61-598: Harold Montgomory Budd (May 24, 1936 – December 8, 2020) was an American music composer and poet . Born in Los Angeles and raised in the Mojave Desert , he became a respected composer in the minimal music and avant-garde scene of Southern California in the late 1960s, and later became better known for his work with figures such as Brian Eno and Robin Guthrie . Budd developed what he called
122-532: A singer in a choir , as a player in a youth orchestra , or as a performer on a solo instrument (e.g., piano , pipe organ , or violin ). Teens aspiring to be composers can continue their postsecondary studies in a variety of formal training settings, including colleges, conservatories, and universities. Conservatories , which are the standard musical training system in countries such as France and Canada, provide lessons and amateur orchestral and choral singing experience for composition students. Universities offer
183-569: A "soft pedal" technique for playing piano, with use of slow playing and prominent sustain . Budd was born in Los Angeles , California , and spent his childhood in Victorville, California on the southwestern edge of the Mojave Desert . Harold was only 13 when his father died, and soon his family fell out of their comfortable middle class existence. He was sent up to the desert to live with friends and relatives as often as possible, but
244-614: A Blizzard (2014), with the last, 2020's Another Flower , recorded in 2013 but only released four days before Budd's death. Budd also collaborated with Andy Partridge of XTC on the album Through the Hill (1994), John Foxx on the album Translucence/Drift Music (2003) and work with Jah Wobble on the Solaris concert and live album in 2002. He composed music for the score of the 2020 miniseries I Know This Much Is True . Brian Eno called Budd "a great abstract painter trapped in
305-401: A band collaborates to write a song, or in musical theatre , where the songs may be written by one person, the orchestration of the accompaniment parts and writing of the overture is done by an orchestrator, and the words may be written by a third person. A piece of music can also be composed with words, images, or, in the 20th and 21st centuries, computer programs that explain or notate how
366-538: A composer in 1972 was a process of trying out an idea and when it was obviously successful abandoning it. The early graph piece was followed by the Rothko orchestra work, the pieces for Source Magazine , the Feldman -derived chamber works, the pieces typed out or written in longhand , the out-and-out conceptual works among other things, and the model drone works (which include the sax and organ Coeur d'Orr and The Oak of
427-426: A composition professor , ensemble experience, and graduate courses in music history and music theory, along with one or two concerts featuring the composition student's pieces. A master's degree in music (referred to as an M.Mus. or M.M.) is often a required minimum credential for people who wish to teach composition at a university or conservatory. A composer with an M.Mus. could be an adjunct professor or instructor at
488-515: A conventional Western piece of instrumental music, in which all of the melodies , chords , and basslines are written out in musical notation, the performer has a degree of latitude to add artistic interpretation to the work, by such means as by varying their articulation and phrasing , choosing how long to make fermatas (held notes) or pauses, and — in the case of bowed string instruments, woodwinds or brass instruments — deciding whether to use expressive effects such as vibrato or portamento . For
549-409: A course in harmony and renaissance counterpoint and his musical talent was spotted by a teacher who encouraged him to compose. He began to attend performances by artists like Chet Baker and Pharoah Sanders . “From that moment on,” he recalls, “I had an insatiable appetite. Harmony, counterpoint, Renaissance music: I really heard it for the first time.” Budd's career as a composer began in 1962. In
610-441: A performer of Western popular music creates a "cover" of an earlier song, there is little expectation of exact rendition of the original; nor is exact faithfulness necessarily highly valued (with the possible exception of "note-for-note" transcriptions of famous guitar solos ). In Western art music, the composer typically orchestrates their compositions, but in musical theatre and pop music, songwriters may hire an arranger to do
671-473: A range of composition programs, including bachelor's degrees, Master of Music degrees, and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees. As well, there are a variety of other training programs such as classical summer camps and festivals, which give students the opportunity to get coaching from composers. Bachelor's degrees in composition (referred to as B.Mus. or B.M) are four-year programs that include individual composition lessons, amateur orchestra/choral experience, and
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#1732791128316732-499: A return to a more minimalist approach. In 2003, Daniel Lanois , a producer for U2 and Bob Dylan , and occasional collaborator with Brian Eno, recorded an impromptu performance of Budd playing the piano in his Los Angeles living room, unaware; it was released in 2005 as the album La Bella Vista . He had a long-running collaboration with guitarist Robin Guthrie . They worked together initially when Budd worked with Guthrie's band Cocteau Twins on their 1985 collaboration The Moon and
