Saturday, July 2, 2016

The Biggest Revolutions Didn't Always Need Guns

The biggest efflorescence of radical music was self-credited to the sixties but there was a profound artistic explosion after the turn of the Nineteeth Century, around the Twenties or so.  Electronic music was alive, the Theremin was invented in Russia, Schoenberg was composing in his twelve tones, Dadaism was growing around the world, etc, etc.

The influence of rock was profound but whether that revolution was bigger than this one is something for historians to argue, we just want to get a better grip on the mountains which were built by the change.  The Bolshevik Revolution was in roughly the same period and maybe music and art were fueled as much by World War I as rock and art in general were driven by the Vietnam fiasco.

Artistic, social, and political mountains went up around the world and they were giants but the irony is not so many survived to this day because the way of revolutions is the future will supplant them with others.  America doesn't accept this too well but everywhere else has already been through it.

Here are some references you may like to pursue: (all links are to WIKI)

Francesco Balilla Pratella (Lugo, Italy February 1, 1880 – Ravenna, Italy May 17, 1955)
Italian composer, musicologist and essayist

Theremin
Early electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the thereminist (performer)

(German, 13 September 1874 – 13 July 1951)
Jewish Austrian composer, music theorist, and painter


There are all kinds of ways to revolt:



In this one, rock and classical throw their roots to the road to make something else and their voices are so perfect for it with two of the most-talented divas who ever lived.  Freddie Mercury had been rejecting classical and yet using its forms throughout his career but it was nothing like this.

No comments: