Kyle Gann

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Kyle Gann (b. November 21, 1955 in Dallas, Texas) is a composer and music critic based in upstate New York. As a critic for the Village Voice (from 1986 to 2005) and other publications he is a supporter of progressive music including such Downtown movements as postminimalism and totalism. His works fall generally into three categories:

  • microtonal works in just intonation [1], involving electronics;
  • rhythmically complex works for Disklavier (computer-driven acoustic piano); and
  • piano and ensemble music whose rhythmic complexity tends to be milder and within a single tempo framework.

Of particular importance in most of his music is the concept of repeating loops, ostinatos, or isorhythms of different lengths going out of phase with each other; the idea leads to simultaneous layers of different, mutually prime tempo relationships in his Disklavier and electronic works, and is used in a less obvious structural way in his live-ensemble music. This concept can be traced back to suggestions in the rhythmic chapter of Henry Cowell's book New Musical Resources, but is also related here to inspirations from astrology, into which Gann was drawn by the writings of composer/astrologer Dane Rudhyar.

Another thread in his work is the influence, both rhythmic and melodic, of Native American music, particularly that of the Hopi, Zuni, and other Southwest Pueblo tribes. These tribes have in common a technique of shifting back and forth between or among two or more tempos within a song, the shifts sometimes correlated to dance movements. Starting in 1984 with his political piece The Black Hills Belong to the Sioux, Gann adopted a method of switching between different tempos (usually between quarter-notes, dotted eighths, triplet quarters, and other values) as a more performable alternative to the simultaneous layers at contrasting tempos that he had sought earlier under Charles Ives's influence. Ironically, other composers had arrived at a similar technique via other routes, coalescing into a New York style of the 1980s and '90s called Totalism.

A common Gann strategy is to set a rhythmic process in motion and use harmony (mostly triadic or seventh-chord-based, whether microtonal or conventional) to inflect the form and focus the listener's attention. Gann's microtonal music proceeds according to Harry Partch's technique of tonality flux, linking chords through tiny (less than a half-step) increments of voice-leading. In 2000, Gann studied jazz harmony with John Esposito, and began using bebop harmony as a basis for his non-microtonal music, even in contexts not reminiscent of jazz.

Raised in a musical family and composing from age 13 on, Gann attended Oberlin Conservatory (B.Mus. 1977) and Northwestern University (M.Mus. 1981; D.Mus. 1983). He studied composition primarily with Ben Johnston and Peter Gena, and briefly with Morton Feldman. In 1981-82 he worked for the New Music America festival, and afterward gained experience as a journalist at the Chicago Reader, Tribune, and Sun-Times. He was hired at the Village Voice in 1986, and taught part-time at Bucknell University from 1989 to 1997. Since 1997 he has taught music theory, history, and composition at Bard College in upstate New York.

Gann's books include American Music in the 20th century, ISBN 002864655X; The Music of Conlon Nancarrow, ISBN 0521465346; and Music Downtown: Writings from the Village Voice, ISBN 0-520-22982-7.

Major Works

  • Olana for vibraphone (2007)
  • Kierkegaard, Walking for flute, clarinet, violin, and cello (2007)
  • Charing Cross for keyboard sampler and electronics (2007)
  • Sunken City (Concerto for piano and winds, in homage to New Orleans) for solo piano with flute, alto sax, tenor sax, baritone sax, three trumpets, horn, three trombones, and electric bass (2007)
  • Fugitive Objects for keyboard sampler (2007)
  • On Reading Emerson for piano (2006)
  • Implausible Sketches for piano, four hands (2006)
  • My father moved through dooms of love for SATB chorus, solo violin, and piano (2005-6)
  • As the Day Is Long (Revisited) for flute, clarinet, keyboard sampler, synthesizer, and fretless bass (2005)
  • Unquiet Night for Disklavier (computer-driven acoustic piano) (2004)
  • Private Dances for piano (2000/04)
  • Petty Larceny for Disklavier (computer-driven acoustic piano) (2003)
  • The Watermelon Cargo, microtonal chamber opera for six singers, three synthesizers, flute, fretless bass, and drummer (2002-3)
  • Tango da Chiesa for Disklavier (computer-driven acoustic piano) (2002)
  • Cinderella's Bad Magic, microtonal chamber opera for six singers, three synthesizers, flute, and fretless bass (2001-2)
  • Transcendental Sonnets for chorus and orchestra (2001-2)
  • Bud Ran Back Out for Disklavier (computer-driven acoustic piano) (2001)
  • Cosmic Boogie-Woogie for Disklavier (computer-driven acoustic piano) (2001)
  • The Planets for flute, oboe, alto saxophone, bassoon, viola, contrabass, synthesizer, and percussion (1994-2001)
  • Texarkana for Disklavier (computer-driven acoustic piano) (2000)
  • Hovenweep for flute, clarinet, violin, viola, cello (2000)
  • Time Does Not Exist for piano (2000)
  • Folk Dance for Henry Cowell for Disklavier (computer-driven acoustic piano) (1999)
  • "Last Chance" Sonata for clarinet and piano (1999)
  • Nude Rolling Down an Escalator for Disklavier (computer-driven acoustic piano) (1997-99)
  • Custer and Sitting Bull for speaker, synthesizer, and soundfile (1995-99)
  • The Disappearance of All Holy Things from this Once So Promising World for orchestra (1998)
  • The Waiting for Disklavier (computer-driven acoustic piano) (1997)
  • How Miraculous Things Happen for electronic keyboard and soundfile (1997)
  • Fractured Paradise for electronic keyboard and soundfile (1995)
  • Snake Dance No. 2 for five percussionists (1994)
  • So Many Little Dyings for fikeyboard sampler (1994)
  • Desert Sonata for piano (1994)
  • Chicago Spiral for flute, clarinet, soprano saxophone (or three flutes), violin, viola, cello, synthesizer, and drums (1990-91)
  • The Convent at Tepoztlan for piano and soundfile (1989)
  • Cyclic Aphorisms for violin and piano (1988)
  • Windows to Infinity for piano (1987)
  • I'itoi Variations for two pianos (1985)
  • Baptism for two flutes, two drums, and electronic organ (1983)
  • The Mercy of the Storm for piano (1981)
  • Long Night for three pianos (1980-81)
  • Siren for six flutes (1979)
  • Satie for soprano, flute, violin, harp, celeste, and percussion (1975)

External links

Listening

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