text:
How to Remove HacDef.bo from Your Computer
To completely purge HacDef.bo from your computer, you need to delete the files and folders associated with HacDef.bo. These files and folders are respectively listed in the Files and Folders sections on this page.
For instructions on deleting the HacDef.bo files and folders, see the following section How to Delete HacDef.bo Files (.exe, .dll, etc.).
How to Delete HacDef.bo Files (.exe, .dll, etc.)^
The files and folders associated with HacDef.bo are listed in the Files and Folders sections on this page.
To delete the HacDef.bo files and folders:
- Using your file explorer, browse to each file and folder listed in the Folders and Files sections.
- Select the file or folder and press SHIFT+Delete on the keyboard.
- Click Yes in the confirm deletion dialog box.
HacDef.bo Categorized as:^
A trojan is a program that is disguised as legitimate software but is designed to carry out some harmful actions on the infected computer.
Unlike viruses and worms, trojans don't replicate but they can be just as destructive.
These days trojans are very common. Trojans are divided into a number different categories based on their function or type of damage.
Be Aware of the Following Trojan Threats:
Win32.Stupen.joke, System33r.Stealth, Keylopws, The.Hackers.Office.Beta, WordMacro.Kompu.
How Did My PC Get Infected with HacDef.bo?^
The following are the most likely reasons why your computer got infected with HacDef.bo:
- Your operating system and Web browser's security settings are too lax.
- You are not following safe Internet surfing and PC practices.
Downloading and Installing Freeware or Shareware
Small-charge or free software applications may come bundled with spyware, adware, or programs like HacDef.bo. Sometimes adware is attached to free software to enable the developers to cover the overhead involved in created the software. Spyware frequently piggybacks on free software into your computer to damage it and steal valuable private information.
Using Peer-to-Peer Software
The use of peer-to-peer (P2P) programs or other applications using a shared network exposes your system to the risk of unwittingly downloading infected files, including malicious programs like HacDef.bo.
Visiting Questionable Web Sites
When you visit sites with dubious or objectionable content, trojans-including HacDef.bo, spyware and adware, may well be automatically downloaded and installed onto your computer.
Detecting HacDef.bo^
The following symptoms signal that your computer is very likely to be infected with HacDef.bo:
PC is working very slowly
HacDef.bo can seriously slow down your computer. If your PC takes a lot longer than normal to restart or your Internet connection is extremely slow, your computer may well be infected with HacDef.bo.
New desktop shortcuts have appeared or the home page has changed
HacDef.bo can tamper with your Internet settings or redirect your default home page to unwanted web sites. HacDef.bo may even add new shortcuts to your PC desktop.
Annoying popups keep appearing on your PC
HacDef.bo may swamp your computer with pestering popup ads, even when you're not connected to the Internet, while secretly tracking your browsing habits and gathering your personal information.
E-mails that you didn't write are being sent from your mailbox
HacDef.bo may gain complete control of your mailbox to generate and send e-mail with virus attachments, e-mail hoaxes, spam and other types of unsolicited e-mail to other people.


text:
Southwire's 600 Volt power cables are suited for use in wet and dry areas, conduits, ducts, troughs, trays, aerial supported by a messenger, and where superior electrical properties are desired. These cables are capable of operating continuously at the conductor temperature not in excess of 90°C for normal operation in wet and dry locations, 130°C for emergency overload, and 250°C for short circuit conditions. For uses in Class I, II, and III, Division 2 hazardous locations per NEC Article 501 and 502.
|Stock #
|67391799 67391799
|No. of Conductors
|1 1
|Size (AWG or kcmil) (mm2)
|No. of Strands
|19 19
|Insulation Thickness (mils) (mm)
|55 1.40
|mils mm
|Nom. OD (mils) (mm)
|572 14.53
|mils mm
|Nominal Total Weight (lbs/1000') (kgs/km)
|588 875
|lbs/1000' kgs/km

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Many objects of Jenkins provide the remote access API. They are available at /jenkins/.../api/ where "..." portion is the object for which you'd like to access.
Access data exposed in HTML as XML for machine consumption.
Schema is also available.
You can also specify optional XPath to control the fragment you'd like to obtain (but see below). For example, ../api/xml?xpath=/*/*[0].
For XPath that matches multiple nodes, you need to also specify the "wrapper" query parameter to specify the name of the root XML element to be create so that the resulting XML becomes well-formed.
Similarly exclude query parameter can be used to exclude nodes that match the given XPath from the result. This is useful for trimming down the amount of data you fetch (but again see below). This query parameter can be specified multiple times.
XPath filtering is powerful, and you can have it only return a very small data, but note that the server still has to build a full DOM of the raw data, which could cause a large memory spike. To avoid overloading the server, consider using the tree parameter, or use the xpath parameter in conjunction with the tree parameter. When used together, the result of the tree parameter filtering is built into DOM, then the XPath is applied to compute the final return value. In this way, you can often substantially reduce the size of DOM built in memory.
- Access the same data as JSON for JavaScript-based access. tree may be used.
- Python API
Access the same data as Python for Python clients. This can be parsed into Python object as eval(urllib.urlopen("...").read()) and the resulting object tree is identical to that of JSON. However, when you do this, beware of the security implication. If you are connecting to a non-trusted Jenkins, the server can send you malicious Python programs.
In Python 2.6 or later you can safely parse this output using ast.literal_eval(urllib.urlopen("...").read())
For more information about remote API in Jenkins, see the documentation.
Controlling the amount of data you fetch
The tree query parameter allows you to explicitly specify and retrieve only the information you are looking for, by using an XPath-ish path expression. The value should be a list of property names to include, with sub-properties inside square braces. Try tree=jobs[name],views[name,jobs[name]] to see just a list of jobs (only giving the name) and views (giving the name and jobs they contain). Note: for array-type properties (such as jobs in this example), the name must be given in the original plural, not in the singular as the element would appear in XML (<job>). This will be more natural for e.g. json?tree=jobs[name] anyway: the JSON writer does not do plural-to-singular mangling because arrays are represented explicitly.
For array-type properties, a range specifier is supported. For example, tree=jobs[name]{0,10} would retrieve the name of the first 10 jobs. The range specifier has the following variants:
- {M,N}: From the M-th element (inclusive) to the N-th element (exclusive).
- {M,}: From the M-th element (inclusive) to the end.
- {,N}: From the first element (inclusive) to the N-th element (exclusive). The same as {0,N}.
- {N}: Just retrieve the N-th element. The same as {N,N+1}.
Another way to retrieve more data is to use the depth=N query parameter. This retrieves all the data up to the specified depth. Compare depth=0 and depth=1 and see what the difference is for yourself. Also note that data created by a smaller depth value is always a subset of the data created by a bigger depth value.
Because of the size of the data, the depth parameter should really be only used to explore what data Jenkins can return. Once you identify the data you want to retrieve, you can then come up with the tree parameter to exactly specify the data you need.
Other Useful URLs
- Build number
- This URL returns the build number in text/plain format.
- Build timestamp
- This URL returns the build timestamp. You can also use the format query parameter to control the date format, which follows the SimpleDateFormat format pattern. (example) You can also use the Accept-Language HTTP header to control the locale in which the date is formatted.
Accessing Progressive Console Output
You can retrieve in-progress console output by making repeated GET requests with a parameter. You'll basically send GET request to this URL (or this URL if you want HTML that can be put into <pre> tag.) The start parameter controls the byte offset of where you start.
The response will contain a chunk of the console output, as well as the X-Text-Size header that represents the bytes offset (of the raw log file). This is the number you want to use as the start parameter for the next call.
If the response also contains the X-More-Data: true header, the server is indicating that the build is in progress, and you need to repeat the request after some delay. The Jenkins UI waits 5 seconds before making the next call. When this header is not present, you know that you've retrieved all the data and the build is complete.
Artifact Information
Information about Maven artifacts produced by this are exposed in a machine readable form. This allows programmatic retrieval of the artifacts.


text:
Running Total Profit/Loss : + 4.70 Points
July: + 1.00 Points
June: - 2.85 Points
May: + 2.24 Points
April: - 0.59 Points
March: - 0.95 Points
February: - 2.50 Points
January: + 3.52 Points
2011 P/L: + 4.83 Points
View today's high probability Eachway Selections and at:
While your there don't forget to check out the other profitable selections being posted?
Wishing you good luck
Stay patient
P.S: If you like very selective and profitable well thought out FREE bets, I recommend you also follow: HCE Gold Tips
P.P.S: I recommend that you visit HORSE TRAINER DIRECTORY. It's a one stop shop featuring 100's of NH & Flat Trainer Websites, Blogs & Twitter links. A fantastic resource.


