The purpose of this book is not to provide a scientific scrutiny of genres, but to make an overview of the important musical practices utilized by music composers, from the 70s until now. This involves also techniques which were never used to be part
of the compositional practice in the past, such as video, installation and conceptual. The view is this of the composer, although emphasis is given to the historical evolution of these practices. Under this scope, this book can be characterized as
a handbook with all the essentials a composition student should know providing arguments and examples from the repertoire. Therefore, it fulfills a pedagogical purpose as well, but certainly people with no formal music education who are interested
in new music can read it. Some of the chapters include extended historical reports, others theoretical, but all include extended reports to composers and selected works- mostly living. In order for the reader to experience the book in full, listening
to a big part of this repertoire is suggested.
Introduction
Chapter 1
Music Theater
Chapter 2
Composers’ reinterpretation of Conceptual Art
Chapter 3
Found objects that make found sounds.
Handmade instruments
Chapter 4
Extended Instrumental Techniques
Chapter 5
Installation
Chapter 6
Video and Music
Chapter 7
Spectralism
Chapter 8
Soundscape
Chapter 9
Aesthetic approaches: The gesture
Chapter 10
Aesthetic approaches: The noise
Chapter 11
Aesthetic approaches:
The texture nowadays
Chapter 12
The use of tradition in 21st century music: an
outline
Chapter 13
What is complexity
Chapter 14
The use of random
Chapter 15
Tonal music in the 21st century
Bibliography
Dr. Emmanouil Ekmektsoglou
Manolis Ekmektsoglou was born in Thessaloniki, Greece. He studied composition at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, and the University of York (PhD). He also spent a year at Hannover Musikhochschule studying acoustic and electronic music. He is an Assistant Professor of Instrumental and Electronic Composition at the Istanbul Technical University, Department of Composition and Sonic Arts, Center for Advanced Study in Music (M.I.A.M.).
Manolis participated in the “Labor Beethoven 2017-2020” project, funded and organized by the Berlin Academy of the Arts. He received the third prize in the Karol Szymanowski composition competition 2023 with the work Motion, in Two, for solo violin.
His pieces have been performed by many ensembles in several festivals. Musical Practices in the Contemporary World is his first book, where he tries to sum up what has happened in New Music after the 70s, making meaningful connections with the past and providing suggestions from the contemporary repertoire.