Henry Cowell’s “Elastic Form” as a new experience in building a flexible musical and choreographic space
Abstract
The article is devoted to the phenomenon of the elastic musical form of the American composer Henry Cowell. The starting point for creating this type of form was a collaboration with choreographer Martha Graham. Realizing the problems associated with the complex relationship between music and dance, Cowell reflected on the shortcomings of the phenomenon he defined as “interpretive dance”, implying that music was created before choreography, and the choreographer had to be guided solely by completed musical material. The article also provides ideas for creating a mobile form for choreography by John Cage, who collaborated with Merce Cunningham in conceptualizing choreographic aleatorics. In addition to the problem of the interaction of music and dance, the article also analyzes the processes of transformation of the musical space itself, its variability, which also manifested itself in the works of composers of the era of the “second avant-garde”: K. Stockhausen, P. Boulez, E. Brown, Y. Xenakis and J. Zorna. The result of the article is the statement that.
About the Author
S. G. Belykh
Institute of Contemporary Art
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Postgraduate student
27a, Novozavodskaya St., Moscow, 121309
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Review
For citations:
Belykh S.G. Henry Cowell’s “Elastic Form” as a new experience in building a flexible musical and choreographic space. Bulletin of Vaganova Ballet Academy. 2024;(2):115-136. (In Russ.)
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