Crumb's first two books of Makrokosmos for solo piano contain 12 pieces, each bearing a dedication (a friend's initials, however he also wittily dedicates a piece to himself) at the end. Apart from Bartók, Claude Debussy is another composer Crumb acknowledged as an influence here Debussy's Preludes comprise 2 books of 12 character pieces, whose titles appear at the end. The title Makrokosmos alludes to Mikrokosmos, the six books of piano pieces by Béla Bartók like Bartók's work, Makrokosmos is a series of short character pieces. It is one of Crumb's best known pieces, and has been recorded by several groups, including the Kronos Quartet.Īnother of Crumb's best known works are the four books of Makrokosmos. The first two books (1972, 1973), for solo piano, make extensive use of string piano techniques the third, known as Music for a Summer Evening (1974), is for two pianos and percussion the fourth, Celestial Mechanics (1979), was written for piano four-hands. The piece is written for electric string quartet and its players are required to play various percussion instruments and to bow small goblets as well as to play their instruments in both conventional and unconventional ways. Many of his vocal works were written for the virtuoso mezzo-soprano singer Jan DeGaetani.īlack Angels (1970) is another piece which displays Crumb's interest in exploring a wide range of timbres. Several of Crumb's works, including the four books of madrigals he wrote in the late 1960s and Ancient Voices of Children, a song cycle of 1970 for two singers and small instrumental ensemble (which includes a toy piano), are settings of texts by Federico García Lorca. In several pieces, the music is symbolically laid out in a circular or spiral fashion. In works like Ancient Voices of Children (1970), Crumb employed theatrical ritual, using evocative masks, costumes, and sonorities. In other pieces he asks players to leave and enter the stage during the piece, and has also used unusual layouts of musical notation in a number of his scores. Although his music from this period exhibits some novel features, it owes more to traditional techniques than to the more experimental areas of the avant-garde. In this period, Crumb shared with a number of other young composers regarded as being under the umbrella of "new accessibility" a desire to reach out to alienated audiences. His music fell between neoclassicism, which was perceived as outmoded, and the more radical music of the avant garde. In the 1960s and 1970s, Crumb's music filled a niche for more sophisticated though still conservative concertgoers. He often asks for instruments to be played in unusual ways and several of his pieces, although written for standard chamber music ensembles, call for electronic amplification. Examples include seagull effect for the cello ( Vox Balaenae), metallic vibrato for the piano ( Five Pieces for Piano), and using a mallet to play the strings of a contrabass ( Madrigals, Book I).Īfter initially being influenced by Anton Webern, Crumb became interested in exploring unusual timbres. He is the winner of Grammy and Pulitzer Prizes and is noted as an explorer of unusual timbres, alternative forms of notation, and extended instrumental and vocal techniques. George Crumb is one of the most frequently performed composers in today's musical world.
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