Event Title
The Other Contemporaries
Performer / Ensemble
Alessandra Tiraterra (Piano)
Date of Publication
3-26-2021
Document Type
Concert
Abstract / Program Notes
Works by Philip Glass (Etude No.2), Michael Nyman (The Heart Asks Pleasure First), Ludovico Einaudi (Oltremare), and Yiruma (Prelude in G Minor).
In the second half of the twentieth century, the concepts of eclecticism and cross-fertilization started defining contemporary compositions, thus generating new approaches to tonality. These musical changes were encouraged by broader cultural changes, particularly the growing influence of Non-Eurocentric art and thought in our lives, the breakdown of distinctions between the Classical and other styles of Western art, and the artistic and multimedia implications of the new digital technology. The last decades of the twentieth century saw the emergence and the affirmation of many fascinating styles and trends, including “new romanticism,” which features extensive gestures, intimate songlike melodies, and mystical qualities; and “new simplicity,” which is characterized by the repetition and gradual development as main structural and esthetic features. The Other Contemporaries is a solo piano performance dedicated to classical contemporary composers who made the minimalist genre one of the most successful musical genres of our era in the concert halls and among audiences in the world: Glass, Nyman, Einaudi, and Yiruma. The interest in popular music and in music coming from old and ancient times has directed the musical research of these composers: they look at the roots of music and try to find connections and causes to understand from where different aspects of the modern culture derive. For this reason, in their music features of modern music (like pop or jazz) and old music (some harmonic, melodic or rhythmic material is neither of our time and culture nor of the proper classical musical culture) are merged.
Biography
Born and raised in Rome, Italy, Alessandra Tiraterra has drawn the attention of the musical world when she started concertizing at the age of fourteen. She has performed hundreds of recitals for festivals and institutions in the US and in Europe (Carnegie Hall Weill Recital Hall, Rialto Center for the Arts in Atlanta, Wiener Saal in Salzburg, Salle Cortot in Paris, Teatro Ghione and Teatro Marcello in Rome, International Festival for Pianists in Manchester, etc.) Winner of many national and international piano competitions and prizes, she has an impressive educational background in piano performance: she studied at the “A. Casella” Conservatory of Music in Italy (integrated Bachelor and Master of Music), the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris “A. Cortot,” France (Brevet d’Execution), Georgia State University (Master of Music), Mozarteum Universität in Salzburg, Austria (Post-graduate Studies), and Temple University (Doctor of Musical Arts). She owes her formation to world-renowned pianists and pedagogues (Charles Abramovic, Sergio Perticaroli, Marcella Crudeli, Joaquin Soriano, Geoffrey Haydon, and Sergei Dorensky). She currently teaches in the college and pre-college divisions in the US. Students from her studio are regularly prize winners in piano competitions. She is an active member of CMS, MTNA (Music Teachers National Association), EPTA (European Piano Teachers Association), and MAMTG (Mid-Atlantic Music Teachers Guild). She often teaches master-classes and is invited as a jury member of piano competitions. She has been invited to give talks by colleges and institutions in Europe and US and has published with Dante University of America Press.
Keywords
Piano, contemporary composers, minimalist
Description
25-minute performance
The Other Contemporaries
Works by Philip Glass (Etude No.2), Michael Nyman (The Heart Asks Pleasure First), Ludovico Einaudi (Oltremare), and Yiruma (Prelude in G Minor).
In the second half of the twentieth century, the concepts of eclecticism and cross-fertilization started defining contemporary compositions, thus generating new approaches to tonality. These musical changes were encouraged by broader cultural changes, particularly the growing influence of Non-Eurocentric art and thought in our lives, the breakdown of distinctions between the Classical and other styles of Western art, and the artistic and multimedia implications of the new digital technology. The last decades of the twentieth century saw the emergence and the affirmation of many fascinating styles and trends, including “new romanticism,” which features extensive gestures, intimate songlike melodies, and mystical qualities; and “new simplicity,” which is characterized by the repetition and gradual development as main structural and esthetic features. The Other Contemporaries is a solo piano performance dedicated to classical contemporary composers who made the minimalist genre one of the most successful musical genres of our era in the concert halls and among audiences in the world: Glass, Nyman, Einaudi, and Yiruma. The interest in popular music and in music coming from old and ancient times has directed the musical research of these composers: they look at the roots of music and try to find connections and causes to understand from where different aspects of the modern culture derive. For this reason, in their music features of modern music (like pop or jazz) and old music (some harmonic, melodic or rhythmic material is neither of our time and culture nor of the proper classical musical culture) are merged.