Darmstadt School
Encyclopedia
Darmstadt School refers to a loose group of compositional styles created by composer
s who attended the Darmstadt International Summer Courses for New Music
from the early 1950s to the early 1960s.
in his 1958 lecture
"Die Entwicklung der Reihentechnik" (Nono 1975, 30; Fox 1999, 111–12), Darmstadt School describes the uncompromisingly serial music written by composer
s such as Pierre Boulez
, Bruno Maderna
, Karlheinz Stockhausen
(the three composers Nono specifically names in his lecture, along with himself), Franco Evangelisti
, Luciano Berio
, and Henri Pousseur
from 1951 to 1961. Two years lter the Darmstadt School effectively dissolved due to musical differences, expressed once again by Nono in his 1960 Darmstadt lecture "Text—Musik—Gesang" (Fox 1999, 123), and a sea change caused by the unexpected death of the director of the Darmstadt Summer Courses, Wolfgang Steinecke.
, during which many composers, such as Richard Strauss
, had had their music politicised
by the Third Reich. In order to avoid this happening again, and to keep art for art's sake
, the Darmstadt School attempted to create a new, anational
style of music to which no false meaning could possibly be attached. Nevertheless, Boulez was taken to task by French critics for associating with Darmstadt, and especially for first publishing his book Penser la musique d'aujourd'hui in German, the language of the recent enemies of France, falsely associating Boulez's prose with the perverted language of the Nazis. All this despite the fact that Boulez never set German texts in his vocal music, choosing for Le marteau sans maître
, for example, poems by René Char
who, during the war, had been a member of the French Resistance
and a Maquis
leader in the Basses-Alpes (Olivier 2005, 57–58).
Key influences on the Darmstadt School were the works of Webern
and Varèse
, and Olivier Messiaen
's "Mode de valeurs et d'intensités" (from the Quatre Etudes de rhythme).
Composer Hans Werner Henze
, whose music was regularly performed at Darmstadt in the 1950s, reacted against the Darmstadt School ideologies
, particularly the way in which (according to him) young composers were forced to either write in total dodecaphony or be ridiculed or ignored. In his collected writings, Henze recalls student composers rewriting their works on the train
to Darmstadt in order to comply with Boulez's expectations (Henze 1982, 155).
One of the leading figures of the Darmstadt School itself, Franco Evangelisti, was also outspoken in his criticism of the dogma
tic "orthodoxy" of certain zealot disciples
, labelling them the "Dodecaphonic police" (Fox 2006).
Another member of the school, Konrad Boehmer
, states:
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
s who attended the Darmstadt International Summer Courses for New Music
Darmstadt New Music Summer School
Initiated in 1946 by Wolfgang Steinecke, the Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik, Darmstadt , held annually until 1970 and subsequently every two years, encompass both the teaching of composition and interpretation and include premières of new works...
from the early 1950s to the early 1960s.
History
Coined by Luigi NonoLuigi Nono
Luigi Nono was an Italian avant-garde composer of classical music and remains one of the most prominent composers of the 20th century.- Early years :Born in Venice, he was a member of a wealthy artistic family, and his grandfather was a notable painter...
in his 1958 lecture
Lecture
thumb|A lecture on [[linear algebra]] at the [[Helsinki University of Technology]]A lecture is an oral presentation intended to present information or teach people about a particular subject, for example by a university or college teacher. Lectures are used to convey critical information, history,...
"Die Entwicklung der Reihentechnik" (Nono 1975, 30; Fox 1999, 111–12), Darmstadt School describes the uncompromisingly serial music written by composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
s such as Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez is a French composer of contemporary classical music, a pianist, and a conductor.-Early years:Boulez was born in Montbrison, Loire, France. As a child he began piano lessons and demonstrated aptitude in both music and mathematics...
, Bruno Maderna
Bruno Maderna
Bruno Maderna was an Italian conductor and composer. For the last ten years of his life he lived in Germany and eventually became a citizen of that country.-Biography:...
, Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. Another critic calls him "one of the great visionaries of 20th-century music"...
(the three composers Nono specifically names in his lecture, along with himself), Franco Evangelisti
Franco Evangelisti
Franco Evangelisti , was an Italian composer specifically interested in the scientific theories behind sound.-Biography:...
, Luciano Berio
Luciano Berio
Luciano Berio, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was an Italian composer. He is noted for his experimental work and also for his pioneering work in electronic music.-Biography:Berio was born at Oneglia Luciano Berio, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI (October 24, 1925 – May 27, 2003) was an Italian...
, and Henri Pousseur
Henri Pousseur
Henri Pousseur was a Belgian composer.-Biography:Pousseur studied at the Academies of Music in Liège and in Brussels from 1947 to 1953. He was closely associated with Pierre Froidebise and André Souris...
from 1951 to 1961. Two years lter the Darmstadt School effectively dissolved due to musical differences, expressed once again by Nono in his 1960 Darmstadt lecture "Text—Musik—Gesang" (Fox 1999, 123), and a sea change caused by the unexpected death of the director of the Darmstadt Summer Courses, Wolfgang Steinecke.