text: The look of the Softail® Deluxe has always been deluxe. It's the classic showstopper — born to stand out on a run down the Vegas strip. Now, underneath the bright chrome, you've got the ride of a seriously modern machine. Thirty-one pounds lighter, easier handling, massive power and acceleration, and all-day comfort. Everything a rider expects that technology can deliver. It's a combination of vintage style and modern know-how unlike anything that ever hit the boulevard, set to the sound of the Milwaukee-Eight® 107 V-Twin engine. Settle into the comfortable new seat and grab the pullback handlebars. Start the show.


text:
|By Admin1 (admin) (adsl-70-240-139-65.dsl.okcyok.swbell.net - 184.108.40.206) on Sunday, February 05, 2006 - 9:01 am: Edit Post
1992: Timothy Johnston served in Nicaragua in Juigalpa/Corn Island beginning in 1992
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Timothy Johnston can be contacted at tjohnstahotmaildcom
Country of Service: Nicaragua
Training Group: Nica 2
Cities you served in: Juigalpa/Corn Island
Arrival Year: 1992
Departure Year: 1995
Work Description: Small Business Development
Originally posted: August 15, 2002
Looking for another volunteer who served with this Group?
If you know this volunteer or someone from his or her group and are looking to reconnect with them,
leave a message above where it says "Create New Conversation."
If this is your profile, post any additions, updates or corrections to your profile below where it says "Add a Message."
RPCVs: To add your own RPCV profile click here.
| The Peace Corps Library
Peace Corps Online is proud to announce that the Peace Corps Library is now available online. With over 30,000 index entries in 500 categories, this is the largest collection of Peace Corps related stories in the world. From Acting to Zucchini, you can use the Main Index to find hundreds of stories about what RPCVs with your same interests or from your Country of Service are doing today.


text:
by David Crane defrev at gmail dot com All photographic images contained in this article were taken by DefenseReview.com, and they are the exclusive property of DefenseReview.com. DefenseReview.com owns the copyright on these photos. All photos were shot with a 7.2-megapixel Sony Cyber-shot digital camera (Model #: DSC-P150). February 21, 2008 Ashbury International Group Inc. (AIG) had an interesting .338 …Read More »
Tag Archives: intervention sniper
.408 CheyTac Long-Range Interdiction Rifle Demo Video from AFJI Shoot-Out
by David Crane [email protected] The following story has been updated (5/10/04): DefRev wrote a short piece on the .408 CheyTac M-200 "Intervention" long-range interdiction (sniper) rifle awhile back. The CheyTac M200 rifle can be used by a skilled operator to effectively engage enemy targets at distances out to 2500 yards. While it looks like a scaled down Windrunner M96 .50 …Read More »


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Christian pillow: Grateful for the small things big things and everything in between - Christian pillow, Jesus pillow, Bible Pillow - Spreadstore
Style & Size:
Created by our Spread Store designers, not available anywhere else.
Select your Style & Size then click 'Add to Cart' to order! We guarantee it will exceed your highest expectations!
- Perfect throw pillow for indoor or outdoor
- Available in two sizes: 16" x 16" and 18" x 18"
- All pillows are polyester microfiber (burlap) but they feel a little different.
- The outdoor pillow is a smooth and durable feel while the indoor is a bit softer.
- Printed in sublimation, double-sided print.
- Shipped in poly mailer bags/smaller packages.
- Pillows are the blown and sewn variety so they DO NOT have a removable cover.
- The best way to clean these is spot cleaning and NOT in a washing machine.
If you're not satisfied, please contact us & we will make it right. View Details >
Email us via firstname.lastname@example.com
Looking for more? Check out our best selling Christian pillows collection which filled with beautiful designs and Bible quotes to help you share your faith and bring God's Word to life.


text:
All official European Union website addresses are in the europa.eu domain.See all EU institutions and bodies
Do something for our planet, print this page only if needed. Even a small action can make an enormous difference when millions of people do it!
Data Visualization
This item is open for comments. Login with your Eionet account in order to see and add comments. See comments section below
For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/daviz/average-annual-growth-rates-3 or scan the QR code.
PDF generated on 12 Dec 2023, 12:20 AM
Engineered by: EEA Web Team
Software updated on 26 September 2023 08:13 from version 23.8.18
Software version: EEA Plone KGS 23.9.14


text:
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Book cheap flights from Augusta to Newark on MyFlightSearch! Enjoy great discount and savings on flights to Newark from Augusta. Plan your trip with our exclusive deals and save on flights from AGS to EWR. We have a wide selection of airfare deals to Newark from Augusta. Be it a business or a leisure trip, Book discount flights from Augusta to Newark on MyFlightSearch and jet set for a vacation without exceeding your budget.
Take advantage of our low cost flight deals from Augusta to Newark and jet set for a budget friendly Newark getaway. Book online or call our 24*7 customer care to get the cheapest airline tickets to Newark from Augusta.
Average Airfare to Newark from Augusta can range from $130.50 to $569.70. Early bookings can usually assist you in getting the cheapest flight tickets. Booking in advance is one of the most proven ways to obtain discount airfares.
Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) is served by over 42 airlines and handles around 46,065,175 passengers annually.
Spirit Airlines, Frontier Airlines and Alaska Airlines are the major airlines offering regular direct and connecting flights from Augusta to Newark.
The first flight of the day that sets off from Augusta departs at around 06:49 AM.
May to August is the most favorable yet the touristiest season to travel from Augusta to Newark.
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On an Average, you will find around 52 direct and connecting flights departing from AGS to EWR.
January is the cheapest time to fly from Augusta to Newark. Travelers may find some bargains on hotel rates as well during these months.
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text:
Cream Bubble Pearl Plugs (sizes 3/4-1")
One pair of single flare surgical steel plugs (with o-rings) with this beautiful cream colored pearl design!
(Please keep in mind these can only be made in the sizes listed and the are made to order so they generally take AT LEAST 14 business days to be made before they will ship out.)
Please email me at [email protected] after ordering to let me know what size you need! (Or leave the size you need in the "note to seller" spot during checkout on paypal!)


text:
Posted on May 2, 2022
Get more free sports picks daily on every game plus claim your free $60 in premium guaranteed member picks here.
Carolina Hurricanes vs Boston Bruins NHL picks and predictions 5/2/22. The Boston Bruins travel to Raleigh, NC to face the Carolina Hurricanes at 7:00PM EST at PNC Arena. Doc's Sports provides NHL picks, predictions, tips and NHL odds on this matchup of Boston Bruins vs Carolina Hurricanes
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Remember you can get parlays and free NHL Picks on almost every single game each week in our NHL articles section.


text:
How much can you afford?
Deciding how much house you can afford is a personal decision. Many factors come into play. How much can I borrow? How much can I put toward my down payment? What size monthly payment can I afford?
There are no black and white answers to these questions. Its a matter of give and take. If you plan on a 30 year mortgage, you can probably make a lower down payment (or perhaps no down payment at all) and still manage the monthly payments. If, on the other hand, you plan on a 15 year mortgage, you'll probably want to make a larger down payment to keep your monthly payments in line with what you can afford.
How large a down payment can I make?
Many buyers look at their cash on hand as their only source for their down payment. This simply is not the case. One way to fund or partially fund a down payment is by using a gift. Parents, grandparents and other family members are often eager to help by making a cash gift toward the purchase of your home.
There are also down payment assistance charities that can help you. And, of course, if you are selling a home, the equity you've built up can be applied to your down payment.
But these are not your only options. We can help you explore all your down payment options, including low down payment and 100% mortgage financing options that might be right for you.
What size monthly payment can I afford?
When determining what size monthly payment you can afford, you'll want to consider what other monthly expenses you have. Tangible expenses such as car payments, day care and utility bills, all play a role in how large a monthly payment you can afford.
There are also the intangible expenses or lifestyle expenses that you'll want to consider. Things such as dining out, travel and when you buy your next car can effect how much you can afford. Are you willing to curtail or delay some of these expenses in order to afford a larger monthly payment?
How much can I borrow?
This is a question you'll want to get answered before you begin your home search. This is something that we're here to help you with. Our mortgage calculators will help you see how your down payment, monthly payment and the amount you borrow are all interrelated.
We can answer any questions you may have about the mortgage process. But the best way we can help is by getting you pre-qualified for a mortgage loan. To get started, simply complete the form below to let us know a good time to contact you. We look forward to helping you buy your dream home.
Do you have a question? We can help. Simply fill out the form below and we'll contact you with the answer, with no obligation to you. We guarantee your privacy.


