Thursday, May 12, 2005
depends how one defines plagiarism...
I think most, if not all, composers are influenced directly/indirectly by what they've listened to in the past. I know this is the case with myself, and have often struggled to make sure what I write is my own, not "esteemed composer, version 2." But inevitably, some influences creep in, and I'm not sure that is a bad thing. Nor is it plagiarism.
Some examples: I've heard from no less an authority than Terry Riley that some of Steve Reich's early minimalist works were directly influenced by In C. Then again, LaMonte Young also will mention his influence on Riley and others, so it's a constant lineage, I suppose.
Many years ago when I was looking at a borrowed score of Copland's Piano Variations, someone had written in either "Stravinsky" or "Rite of Spring" over one of the variations that bore clear resemblance to part of Le Sacre. I agreed with the anonymous person who had previously borrowed the score. That doesn't diminish my affection for the Piano Variations, however.
There are parts of some Adams' scores that resemble Reich, and even Glass at times. There are also works by some composers that recall Feldman. I've even felt that one section of Corigliano's Clarinet Concerto cribbed from a brass fanfare in Bloch's Schelomo, but so what?
Cross-influences are bound to happen, are human nature, and represent the fact that we don't compose in a vacuum. Nor should we. Direct plagiarism is another matter, but that's usually a note-for-note copy of someone else's work without attribution. Would people consider Ives to have plagiarized? (I don't).
The other issue is "self-plagiarism." I'm not sure that's a good term for it. Perhaps it's more like "recycling previous work." Berg was pretty famous for including snippets of his past work in his later compositions (a quote from Wozzeck in the second act of Lulu, etc), but then he also directly swiped notes from Tristan und Isolde in the last movement of his Lyrische Suite so this is in character. Reich and Glass both recycle: play the Desert Music through, then go to the Sextet, then the Three Movements for Orchestra and this will be obvious.
Right now, I'm certainly willing to say that my work in the past year owes something to Feldman, mainly because I've listened to as much of his music as I could find in that time frame. Just as some of my works that use repetitive structures owe something to Glass and Reich, etc. But only if I felt that I was composing another Reich piece would I have a problem with it (and I would discard the notes). I'm not interested in writing as another composer, which would only be a second-rate version of that person's works. Rather, I'm ok with subsuming a lot of music I really admire and appreciate, but writing as myself, not that other composer.
Besides, Feldman owed everything (and nothing, as he'd add) to Cage, who also owed much to others himself. And so and and so on.
posted by David Toub
3:24 PM
|
