Prof. Dr. Herzogenrath
The Future of Avantgarde-Music
Blaha, Malte C.
Matrikelnummer 7509502
Listening
report – Alvin Lucier
Lucier’s
music sounds like a journey into the unknown, a so said sonic exploration that
invites the listener to enter a world of pure sound. His composition Nothing
is Real actually plays with the original idea of what we as humans conceive
as music. Firstly, Lucier plays the piano in a melodic and rhythmical way. The
listener does not know whether the device that is used next to the piano is
some sort of loop-station or a synthesizer. After the pulling out of a teapot,
it becomes obvious that it must have been a loop-station. Lucier starts to
mimic the soundwaves and the actual sound of the piano by closing and opening
up the teapot. And then, it is comprehensible. Nothing in this piece is real.
There is the conception that everything can be the starting point of a sound,
but the sound itself never comes from the very instrument that seems to be
played. It is an illusion.
The
music of Lucier is not only an exploration of sound, but also a reflection on
the nature of perception itself. Through the innovative use of technology – in
form of a loop-station- and very unconventional instruments (like the teapot),
he challenges our assumptions about what music is and where it comes from. His
work appears to invite us to question our preconceived notions about the
relationship between sound and reality. In an increasingly blurred world
between the real and the virtual, Lucier’s music offers a powerful reminder of
the transformative power of sound, and the creativity that lies within each of
us.
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