Out of This World Music

 

Some music is out of this world! Or maybe it sounds spacy. Many composers have written about outer space. Here is a sampling, all of which have been composed or arranged for piano.

Gustav Holst’s The Planets is the most obvious example. While it was composed as an orchestral suite with seven movements (one for each planet), piano arrangements for one and two pianos have be written.

Three centuries early, in 1648, Heinrich Schutz wrote a motet based on the Psalm 19, which begins “The heavens declare the glory of God.”

Over a century later, Joseph Haydn used the same Psalms in his 1798 oratorio The Creation. This piece too has been arranged for the piano.

On to the next century. In 1868 Josef Strauss (Johann’s younger brother) wrote the waltz  Music of the Spheres.

Back to the 20^th century. One of Hector Villa-Lobo’s most popular piano compositions is a set of three piano miniatures called “The Three Marys,” which refers to the three stars in the constellation Orion’s belt.

More recently, Bela Bartok (one of Tomoko's favorite composers) created a series of 153 piano pieces called Microkosmos. This six-volume set starts with simple etudes and progresses to advanced technical works. This “little world” of music is its own cosmology.

Fall for these September Composers

 It is the start of the school year in many countries, and it is the month that several famous piano composers were born. Here are six examples, each with unique experiences.

Anton Bruckner was born on September 4, 1824, in Ansfelden, Austria. Most of his piano compositions were written for teaching purposes. Besides composing, Bruckner was a well-known organist and taught organ performance.

Antonin Dvorak was born on September 8, 1841, in Nelahozeves, Czech Republic. Known for his Romantic era nationalism in his music, he later became the director of the National Conservatory of Music of America in the U.S.

Arnold Schoenberg was born on September 13, 1874, in Vienna. He is known for transforming how musical harmony is treated. Not only did he compose music, but also he taught and wrote, and was a music theorist. Although a teacher, he himself was largely self-taught in terms of learning about music and composition.

Gustav Holst was born on September 21, 1874, in Cheltenham, UK. Like Dvorak, Holst was inspired by—and promoted—English folk songs. He started composing at age 12, but his father wanted him to become a professional pianist; with his poor eyesight and asthma, Holst found piano playing difficult so he stayed with composing.

Dmitri Shostakovich was born on September 25, 1906 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. His mother started giving him piano lessons when he was nine years old. Four years later he composed a funeral march in memory of political murders. He started his professional career as a concert pianist and composer, but was more successful in the latter arena.

George Gershwin was born on September 26, 1898, in New York City. He began as a song plugger and recorded piano rolls, where he discovered jazz. However, he was also influenced by neo-classical composers, including the September composers Shostakovich, and Schoenberg.

Mars in Music

 

The latest space probe has landed on Mars, continuing the centuries of interest in Mars. That interest includes music as composers have been inspired by outer space.

Probably the most well know classical piece about Mars is Holst’s ”Mars, the Bringer of War,” the first movement of his seven-part orchestral suite The Planets. This piece, begun in May 1914, seems to foreshadow World War I and forces of change. The brutal 5/4 time and tri-tonal harmonies underscore energy and ultimate revolution.  While set for a huge orchestra, Holst’s “Mars” is also arranged as a piano piece.

Probably the most popular tune about Mars is David Bowie’s “Life on Mars,” from his 1971 album Hunky Dory.  The song was inspired by Frank Sinatra, and Bowie called it a love song: “a sensitive young girl’s reading to the media.” Its vivid surreal imagery give it a mysterious sci-fi experiences. A 2012 poll voted ‘Life on Mars” as Bowie’s best song. This tune is also available as a piano score.

Mars also made its appearance in jazz music, most notably in Sun Ra’s “Blues on Planet Mars.” Sun Ra was known for his experimental music and his belief that he came from Saturn. Science fiction inspired his writing. Released in 1968, “Blues on Planet Mars” is unique because of its jazzy improvisation and electronic synthesizer background.

Another space-inspired music genre is space rock. Hawkwind was the earliest space rock group, which recorded “Uncle Sam’s on Mars” in 1979. The song describes America’s obsession with space exploration, focus on human’s invasion of untouched Mars. It’s the opposite perspective from Mars invading Earth.

Across musical trends and times, composers have expressed their personal and societal perspectives. Tomoko translates those perspectives brilliantly in her iano performances.

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