The Mutual Influence between Asian Cultures and American Minimalist Music: An Essential Channel for Aesthetic Exchange
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37134//mjm.vol11.1.3.2022Keywords:
Asian Culture, Asian Minimalists, John Cage, minimalism, Tan DunAbstract
This research aims to show the mutual influence between Asian cultures and American minimalist music. This cultural exchange that started with John Cage, before continuing with Toru Takemitsu and then, Tan Dun, has been a fruitful channel of communication for new compositions in both continents. The paper explores the close connection between early minimalist composers (Reich, Glass, La Monte Young, and Terry Riley) and Asian music and philosophies (Zen Buddhism and Spirituality) as well as some of the ramifications of these traditions over the past five decades. The concept of minimalism was first applied in the arts as a return to simplicity, in tune with Asian philosophies. For some artists, the practice was already present in Asian arts before it appeared in the West. The minimalistic endeavour starts with the experimental works of Cage and Feldman; followed by the movement “Fluxus”. This coincided with what is often considered early minimalism, leading to the great variety of styles and mix of compositional techniques employed by current Asian composers influenced by American minimalism. This paper also analyses the use of minimalism in the Western and Asian curriculum.
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References
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Meyer, J. S. (2001). Minimalism: Art and polemics in the sixties. Yale University Press.
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Oxford U. P. (n. d.). Zhou Long. https://global.oup.com/academic/category/arts-and-humanities/sheet-music/composers/zhoulong/?cc=cn&lang=en&
Peterson, E. (2014, April 8). Which composers are most frequently performed? Minnesota Public Radio. https://www.classicalmpr.org/story/2014/04/08/league-american-orchestras-performance-data.
Potter, K. (2006). Four musical minimalists: La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, Philip Glass. Cambridge University Press.
Potter, K., Gann, K., & Pwyll, S. (2016). The Ashgate research companion to minimalist and postminimalist music. Routledge.
Reich, M. (2018, May 15). The story of minimalism–Part One: A new way of listening. All Classical Public Media, Inc.. https://www.allclassical.org/the-story-of-minimalism-part-one-a-new-way-of-listening/
Retallack, J. (2015) The radical curiosity of John Cage—Is the word ‘music’ music?, Contemporary Music Review, 34, 5-6, 373-384 DOI: 10.1080/07494467.2016.1150554
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Strickland, E. (1993). Minimalism: Origins. Indiana University Press.
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van Raat, R. (n.d.). Music of Toru Takemitsu and Tan Dun. [Podcast transcript]. Smithsonian Institution. https://asia.si.edu/podcast/music-of-toru-takemitsu-and-tan-dun-ralph-van-raat-piano/
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Wang, X.-L. (n.d.-b). Three symphonic murals-legends of the sea Op 35. Wang Xilin’s Music World. https://www.wangxilin.org/wang-xilin-three-symphonic-murals-legends-of-the-sea-op-35-fullscore-with-cd/
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Bernard, J. W. (2003). Minimalism, postminimalism, and the resurgence of tonality in recent American music. American Music, 21, 112-133.
Best, S. (2006). Minimalism, subjectivity, and aesthetics: Rethinking the anti-aesthetic tradition in late-modern art. Journal of Visual Art Practice. 5, 127-142. 10.1386/jvap.5.3.127_1
Blom, D. (2003). Engaging students with a contemporary music – Minimalism – through composing activities: Teachers’ approaches, strategies, and roles. International Journal of Music Education, 40(1), 81–99. https://doi.org/10.1177/025576140304000107
Burgan, M. (2012). Buddhist faith in America. Chelsea House.
Burt, P. (2001). The music of Toru Takemitsu (Music in the twentieth century). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511518331
Brown, K. (2000). John Cage visual art: To sober and quiet the mind. Crown Point Press.
Cage, J., & Gann, K. (2011). Silence: Lectures and writings, 50th anniversary edition. Wesleyan University Press.
Chang, P. (2007). Bright Sheng’s music: An expression of cross-cultural experience-illustrated through the motivic, contrapuntal, and tonal treatment of the Chinese folk song “The Stream Flows”. Contemporary Music Review, 26, 5-6, 619-633.
Chave, A. (2008). Revaluing minimalism: Patronage, aura, and place. The Art Bulletin,
90(3), 466-486.
Chou, W.-C. (2019, 8 February). Chou Wen-Chung: Composer of confluence. Spiralis music trust. https://chouwenchung.org/2019/02/08/chou-wen-chung-composer-of-confluence/
Chou, W.-C. (n.d.). East and west, old, and new: Excerpt of keynote speech given at UNESCO International Music Symposium, Manila, Philippines 1966. Spiralis Music Trust. https://chouwenchung.org/writing/excerpts-from-east-and-west-old-and-new/
College of Music Seoul National University (2015). Uzong Choe. https://music.snu.ac.kr/en/profile/uzongchoe
Crowley, M. (1998). Nixon in winter. Random House.
