In the last times, the way of understanding music has changed significantly, especially when analyzing styles developed during the 20th and 21st centuries. Today, it is recognized that sound, in all its dimensions—from timbre to space, from noise to composition—has taken on a leading role, relegating to the background the preeminence once held by traditional tonality.
Numerous recent studies and publications trace how contemporary creators have rethought listening as a sensory and interdisciplinary experienceBoth researchers and musicians are exploring concepts such as sound immersion, acoustic ecology, and even the influence of the urban and natural environment on musical performance, opening up new avenues for those who navigate the academic and experimental realms.
Sound as a creative axis in today's music
The transformation of musical discourse Over the last century, this has been reflected in the increasing centrality of sound. In this context, essays such as those recently published by leading specialists reveal how terms associated with timbre, spatialization, and sound texture have become as important, if not more so, than melodic or harmonic elements.
Authors such as Makis Solomos explore in depth the timbral nuances, the creative use of noise or the possibilities compositions that arise when working with sound space.Therefore, the listening experience becomes more active, inviting both experts and the general public to rethink their relationship with music, whether in the face of works by Debussy, electronic experiments, or alternative rock proposals.
A decisive factor has been the convergence between technical reflection and dissemination, thanks to authors with a musicological background and contemporary sensibility. The inclusion of ideas such as acoustic ecology, inspired by thinkers like Félix Guattari, demonstrates the growing concern about the impact of sound on the environment and how this, in turn, shapes our way of listening to and understanding music.
Works and recordings that exemplify sonic innovation
The contemporary repertoire is full of examples in which sound is worked as the raw material of creation.The recent release of recordings such as this one featuring works by Karl Amadeus Hartmann, Maurice Ravel, and Aziza Sadikova, conducted by Kent Nagano and violinist Rebekka Hartmann, highlights the dialogue between different eras and musical approaches.
The piece Concerto funebre Hartmann's work, composed during the turbulent interwar period, uses Composition techniques and sounds that capture the climate of their time. It is accompanied by the rhapsody for violin Tzigane, by Ravel, which explores popular influences and extraordinary timbres, and Stradivari, by Sadikova, which interweaves baroque references with a contemporary language and a rich and detailed timbral palette.
The recording, made at the Moyzes Hall in Bratislava in 2023, offers A vivid example of how space, orchestration, and modern recording technology contribute to a unique listening experienceThe spatialization, technique, and texture of each instrument become key elements for today's listener.
The formation and study of sound in popular music
Beyond the academic world and the big stages, reflection on sound development It also affects popular and traditional genres. The organization of talks and lectures, such as the one dedicated to chamamé, an emblematic genre of northeastern Argentina, demonstrates how research and dissemination are carried out. the evolution of sound in 20th-century popular music.
Educational and informative activities cover everything from orchestration and instrumentation processes to recording of key pieces in the history of the genre. Through encounters with musicians, researchers, and teachers, the program delves deeper into the sound environment, the roots and transformation of popular music, and the consolidation of new musical identities through the differentiated use of sound.
The role of sound in the music of the 20th and 21st centuries is not only aesthetic, but It constitutes the core of the creative process, the object of study and the essential means of communication and expressionFrom composition to performance and dissemination, today's music invites us to listen differently, to explore the richness of nuances that surround us, and to let our surroundings and imagination act as true composers in our daily lives.
