short ride in a fast machine listening companion

When was Short Ride in a Fast Machine made?

1986

Who created Short Ride in a Fast Machine?

John Adams

Where was Short Ride in a Fast Machine created?

Mansfield, Massachussetts

For what was Short Ride in a Fast Machine created?

A summer festival honoring the opening of the new outdoor amphitheater, the Great Woods Center for the Performing Arts

What was the Great Woods Center for the Performing Arts renamed as?

Tweeter Center, then Comcast Center, now Xfinity Center

Who was the conductor for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra?

Micheal Tilson Thomas

When did Short Ride in a Fast Machine premiered?

June 13, 1986

Who studied a 5 yr stretch of orchestral programming in the early twentieth century?

Jason Scott Ladd

What did Jason Scott Ladd's research find out?

Short Ride was the most performed piece among any works composed after 1980; it was played twice as much as the composition coming in 2nd place

When did Jason Scott Ladd conduct research on songs?

Fall 2003 to Spring 2008

What makes Short Ride seems like it isn't minimalist?

Enormous orchestra, complicated interweaving of melodies and rhythms

How does Adams use minimalist style?

Ostinato patterns

What establishes a quick pulse in the beginning of Short Ride?

Solo high-pitched wood block?

How many beats per minute is employed by the wood block in Short Ride?

152

What is the name of the tempo of 152 BPM?

Delirando

When do the ostinatos begin?

After 3 quick strikes of the wood block

What does Synth 2 play?

3 pitches (E, D, A) in a pattern of four 8th notes (EDAD)

What does the first 8th note (E) of the four-note ostinato (EDAD) align with?

Pulse of the 3/2 meter

Interval between D/A and A/E

Perfect fifth

What plays the 3 note ostinado (b)?

2 clarinets and Synth 1

What pitches are part of the 3 note ostinatos?

D E A

What instruments play the b' pattern?

2 clarinets

What does the b' play? How is it different from the b ostinato?

E A D - shifts the pattern by one 8th note

How does the meter of the b patterns feel?

as 12/8 meter rather than 3/2, known as polymeter

What plays the c ostinato?

Trumpets

What does the c ostinato contain?

Quarter rest and 2 quarter note chords (DEA)

What does the quarter note rhythm emphasize? What meter does it feel?

Every second 8th note; feels 3/4 meter

Who inspired the punchy accents in Short Ride?

Duke Ellington

Where did Adams first encounter Ellington?

At his grandpa's dance hall where they visites

What inspired Adams about Ellington?

"Brass's jabs and bullets"

What could the gates in Short Ride be?

Clumsy gear-shifts

What could the crescendos in Short Ride be?

roar of fast machine's engine

What type of instrument is a glockenspiel

Metallophone