Sonosphere

This episode is the first in a series of European composers who started a change in music - paving the way for avant-garde and disruptive sounds from the classical minimalist genre, to punk and rock and roll we hear today. We’ll start with Arnold Schoenberg, an Austrian composer who mapped out the coming modernist era.

Schoenberg created new methods of musical composition involving atonality, serialism, and the 12-tone row.

Don't forget to check out Press Play at sonospherepodcast.com for a playlist of Schoenberg compositions.

Featured Tracks by Schoenberg in this episode:

Gurrelieder

Transfigured Nights

String Quartet No. 2 Op. 10

Erwartung

Chamber Symphony No. 1

Piano Suite Op. 25

This episode is an introduction to our series on the Birth of Modern Music. It will highlight radical dissonance in Western classical compositions. We will individually describe the work and influence of Arnold Schoenberg, Erik Satie, Edgard Varese, Olivier Messiaen, Karlheinz Stockhausen and John Cage. They were powerhouses in the classical composition revolution at the turn of the 20th century and their influence permeated into mid-century beatnik, free improv and psychedelic culture.

Look for the first episode in this series next week. Until then, we have prepared for you a playlist highlighting the work of Arnold Schoenberg, the first modernist we’ll explore in our next episode. Check it out at sonospherepodcast.com and click on Press Play. Enjoy!

Featured track:

Pierre Boulez - Le Marteau sans Maitre VI Bourreaux de Solitude

The mellotron is a keyboard instrument operating with magnetic tape loops invented in the early 1960s that revolutionized the way novice and professional musicians alike could manipulate sound by providing the instruments of a full orchestra at our fingertips. Today we will explore the history of the mellotron, how it rose in popularity and then faded out as digital technology took over.

Tracks in episode in order in which they appear:

Stevie Wonder - Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants

The Moody Blues - Love and Beauty

Jan and Dean - Save for a Rainy Day Theme

The Beach Boys - Wild Honey

Clearlight - 2nd Movement

The Beatles - Strawberry Fields Forever

Yes - And You and I

The Rolling Stones - 2000 Light Years from Home

Tangerine Dream - Phaedra

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Souvenir

Genesis - Watcher of the Skies

This episode discusses the Italian Futurist movement, which explored the intersection of aggressive ideologies and abrasive sound production. This movement influenced noise music and avant-garde artists of today. It was also the first time art could showcase its relationship with power and how art can influence politics and power - that link between avant-garde art movements and politics presiding over the avant-garde tradition ever since.

A Brief History of Noise Music by Sonosphere Podcast