Overview

From 1981 to 1994, music patron and art collector Betty Freeman (1921--2009) hosted a series of monthly musicales, or salons, in Los Angeles. Most of these salons were held in a room off the den of Freeman's Beverly Hills home--a space she dubbed ""the music room."" Freeman saw these salons as an important space to foster the development of contemporary composition among leading and upcoming composers in both America and Europe. Over the span of thirteen seasons, 144 composers, performers, and dignitaries in the contemporary music world spoke, performed, and shared their music before a gathering of elite arts administrators, scholars, critics, patrons, and composers from the greater Los Angeles area. Freeman and her co-organizer, music critic Alan Rich (1924--2010), ensured that young, local composers were frequently featured alongside established ones with international reputations, constructing a network of mentors and mentees within contemporary music. The Music Room is a collection of transcriptions of tape recordings made at the salons and photographs Freeman took of these events that gives an unprecedented look inside one of the most significant musical gatherings of the last century. Among those famous today who appeared in the salons were John Cage, Libby Larsen, Pierre Boulez, Steve Reich, John Adams, György Ligeti, and Philip Glass. Featuring sixteen composers whose work and relationship with Freeman showcase the wide influence of her salon series, The Music Room is at once a record of these specific composers as well as a documented history of salon culture in America.

Full Product Details

9780197775721

Table of Contents

Reviews

Whenever a musical scene coalesces into greatness, you often find a crucial figure amid and behind the scenes, offering support, criticism, and taste. Such a force was Betty Freeman in late-twentieth-century Los Angeles. Jake Johnson's collection of interviews from her salon is an apt tribute to Freeman's achievement, and honors another listener of vital intelligence, the longtime critic Alan Rich. An indispensable volume. * Alex Ross, Music critic for The New Yorker * Betty Freeman's mind was open to the newest trends in art, music, and theater. A Californian portrait photographer and benefactor herself, she invited some of the most important composers of our time to her music room. In this most unusual and meticulously edited book, Ligeti, Nancarrow, Boulez, Cage, and Feldman talk about themselves and their musical hopes and aspirations. It should make us listen to their conversations with reformed ears. * Alfred Brendel, Pianist, composer, and author * For many years, 703 Hillcrest Drive in Beverly Hills was the essential meeting and listening place for new music in L.A. Betty Freeman brought together a group of people who shared her desire to hear what was happening, and to meet the people who made it happen. Betty was herself musically sophisticated, and the warm atmosphere of her house made everyone feel welcome. Whether you were there for a day, a year, or as a longtime resident, knowing her was a blessing and being at her gatherings a cherished memory."" * John Harbison, Composer and professor emeritus, Massachusetts Institute of Technology * Betty freeman supported a wide range of musical creators at crucial times in their careers. Betty was generous and blunt with her opinions and advice. She built a cultural bridge by introducing patrons and scholars of contemporary visual art to New Music communities. Chief among these efforts were the extraordinary salons at her home, where composers talked about and played examples of our music surrounded by her art collection and nourished by the cooking of artist Franco Assetto, her husband. Jake Johnson has made an essential contribution to the literature with his excellent book, offering a window into these exciting times with his lucid writing and valuable transcriptions. * Rand Steiger, Composer and Professor, University of California, San Diego * Betty Freeman's legendary salons, accompanied by informative contextualizing. Highlights include György Ligeti discussing uniting musical and dynamical systems; John Cage explaining and then reading his mesostic poem, Composition in Retrospect; Morton Feldman talking about metaphorical fugues; Louis Andriessen discussing the nature of time; and Pauline Oliveros encouraging audience members to engage in meditations on the sounds of their names. Freeman's home held a formidable collection of modern art, and each chapter is engagingly introduced by describing a counterpoint wrapping both the artworks and the presenters. This is a portrait of an age not to be missed. * David Rosenboom, Composer-Performer, Author, and Educator *

Author Information

Jake Johnson is Assistant Professor of Musicology at the University of Oklahoma and a pianist and vocal coach. His writing and teaching explore the interweaving of music, literature, art, and media in American life. Jake is the author of Mormons, Musical Theater, and Belonging in America and Lying in the Middle: Musical Theater and Belief at the Heart of America.

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