text:
Genuine Brother LC-3319XL Black Ink Cartridge LC-3319XLBK
Description:Genuine Brother LC-3319XL Black Ink Cartridge LC-3319XLBK
Our Genuine Brother LC-3319XL Black Ink Cartridge LC-3319XLBK is built for amazing printing results. We deliver our products straight to your door.Advantage Genuine Brother LC-3319XL Black Ink Cartridge LC-3319XLBK
The Genuine Brother LC-3319XL Black Ink Cartridge LC-3319XLBK is one of the best products for highly accurate printing. Each product meets all your printing needs. We assure the fastest delivery with no handling fee.
OEM Code: LC3319XLBK
Brand: Brother
Duty Cycle: Approx. 3000 pages at 5% coverage
Genuine Brother LC-3319XL Black Ink Cartridge LC-3319XLBK is compatible with:
How can I pay?
We accept payment by Visa, Mastercard, AMEX, Direct Bank Deposit, Internet Banking, Cheque and Australia Post Money Order. There is no surcharge for using credit card or any other payment methods.
How secure is Online for ordering?
Credit card payments are securely processed by SecurePay, We do not store credit card details, and No credit card data or information is stored on our site in any form.! Note: Direct deposit and cheque payments require payment clearance before order dispatch.Our site uses 256bit SSL encryption provided from GeoTrust ensuring your credit card details remain safe.
Related Products
Genuine Brother LC-3319XL Cyan Ink Cartridge LC-3319XLCBrand: Brother$50.47
Genuine Brother LC-3319XL Magenta Ink Cartridge LC-3319XLMBrand: Brother$50.47
Genuine Brother LC-3319XL Yellow Ink Cartridge LC-3319XLYBrand: Brother$50.47
Brother, Hewlett Packard, Lexmark, Canon, Epson, Kyocera, Samsung, Fuji Xerox, Hp and other manufacturer brand names and marks mention in product descriptions are solely for purposes of demonstrating compatibility. All trademarks referenced are property of their respective trademark holders. Toner Experts has no affiliation with any manufacturer or OEM and nor has any arrangement been made with them to form the basis for any statement we make. Please note that due to the high volume of items listed on this website, there may be times when item names or descriptions vary from the product ordered.


text: Posted On8:58 pm byJusten Hong Fon du Lac Tumbled Edging Fon du Lac Tumbled Edging adds a old-world look edging to your landscape project. THE SONNENBERG DIFFERENCE Family Owned and OperatedWe ensure that everyone that enters the door at Sonnenberg's is treated like family. More times than not, you will be working with a member of the family who has your best interest at heart. Our customer service sets us apart from the rest. Come visit us and you'll see why! Friendly and Knowledgeable StaffOur friendly and knowledgeable staff can help guide you through all phases of your landscape project. Whether you need mulch for your landscape or a large retaining wall, we can figure out exactly what you need for your project. Same Day DeliveryIf you need landscaping materials and supplies anywhere in the greater St. Louis Metro East area, and you need them FAST, Sonnenberg can get them to you quickly! All you have to do is ask for same day delivery. WE ARE PROUD MEMBERS OF: SIBAHardscapeBelleville CoCWaterloo CoCNCMAICPIAPLD-Logo


