XXXIV. NANCARROW, Conlon (1912-1997)
Study for Player Piano #37 (1969)
(8:41)
Nancarrow is one of the most fascinating figures in 20th century music.
After studying with Roger Sessions, Walter Piston and Nicolas Slonimsky, he went to Spain to fight in the Civil War.
Harassed by the U.S. for being a Communist, he moved to Mexico in 1940.
After reading Henry Cowell's seminal book, New Musical Resources, Nancarrow began to compose his complex musical ideas on a player piano. He eventually bought a special manual hole-punching machine, which enabled him to tailor his ideas with great precision -- writing music that no human pianist could possibly play.
He titled all these player piano works as "studies."
This one -- #37 -- features 12 separate melodic lines, each one moving at a different tempo.
There is nothing quite like Nancarrow's music; it is completely unique.
His step-grandson is Bret Stephens, a New York Times columnist.
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