In this episode of CS, composer and Duke professor Anthony Kelley takes us on a tour through his musical family tree. From Ghanaian dance music to Bach, Scott Joplin to Aaron Copland, Kelley’s music is defined by a constant push and pull, a blending and a breaking apart. His piano concerto, Africamerica, begins on a slave ship and takes us on a journey punctuated by moments of jarring contrasts–the violence of a whip and dancing rhythms of Ghanaian percussion along with the elegant structure of European orchestral music, all rolling together on a tempestuous sea of virtuosic jazz-classical improvisation. Out of this terrible chaos comes a new musical language, a new culture scarred by its past, but beautiful in moments of harmony and consonance. Ultimately, Anthony’s music is about seeking peaceful repose, where the noise recedes and everything suddenly becomes clear and simple, leaving us pensive but hopeful about the world we are building together.
Composer’s Studio – 6/14/20 – Anthony M. Kelley
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