text:
For two-colour layered version:
Primary Vinyl Colour : "S" Outline
Secondary Vinyl Colour : "S" Inner
For best results we recommend one of our core gloss colours which will be supplied to you in long-life, premium cast vinyl. You can read more about our vinyls and which are the primary colours on our About Our Vinyls page.
Standalone "S" side decal, available in four variations and sized to original decal (46mm (W) x 12.5mm (H) approx).
Please note these are NOT original stickers and are not guaranteed to be 100% accurate to the original design. Images are for illustration purposes only.
Deliveries to Europe
Following the completion of Brexit on the 1st January, there are some significant changes to post and parcels being sent from the UK to Europe which you need to understand prior to placing an order.
Delivery Delays
We have seen some serious delays to some deliveries to European destinations due to the extra processing involved at customs. Please be prepared to wait longer for your package to arrive. In some cases (but not all) we may have some limited tracking information available. For extended delays, it may take some time for the delivery company to investigate why there has been a delay, and we ask for your patience whilst these investigations are carried out. If you are not prepared to wait, please do not place an order.
Customs Fees and VAT/taxes
Your country may impose importation fees and/or additiona taxes on the value of your import, so before placing an order please check what fees you may have to pay when purchasing from us.
Under no circumstances are we liable for any additional importation fees. If are not prepared to pay the required import fees, please do not risk it and do not place an order. If you refuse to pay, the package may be returned to us. In these cases we will refund the value of the items purchased minus any delivery and handling costs incurred. Any custom/bespoke items may not be refunded. Any design time charges will also not be refunded.
PLEASE DO NOT ASK US TO UNDER-DECLARE PACKAGE VALUES IN ORDER TO SAVE ON VAT/IMPORT DUTIES. If you do not want to pay VAT or import fees, please try to find someone in your country to order from as this is the only way you'll avoid additional costs.
Under-declaring the value of imports not only restricts the insurance value (in the case of loss/damage) but is also classed as customs fraud which is punishable by law (https://www.eurosender.com/blog/en/customs-scams/). Any requests to change the value of an order on the paperwork will be ignored.
About Our Delivery Costs
We try to be as accurate and fair as possible with our delivery charges - but every order is different and the way delivery costs are calculated is, unfortunately, far from perfect. If you are ready to place an order but feel the delivery costs are unjustified - please get in touch. As we do not take payment immediately on order we can easily "fine tune" the final charge amount if the delivery costs are inaccurate for your particular order.
Our Delivery Price Promise
If your delivery costs are significantly less than you've paid for, or if the order value does not justify a tracked service and we use a lower-cost service instead, we will refund the difference back to your payment method after we've dispatched your order.
All orders are taken through the website. We do not take any telephone orders. We do not have the facilities to take payments over the phone.
All transactions are processed using Shopify's secure payment system (if you pay by credit or debit card), or via PayPal depending on which payment method you choose.
We do not take payments until the point of dispatch, so if you've made a mistake with your order please get in touch as soon as possible - in most cases we can rectify before your order is processed.
Please note that no invoice or receipt is sent out with any purchase, no prices are include with our gifts.
Your order confirmations and parcel dispatch will come in the form of emails from ourselves and our payment providers. You can also access order details in your account section on the website, if you choose to create an account with us.
If you require an order invoice please let us know so that we can generate one for you.
Order Dispatch
On the rare occasion that the item you have ordered is out of stock we will contact you by email within 24 hours to let you know an expected delivery date.
Once you receive notification that payment has been taken, you can expect your order to then be dispatched on that day.
We will email you when your order has been dispatched.
For all orders placed before 11am we aim to dispatch the same day (Mon-Fri), orders placed after 11am will usually be dispatched the next working day (excluding Bank Holidays and Sundays), this is due to Post Office opening hour restrictions, and the need to obtain a proof of posting for all orders.
Please note we cannot guarantee delivery times - Royal Mail 1st Class is normally next day (excluding Sundays) but this is by no means guaranteed. If you have an urgent requirement please get in touch as we can post via Special Delivery (UK only) for additional cost.
All our products are sent out well packaged to ensure they arrive in good condition, and should arrive fully intact. On the rare occasion that something is damaged in transit, please contact us immediately so that we can rectify.
Delivery Options
Delivery timescales are from the date of dispatch and are an approximation only.
Delivery costs are calculated based on weight and the type of product - please understand that many products are delicate and require extra packaging materials to ensure they get to you safely.
Usually orders over the value of £20 will be sent using a tracked/signed service - this is purely for the extended cover in the unlikely event that a package goes missing in transit (it will insure our loses if we need to re-create an order). In these case any delivers will require a signature upon delivery.
For larger items or higher-value orders we may use a tracked & insured delivery method (ParcelForce or DPD) to deliver your order.
Deliveries within the UK
Most orders are posted using 1st Class Royal Mail delivery - for higher-value orders we may use a signed service or even Special Delivery. 1st Class post can arrive next-day but often does take longer, and in some cases a week or more.
All delivery times are intended as estimates only, once posted delivery times are sadly beyond out control. Any quoted delivery times are from the point of despatch (you will be informed) and not your point of order.
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Artur Schnabel and Schoenberg's Performance Aesthetics and Practice
Artur Schnabel and Schoenberg's Performance Aesthetics and Practice
During my short Post-doc in Berlin (January-February 2008) I visited the Stifung Archiv Der Akademie Der Künst. I saw there interesting things concerning Arnold Schoenberg (concert programs and record sleeves as well as some items from the Stuckenschmidt Nachlass). I bought there a book which was published by the institution titled Artur Schnabel: Musiker Musician, ed. Werner Grünzweig (Hofheim: Wolke Verlag, 2001).
Only today, I open the book for the first time (it took me one year!). This book contains many interesting items such as writings on Schnabel, writings by Schnabel, letters, various lists and other items that only German musicology is able to collect in such a wonderful manner (and I am only half sarcastic when I say so).
One of the most interesting items in this book is an article by Claudio Arrau (the pianist, 1903-1991) titled "Artur Schnabel: Servant of the Music". The article is from 1952, first published in Musical America (p.31).
The article is interesting in more than one respect. It seems that Arrau is suggesting, what may seem as a contradiction. On the one hand, he claims that "Schnabel completely rejected the nineteenth-century notion of music as a vehicle for self-expression, at the service of the virtuoso for his own self-gratification." Arrau mentions that Schnabel was not satisfied with the Urtext edition of his time. He conducted research and "corrected" that version.
Yet his recording and printed editions show that he used flexible tempo when playing. His editions mention tempo fluctuations that were not originally printed in the score. These tempo fluctuations were not seen as a contradiction to being faithful to the spirit of the composition. On the contrary, music was seen (as Arrau argues) as "a living organism with an inner fluctuation and flexibility above and below metronome markings".
This view of seeking to understand an objective musical object (or spirit, if you like) while expressing it with vitality of an "organism" was also the performance aesthetics of Arnold Schoenberg, a contemporary and friend of Schnabel.
On the one hand, on 24 August 1909 he wrote a letter to Busoni criticizing the latter's transcription of Schoenberg's Op. 11 No. 2. Trying to understand why Busoni had decided to create his version of this piece, a matter that seemed to irritate Schoenberg, he enquired of Busoni: 'I would like to ask you if you have perhaps taken too slow a tempo. That could make a great difference. Or too little rubato. I never stay in time! Never in tempo!' (Ferruccio Busoni, Selected Letters, trans. and ed. Antony Beaumont (London, Boston: Faber and Faber, 1987), p. 395.) Here Schoenberg admitted that his approach to performance transcended his own score indications.
On the other hand in 1912 Schoenberg cited Mahler saying: 'I consider it my greatest service that I force the musicians to play [spielen] exactly what is in the notes'. (Schoenberg, Style and Idea, 'Gustav Mahler', 464-5.) In the preface to the first edition (1914) of Pierrot lunaire, Op. 21 Schoenberg argued quite clearly that actions originating with the interpreter, which are not included in the score, have a negative effect.
For Schoenberg and Schnabel, therefore, extensive tempo fluctuations that go beyond the score indications, was not contradictory to being a servant of the composer's intentions. In 1912 Schoenberg claimed that playing the right notes results in the performer's participation in 'the spirit of the music'. (Schoenberg, Style and Idea, 'Gustav Mahler', 464-465.) A work of art which is a spiritual entity demands spontaneity in performance.
Pianist Arthur Schnabel Home Movie 1937
Artur Schnabel plays Beethoven Sonata #32 in C min Op. 111
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Conference paper: Schoenberg's or Adorno's Performance Aesthetics?
Schoenberg's or Adorno's Performance Aesthetics?
On 3 August I wrote a post with a selection of quotations from Adorno's book Towards a Theory of Musical Reproduction (Cambridge UK and Malden MA USA: Polity, 2006). During the past few weeks I have read this book and wrote down my own thoughts on it. This is the paper that I plan to read next week in the conference on Adorno's performance aesthetics in Manchester. The paper might pass slight changes before the conference. I plan to expand it into an article after I receive reactions. I hope you will find it interesting. Since it is a conference paper, I removed the footnotes. If anyone is interested in the exact source of any quotation please contact me.
For many years, Schoenberg and Adorno wanted to write (separately) a book on musical performance.Both authors never completed the projects and left in their Nachlaß articles, fragmentary sketches and other relevant writings on the subject. This paper will examine the relation between what we know about their performance aesthetics. My main thesis is that a clear and objective definition of its 'essence' is difficult, if not impossible to achieve.
The Second Viennese School performance aesthetics narrative
Several scholars speak about the existence of a Second Viennese School with relation to performance aesthetics. In 1986 Hermann Danuser argued that the most important motivation for Schoenberg's theory of performance is to protect performance from the will of the performer. He insisted that this is true also 'for the total theories that came out of the performance of the Viennese School: above all those of Rudolf Kolisch, Erwin Stein, René Leibowitz, Theodor W. Adorno and Hans Swarowsky'. Although Danuser acknowledges that Schoenberg's performance theory is fragmentary, at the end of his article he refers the reader to the theory of performance of Kolisch in order to answer questions that were not answered by Schoenberg. David Satz, a student of Kolisch, mentioned that in Darmstadt in the 1950s Kolisch and Adorno discussed performance. Satz wrote that this 'leaves open the question of how the joint project's scope might have related to the notes which Adorno left, or the work which Kolisch actually brought about. I believe that it is a serious mistake to assume an absolute identity between the two'. Helmut Haack referred mainly to the performance aesthetics of Kolisch in order to examine what he called, the 'aesthetics of the school', and argued that it was influenced by Mahler. John Butt made a comment in passing claiming that Stravinsky had a 'very similar aesthetics of performance … [compared to the one] promoted by Schoenberg and his students.' In this context, Butt mentioned Rudolph Kolisch, Erwin Stein, René Leibowitz, Theodore Adorno and Hans Swarowsky. Finally, in 1997 Alfred Cramer suggested that 'Adorno's vision of silent reading echoed Schoenberg's own mind'.