Dart, W. (2006, January 24). Composer’s music ‘like the & nbsp; mosaic technique of an artist. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/composers-music-like-thenbspmosaic-technique-of-an-artist/XT4YJRKIVIBDO5RHSUIBZNR5YY/
Dong, X. (2020). A performance guide to Tan Dun’s Elegy: Snow in June. [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Toronto.
Duckworth, W. (1999). Talking music: Conversations with John Cage, Philip Glass, Laurie Anderson, and five generations of American experimental composers. Da Capo Press.
Encyclopedia of Japan. (n.d.). Traditional Music of Japan. https://doyouknowjapan.com/traditionalmusic/
Eppley, C. (2015, November 15). “Yoshi Wada and Drone Music as Conceptual Art.” November 11, 2015, Art in America. https://www.artnews.com/art-in-america/features/yoshi-wada-and-drone-music-as-conceptual-art-59946/
Fink, R. (2005). Repeating ourselves: American minimal music as cultural practice (1st ed.). University of California Press.
Fung, C. V., Lee, M., & Chung, S.-W. E. (1999). Music style preferences of young students in Hong Kong. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 143, 50–64. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40319012
Gann, K. (2004). Thankless attempts at a definition of minimalism. In C. Cox and D. Warner (Eds.), Audio culture: Reading in modern music (pp. 299–303). Continuum.
Hay, D., & Nye, R. (2006). The spirit of the child (Revised Edition). Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Heifetz, R. J. (1984). East-West synthesis in Japanese composition: 1950-1970. The Journal of Musicology, 3(4), 443–455. https://doi.org/10.2307/763590
Henry, E. O. (2002). The rationalization of intensity in Indian Music. Ethnomusicology, 46(1), 33–55. https://doi.org/10.2307/852807
Johnson, T. (1989). The voice of new music: New York city 1972–1982 – A collection of articles originally published by the village voice. Het Apollohuis.
Keister, J. (2008). Okeikoba: Lesson places as sites for negotiating tradition in Japanese music. Ethnomusicology, 52(2), 239–269. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20174588
Kim, E. (2022). Isang Yun: The integration of East-Asian philosophies and Korean traditional Music in his compositions featuring work for solo piano: Shao Yang Yin (1966). Paper presented at the 2022 Virtual MTNA Collegiate Symposium. https://www.mtna.org/downloads/symposium/2022/Isang%20Yun%20Handout.pdf
Kirchert, K.-U. (1998). Between worlds: Reflections on ritual in the music of Giacinto Scelsi. The World of Music, 40(1), 79–100. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41699180
Kostelanetz, R. & Flemming, R. (1999). Writings on Glass: Essays, interviews, criticism. University of California Press.
Kostelanetz, R. (2003). Conversing with Cage (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Lau, F. (2008). Music in China: Experiencing music, expressing culture. Oxford University Press.
Liu, C., & Mason, C. (2010). A critical history of new music in China. The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press.
Living Composers P. (2017, January 2). Chen Yi. The living composer’s project. http://composers21.com/compdocs/chenyi.htm
L. A. Philharmonic Association (2018). Buddha passion (U.S. premiere, LA Phil commission). https://www.laphil.com/musicdb/pieces/4794/buddha-passion-us-premiere-la-phil-commission
Matsunobu, K. (2011). Spirituality as a universal experience of music: a case study of north Americans’ approaches to Japanese music. Journal of Research in Music Education, 59(3), 273–289. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429411414911
Mayuzumi, T. (1964). Traditional elements as a creative source for composition. Journal of the International Folk Music Council, 16, 38-39.
Mertens, W. (2007). American minimal music: La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, Philip Glass. Kahn & Avewrill.
Meyer, J. S. (2001). Minimalism: Art and polemics in the sixties. Yale University Press.
Moncrieff, C. (2009). Performance and rehearsal practices of minimalist music: Specifically related to Music for Eighteen Musicians by Steve Reich. VDM-Verl. Müller.
National Gallery of Singapore (2018, November 16). Minimalism: Space. light. object.
https://www.nationalgallery.sg/exhibitions/minimalism-space-light-object.
Oteri, F. J. (2007, December 1). Tan Dun: Tradition and invention–Music for film. New Music USA. https://nmbx.newmusicusa.org/tan-dun-tradition-and-invention/5/
Oxford U. P. (n. d.). Zhou Long. https://global.oup.com/academic/category/arts-and-humanities/sheet-music/composers/zhoulong/?cc=cn&lang=en&
Peterson, E. (2014, April 8). Which composers are most frequently performed? Minnesota Public Radio. https://www.classicalmpr.org/story/2014/04/08/league-american-orchestras-performance-data.
