Pendragon Press is proud to offer this new, revised, and expanded edition of Formalized Music, Iannis Xenakis's landmark book of 1971. In addition to three totally new chapters examining recent breakthroughs in music theory, two original computer programs illustrating the actual realization of newly proposed methods of composition, and an appendix of the very latest developments of stochastic synthesis as an invitation to future exploration, Xenakis offers a very critical self-examination of his theoretical propositions and artistic output of the past thirty-five years. This edition of Formalized Music is an essential tool for understanding the man and the thought processes of one of this century's most important and revolutionary musical figures.

Building on ideas first advanced by Arnold Schoenberg and later developed by Erwin Ratz, this book introduces a new theory of form for instrumental music in the classical style. The theory provides a broad set of principles and a comprehensive methodology for the analysis of classical form, from individual ideas, phrases, and themes to the large-scale organization of complete movements. It emphasizes the notion of formal function, that is, the specific role a given formal unit plays in the structural organization of a classical work.

This book is a collection of essays and original material that introduces the avant-garde artist-collaborators, La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela to those unfamiliar with their life and art, as well as providing the more acquainted readers with new and useful insights and analyses of the fundamental issues in their life and work. The book explores the recurring themes that have influenced Young's minimalist music and Zazeela's ongoing engagement with the use of light in art. These themes include the importance of nature and its natural shapes and sounds, the importance of mathematics and organized tuning systems based on natural harmonics, enhanced attention spans and increased sensitivity to differences within apparent sameness, extensions of time, and alterations of space. Essays by Terry Riley, John Schaefer, Henry Flynt, Christine Christer Hennix, Mitchell Clark, Kyle Gann, Ben Neill, and Robert Palmer are included. Young and Zazeela contribute to the book with original text materials that focus on continuous sound and light environments.

For centuries, scientists and philosophers believed the universe was a stately; ordered mechanism - mathematical and musical. The smooth operation of the cosmos created a divine harmony (perfect, spiritual, eternal) which composers sought to capture and express. With The Music of the Spheres, readers will see how this scientific philosophy emerged, how it was shattered by changing views of the universe and the rise of Romanticism, and to what extent (if at all) it survives today. From Pythagoras to Newton, Bach to Beethoven, and on into the twentieth century, it is a spellbinding examination of the interwoven fates of science and music throughout history.

This book is written for the intelligent reader. It is a guide to enjoying classical music, not a textbook, and is written in everyday language. It offers some navigational aids to orient the reader within the music, and includes a glossary of terms. --introd.

Now updated and expanded with four new chapters, this book explores the history, theory, creation and analysis of electronic music.

Musicians are always quick to adopt and explore new technologies. The fast-paced changes wrought by electrification, from the microphone via the analogue synthesiser to the laptop computer, have led to a wide range of new musical styles and techniques. Electronic music has grown to a broad field of investigation, taking in historical movements such as musique concrète and elektronische Musik, and contemporary trends such as electronic dance music and electronica. The first edition of this book won the 2009 Nicolas Bessaraboff Prize as it brought together researchers at the forefront of the sonic explorations empowered by electronic technology to provide accessible and insightful overviews of core topics and uncover some hitherto less publicised corners of worldwide movements. This updated and expanded second edition includes four entirely new chapters, as well as new original statements from globally renowned artists of the electronic music scene, and celebrates a diverse array of technologies, practices and music.