In light of this Second Viennese School performance aesthetics narrative, I would like to raise two questions. What are the criteria to decide whether a certain thinker belongs to a certain school? What are the ideological implications of declaring that a specific individual belongs to a certain group and not to others? I suggest that it is possible to construct a different narrative that would highlight not only the similarities but also the differences between people such as Adorno and Schoenberg.
When discussing the so-called Second Viennese School with relation to performance, one finds significant differences between the aesthetics of its members. Schoenberg disagreed with some of Kolisch's ideas in the latter's article 'Tempo and Character in Beethoven's Music'. In a letter dated 1949 from Schoenberg to Steuermann regarding the latter's recording of Schoenberg's piano music, he wrote: 'I do not at all share your anxiety lest anyone should hear a wrong note. I am convinced that it had happened only a few times in the history of musical reproduction that some wrong note did not come in.' He stressed: 'there is no absolute purity in this world… But I am convinced that you can play music so convincingly that it evokes the impression of purity, artistic purity, and, after all, that's what matters. Let's leave this quasi-perfection to those who can't perceive anything else'. Steuermann's refusal to release his recording for publication resulted in rupture between the two old friends. On 13 January 1950 Schoenberg wrote to Ross Russell from Dial Records concerning a plan to record his music with Steuermann and Kolisch. He warned Russel 'not to be too indulgent' to Steuermann's and Kolisch's wishes to play the music 'over and over again, until there is nothing which … [they do] not like'. Schoenberg stresses that 'it has no sense to aim for a perfection which is not human'. I do not wish to argue that there are no similarities between the performance aesthetics of members of Schoenberg's circle, yet one should be very cautious about making casual assumptions about links between one aesthetic and the others. In order to point to some of the problems with this concept I will start by examining Schoenberg and Adorno's relationship.
Schoenberg and Adorno's relationship
Berg wrote about Adorno's Two Pieces for String Quartet Op. 2 to Schoenberg, claiming that 'in its seriousness and concision and above all in the uncompromising purity of its whole structure, it may be described as belonging to Schoenberg's school (and to no other!)'. Yet including Adorno into the Second Viennese School was not part of Schoenberg's wish. Schoenberg mentioned Adorno in his will as the person to whom he clearly does not want to entrust his Nachlaß after his death. On 5 December 1949 Schoenberg wrote to Stuckenschmidt after reading Adorno's Philosophy of Modern Music: 'I have never been able to bear the fellow… now I know that he clearly never liked my music.' On the same day he wrote to Rufer: 'The book is very difficult to read, for it uses this quasi-philosophical jargon in which modern professors of philosophy hide the absence of an idea. They think it is profound when they produce lack of clarity by undefined new expressions.' On 10 December 1949 he wrote to Kurth List: 'Wiesengrund's attack is an act of vengeance. Once when he was getting on my nerves, I made him look ridiculous, and although I thoroughly excused myself on account of nervousness, sickness, etc., he has apparently not forgiven me for this.' In December 1950, several months before Schoenberg died, he wrote a manuscript titled 'Wiesengrund'. There he wrote: 'I could never really stand him… Not without Rudi's [Rudolf Kolisch] fault, he was regarded in our circle as a great scholar.'
Similarities between the aesthetics
Having said this, one should keep in mind that Schoenberg did appreciate Adorno. At the 'Wiesengrund' manuscript he wrote: 'It cannot be disputed that he possesses certain estimable abilities. He is very musical, plays piano well, and possesses a great knowledge of the musical literature, from which he can play many pieces by heart due to his good memory. He has looked into musical-theoretical problems with a great deal and with success, and he knows the history of our art most thoroughly.' Having studied with Berg for several months since January 1925 and being the editor-in-chief of journal 'Anbruch' between 1928 and 1931, it is not surprising that Adorno was influenced and possibly also has influenced the thoughts of people in Schoenberg's circle.
It is interesting that both authors attacked the performance aesthetics of enemies of Schoenberg's circle: for example, famous conductors such as Toscanini and Bruno Walter.
Both call for the help of the concept of 'organicism' in order to protect the work from irresponsible performers. Adorno is more ambivalent than Schoenberg towards this concept. He claimed that 'the "living" totality of a performance, especially in larger forms, is probably a mere ideology, as in many other areas.' Yet in the same breath he attacked the '"fascinating" conductor [that] is a fetish like the master violinist… [that] belong to the culture industry'. Schoenberg too attacked 'the goat-like bleating [vibrato] used by many instrumentalists to curry favour with the public', or singers for 'ignoring dramatic requirements in favour of their own vocal effects'. Both authors wrote against the so called 'beautiful tone' for its own sake. The organic musical work is the thing that should be expressed in performance.
Yet pure objectivism was not part of their performance aesthetics. Schoenberg called for a 'well-balanced' performance style, one that does not veer towards either of the two extremes: the subjective over-expressive 'romantic' performance style and the objective performance practice of the Neue Sachlichkeit, which demanded full faithfulness to the score. This demand is echoed by Adorno who wrote that his performance study is 'directed against 2 fronts. On the one hand official musical life, which … became part of the culture industry long ago: galvanized, spirited and culinary. On the other hand the front of abstract negation, the escape to the mensural realm. In the former case a false subjectivism, in the latter a residual theory of truth, the extermination of the subject (all forms of objectivism, from Stockhausen to Walcha, really amount to the same thing…)'. Adorno mentioned there that the 'so-called young people protested against the "exaggerated expressivity" in Eduard's [Steuermann] Schoenberg interpretation.' Elsewhere he wrote: 'Against intuitionism and positivism.', and in another place he claimed that the 'Secret of interpretation … [is] controlling oneself, yet not making music against oneself. One's impulse must live on even in its negation.'
Both Schoenberg and Adorno wrote volumes on the primacy of the imagined on the so-called 'mere' playing. Schoenberg complimented conductors for insisting on many rehearsals. In his essay on Mahler he claimed that Mahler the conductor demanded many rehearsals since he has a clear image in his mind of the music, and that during each rehearsal he corrected the orchestra in order to come as close as possible to this ideal. Adorno argued that 'Making music correctly demands an incessant verification of all real sounds in relation to the imagined… Whoever places doing before imagining in music today is guilty of regressive music-making.'
Differences between the aesthetics
Both authors suggested that it is not enough to simply play the music. There is an idea that is hidden that needs to be revealed in performance. Yet Adorno claimed that the idea 'cannot even be recognized in its pure state, let alone realized.' This leads to an extremely idealistic view of composition and a negative view of performance: 'The measure of interpretation is the height of its failure'. Elsewhere he used the word 'evil' in order to describe what the performer does. Although Schoenberg too saw composition and the musical idea as something that is higher than performance, his writings usually do not give the impression that whatever the performer does, performance cannot communicate the musical idea. On the contrary, whether it is structure or feelings, Schoenberg strived to explain how performance can and should communicate the musical idea. Moreover, as I argue in my book on Schoenberg's aesthetic writings on performance and interpretation (which will be published in Oxford University Press), in Schoenberg's writings from the 1930s and 1940s he granted the performer an integral part in the role that in his earlier writings belonged solely to the composer: now both composer and performer have a mutual part in the presentation of the abstract musical idea. Although both authors' views on this subject are not without contradictions, it seems to me that by large, Schoenberg tended to give more credit to performers and their creative role than Adorno.
On analysis and performance
Did Schoenberg, who was a world-famous theorist during his lifetime, expect performers to analyze the music they performed? Schoenberg did not write in any of his performance manuscripts explicitly about a type of analysis that the performer must undertake. On 27 July 1932 Schoenberg wrote to Kolisch that the latter had correctly worked out the series of Schoenberg's Third String Quartet. He continued:
You must have gone to a great deal of trouble … But do you think one's any better off for knowing it? I can't see it that way … this [the series] isn't where the aesthetic qualities reveal themselves … I can't utter too many warnings against overrating these analyses, since after all they only lead to what I have always been dead against: seeing how it is done; whereas I have always helped people to see: what it is! I have repeatedly tried to make Wiesengrund understand this, and also Berg and Webern. But they won't believe me… The only sort of analysis there can be any question of for me is one that throws the idea into relief and shows how it is presented and worked out. It goes without saying that in doing this one mustn't overlook artistic subtleties.
The fact that he did not insist that performers should conduct analyses before performing has great importance. It means that, unlike Adorno, Schoenberg did not consider analysis as the single path to music making.
In 'Notes towards a theory of musical reproduction' Adorno mentions 'Precise Analysis as a self-evident precondition of interpretation. Its cannon is the most advanced state of compositional-technical insight.' In the notes taken after the Darmstadt lecture he wrote: 'For the concept of reconstructing the neumic from the mensural, a genuine interpretation in the sense of decoding, the most important category of mediation is that of analysis as a necessary condition for interpretation.' Adorno mentioned two meanings of the concept of 'clarity'. The first is that 'one can hear everything that is written', or as Schoenberg famously wrote around 1923 'The highest principle for all reproduction of music would have to be that what the composer has written is made to sound in such a way that every note is really heard … that they all stand out clearly from one another.' The second meaning of 'clarity', according to Adorno, which is 'higher', is based upon analysis: 'Nothing should be played arbitrarily, simply because it is written'. Adorno adds that 'this failing is one of the reasons for the incomprehensibility of many performances of new music'. In other words, Adorno seems to expect from the performer much rational and intellectual work in order to perform 'correctly'.
Schoenberg often complains against insufficient number of rehearsal. Actually, the demand for many rehearsals is a major theme in his writings and letters. Performers who insists on many rehearsals (for example Mahler), have a clear image of the music in their minds. They seek to communicate the image by refining their performance. Adorno too complains against insufficient rehearsal, yet he connects it to the socio-economic conditions of interpretation. It can be generalized that Adorno, as an experienced philosopher and educated musician, went to great pains in order to contextualize his ideas with relation to the history of music. He related to the writings of Wagner, Dorian, Riemann and others, in a manner that Schoenberg usually did not bother to do so in such an extensive manner.
Developing theories
