The Yellow Sound
Encyclopedia
The Yellow Sound is an experimental theater piece originated by the Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky
. Created in 1909
, the work was first published in The Blue Rider Almanac in 1912
.
The Yellow Sound was the "earliest and most influential" of four "color-tone dramas" that Kandinsky conceived for the theater between 1909 and 1914; the others were titled The Green Sound, Black and White, and Violet. Kandinsky's pieces were part of a larger trend of their era that addressed color theory
and synesthesia
in works that blended multiple art forms and media. Such works — Scriabin's
Prometheus (1910) is arguably among the best known — utilized lighting techniques and other innovations to extend the normal range of artistic expression. Kandinsky had published his own theory on color and synesthesia in his On the Spiritual in Art (1911).
Kandinsky never saw The Yellow Sound performed during his lifetime. He and his Blue Rider colleagues, including Franz Marc
, August Macke
, and Alfred Kubin
, worked intensively on a planned 1914 Munich
production, but it was cancelled by the outbreak of World War I
. (That original production was perhaps intended for Georg Füchs's Künstlertheater, which had the lighting facilities required by the project.) Two subsequent German productions, one at the Bauhaus
, also failed to materialize.
The work had its belated world premiere on 12 May, 1972 at the Guggenheim Museum and has since been staged (in various levels of authenticity and completeness) at the Theatre des Champs-Elysees, Paris (4 March 1976) and on 9 February 1982, at the Marymount Mahattan Theatre in New York City.. As well, there have been productions at the Altes Opera, Frakfurt am Main ( 7-8 September 1982) the Theatre im National, Bern Switzwerland (12-15 February 1987) and the NIA Centre, Manchester U.K. on 21 March 1992. Productions of The Yellow Sound have been mounted with three different musical scores in three different countries. The American production employed a rearrangement based on ideas from the lost original score (composed by Thomas de Hartmann
) by Gunther Schuller , while a French production used a score by Anton Webern
, and a Russian production one by Alfred Schnittke
. The show was remounted in New York City in November, 2010, by Target Margin Theatre Co. at The Brick Theater
. On 10 April 2011 The Yellow Sound has been performed in Lugano
(Palazzo dei Congressi) with the original score composed by Carlo Ciceri.
The Yellow Sound is a one-act opera without dialogue or conventional plot, divided into six "pictures." A child in white and an adult performer in black represent life and death; other figures are costumed in single colors, including five "intensely yellow giants (as large as possible)" and "vague red creatures, somewhat suggesting birds...."
Drawing on elements of Symbolism
and Expressionism
(while and anticipating Surrealism
), Kandinsky's work had a strong influence on German theater innovator Lothar Schreyer
, who "built a whole theory of performance on the expressive process first suggested in The Yellow Sound."
Wassily Kandinsky
Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky was an influential Russian painter and art theorist. He is credited with painting the first purely-abstract works. Born in Moscow, Kandinsky spent his childhood in Odessa. He enrolled at the University of Moscow, studying law and economics...
. Created in 1909
1909 in art
-Events:*Guillaume Apollinaire's first book of poetry is illustrated with woodcuts by André Derain.*Pablo Picasso and George Braque create the first works of analytical cubism.-Works:*Lawrence Alma-Tadema - A Favourite Custom...
, the work was first published in The Blue Rider Almanac in 1912
1912 in art
-Events:*Jean Metzinger and Albert Gleizes publish the first major treatise on Cubism, entitled Du Cubisme.*William Zorach marries Marguerite Thompson.*René Lalique stages his first exhibit of his glasswares — as does Maurice Marinot....
.
The Yellow Sound was the "earliest and most influential" of four "color-tone dramas" that Kandinsky conceived for the theater between 1909 and 1914; the others were titled The Green Sound, Black and White, and Violet. Kandinsky's pieces were part of a larger trend of their era that addressed color theory
Color theory
In the visual arts, color theory is a body of practical guidance to color mixing and the visual impacts of specific color combinations. Although color theory principles first appeared in the writings of Leone Battista Alberti and the notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci , a tradition of "colory theory"...
and synesthesia
Synesthesia
Synesthesia , from the ancient Greek , "together," and , "sensation," is a neurologically based condition in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway...
in works that blended multiple art forms and media. Such works — Scriabin's
Alexander Scriabin
Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin was a Russian composer and pianist who initially developed a lyrical and idiosyncratic tonal language inspired by the music of Frédéric Chopin. Quite independent of the innovations of Arnold Schoenberg, Scriabin developed an increasingly atonal musical system,...
