Piece Description

Most artists are content to play the notes, but there's a handful of composers and musicians who work at the level of sound itself, turning meaning, finding nuance, charting new hitherto unheard directions in music through a contemplation of the meaning of sound itself. In a series of five non-narrative features, four composers and one music movement grapple with sound from its spiritual to its theoretical dimensions. The artists include John Cage, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Brian Eno, Keith Jarrett and in a Minimalist Meditation, Steve Reich, Terry Riley, Philip Glass, LaMonte Young and John Adams. Thoughts in Sound is produced in three formats: a series of five five-minute, stand-alone features, a half-hour documentary, and an hour-long documentary that contains a companion half-hour of the artists? music to illustrate their words (playlist attached). The five segments of Thoughts in Sound were originally produced for the PRI program Echoes. As part of PRX?s Reversioning Project and with support from The Grammy Foundation, producer John Diliberto has re-produced and updated the five features, and written and produced the half-hour and one-hour versions. The result is a set of programs that are engaging to hear and flexible to schedule. The five-part series of features can be presented within an arts or music magazine program, contemporary or classical music program, or a news magazine program. The half-hour documentary can likewise be featured in an arts or music program, while the full hour can stand alone in a specials timeslot. Two audio promos are included that can be used for all of the program formats. These evergreen programs can be scheduled together or separately to commemorate notable dates, such as the upcoming 60th birthday of Brian Eno on May 15, 2008. We have a webpage for Thoughts in Sound that stations can link to and offer their listeners more information on the series and the musicians. Stations wishing to create their own print or on-line publicity can contact us for photographs and text: email johnd@echoes.org , phone 610.827.9600, or mail to PO Box 256, Chester Springs, PA 19425. Segment Descriptions: Thoughts in Sound #1 Brian Eno: Architect of Ambience Brian Eno has become a defining figure in music over the last three decades. Since his days with Roxy Music in the early 1970s, he's been rock's leading conceptualist, drawing upon the avant-garde traditions of John Cage, along with minimalism and electronic music. But he applies their concepts to the most popular music with his productions of U2, Paul Simon, Talking Heads, David Bowie and Coldplay. His ambient music series has continued to resonate through the last 3 decades. Thoughts in Sound #2 John Cage: Imaginary Landscapes Few contemporary composers had the influence of John Cage. From experimental music to minimalism, Brian Eno to George Winston, echoes of John Cage continue to resound to this day, more than 6 decades after his "Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano" were first published. John Cage was a conceptualist of sound who turned even silence into music as he did with his famous piece, 4 minutes and 33 seconds. John cage died from a stroke in August of 1992. But we hear his thoughts in sound from a 1987 interview. Thoughts in Sound #3 A Minimalist Meditation Cyclical music has ancient roots and many modern manifestations. The trance music of Moroccan Sufis and the meditations of Tibet are born in repeating cycles. In the 1960s, ancient mantra met modern music in the form of minimalism. Four of the early pioneers of this music were Lamonte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich and Philip Glass. Along with one of their disciples, John Adams we'll hear their often conflicting and critical thoughts in sound with a Minimalist Meditation. Thoughts in Sound #4 Keith Jarrett: Piano Primitive In the 1970s the piano and Keith Jarrett were synonymous. His solo piano albums like the K?ln Concerts established his reputation for free-form, melodic improvisational flights. Since then he's recorded with orchestras, clavichords, his Standards Trio, and even a CD of over-dubbed impressions for flutes and hand drums called "Spirit." Despite being the only purely acoustic musician in this series, Keith Jarrett reveals a music vision based in the inner vibrations of sound. Thoughts in Sound #5 Karlheinz Stockhausen: Composing for the Post-Apocalypse Karlheinz Stockhausen died in the midst of our production of his Thoughts in Sound segment. His passing in December 2007 only served to highlight the often forgotten impact of this German music titan. Minimalist composer Philip Glass once referred to Karlheinz Stockhausen's music as "Neurotic" but the German icon's adherents have included The Beatles, Pink Floyd, The Grateful Dead, Miles Davis and Frank Zappa. Like John Cage, he is as much a philosopher as a composer, writing music for what he called the Post-Apocalypse. He ran into some trouble in 2001 when he called the world trade center bombings "Lucifer's greatest work of art." When you hear Karlheinz Stockhausen's thoughts in sound from this rare 1982 interview, you might understand why he said that.