When one compares the fragments each author wrote during the years one finds that their theories are not internally consistent. Before 1963 Adorno believed in the 'x-ray' concept that reveals hidden structure that lies beneath the heard surface. During the 1960s he changed his mind: 'My hypothesis that the performance is the x-ray photograph of the work requires correction in so far as it provides not the skeleton, but rather the entire wealth of subcutanea.'
Schoenberg's performance aesthetics too developed and changed. From pronouncing anti-performance ideas in some (yet not all) of his performance writings in the 1920s, after 1933 he grants the performer more importance in the creative process. Unfortunately, this is something that is not acknowledged by scholars up to now. Leon Botstein, said: 'we were taught by a generation of teachers in the composer and analysis world who were extremely hostile to performers. This generation was trained in its attitude to players by Schoenberg and Stravinsky, who were extremely negative about performers'. Authors such as Botstein, Nicholas Cook, Alfred Cramer and Danuser, who emphasize Schoenberg's negative writings on performers, contribute to a meta-narrative that puts him in the position of a composer, which insists on complete cultural hegemony of composers over performers, manifested in the passivity of performers in a process of communication between composer to listener. My study of Schoenberg's performance writings and the Adorno's recently published fragments of performance challenge this meta-narrative by demonstrating that they held various changing views on performers and performance. The alternative narrative that I suggest calls for being sensitive to both the differences and the similarities between the performance aesthetics of the two musicians, as well as being aware of their fragmentary, multifaceted, developmental and at certain points contradictory character. The definition of the core or message of these writings depends not only on the fragmentary texts, but also on us: their readers, and on our aims and values.
What next?
How to write a book review
There are several reasons why to write a book review. It is a good way to gain experience in writing. Publishing reviews is easier than publishing articles. One is not expected to contribute something completely new to the world of research. When you submit your review to a journal you usually receive feedback from the editor and that can improve the level of your writing. Another reason is that it may help you learn the book more thoroughly than if you would just read it. Good writing is a form of teaching. When one teaches something, one remembers it forever. Moreover, this is a way that other scholars in the field (especially the one whose book your will review) will know you and what you think. In other words, this is a way to start making a name in the field. Finally, if you where asked to review a book, although you will probably not be paid for it, you will receive the book. In this post I will mention some of the things that can help you write a good book review.
Read the book
Read review written by others
Do not be too critical
Balance your criticism
Show your personal reading
Be helpful
Listen to the comments of the editor
Notes from Adorno's theory of performance
Towards a Theory of Musical Reproduction
In the this post I have gathered a few quotations from Theodor W. Adorno's notes on performance collected in the recently published book Towards a Theory of Musical Reproduction (Cambridge UK and Malden MA USA: Polity, 2006). The notes here are from the section titles 'NOTES I' on pp. 1-7. The notes do not appear in the order as they do in the book.
Title: 'Notes towards a theory of musical reproduction'. The word 'reproduction' (and not performance) in the title of the study puts emphasis on the idea that one not merely performs, one reproduces something that exists a priori. This is very important since it reveals one of the main concerns of this study.
Hidden beneath the surface
'True reproduction is the x-ray image of the work. Its task is to render visible all the relations, all aspects of context, contrast, and construction that lie hidden beneath the surface of the perceptible sound'. The idea mentioned in the title is developed here. Performance is an 'x-ray image' of a hidden construction. The word 'hidden' and 'construction' are important as we will see in a moment.
'Perhaps this is the philosophical sense of the 'x-ray image' - to imitate all that is hidden.' The performer needs to reveal what is hidden and then to imitate it in his or her playing. 'The objectivity of reproduction presupposes depth of subjective perception, otherwise it is merely the frozen imprint of the surface.' Here Adorno suggests a kind of listening that is not concentrated on the moment, but on 'depth' and hidden construction.
Analysis and performance
'Precise analysis as a self-evident precondition of interpretation. Its canon is the most advanced state of compositional-technical insight.' Since the construction is hidden the performer must reveal it through analysis. The word 'construction' mentioned in the quotation above is connected to 'compositional insight' here. Analysis is focused on the score and when Adorno speaks about context he relates to any context that might help understanding the notes in the score of the composition. Much is left outside of the game: style, playing fashion, tradition, the wish or insight of specific performers, current cultural and social issues. 'Whereas the [musical] sense is not absorbed within the phenomenon, the possibility of its representation … consists exclusively in the phenomena. But this means: within their context. Fulfilling the sense of music means nothing other than rendering all aspects of the context visible.'
Against 'beautiful sound'
Since the revelation of hidden construction is the goal, a beautiful sound for its own sake is almost useless. Adorno wrote in 'Reflexionen über Musikkritikä' [Reflections over music criticism] from 1967 the following: 'I recall once telling my friend Rudolf Kolisch that I thought the new cellist in his quartet had a revolting tone, and Kolisch answered: "But that's the best thing about him". (see endnote 10 p. 237). 'The negation of the "beautiful tone" is the true achievement of all musical mimesis'. 'The elimination of the sensual pleasure at sound is the idiosyncrasy in which the death of interpretation asserts itself.'
Silent music making
Since all the truth is contained in the score, Adorno develops the concept of 'silent music making': 'Development of the ideal of silent music-making, ultimately the reading of musical texts, in connection with falling silent (NB the utter destruction of the sensual phenomenon of music through mass reproduction). Playing from memory – 'thinking the music to oneself' – as a preliminary stage to this.'
Since 'silent music making' is the ideal, performance will always fall short of such reading: 'It is this possibility – playing complex chamber music from memory, as inaugurated by Kolisch, and as asserting the absolute primacy of the text over its imitation – in comparison to which essentially all "music-making" already sounds antiquted… Cf. Schumann'. The editor of the book notes that Adorno is referring to Schumann's aphorism 'Das öffentliche Auswendigspielen' ('Playing from Memory in Public'). Schumann argues that playing from memory 'will always testify to the great power of the musical spirit.' He asks: 'Why put fetters on the feet if the head has wings? Do you not know that a chord played from a score, no matter how freely it may be struck, does not sound even half as free as one played from imagination?' Schumann concludes: 'I am like that philistine who, when the virtuoso's music fell from the stand and he played on calmly nonetheless, exclaimed triumphantly: "Look, look! This is a high art! He can play it from memory!"'. According to Schumann, real performance falls short of imagined performance. It seems that the 'real' performer is one that can imagine the a priori object so well, that he or she do not need a score. Schoenberg advised the Kolisch Quartet to play from memory. He was also the one who wrote several letters to conductors praising their will to make many rehearsals, arguing that people who do so have a clear image in their mind of the music. In other words, Adorno and Kolisch are echoing Schoenberg's view on this subject.
Schoenberg's attitude to the text versus my own view
'Two fundamentally incorrect notions of the nature of musical interpretation need to be refuted: 1) that of the musical text as a set of performance instructions 2) that of the musical text as the fixing of the imagined. In a more profound sense, it is not the work that is the function of the imagination, but rather vice versa (derive from the subject-object dialect of the work. NB also the epistemological argument of the unknownness of the imagined – "thing-in-itself". NB Schoenberg's attitude to the text versus my own view. Yet it must be said that the ideal of the work incorporates the imagined and the performance instructions as extremes of the spectrum).'
'herein lies dissolution of the natural, "organic" aspect of music, which is a mere social appearance'. It seems that Adorno, unlike Schoenberg, did not believe in the concept of organicism. I will have to check this point as I further read the book.
Conference on Adorno
Byron will be giving a paper titled 'Schoenberg's or Adorno's aesthetics of performance?' in a conference on Adorno and Performance, 13-14 September 2008, Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, UK
Related posts
Conference paper: Schoenberg's or Adorno's Performance Aesthetics?
McClary on analysis, historical conditions and rationality
Yesterday I read again Susan McClary's chapter "Excess and Frame: The Musical Representation of Madwomen†in Feminine Endings. One of the subchapters in this book deals with Erwartung by Arnold Schoenberg. During my recent research trip in Berlin I did not have time to read the whole chapter, so I returned to it now, and I was amazed by McClary's virtuosity, her breath of knowledge in music and other contemporary theory, and the way she builds her arguments. This chapter is a good example to authoritative writing.
Due to some of the issues that I have spoke about in recent posts (such as The difference between a poor critic and a good scholar, Musicology, Science and Postmodernism, Performance and Analysis: a response to Zecharia, and Heinrich Schenker and his followers) I thought it would be useful to quote the following from McClary's chapter:
"That analysis is an indispensable ingredient in out study of music is beyond question. Yet we need to supplement bare formal analysis with information concerning the historical conditions that give rise both to particular repertories and also to the metatheoretical discourses that serve and explain away the 'problematic' aspects of music. If – as clearly is the case – a fascination with madness and transgressive behavior motivates much of the music we care about, then surly we need to take that into account before we jump into our graphs. Otherwise, what precisely are we doing? Whose rationality are we attempting to establish, and why?†(109)
What I love about this passage is that is does not go against analysis. It states clearly that analysis is "an indispensable ingredient in out study of musicâ€. However, it suggests that scholars must go beyond the score in order to reach a more comprehensive understanding of music.
Moreover, it suggests that some of the motivation behind formal analysis is to demonstrate a supposed rationality of music that is actually motivated by irrational things (such as madness and transgressive behavior). Western culture celebrates rationality as one of its highest values and goals. It is postmodern authors (such as Michel Foucault) that demonstrate that this is nothing but a myth.
This is one of the things that I find extremely attractive about the epoch after modernism. Irrational issues such as madness, gender, identity and religion can be discussed in the open. These are the things that touch most of us and make us, at least partly, obsessed about the music that we love.
Musicology, Science and Postmodernism
There is something annoying about being a musicologist and a postmodernist. As a musicologist one is expected to be a scientist, to reach an objective truth and to say things with authority. As a postmodernist, one is expected to doubt the idea of one truth, to show various perspectives of a phenomenon and to deal with the elusive thing called: meaning. Being a musicologist and a postmodernist may seem a contradiction in terms.
There is something extremely attractive about science. It tells us stories about the truth: one truth. It gives us a sense of revelation, almost a religious one. It gives us miraculous power to control the world and to dominate it. It cures illness (often creating new ones) and promotes technological progress (are we happier?). For me, the notion of "progress†is nothing more than a superstition. Glenn Gould was aware of it, as are many others.