793-453: A sequence of courses in music history, music theory, and liberal arts courses (e.g., English literature), which give the student a more well-rounded education. Usually, composition students must complete significant pieces or songs before graduating. Not all composers hold a B.Mus. in composition; composers may also hold a B.Mus. in music performance or music theory. Master of Music degrees (M.mus.) in composition consists of private lessons with
854-438: A singer or instrumental performer, the process of deciding how to perform music that has been previously composed and notated is termed "interpretation". Different performers' interpretations of the same work of music can vary widely, in terms of the tempos that are chosen and the playing or singing style or phrasing of the melodies. Composers and songwriters who present their music are interpreting, just as much as those who perform
915-565: A style of piano playing he deemed "soft pedal," which can be described as slow and sustained. While he is often placed in the Ambient category, he emphatically declared that he was not an Ambient artist, and felt that he got "kidnapped" into the category. His two collaborations with Eno, 1980's The Plateaux of Mirror and 1984's The Pearl , established his trademark atmospheric piano style. On Lovely Thunder , he introduced subtle electronic textures. His thematic 2000 release The Room saw
976-467: A tendency to cluster in specific cities throughout history. Based on over 12,000 prominent composers listed in Grove Music Online and using word count measurement techniques, the most important cities for classical music can be quantitatively identified. Paris has been the main hub for western classical music in all periods. It was ranked fifth in the 15th and 16th centuries but first in
1037-686: A university, but it would be difficult in the 2010s to obtain a tenure track professor position with this degree. To become a tenure track professor, many universities require a doctoral degree . In composition, the key doctoral degree is the Doctor of Musical Arts , rather than the PhD ; the PhD is awarded in music, but typically for subjects such as musicology and music theory . Doctor of Musical Arts (referred to as D.M.A., DMA, D.Mus.A. or A.Mus.D) degrees in composition provide an opportunity for advanced study at
1098-492: A very difficult time breaking through and getting the credit they deserve." During the Medieval eras, most of the art music was created for liturgical (religious) purposes and due to the views about the roles of women that were held by religious leaders, few women composed this type of music, with the nun Hildegard von Bingen being among the exceptions. Most university textbooks on the history of music discuss almost exclusively
1159-444: A whole. Across cultures and traditions composers may write and transmit music in a variety of ways. In much popular music, the composer writes a composition , and it is then transmitted via oral tradition . Conversely, in some Western classical traditions music may be composed aurally—i.e. "in the mind of the musician"—and subsequently written and passed through written documents . In the development of European classical music ,
1220-542: Is descended from Latin , compōnō ; literally "one who puts together". The earliest use of the term in a musical context given by the Oxford English Dictionary is from Thomas Morley 's 1597 A Plain and Easy Introduction to Practical Music , where he says "Some wil [ sic ] be good descanters [...] and yet wil be but bad composers". "Composer" is a loose term that generally refers to any person who writes music. More specifically, it
1281-473: Is often used to denote people who are composers by occupation, or those who work in the tradition of Western classical music . Writers of exclusively or primarily songs may be called composers, but since the 20th century the terms ' songwriter ' or ' singer-songwriter ' are more often used, particularly in popular music genres. In other contexts, the term 'composer' can refer to a literary writer, or more rarely and generally, someone who combines pieces into
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#17327911283161342-604: The Baroque music era, many composers were employed by aristocrats or as church employees. During the Classical period , composers began to organize more public concerts for profit, which helped composers to be less dependent on aristocratic or church jobs. This trend continued in the Romantic music era in the 19th century. In the 20th century, composers began to seek employment as professors in universities and conservatories. In
1403-531: The Renaissance music era, composers typically worked for aristocratic employers. While aristocrats typically required composers to produce a significant amount of religious music, such as Masses , composers also penned many non-religious songs on the topic of courtly love : the respectful, reverential love of a great woman from afar. Courtly love songs were very popular during the Renaissance era. During
1464-733: The University at Buffalo in Buffalo, New York ; until then, he had earned his living as a full-time employee at the family textile business in Manhattan's Garment District . Feldman also held residencies at the University of California, San Diego in the 1980s. Late in his career, Feldman produced a number of very long works, rarely shorter than half an hour and often much longer. These include Violin and String Quartet (1985, around 2 hours), For Philip Guston (1984, around four hours), and String Quartet II (1983, over six hours long without
1525-427: The 17th to 20th centuries inclusive. London was the second most meaningful city: eighth in the 15th century, seventh in the 16th, fifth in the 17th, second in the 18th and 19th centuries, and fourth in the 20th century. Rome topped the rankings in the 15th century, dropped to second in the 16th and 17th centuries, eighth in the 18th century, ninth in the 19th century but back at sixth in the 20th century. Berlin appears in
