"Pianist Sheila Arnold plays on her new Avi Music CD, "Ecoutez!", Work by Debussy, Cage and Takemitsu. A revelation!"
Stretto, 03-6-2018Claude Debussy left a profound mark on music history when he dissolved functional harmony under the influence of the music of the Far East.
Tōru Takemitsu had to distance himself from his own culture in order to listen to Japanese music with the ears of a Western-trained musician – adopting, for instance, the approach of John Cage. He came to realize that Japan’s venerable musical tradition had long been highlighting individual notes as complex sonorities in their own right, instead of treating them as part of a series of several notes.
From the human need for sound as well as silence, John Cage drew the most extreme conclusions. The concept of a “beautiful” sound was never static in music history: it has changed over the centuries, and it differs from one culture to another. Western musical aesthetics tend to differentiate between “noises” and “notes”: the latter feature well-ordered harmonics. The concept of “dissonance” has also changed throughout different musical periods. What is more, musicians and their audiences have always felt the need to “savor” a dissonance – to listen to it consciously, to experience it – before it is resolved.
On the other hand, time plays a truly fundamental role in how a work is conceived and structured, and each individual listener experiences musical time in a different way. Ideally, the performer and the listener share the same time system: they enjoy passages in a similar way, they hear a piece with the same depth of focus. Music resonates inside the instrument, in our bodies, in the space that surrounds us. Each note is in motion. When several notes vibrate simultaneously, they make up an ocean of concomitant vibrations. If we add the sounds and noises from our surroundings, then we are dealing with an incredible concentration of sonic events within a very short period of time.
What happens then?
We become more aware of the way we perceive things. If we are lucky, this kind of conscious musical listening starts to affect how we pay attention to other people, whether they are speaking or not. And lending an ear to one another has become more necessary than ever. Wouldn’t you agree? - Sheila Arnold
Sheila Arnold belongs to the generation of pianists for whom the language of the fortepianos has
had a decisive influence on their self-image as musicians.
Outstanding successes at international
competitions such as the Mozart Competition in Salzburg or the Concours Clara Haskil as well as
numerous scholarships and awards such as the Mozart Prize of the Mozart Society Wiesbaden
in 1995 contributed significantly to her international concert activity as a soloist in recitals and
with renowned orchestras and conductors as well as a chamber music partner. She played in big
European concert Halls and at festivals such as in Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern,
Rheingau, Spannungen Heimbach, Hambach, Echternach, Sangat, Ravinia and others.
Her CDs have
been awarded prizes such as the Choc of Classica Magazine or inclusion in the longlist of the German
Record Prize. She is also co-editor of the new edition of Ludwig van Beethoven‘s piano pieces published
by Wiener Urtext 2020. Sheila Arnold is a professor at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln.
Claude Debussy was a French composer. He and Maurice Ravel were the most prominent figures associated with impressionist music, though Debussy disliked the term when applied to his compositions. He was made Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1903. He was among the most influential composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and his use of non-traditional scales and chromaticism influenced many composers who followed.
Debussy's music is noted for its sensory content and frequent usage of non-traditional tonalities. The prominent French literary style of his period was known as Symbolism, and this movement directly inspired Debussy both as a composer and as an active cultural participant
Among his most famous works are his Clair de Lune, his Three Nocturnes and his orchestral piece La Mer.
Pianist Sheila Arnold plays on her new Avi Music CD, "Ecoutez!", Work by Debussy, Cage and Takemitsu. A revelation!
Stretto, 03-6-2018
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