Background, influences
Composers such as Boulez, Stockhausen, and Nono were writing their music in the aftermath of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, during which many composers, such as Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
, had had their music politicised
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
by the Third Reich. In order to avoid this happening again, and to keep art for art's sake
Art for art's sake
"Art for art's sake" is the usual English rendering of a French slogan, from the early 19th century, l'art pour l'art, and expresses a philosophy that the intrinsic value of art, and the only "true" art, is divorced from any didactic, moral or utilitarian function...
, the Darmstadt School attempted to create a new, anational
Anationalism
Anationalism is a term originating from the community of Esperanto speakers. It denotes a range of cosmopolitan political concepts that combine some or all of the following tendencies and ideas:*radical antinationalism,...
style of music to which no false meaning could possibly be attached. Nevertheless, Boulez was taken to task by French critics for associating with Darmstadt, and especially for first publishing his book Penser la musique d'aujourd'hui in German, the language of the recent enemies of France, falsely associating Boulez's prose with the perverted language of the Nazis. All this despite the fact that Boulez never set German texts in his vocal music, choosing for Le marteau sans maître
Le marteau sans maître
Le marteau sans maître is a composition by the French composer Pierre Boulez. It is a setting of the surrealist poetry of René Char for alto and six instrumentalists. It was first performed in 1955.-Movements:...
, for example, poems by René Char
René Char
René Char was a 20th century French poet.-Biography:Char was born in L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue in the Vaucluse department of France, the youngest of four children of Emile Char and Marie-Therese Rouget, where his father was mayor and managing director of the Vaucluse plasterworks...
who, during the war, had been a member of the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
and a Maquis
Maquis
Maquis or macchia is a type of high ground in Corsica covered in thick vegetation, where privateers used to hide. The name has been adopted by a variety of guerilla movements in francophone countries.Maquis may also refer to:-Geography:...
leader in the Basses-Alpes (Olivier 2005, 57–58).
Key influences on the Darmstadt School were the works of Webern
Anton Webern
Anton Webern was an Austrian composer and conductor. He was a member of the Second Viennese School. As a student and significant follower of Arnold Schoenberg, he became one of the best-known exponents of the twelve-tone technique; in addition, his innovations regarding schematic organization of...
and Varèse
Edgard Varèse
Edgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse, , whose name was also spelled Edgar Varèse , was an innovative French-born composer who spent the greater part of his career in the United States....
, and Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen was a French composer, organist and ornithologist, one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex ; harmonically and melodically it is based on modes of limited transposition, which he abstracted from his early compositions and improvisations...
's "Mode de valeurs et d'intensités" (from the Quatre Etudes de rhythme).
Criticism
Almost from the outset, the phrase Darmstadt School was used as a belittling term by commentators like Dr. Kurt Honolka (a 1962 article is quoted in Boehmer 1987, 43) to describe any music written in an uncompromising style.Composer Hans Werner Henze
Hans Werner Henze
Hans Werner Henze is a German composer of prodigious output best known for "his consistent cultivation of music for the theatre throughout his life"...
, whose music was regularly performed at Darmstadt in the 1950s, reacted against the Darmstadt School ideologies
Ideology
An ideology is a set of ideas that constitutes one's goals, expectations, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things , as in common sense and several philosophical tendencies , or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to...
, particularly the way in which (according to him) young composers were forced to either write in total dodecaphony or be ridiculed or ignored. In his collected writings, Henze recalls student composers rewriting their works on the train
Train
A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...
to Darmstadt in order to comply with Boulez's expectations (Henze 1982, 155).
One of the leading figures of the Darmstadt School itself, Franco Evangelisti, was also outspoken in his criticism of the dogma
Dogma
Dogma is the established belief or doctrine held by a religion, or a particular group or organization. It is authoritative and not to be disputed, doubted, or diverged from, by the practitioners or believers...
tic "orthodoxy" of certain zealot disciples
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
, labelling them the "Dodecaphonic police" (Fox 2006).
Another member of the school, Konrad Boehmer
Konrad Boehmer
Konrad Boehmer is a Dutch composer and writer of German birth.Boehmer was born in Berlin. His music reflects his Marxist political agenda, which is made explicit in many of his writings from the late 1960s and 1970s...
, states:
There never was, or has been anything like a 'serial doctrine', an iron law to which all who seek to enter that small chosen band of conspirators must of necessity submit. Nor am I, for one, familiar with one Ferienwoche schedule, let alone concert programme, which features seriality as the dominant doctrine of the early fifties. Besides, one might ask, what species of seriality is supposed to have reached such pre-eminence? It did, after all, vary from composer to composer and anyone with ears to hear with should still be able to deduce this from the compositions of that era. (Boehmer 1987, 45)