1586-422: The 20th century, composers also earned money from the sales of their works, such as sheet music publications of their songs or pieces or as sound recordings of their works. In 1993, American musicologist Marcia Citron asked, "Why is music composed by women so marginal to the standard 'classical' repertoire?" Citron "examines the practices and attitudes that have led to the exclusion of women composers from
1647-429: The 20th century, such as John Cage , Morton Feldman , and Witold Lutosławski . The nature and means of individual variation of the music are varied, depending on the musical culture in the country and the time period it was written. For instance, music composed in the Baroque era , particularly in slow tempos, often was written in bare outline, with the expectation that the performer would add improvised ornaments to
1708-646: The Golden Dreams , the latter based on the Balinese ' Slendro ' scale which scale I used again 18 years later on 'The Real Dream of Sails'). In 1972, while still retaining his teaching career at the California Institute for the Arts, he resurfaced as a composer. Spanning from 1972 to 1975, he created four individual works under the collective title The Pavilion of Dreams . The style of these works
1769-630: The Melodies . The record was released by 4AD under all the collaborator's names (rather than being a Cocteau Twins/Harold Budd record), with Budd being listed first as it was an alphabetical listing. In November 1986, the record charted on the UK Top 75 album chart, spending a week at number 46. Budd and Guthrie subsequently released several albums together, including two soundtracks to the Gregg Araki films Mysterious Skin (2004) and White Bird in
1830-501: The audience's disrespectful reaction to Webern's work. In the lobby he met John Cage , who was at the concert and had also decided to step out. The two quickly became friends, with Feldman moving into the building Cage lived in. Through Cage, he met sculptor Richard Lippold (who had a studio next door with artist Ray Johnson ); artists including Sonja Sekula and Robert Rauschenberg ; and composers such as Henry Cowell , Virgil Thomson , and George Antheil . An interview with Feldman
1891-454: The body of a musician". The Guardian said, "The core Budd sound of yearning piano motifs and reverb-laden impressionism is often called minimalism. But compared with the cyclical craft of Steve Reich and early Philip Glass , his low-key, expansive forays felt deftly maximalist. This has made Budd's craft synonymous with the dreamworld. An heir to Satie and Debussy , his music was treated and poetic, never kneejerk nor incautious." Budd
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1952-528: The definition of composition is broad enough for the creation of popular and traditional music songs and instrumental pieces and to include spontaneously improvised works like those of free jazz performers and African percussionists such as Ewe drummers . During the Middle Ages, most composers worked for the Catholic church and composed music for religious services such as plainchant melodies. During
2013-474: The experimental New York School of composers also including John Cage , Christian Wolff , and Earle Brown . Feldman's works are characterized by notational innovations that he developed to create his characteristic sound: rhythms that seem to be free and floating, pitch shadings that seem softly unfocused, a generally quiet and slowly evolving music, and recurring asymmetric patterns. His later works, after 1977, also explore extremes of duration. Morton Feldman
2074-524: The first American followers of Arnold Schoenberg , and Stefan Wolpe , a German-born Jewish composer who had studied under Franz Schreker and Anton Webern . Feldman and Wolpe spent most of their time simply talking about music and art. In early 1950, Feldman heard the New York Philharmonic perform Webern's Symphony . After this work, the orchestra was to perform a piece by Sergei Rachmaninoff , and Feldman left immediately, disturbed by
2135-476: The following years, he gained a notable reputation in the local avant-garde community. Budd studied music at California State University, Northridge , under Gerald Strang (a protege of Arnold Schoenberg) and Aurelio de la Vega . He graduated from CSUN, and then went on full scholarship to the University of Southern California, under the tutelage of Ingolf Dahl , graduating in 1966. Budd's work of this period
2196-522: The function of composing music initially did not have much greater importance than that of performing it. The preservation of individual compositions did not receive enormous attention and musicians generally had no qualms about modifying compositions for performance. In the Western world, before the Romantic period of the 19th century, composition almost always went side by side with a combination of either singing, instructing and theorizing . Even in
2257-503: The guidance of faculty composition professors. Some schools require DMA composition students to present concerts of their works, which are typically performed by singers or musicians from the school. The completion of advanced coursework and a minimum B average are other typical requirements of a D.M.A program. During a D.M.A. program, a composition student may get experience teaching undergraduate music students. Some composers did not complete composition programs, but focused their studies on
