Other Minds Special Programs ➔ Other Minds Presents: Rudhyar In Retrospect: Concert Two, Poem for Violin & Piano (Sept. 29, 2010)
Digital Moving Image
Event Type
MusicOrigin
Other MindsIdentifier
OMP.2010.09.29.c2.1Program Series
Other Minds PresentsProgram Length
12 minDates
| broadcast| 2010-09-29 | created
Description
On September, 29, 2010, at the Valley Presbyterian Church in Portola Valley, CA, Other Minds presented the second of two concerts dedicated to the music of composer, author, astrologer, painter, and philosopher, Dane Rudhyar. A true Renaissance man, Dane Rudhyar was born in Paris France in 1895, studied briefly at the Paris Conservatoire, and published his first musical compositions, as well as a book on Claude Debussy, by 1913. In 1916, in a move that he compared to going to the moon, or like a seed cast upon the winds of time, Rudhyar came to the United States where he eventually settled down in California. Throughout the 1920s and 30s Rudhyar continued to compose avant-garde music including scores for plays, ritual dances, and radical “multimedia” performances. However with the advent of the Great Depression, Rudhyar found less support for his type of experimental music, so he began to dedicate more time to his poetry, painting and philosophical writings on astrology and psychology. Beginning in the 1970s, as his writings were gaining popularity among the youth, Rudhyar returned to musical composition, producing a series of piano and orchestral works while also continuing to give lectures, making art, and writing books, right up until his death in 1985 at the age of 90.In this video highlight from the concert, the first of Rudhyar’s three “Poems” for violin and piano is performed by David Abel and Julie Steinberg. First composed in 1920, the work, according to the concert program guide, is “a searching and dramatic duet reflecting somewhat Rudhyar’s struggles and evolving interests” at a time when he was newly arrived in his adopted country and was facing financial difficulties, trying to learn the language, and slowly building relationships with similarly minded composers and theosophists.
This concert was presented in association with Leyla Rudhyar Hill and the Estate of Dane Rudhyar, and has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts as part of “American Masterpieces: Three Centuries of Artistic Genius”.
Genres
20th century classicalNew music
Musical Selections
Poem No. 1, for violin and piano (1920) (10:35) / Dane RudhyarPerformers
David Abel, violinJulie Steinberg, piano
Subjects
20th century classicalNew music
Chamber music
Violin and piano music
Related Event
Rudhyar In RetrospectRelated place
San Francisco (Calif.) (was recorded at)Related Entities
Other Minds (Organization)Rudhyar, Dane, 1895-1985
Abel, David, 1935-
Steinberg, Julie