Music of the Spheres Society
Encyclopedia
Inspired by the Neoplatonic academies of 16th and 17th-century Italy
, which combined discourse
with musical presentations, the Music of the Spheres Society was founded in 2001 by its artistic director and violin
ist, Stephanie Chase
, and hornist Ann Ellsworth. Its first concert took place in New York City on November 1, 2001, the proceeds of which were donated to families of firefighters from two nearby stations who were killed at the World Trade Center
disaster.
The mission of the Society is to promote classical music
through innovative chamber music
concerts and pre-concert lectures which illuminate music’s historical, philosophical and scientific foundations, in order to give greater context for music to the average audience member.
The Music of the Spheres Society features a core group of artists - Stephanie Chase (violin), Hsin-Yun Huang (viola
), and Jon Manasse (clarinet
) - plus guest artists that include soloists, chamber musicians, and principal members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. Its concerts feature works composed for one to nine performers, dating from the 16th to 21st centuries. Many of the Society's artists specialize in historically informed performance
practices or contemporary music.
Of a performance by the Society of Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time, a New York Times critic wrote: "These musicians brought the music vividly to life in every particular. They should be playing it everywhere. They should go on the road with it tomorrow."
Concert programs presented by the Society explore the contexts of music and include chamber music master-pieces, lesser-known works, and world or US premieres. Contemporary music performed by the Society has included world premieres and works by Edward Applebaum, John Harbison, Lou Harrison, and Jose Evangelista. Works by less-known composers - such as Juan Arriaga, Johan Kvandal, Leos Janacek, Jan Dussek, Zdenek Fibich, and Bohuslav Martinu - are programmed alongside composers such as Brahms, Schubert, Mozart, Ravel, Beethoven, and Prokofiev.
Since 2001 the Society has presented a series of chamber music concerts in New York City - at venues that include Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
, Merkin Concert Hall
, The Society for Ethical Culture
- and has been presented by concert organizations that include The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Dallas Chamber Music and Troy (NY) Friends of Music. The Society presents concerts on both original and modern style instruments.
Lectures presented by the Society focus primarily on a philosophical, scientific, or historic aspect of music
and reveal some of the historic contexts of composed music. Guest lecturers have included music historians, an organologist, a Freudian analyst, music therapists, and ethnomusicologists.
“Music of the Spheres” is a term applied to an idea put forth by the Greek scholar Pythagoras
(6th century BCE) and his followers, among them Plato
and Kepler, that the proportional ratios used to describe musical intervals also refer to those of the physical universe, including the orbiting motion of planets. Pythagoras recognized the innate connection between musical sound, or its “pitch,” and the physical characteristics of an object producing that sound. He is credited with discovering the physical laws of musical sound through his observations that the ratio of mass - as in a vibrating string length sounding an interval - of a fifth is 2:3, that of an octave is 1:2, and that of the fourth is 3:4. Thus, he proved that there is a correlation between the vibrations of sound and the physical world, such as that of numbers and proportion. (See Music and mathematics
.)
Incorporated in February 2002, the Music of the Spheres Society is a non-profit, 501 c(3) organization.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, which combined discourse
Discourse
Discourse generally refers to "written or spoken communication". The following are three more specific definitions:...
with musical presentations, the Music of the Spheres Society was founded in 2001 by its artistic director and violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist, Stephanie Chase
Stephanie Chase
"One of the most respected classical violinists in the world," Stephanie Chase is an American concert violinist and educator.- Biography :...
, and hornist Ann Ellsworth. Its first concert took place in New York City on November 1, 2001, the proceeds of which were donated to families of firefighters from two nearby stations who were killed at the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
disaster.
The mission of the Society is to promote classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
through innovative chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
concerts and pre-concert lectures which illuminate music’s historical, philosophical and scientific foundations, in order to give greater context for music to the average audience member.
The Music of the Spheres Society features a core group of artists - Stephanie Chase (violin), Hsin-Yun Huang (viola
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
), and Jon Manasse (clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
) - plus guest artists that include soloists, chamber musicians, and principal members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. Its concerts feature works composed for one to nine performers, dating from the 16th to 21st centuries. Many of the Society's artists specialize in historically informed performance
Historically informed performance
Historically informed performance is an approach in the performance of music and theater. Within this approach, the performance adheres to state-of-the-art knowledge of the aesthetic criteria of the period in which the music or theatre work was conceived...
practices or contemporary music.
Of a performance by the Society of Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time, a New York Times critic wrote: "These musicians brought the music vividly to life in every particular. They should be playing it everywhere. They should go on the road with it tomorrow."
Concert programs presented by the Society explore the contexts of music and include chamber music master-pieces, lesser-known works, and world or US premieres. Contemporary music performed by the Society has included world premieres and works by Edward Applebaum, John Harbison, Lou Harrison, and Jose Evangelista. Works by less-known composers - such as Juan Arriaga, Johan Kvandal, Leos Janacek, Jan Dussek, Zdenek Fibich, and Bohuslav Martinu - are programmed alongside composers such as Brahms, Schubert, Mozart, Ravel, Beethoven, and Prokofiev.
Since 2001 the Society has presented a series of chamber music concerts in New York City - at venues that include Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
, Merkin Concert Hall
Merkin Concert Hall
Merkin Concert Hall is a 449-seat concert hall in Manhattan, New York City. The hall, named in honor of Hermann and Ursula Merkin, is part of the Kaufman Center, a complex that includes the Lucy Moses School, a community arts school, and the Special Music School , a New York City public school for...
, The Society for Ethical Culture
Ethical Culture
The Ethical movement, also referred to as the Ethical Culture movement or simply Ethical Culture, is an ethical, educational, and religious movement that is usually traced back to Felix Adler...
- and has been presented by concert organizations that include The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Dallas Chamber Music and Troy (NY) Friends of Music. The Society presents concerts on both original and modern style instruments.
Lectures presented by the Society focus primarily on a philosophical, scientific, or historic aspect of music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
and reveal some of the historic contexts of composed music. Guest lecturers have included music historians, an organologist, a Freudian analyst, music therapists, and ethnomusicologists.
“Music of the Spheres” is a term applied to an idea put forth by the Greek scholar Pythagoras
Pythagoras
Pythagoras of Samos was an Ionian Greek philosopher, mathematician, and founder of the religious movement called Pythagoreanism. Most of the information about Pythagoras was written down centuries after he lived, so very little reliable information is known about him...
(6th century BCE) and his followers, among them Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
and Kepler, that the proportional ratios used to describe musical intervals also refer to those of the physical universe, including the orbiting motion of planets. Pythagoras recognized the innate connection between musical sound, or its “pitch,” and the physical characteristics of an object producing that sound. He is credited with discovering the physical laws of musical sound through his observations that the ratio of mass - as in a vibrating string length sounding an interval - of a fifth is 2:3, that of an octave is 1:2, and that of the fourth is 3:4. Thus, he proved that there is a correlation between the vibrations of sound and the physical world, such as that of numbers and proportion. (See Music and mathematics
Music and mathematics
Music theorists often use mathematics to understand music. Indeed, mathematics is "the basis of sound" and sound itself "in its musical aspects... exhibits a remarkable array of number properties", simply because nature itself "is amazingly mathematical"...
.)
Incorporated in February 2002, the Music of the Spheres Society is a non-profit, 501 c(3) organization.