In the realm of music, many are still worshiping idols. It may be the romantic notion of the composer-idol. It may be a cold notion of cognition, by seeking the "grammar†behind the music. The common act of this idol worshipping is that it bypasses the concept that music meaning is something that is affected by performers, listeners and the social and cultural contexts that they live in.
Dr Flora Jersonsky-Margalit kindly pointed out an article that is relevant to this discussion. Avshlom Alizur wrote what seems to me as a simplistic article about postmodernism. I will not spend my time demonstrating why it is simplistic. Who ever is interested in reading a more comprehensive understanding of postmodernism in welcome to read first chapter of Religion Without Illusion (in Hebrew) by Dr. Gili Zivan. דת ×œ×œ× ×שליה
It is shocking how much time is spent on teaching how music is built while ignoring how it is experienced. A music student learns hours of harmony, counterpoint, and ear training (of the type that teaches you how to identify simple building blocks of music). The music student learns about the history of the composers (less about the history of music). Music analysis often focuses on analyzing what the composer did in his score. A better way to do things is to teach how harmonic grammar changes its meaning in different contexts. How context affects the meaning of counterpoint rules in the music of Bach and others (yes, also other composers used counterpoint…). How the same chord receives different meaning in different contexts and how very different chords sound the same in certain contexts (the music theorist Edward T. Cone wrote in 1967 a wonderful article called "Beyond analysis").
It is true that some students start learning music with the aim of becoming composers. Yet, others simply want to play music or learn more about it in order to further enjoy it. As Eric Clark suggests in his recent articles, the crucial question is what music means. In order to deal with this question one needs to speak about performance. Performance is something social. It is a scene where certain things become more important than others. Performers, no matter whether they admit it or not, no matter whether they are conscious about it or not, always emphasize things in their performance.
Dealing with performance is one of the ways to deal with musical meaning. It is not by chance that performance studies became such a vibrant and important field in the world, when much of the academic world is increasingly influenced by postmodern thought.
Why does one cry from music? Is it because of Schenker? Is it because of the score? The score has something to do with it. However, it is only one important factor among many that play a role in the creation of musical meaning in performance.
It seems to me much more reasonable that students should compare recordings with the score and discuss the issue of interpretation. Why one interpretation is good and one is bad (the postmodernists will not like this…). Not only whether the performer is "faithful†to the score, but whether the score is "faithful†to the performer. I find both questions slightly ridiculous.
Musical meaning is a negotiation between cultural signs that are interpreted and reinterpreted. The scene is fluctuating and the "truth†depends on the performers and listeners. We can write all day about the "structure†and the "rules†of perceiving it. Yet, if one redefines in performance what in fact the structure is, than how "objective" can one be a priory to performance?
So what is the difference between a poor musical critic, who may speak about food when writing about music, and a musicologist who is supposed to transcend personal subjective metaphors and speak with slightly more authority? I will deal with this question in one of my forthcoming posts.
Heinrich Schenker and his followers
I am no Schenkerian. My knowledge of Schenker is limited and I never really did any analysis using his methods. I read criticism on Schenker's theory, I read about his method and I know quite well several books and articles that are highly influenced by his theory. It is quite clear that Schenker is the most influential music theorist since the second half of the twentieth century. He has fanatic followers who believe in his theory and spread it. He has admirers that are influenced by him, yet are also critical to his thoughts. And there are people, like me, who highly respect his work yet feel far from it. Perhaps in the future, if I learn more about his work, I might be converted.
Recently, a book on Schenker call The Schenker Project was written by Nicholas Cook. I read parts of it and I think that it is very good. Cook has extensive knowledge on Schenker in particular and music analysis in general (he has a very good book which is 'a must' for anyone interested in Musical Analysis). Here is part of the abstract of the book: 'This book aims to explain Schenker's project through reading his key works within a series of period contexts. These include music criticism, the field in which Schenker first made his name; Viennese modernism, particularly the debate over architectural ornamentation; German cultural conservatism, which is the source of many of Schenker's most deeply entrenched values; and Schenker's own position as a Galician Jew who came to Vienna just as fully racialized anti-semitism was developing there.'
It is well known that Schenker's theory ignores things such as rhythm and orchestration. Some of Schenker's followers continued his work in very interesting ways. When I was young and naïve, I wrote a negative review on Harald Krabs's book on Schumann (Fantasy Pieces). I still stand behind most of the criticism that I wrote at the time (a different version of part of this review can be found in my PhD in one of the chapters on Pierrot lunaire). Yet today I am capable of appreciating even more his achievements in this book.
John Rink, who was my Ph.D. supervisor, is influenced by Schenker. His is one of the theorists that include quazi-Schenkerian methods in research on performance. A fascinating article that he wrote doing this is: 'Analysis and (or?) performance' in Musical Performance: A Guide to Understanding, ed. John Rink (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002). It is interesting that this article in meant to assist performers. It advocates a middle way between those who think that one must do comprehensive Schenkerian analysis in order to perform and those who are against any kind of analysis before performing. He uses the term 'informed intuition'.
Apart from the problems mentioned above, Schenker's theory in misguided in the following (this is not meant to be a comprehensive list):
1) It claims to be the only truth.
2) It suggests that a work of Genius is based of certain structural definitions.
3) It claims that works of Genius are German.
4) It ignores the cultural and social aspects of music making.
5) It is based on the concept of organicism which is anachronistic.
It is important that every serious musician learns about Schenker. However, this must be conducted in a critical manner.
Since this blog deals alot with issues if performance, I would like to mention an important book that was published lately: Heinrich Schenker, ed. Heribert Esser, The Art of Performance (USA: Oxford University Press, 2002) This book includes unpublished writings on performance by Schenker. It is facinating and not expensive.
Do you have any comments? Please use the form below to add them to this post.
What should we write: comparison of "A Great Joy Tonight†and "Music-Mission and Message†(part 1)
We went this morning to a small trip to Tel-Aviv. I went to buy Susan McClary's book Feminine Endings which I ordered. This is one of the books that that every music lover should have at home. I left the store with this book and with two other books: Inbal Perlson, A Great Joy Tonight: Arab-Jewish Music and Mizrahi Identity (Tel-Aviv, Israel: Resling, 2006), and Michal Smoira-Cohn and Herzl Shmueli, Music: A Mission and Message (Or Yehuda, Israel: Kinneret, Zmora-Bitan, Dvir, 2007).
In the post Call for papers "What there is and what there is not to read about music in Hebrew†I wrote that "I hope that the Israeli Musicological Association annual meeting will discuss not only what is not written, but also what should be written. Do we need more Schenkerian books in Hebrew that almost no one reads, or is there a more desperate need for books that might be of interest to a larger amount of readers?â€
In this post I will compare the introductions of the two books in order to demonstrate the different goals of the writers and their relation to up-to-date research in other fields in Israel and music research in the world.
Music: A Mission and Message claims that "music is communicationâ€. Michal Smoira-Cohen suggests that "the music moves from the producer [mashmia] and and listener [shomea]†The listener, she argues, feels a feeling of spiritual elevation if the got the "messageâ€. She suggests that "music is in its entirety: emotional intelligenceâ€. The music has a "missionâ€: it must reach the listener so that he or she could "internalize it and enrich his spiritual worldâ€. The book, it is claimed, "is written out of a concern for the day of tomorrow and the fate [no more and no less] of music, which stands, this day, before a cross road.â€
The argument presented in Music: A Mission and Message is problematic. Nicholas Cook wrote: "To understand music as performance means to see it as an irreducibly social phenomenon, even when only a single individual is involved… This observation derives its force from the extent to which the manifestly social practice of music has been conceptualized in terms of a direct and private communication from composer to listener. Because of this hierarchical communication model (one that reflects the traditional alignment of divine and human creation), even the everyday fact of divided authorship has been problematic for the musical academy.†[14], 'Between Process and Product: Music and/as Performance'
For Michal Smoira-Cohn and Herzl Shmueli Music is received "as if from a higher force, uplifted from man†(I guess she is speaking here about God although she if careful by using the words 'as if'). For them, music is a message that is not being interpreted and influenced in any significant way by social and cultural circumstances. They suggest that music is an a-priori objective message that should be transmitted securely from God via the composer and performer, to the listener. It is very clear here who is active and who is passive; who is on top and who is under; who is ejaculating "the music" (the composer) and who is receiving it passively. In other words, music is not really being interpreted (in a sense that its "message" significantly changes as a result of this interpretation) it is transmitted. Its essence is left intact.
Performance becomes a passive act which has little affect on the "message†that should be transmitted faithfully to the listener. Otherwise, how can we save the world (or at least "the fate of musicâ€)?
Inbal Perlson's aim is slightly more modest. She wishes to reveal the mechanisms that turned the Jewish-Arab music in Israel to "Mizrachi†(eastern) music. She claims that by doing so, the Israeli Zionist hegemony neutralized the Arab component and made the music Israeli. This way the popular folk music (Zemer) could be kelp under control and it did not threat the development to the Israel-Jewish-Askenazi-white musical establishment.
I will review this book in a separate post, however, here, I will to demonstrate how the research questions are so different in these two projects. Perlson's research is part of a postmodern project that was initiated by authors like Michael Foucault. It is dealing with power forces that control the music establishment, and affect the lives of all Israelis. Michal Smoira-Cohn and Herzl Shmueli project is pretending to be objective, dealing with "the music itself†(whatever that means). Most important: it is ignoring the cultural and social context that music is written and performed in.
Reading only the introductions of these two books, it is clear that the aims, research questions, relation to updated research on music in Israel and in the world, is completely different.
This is why I think anyone who cares why there are almost no books on music in Hebrew in the books shops, must first think what kind of books should be there. Musicologist have limited power. Yet, I saw how musicologist in England and USA were able to raise funds in order to create amazing research projects (see CMPCP and CHARM). We can do the same here. First we should make clear to ourselves and others where we are heading to. Will musicology in Israel in ten years from now will look like it was ten years ago, or will be somewhere else? What are our aims?!
If you care, comment on this post now.


