Culture & Fame
What is culture? What elements make up culture? Here are a few: food, entertainment, beliefs, language, art and history. What are some others? Is culture learned or created? What is your cultural heritage? How is it different from other cultures? What do you know about the following cultures: Chinese, Japanese, French, German, Arab, American? Give some examples of what you think of as soon as you hear the name of each culture. What role do stereotypes have in what you describe?
America is often called a "melting pot", which describes many cultures coming together and blending. Exposure to other cultures has always been fascinating to people, and learning about other cultures has inspired and nourished artists from every culture.
Let's take an example of a culture: Native American. Think of Native American stereotypes. Can you name some famous Native Americans? Do you know any Native American music? A composer named Charles Griffes, who lived in the late 1800s and early 1900s heard some music from the Chippewa people and found it to be so memorable that he composed a piece of music inspired by this other culture. Some people say that his view was a "romanticized" one. Charles Griffes was an American composer who was born in New York and who studied music in Germany. How do you think he heard the Chippewa music?
Describe a memorable experience that you have had in your life. What makes something or someone memorable? What is the difference between someone being famous and being memorable? Perhaps being 'famous' has to do with culture at large, and being 'memorable' is a more personal experience. What is fame in American culture? How has fame changed over the course of history? Being famous can happen to anyone for a brief amount of time, but being memorable is more rare and lasts longer. Composer Franz Joseph Haydn was very famous in his lifetime (1732-1809). In fact, he was so famous, that twice during his lifetime, he read his own obituary in the news! After his death, he was forgotten for most of the rest of the 1800s, but his music was "rediscovered" in the 1900s and is still very popular today.
One way to become famous is to do something that causes you to be in the news. When did you last read a newspaper? What did you learn? Did you trust what you heard or read? What could you do to be in the news today? Think back to the 1700s. How would someone become famous then? There was no TV and no internet, so fame probably spread much more slowly than it does today.
Composers and Culture
The compositions Cypress String Quartet has chosen for this program represent dramatically different cultures and span four centuries. Despite great differences between these composers and the times during which they lived, important similarities exist. For example, all four composers have been very successful and have had brushes with fame directly or indirectly. Each composer influenced those who came after him. One of the most important commonalities is that even though each composer has had to go to great lengths to succeed, their prevailing motivation has been to transport the listener, through music, to an enlightened state of consciousness.
Understanding the differences of when and where these composers come from make their similarities even more remarkable. Who creates fame: the audience, composer, a publicist? The fame that each composer achieves means radically different things in their respective societies. How might this influence their work? These questions help us to gain insight into the circumstances surrounding composition and can help all of us to appreciate the relevance of history. Beyond this, the hope of the Cypress String Quartet is that this lesson plan will act as a starting point for musical exploration. Through music we can open a window to the many implications of culture, fame, greatness, and other important concepts. We encourage education professionals and members of the public alike to use this lesson plan in whatever way you choose as a tool to stimulate thought and discussion.