex music for the sake of it - simple music can be more effective.

Thoughts about Judging a Composition Competition

I have just spent a week in Germany teaching at Oldenburg University (of which more later when I get chance) and I was kindly asked to be on the jury of an Internatoional Composition competition (percussion piece for medium level players) whilst I was there. There were 112 (more to come) to view from all over the world  - which was fascinating (and quite hard work). What was also very interesting was seeing the same basic errors again and again. So here are my observations which may be of use:
1. Too many were poorly notated or confusing (especially the rhythms).
2. Too many scores were very difficult to play when the guidelines stipulated that it was not for professional level.
3. Given that is was for percussion; few really explored rhythm in a fashion that was audible.
4. Many were very repetitive and lacked development.
5. Many had a very dense unvarying texture.
6. Few had any really sense of drama or shape  - which is really important in a piece of music.
7. Many used new notation which would take players a long time to learn and understand - why make life so difficult for players? We want them to play our music not find reasons not to.
8. Few candidates seem to have really thought deeply about the published requirements of the composittion - for example that the name must not be on the score but in a sealed envelope (relatively few did this).
9. However there were some execellent pieces - by candidates who had actually read the instructions and thought hard about what is needed.
10. Do think about the title - it needs to conjure up an image for the listener. 
11. Don't write for the wrong ensemble? Big band???

Another observation is that it is very difficult for juries in composition competitions when there are so many applications. Therefore if you don't win or get a placed position in a competition, it is not because you haven't written a good piece, it may be because there are simply so many works to consider.  It is best to make sure that your piece stands out in some way - so it is memorable. And make sure that you have written a good beginning...

The Setting of Student Fees

Now most of the university's fee levels for 2012 have been announced it seems that the majority have gone for £9,000 or quite near to this. The Government predictably seems to be horrified that universities have made a rational decision given the restrictions that have been put upon them. At present, most Arts and Humanities courses bring in around £7,200 per student, so in theory any fee below that would cause a loss for University (unless there were counter-balancing cuts). The Government has also been making cutbacks in funding to Universities in the run up to 2012, and want to restrict the numbers of overseas students (another important source of income to universities). Another factor is that there is likely to be a drop in student applications for 2012 entry (both UG and PG) which may also cause a drop in income.
    So it seems that the universities have taken the only option open to them. After all, it costs a similar amount to teach a student whether they go to Oxford or Oxford Brookes, therefore they ought to have a similar fee. If all the ex-polys charged much less than the Russell Group Universities, then they would look as if they were offering a much inferior course, and also have less money to ensure that this was not the case. It will be interesting to see how the Government responds to this rationalism.

Turnage's opera Anna Nicole and Ferneyhough at the Barbican

In recent weeks there have been some significant and intriguing contemporary music performances in London; namely Mark Anthony Turnage's new opera Anna Nicole at ENO and Brian Ferneyhough's Total Immerson at the Barbican. These events show that new music still has the potential to surprise and delight audiences, even if in the case of the Ferneyhough they are callenging works.
    Anna Nicole based on the tragic life of the notorious celebrity Anna Nicole Smith uses a text by Richard Thomas (librettist of Jerry Springer the Opera) and is driven by the narrative. The music is effective and poignant in places but it is the text and the drama that seems to be centre stage. It seems to me that this is mid-way between an opera and a musical which makes it much more approachable for most audiences. Only in the later part of the second act does the music become more prominent. At the first performance, the audience was very enthusiastic - perhaps more so than one would expect at the first performance of a new work. To be honest it was a much more engaging evening than the last new opera I heard: Alexander Goehr's Promised End in which the music was mostly turgid and the text inaudible throughout.
    Ferneyhough at the Barbican was quite a different kind of music to the Turnage, much more challenging but also more thought-provoking. The concert I heard was with the BBC Symphony Orchestra on 26th February including a UK premiere Plotzlichkeit  and also La Terre est un Homme for full orchestra. These were both very dense works with many layers of material for the listener to comprehend. It seems to me that when less was going on in the music moments of real beauty emerge - like seeing through windows in the music. We also heard Ferneyhough's early Missa Brevis which in many ways was as powerful as the other larger works in the programme, and quite astounding given it was written in 1969. Ferneyhough is certainly not everybody's cup of tea, but I think we do need composers like him to continue to challenge and amaze as well as the more crowd-pleasing Turnage.

More Destructive Government Action on Music Education

The latest ITT funding decision by Michael Gove will have a very negative effect on Music and Art Education in this country. The numbers of students who will be trained as music teachers will be cut by a third for next year and their bursary will also be removed. This is on top of the fact that music will not be in the spurious/fake English Baccalaureate being introduced by Gove. The results of both these misguided policies is that there will be a reduction in music teachers in UK schools, and also a reduction in pupils taking music. Clearly this is a policy that should be resisted unless we want our children to have purely utilitarian education. Of course in the public schools that our cabinet attended, music will still be valued and taught.