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Quote by Paul Lansky

“Even today, I notice that some of my pieces are explicitly tonal; there are actually tonics and dominants. And then there are pieces that are not tonal. I tend to think that there's a dichotomy that has to do with the way pitches are structured.”

Quote by Paul Lansky

Author

Paul Lansky is a renowned musical composer, born on June 18, 1944. His works span a variety of musical styles, including electronic music, classical music, and jazz. Lansky's music is known for its innovation and experimental nature, having a profound impact on the contemporary music world. more

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“Sometimes I imagine that there's a binary division going on in contemporary practice that has to do with chromatic versus diatonic. I notice that I tend to listen in a diatonic sense, that I register a pitch as a member of a diatonic scale, even in a non-tonal context.”

Sometimes Practice Imagine Members Scales Contemporary Division Imagine That Versus Register Binary

Author:Paul Lansky

“There are, however, composers whose music can only be heard in a chromatic sense. George Perle, for example, wrote pieces that you might think of as leaning in a tonal direction but it's very hard to register a pitch as, say, the sixth degree of a scale, whereas in much of my music I think that's often relatively easy to do.”

Thinking Hard Might Easy Pieces Heard Example Degrees Scales Composer Register Leaning In

Author:Paul Lansky

“It's very interesting for me to listen to music with my wife. She's not a musician but she very often makes comments about pieces in ways that are similar to what I'm thinking.”

Thinking Way Interesting Pieces Wife Musician My Wife Comment Very Interesting Listening To Music

Author:Paul Lansky

“If the music has a logic of its own - as I think my music has - an open-minded listener will apprehend and understand.”

Ifs Thinking Logic Listeners Open Minded

Author:Paul Lansky

“Very often, when you're listening to a piece for the first time, you're listening through a model of other pieces that you know. At a certain point, a piece becomes idiosyncratic and you start to understand it on its own terms.”

Knows Firsts Certain Term Pieces Listening Models First Time

Author:Paul Lansky

“With a piece of classical music by Haydn, Mozart, or Beethoven, on first listening I'm referencing it with other pieces by them that I know. I think that most people do this - they listen to pieces through the filter of pieces they already know.”

People Thinking Knows Firsts Pieces Listening Classical Music Filters Referencing

Author:Paul Lansky

“With repeated listenings, a piece eventually becomes its own being. I very often say to students that this is like meeting a person for the first time. When you first meet someone, you reference that person with others who are similar; but, as you get to know that person better, you begin to understand his unique qualities.”

Knows Firsts Persons Quality Pieces Students Listening Unique First Time Meetings

Author:Paul Lansky

“I don't think of my music as being about something.”

Author:Paul Lansky

“I don't think there's something that you have to 'get' with my music. It tends toward the dramatic side rather than the narrative.”

Thinking Sides Narrative Dramatic

Author:Paul Lansky

“I found myself recycling ideas and I saw that I had to invent reasons to compose a piece rather than start from some exciting idea.”

Ideas Reason Found Saws Pieces Exciting Recycling

Author:Paul Lansky