Prometheus (1910) is arguably among the best known — utilized lighting techniques and other innovations to extend the normal range of artistic expression. Kandinsky had published his own theory on color and synesthesia in his On the Spiritual in Art (1911).
Kandinsky never saw The Yellow Sound performed during his lifetime. He and his Blue Rider colleagues, including Franz Marc
Franz Marc
Franz Marc was a German painter and printmaker, one of the key figures of the German Expressionist movement...
, August Macke
August Macke
August Macke was one of the leading members of the German Expressionist group Der Blaue Reiter . He lived during a particularly innovative time for German art which saw the development of the main German Expressionist movements as well as the arrival of the successive avant-garde movements which...
, and Alfred Kubin
Alfred Kubin
Alfred Leopold Isidor Kubin was an Austrian printmaker, illustrator and occasional writer. Kubin is considered an important representative of Symbolism and Expressionism.-Biography:...
, worked intensively on a planned 1914 Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
production, but it was cancelled by the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. (That original production was perhaps intended for Georg Füchs's Künstlertheater, which had the lighting facilities required by the project.) Two subsequent German productions, one at the Bauhaus
Bauhaus
', commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933. At that time the German term stood for "School of Building".The Bauhaus school was founded by...
, also failed to materialize.
The work had its belated world premiere on 12 May, 1972 at the Guggenheim Museum and has since been staged (in various levels of authenticity and completeness) at the Theatre des Champs-Elysees, Paris (4 March 1976) and on 9 February 1982, at the Marymount Mahattan Theatre in New York City.. As well, there have been productions at the Altes Opera, Frakfurt am Main ( 7-8 September 1982) the Theatre im National, Bern Switzwerland (12-15 February 1987) and the NIA Centre, Manchester U.K. on 21 March 1992. Productions of The Yellow Sound have been mounted with three different musical scores in three different countries. The American production employed a rearrangement based on ideas from the lost original score (composed by Thomas de Hartmann
Thomas de Hartmann
Thomas Alexandrovich de Hartmann September 21, 1885March 28, 1956 was a Russian composer and prominent student and collaborator of George Gurdjieff.-Biography:...
) by Gunther Schuller , while a French production used a score by Anton 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 a Russian production one by Alfred Schnittke
Alfred Schnittke
Alfred Schnittke ; November 24, 1934 – August 3, 1998) was a Russian and Soviet composer. Schnittke's early music shows the strong influence of Dmitri Shostakovich. He developed a polystylistic technique in works such as the epic First Symphony and First Concerto Grosso...
. The show was remounted in New York City in November, 2010, by Target Margin Theatre Co. at The Brick Theater
The Brick Theater
The Brick Theater is a 70-seat state-of-the-art theater located at 575 Metropolitan Ave near the corner of Lorimer St in Williamsburg, Brooklyn...
. On 10 April 2011 The Yellow Sound has been performed in Lugano
Lugano
Lugano is a city of inhabitants in the city proper and a total of over 145,000 people in the agglomeration/city region, in the south of Switzerland, in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, which borders Italy...
(Palazzo dei Congressi) with the original score composed by Carlo Ciceri.
The Yellow Sound is a one-act opera without dialogue or conventional plot, divided into six "pictures." A child in white and an adult performer in black represent life and death; other figures are costumed in single colors, including five "intensely yellow giants (as large as possible)" and "vague red creatures, somewhat suggesting birds...."
Drawing on elements of Symbolism
Symbolism (arts)
Symbolism was a late nineteenth-century art movement of French, Russian and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts. In literature, the style had its beginnings with the publication Les Fleurs du mal by Charles Baudelaire...
and Expressionism
Expressionism
Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
(while and anticipating Surrealism
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
), Kandinsky's work had a strong influence on German theater innovator Lothar Schreyer
Lothar Schreyer
Lothar Schreyer was a German artist, editor, and gallery owner.He studied law and art history at the universities of University of Heidelberg, Humboldt University of Berlin and University of Leipzig, with a doctorate in law, in 1910.From 1911 to 1918, he worked as a dramatic advisor, and assistant...
, who "built a whole theory of performance on the expressive process first suggested in The Yellow Sound."