Modernity and Modernism Music

Assignment 10: Modernity and Modernism Music

Adorno's description of Mahler conveys a similar and close bond in certain materials. It relates to the approach of the traditional modernism with the inspiration of the progressing future ideals. In this essay I will explain an excerpt from Mahler following his approach towards protesting against the accepted ideal of musical beauty that relates to Adorno's way of thinking and methods.

Theodor W. Adorno had lived from 1903-1969 and was one of the principal figures associated with the Frankfurt School. He wrote all kinds of works on different topics such as culture, modernity, aesthetics, literature, and much more. Adorno now can be considered by many as the single most influential contributor to the development of qualitative musical sociology.

Gustav Mahler lived in the similar time period just a bit older from 1860 - 1911 and was a late Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. Mahler had discovered something that became famailer to Adorno about the way of expressing his identity as a Jew. As Adorno describes it that in Mahler's poetry he had found what he had formerly sought in the genre of German folk song which is a mask or costume for the sense of rootlessness attending to his identity as a Jew.

Both these writers adapted well to modernity and became more modern as they not only wrote their own works to boost their ego's, but also read other peoples works of literature of their and later time periods to have some more knowledge and basis for comparison towards. This is how I can relate Adorn's ideas to my chosen piece from Mahlers writings as it corresponds so wonderfully with their uplifting words of bravery.

Three examples I can choose from our class that relate to modernity and the modernism unit are by the three artist we listened to John Cage, Steve Reich and Terry Rilen. John Cage played a piece called "Williams Mix" that has unique changing sounds of crickets, laughs, TV station, clapping, yelling and much more. Steve Reich had a song named "Come Out" and it involved a black man trying to prove his injury and had sounds of repetitive echos and changing different tempos gradually. Finally in Terry Rilen recording "A rainbow in the Curved Air" it had a cloudy feel, more mellow and relaxed with some electronic touches.

I have chosen his three specifically because they are special in their own ways with different attributes then most usually regular recordings. This is how it sets them apart and relates them to modernism and modernity with the change and new ways of performing these artists experimented upon their audiences. Modernity meaning the post medieval and new beginning Renaissance movement with change and new ideas. These examples show change and innovation in their making thus making them part