George Crumb
George Crumb
George Crumbis an American composer of avant-garde music. He is noted as an explorer of unusual timbres, alternative forms of notation, and extended instrumental and vocal techniques. Examples include seagull effect for the cello, metallic vibrato for the piano, and using a mallet to play the strings of a contrabass, among numerous others. He is not an electronic music composer; however, many works call for amplification of instruments, such as Black Angelsor Ancient Voices of Children. Crumb defines music as...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionComposer
Date of Birth24 October 1929
CityCharleston, WV
CountryUnited States of America
The rhythms of nature - the sounds of wind and water, the sounds of birds and insects - must inevitably find their analogues in music.
Writing seems to be more difficult as you move through the years.
I must confess, my Spanish is not so good - except I read a little, so I started with the English but then determined that it would have to be in Spanish.
I have observed, too, that the people of the many countries that I have visited are showing an ever increasing interest in the classical and traditional music of their own cultures.
I am certain that most composers today would consider today's music to be rich, not to say confusing, in its enormous diversity of styles, technical procedures, and systems of esthetics.
I am optimistic about the future of music.
As interesting as that music can occasionally be, I don't think it really replaces the other.
Although technical discussions are interesting to composers, I suspect that the truly magical and spiritual powers of music arise from deeper levels of our psyche.
I frequently hear our present period described as uncertain, confused, chaotic.
It is easy to write unthinking music.
This is not a happy time for this kind of music in this country.
Most of my influences are turn-of-the-century.
Perhaps many of the perplexing problems of the new music could be put into a new light if we were to reintroduce the ancient idea of music being a reflection of nature.
Perhaps of all the most basic elements of music, rhythm most directly affects our central nervous system.