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22 October 2006Sunday 22 October 2006 17:45-18:30 (Radio 3) With Tom Service. Duration:45 minutes In This ProgrammeRussolo
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In 1913 Luigi Russolo published his futurist manifesto, 'The Art of Noise' - a pamphlet that imagined a utopian world where a new music would be created from the noises of the city. In order to realise this dream, he created an orchestra of 'intonarumori', or noise-makers. Reconstructions of these huge instruments are currently on display at the Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art in London, and Tom went along to see if he could create his own 21st century version of Russolo's futurist symphonies.
David Brown completed his four-volume study of Tchaikovsky's life and works in 1990, but he has now written a new book on the composer - a guide to the man and his music. The author explains to Tom why this book is more than a biography through his attempt to train and inspire his readers to listen properly to classical music. Tom is joined by the cultural historian Rosamund Bartlett to assess whether or not the book succeeds.
The American composer, Christian Wolff grew up in the New York of the 1930s and 40s and became part of the so-called New York school of composers. He wrote a seminal series of graphic score works, where the performers interpret symbols rather than read notes. He also introduced John Cage to the Chinese Book of Changes, the I Ching, which later became one of the most important systems used in Cage's compositions. Tom talks with Wolff about how his music moved from graphic notation to political engagement, and whether he is still a radical composer.
The story of Malcolm Arnold's musical life is like a microcosm of how British music changed in the 20th century. From his Oscar-winning score for David Lean's Bridge on the River Kwai, through huge critical and popular success in the 50s, to relative neglect in his last decades. And behind the music was a complex personality - a manic depressive, prone to bouts of self-loathing and alcoholic binges, yet still managing to retain an energy and passion for life which enabled him to create a huge and still underrated body of music. Following Arnold's recent death, his daughter, Katherine, and biographer Paul Harris, provide insights into the composer's unique character and legacy.