Potter, K. (2006). Four musical minimalists: La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, Philip Glass. Cambridge University Press.
Potter, K., Gann, K., & Pwyll, S. (2016). The Ashgate research companion to minimalist and postminimalist music. Routledge.
Reich, M. (2018, May 15). The story of minimalism–Part One: A new way of listening. All Classical Public Media, Inc.. https://www.allclassical.org/the-story-of-minimalism-part-one-a-new-way-of-listening/
Retallack, J. (2015) The radical curiosity of John Cage—Is the word ‘music’ music?, Contemporary Music Review, 34, 5-6, 373-384 DOI: 10.1080/07494467.2016.1150554
Revich, A. (2018, May 5). Fluxus and minimalism and me. Digital Salon Fluxus Blog. https://www.digitalsalon.com/fluxus-and-minimalism-and-me/
Rockwell, J. (1993, July 4). In Eastern Europe, Minimalism Meets Mysticism. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/04/arts/classical-music-in-east-europe-minimalism-meets-mysticism.html
Sande, K. (2010, February 1). A brief history of minimalism. http://www.factmag.com/2010/02/01/a-brief-history-of-minimalism/
Schwartz, E., & Godfrey, D. (1993). Music since 1945: Issues, materials, and literature. Schirmer Books.
Sheng, B. (2016, September). Biography. Bright Sheng: Composer, conductor & pianist. http://brightsheng.com/bio.html
Sheng, B. (2000). Melodic migration of the Silk Road: Music samplings of Northwest China. Bright Sheng: composer, conductor & pianist. https://brightsheng.com/articles/essayfilesbybs/MELODIES%20OF%20THE%20SILK%20ROAD%20.pdf
Shultis, C. (1995). Silencing the sounded self: John Cage and the intentionality of Nonintention. The Musical Quarterly, 79(2), 312–350. http://www.jstor.org/stable/742249
Smith, K. (2004, February 29). Cross-cultural characters. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-feb-29-ca-smith29-story.html.
Smith, S. (2012). Eastern and western aesthetics and influences in the twenty-first century flute concerti of Chinese-born American Composers. http://purl.flvc.org/fsu/fd/FSU_migr_etd-5436
Song, E. K. (2017). The development of contemporary music by Korean Composers: Analyses of piano works by Isang Yun, Young Jo Lee and Uzong Choe [Unpublished Master’s dissertation], University of South Carolina.
Strickland, E. (1993). Minimalism: Origins. Indiana University Press.
Takemitsu, T. (1992). Tooi Yobigoe no Kanata e [Beyond the Fall Calls]. Shinchosha.
Tate Gallery (n.d.). Art Terms: Fluxus. TATE. https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/f/fluxus
Tenzer, M. (2019, May 30). That’s all it does: Steve Reich and Balinese Gamelan. In rethinking Reich. Oxford University Press. https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/oso/9780190605285.001.0001/oso-9780190605285-chapter-14
Timmerman, P. (2009). Uncaged: Buddhism John Cage and the freeing of the world. Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies, 5, 39-57. https://thecjbs.org/archive-document-details/?id=138
van Raat, R. (n.d.). Music of Toru Takemitsu and Tan Dun. [Podcast transcript]. Smithsonian Institution. https://asia.si.edu/podcast/music-of-toru-takemitsu-and-tan-dun-ralph-van-raat-piano/
Wang, X.-L. (n.d.-a). Yunnan Tone Poem. Wang Xilin’s music world. https://www.wangxilin.org/wang-xilin-yunnan-tone-poem/
Wang, X.-L. (n.d.-b). Three symphonic murals-legends of the sea Op 35. Wang Xilin’s Music World. https://www.wangxilin.org/wang-xilin-three-symphonic-murals-legends-of-the-sea-op-35-fullscore-with-cd/
Xin, G. (2002). Chinese musical language interpreted by western idioms: Fusion in the instrumental works by Chen Yi [Unpublished doctoral dissertation], The Florida State University]
Young, La M. (1960). La Monte Young Composition 1960 # 7 [Score]. The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, United States. https://www.moma.org/collection/works/127629
Zhang, N. (2015). Neo-orientalism in the operas of Tan Dun. [Master Thesis, Dalhousie University]. https://dalspace.library.dal.ca/bitstream/hadle/10222/56305/Zhang-Nan-MA-MUS-April-2015.pdf?sequence=1
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04-08-2022
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Ho, A.-C. K., & Pastor, F. M. (2022). The Mutual Influence between Asian Cultures and American Minimalist Music: An Essential Channel for Aesthetic Exchange. Malaysian Journal of Music, 11(1), 33–52. https://doi.org/10.37134//mjm.vol11.1.3.2022
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