2318-552: The highest artistic and pedagogical level, requiring usually an additional 54+ credit hours beyond a master's degree (which is about 30+ credits beyond a bachelor's degree). For this reason, admission is highly selective. Students must submit examples of their compositions. If available, some schools will also accept video or audio recordings of performances of the student's pieces. Examinations in music history, music theory, ear training/dictation, and an entrance examination are required. Students must prepare significant compositions under
2379-532: The institute in 1976 and began recording his new compositions, produced by Eno. Two years later, Harold Budd's debut album, The Pavilion of Dreams (1978), was released. The first performance of the piece was at a Franciscan church in California conducted by Daniel Lentz ." The work with Eno led Budd to shift his focus to studio-led projects, characterised by use of synthesisers and electronic treatments, often collaborating with other musicians. Budd developed
2440-709: The institute. At the encouragement of Brian Eno and Marion Brown, he left CalArts for London. Soon afterwards, Budd gave up composition, disgusted by the "academic pyrotechnics" of the avant-garde community. In London, he found his composing community of Eno, Gavin Bryars , Michael Nyman , and the members of the Cocteau Twins . In 2004, Budd and his wife moved to Monument House in Joshua Tree, California . The road from my first colored graph piece in 1962 to my renunciation of composing in 1970 to my resurfacing as
2501-494: The melody line during a performance. Such freedom generally diminished in later eras, correlating with the increased use by composers of more detailed scoring in the form of dynamics, articulation et cetera; composers became uniformly more explicit in how they wished their music to be interpreted, although how strictly and minutely these are dictated varies from one composer to another. Because of this trend of composers becoming increasingly specific and detailed in their instructions to
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2562-400: The mid-20th century was Nadia Boulanger . Philips states that "[d]uring the 20th century the women who were composing/playing gained far less attention than their male counterparts." Women today are being taken more seriously in the realm of concert music, though the statistics of recognition, prizes, employment, and overall opportunities are still biased toward men. Famous composers have
2623-417: The music of others. The standard body of choices and techniques present at a given time and a given place is referred to as performance practice , whereas interpretation is generally used to mean the individual choices of a performer. Although a musical composition often has a single author, this is not always the case. A work of music can have multiple composers, which often occurs in popular music when
2684-467: The notes to be played are determined by consulting the I Ching . Through Cage, Feldman met many other prominent figures in the New York arts scene, among them Jackson Pollock , Philip Guston and Frank O'Hara . He found inspiration in abstract expressionist painting, and in the 1970s wrote a number of pieces around 20 minutes in length, including Rothko Chapel (1971; written for the building of
2745-435: The orchestration. In some cases, a pop songwriter may not use notation at all, and, instead, compose the song in their mind and then play or record it from memory. In jazz and popular music, notable recordings by influential performers are given the weight that written scores play in classical music. The study of composition has traditionally been dominated by the examination of methods and practice of Western classical music, but
2806-402: The performance of voice or an instrument or on music theory , and developed their compositional skills over the course of a career in another musical occupation. Morton Feldman Morton Feldman (January 12, 1926 – September 3, 1987) was an American composer. A major figure in 20th-century classical music , Feldman was a pioneer of indeterminacy in music, a development associated with
2867-408: The performer, a culture eventually developed whereby faithfulness to the composer's written intention came to be highly valued (see, for example, Urtext edition ). This musical culture is almost certainly related to the high esteem (bordering on veneration) in which the leading classical composers are often held by performers. The historically informed performance movement has revived to some extent
2928-427: The possibility of the performer elaborating seriously the music as given in the score, particularly for Baroque music and music from the early Classical period . The movement might be considered a way of creating greater faithfulness to the original in works composed at a time that expected performers to improvise . In genres other than classical music, the performer generally has more freedom; thus for instance when
2989-545: The reality in Los Angeles was growing up in a tough neighborhood, and as the oldest son, being the man of the house. During this time Black culture had an enormous impact on Harold, especially jazz music and bebop, and he could be found in his teenage years playing drums in bars and jazz clubs in South Central Los Angeles. Drafted into the army, he joined the regimental band where he played drums at Presidio of Monterey (POM) . Jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler
3050-479: The received ' canon ' of performed musical works." She argues that in the 1800s, women composers typically wrote art songs for performance in small recitals rather than symphonies intended for performance with an orchestra in a large hall, with the latter works being seen as the most important genre for composers; since women composers did not write many symphonies, they were deemed to be not notable as composers. According to Abbey Philips, "women musicians have had
