Twentieth Century

Wagner’s Musical Kaleidoscope

by

Javelin…Michael Torke (b. 1961) Find on iTunes Find on Amazon In my last post we explored a fun, eight minute piece called Javelin by contemporary American composer, Michael Torke.  I asked you to pay attention to the rich orchestral colors in the music. Now go back and listen a few more times to pick up some new details.  Do you hear bright, shimmering colors?  Do you feel swept along by the music’s motion?  Maybe …

Read more

Hearing Colors in the Music of Michael Torke

by

  Javelin…Michael Torke (b. 1961) Find on iTunes Find on Amazon When you listen to music do you hear colors?  The idea of musical color may seem like a strange mixing of the senses, but color is an important element of music, along with motion, energy, flow and fabric.* For violinists, color is synonymous with timbre.  We often choose between playing the same pitch in a lower position on a higher string …

Read more

Send this to a friend