3111-430: The role of male composers. As well, very few works by women composers are part of the standard repertoire of classical music. In Concise Oxford History of Music , " Clara Shumann [ sic ] is one of the only female composers mentioned", but other notable women composers of the common practice period include Fanny Mendelssohn and Cécile Chaminade , and arguably the most influential teacher of composers during
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#17327911283163172-506: The same name , which houses paintings by Mark Rothko ) and For Frank O'Hara (1973). In 1977, he wrote the opera Neither with original text by Samuel Beckett . Feldman was commissioned to compose the score for Jack Garfein 's 1961 film Something Wild , but after hearing Feldman's music for the opening scene, in which a character (played by Garfein's wife Carroll Baker ) is raped, the director promptly withdrew his commission, opting to enlist Aaron Copland instead. Garfein's reaction
3233-441: The singer or musician should create musical sounds. Examples of this range from wind chimes jingling in a breeze, to avant-garde music from the 20th century that uses graphic notation , to text compositions such as Aus den Sieben Tagen , to computer programs that select sounds for musical pieces. Music that makes heavy use of randomness and chance is called aleatoric music , and is associated with contemporary composers active in
3294-440: The top ten rankings only in the 18th century and was ranked third most important city in both the 19th and 20th centuries. New York City entered the rankings in the 19th century (in fifth place) and stood at second rank in the 20th century. The patterns are very similar for a sample of 522 top composers. Professional classical composers often have a background in performing classical music during their childhood and teens, either as
3355-529: Was an unusual blend of popular jazz and the avant-garde. His 1972 work Madrigals of the Rose Angel was sent to English composer Gavin Bryars who passed it on to Brian Eno . Eno contacted Budd and brought him to London to record for his Obscure Records label. I owe Eno everything, OK? That's the end of that... I was plucked from the tree, and suddenly I had flowered. I was just waiting. I couldn't do it on my own. I didn't know anything. Budd resigned from
3416-599: Was born in Woodside, Queens , New York City , on January 12, 1926. His parents, Irving and Frances Breskin Feldman, were Russian Jews who had emigrated to New York from Pereiaslav (Irving, in 1910) and Bobruysk (Frances, in 1901). His father was a manufacturer of children's coats. As a child he studied piano with Vera Maurina Press, who instilled in him a "vibrant musicality rather than musicianship". Feldman's first composition teachers were Wallingford Riegger , one of
3477-741: Was drafted at the same time and was also a member of the band. Budd joined him in gigs around the Monterey area. Budd's experience of the army made him determined to get an education. Budd attended high school at Los Angeles High School , but did not graduate. He worked as "everything from cowboy to mailman," including a stint at Douglas Aircraft . At the age of 21, he left Douglas, and briefly moved to San Francisco. While there, he worked at Gump's . Unable to continue living in San Francisco, Budd returned to Los Angeles, and enrolled in an architecture course at Los Angeles City College . He switched to
3538-516: Was primarily minimalist drone music influenced by John Cage and Morton Feldman , as well as the abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko , with whom he corresponded. After completing his degree in composition in 1969, Budd took up a teaching position at the California Institute for the Arts . In 1970, he released his first piece, The Oak of the Golden Dreams , which he recorded with an early model Buchla modular synthesizer at
3599-537: Was published in the first issue of 0 to 9 magazine in 1967. With Cage's encouragement, Feldman began to write pieces that had no relation to compositional systems of the past, such as traditional tonal harmony or serialism . He experimented with nonstandard systems of musical notation , often using grids in his scores, and specifying how many notes should be played at a certain time but not which ones. Feldman's experiments with notation and indeterminacy inspired Cage to write pieces like Music of Changes , where
3660-554: Was said to be, "My wife is being raped and you write celesta music?" Feldman's music "changed radically" in 1970, moving away from graphic and arhythmic notation systems in favor of rhythmic precision. The first piece of this new period was a short, 55-measure work, "Madame Press Died Last Week at Ninety", dedicated to his childhood piano teacher. In 1973, at age 47, Feldman became the Edgard Varèse Professor of Music Composition (a title of his own devising) at
3721-672: Was undergoing therapy at a short-term rehabilitation facility after suffering a stroke on November 11, 2020. It was there he contracted COVID-19 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in California . He died from complications of COVID-19 at a hospital in Arcadia , on December 8, 2020. He was 84. Music composer A composer is a person who writes music . The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music , or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. The term
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