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Applying AHP in Conflict Resolution
The current failure to resolve conflicts worldwide highlights the need for a different approach to conflict resolution. A new International Center for Conflict Resolution (IC4CR), to be housed in the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, was funded by the University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Patrick Gallagher in response to a proposal by professors Luis Vargas and Jerry Zoffer.
The mission of IC4CR is to provide decision makers with an in-depth understanding of the negotiating positions of all parties and recommend implementation guidelines, based on preferences and priorities, to facilitate resolution of otherwise intractable conflicts.
We propose to implement this mission by conducting studies of diplomatic and corporate conflicts using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP).
How to Cite
AHP, tradeoffs, gain/loss ratios
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Ambrose of Milan
Ambrose was born a citizen of Rome in Trier, Germany, between 337 and 340. His family were Christians. His father was prefect of Gallia Narbonensis, his mother a woman of intellect. He was educated in Rome for a career following that of his father. As his education in literature, law, and rhetoric progressed he was placed by praetor Anicius Probus on the council of Ligura and Emilia and then made consular prefect with headquarters in Milan. In this position he established himself as an excellent administrator.
In the contention between the Nicene and Arian parties for the succession to the vacant see of Milan after the death of the Arian Auxentius in 374, an address that Ambrose delivered in the midst of the crisis led to his acclamation as the only competent candidate for the position of bishop of Milan. While he was only a catechumen, he was quickly baptized and then within days installed as the new bishop of Milan. He quickly began studying theology under Simplician, a presbyter of Rome. After settling his personal life, dividing his money among the poor and arranging for the care of his family, and he, then, devoted himself to the work of the church.
Soon, the new bishop of Milan began to follow the cause of the Nicenes within the church in arguments with the Arians. In the imperial court Ambrose enjoyed the support of Gratian who was the son of Valentinian I, but Ambrose's arguments could not bring the younger son Valentinian from the Arian side. As the religious arguments progressed, the leaders of the Arians, Palladius and Secundianus, proposed to Gratian to call a general council. Sensing that this was a reasonable request, Gratian agreed, but Ambrose foreseeing adverse consequences, convinced the Emperor to limit the council to a meeting only of the Western bishops.
This synod was convened at Aquileia in 381 with 32 bishops present. With Ambrose presiding, the council called upon Palladius to defend his opinions. Citing that the meeting was not representative of the church and was biased, Palladius refused. The synod then voted to depose both Palladius and Secundianus from their episcopal offices. But, the fight against the Arians intensified when, in 384, Valentinian, his mother Justina, and many among the clergy and the laity who professed the Arian faith requested of Ambrose, as bishop, the use of two churches in Milan and its suburbs. Ambrose refused and when called before the council to answer for his behavior, he was accompanied by a crowd of people whose zeal so overawed Valentinian's ministers that Ambrose was allowed to leave the meeting without having to surrender the churches. The prefect of the city followed up with further persuasive requests for use of a church in the suburbs. Since Ambrose was still being obstinate, the officers of the household began to take action to prepare the churches for the emperor, but backed off upon seeing the strength of Ambrose's firm stand, particularly when he stated, "If you demand my person, I am ready to submit: carry me to prison or to death. I will not resist, but I will never betray the church of Christ. I will not call upon the people to succour me. I will die at the foot of the altar rather than desert it. The tumult of people I will not encourage, but God alone can appease it." However, circumstances never actually tried Ambrose's courage to this degree.
When members of the "old state religion" tried to obtain approval from Emperor Valentinian II to restore the Altar of Victory to its old station in the Roman Senate, to properly support seven Vestal Virgins, and to make regular observances of other pagan rites, Ambrose vigorously presented counter-arguments to the absurdity and hypocrisy of their requests, noting that it was the duty of a Christian prince to suppress pagan rites.
Equally, Ambrose held firm with the Emperor against any show of favoritism for the Jews, pointing out to the Emperor, when he was favoring rebuilding a synagogue that a mob had destroyed, the many houses of wealthy people and churches that had been destroyed by unruly mobs, with many then still not restored. Yet, Ambrose did not oppose punishing those who were directly responsible for destroying the synagogue.
While much of his support from the people came from his popularity and reverence paid to him, he also built upon these associations with the poor and with introduction of popular reforms in the order and manner of public worship. He also preached on the public characters of his time, in which the applause of the people was often mingled with derision of the imperial court. While the court was often displeased with his religious positions and his conduct, they respected his political talents and when the need arose, they solicited his aid which he generously granted. Thus, when Magnus Maximus usurped power in Gaul and was considering entering Italy, Valentinian asked Ambrose to go to Gaul and dissuade him from doing so. Ambrose's journey was successful. In a second try for mediation, Ambrose was not as successful as his advice was not followed, allowing Maximus to enter Italy and take Milan. While Justina and her son fled, Ambrose remained in Milan and attended to many of those who suffered from the invasion.
In the power struggles of the late fourth century, Theodosius I, emperor of the East, came to be in undisputed possession of the Roman empire. Yet, Ambrose chastised Theodosius for a massacre in Thessalonica, bidding him to emulate David in repentance. Also, he encouraged Theodosius in the enactment of the "Theodosian decrees", which were more characteristic of Ambrose's agenda than that of Theodosius. After the defeat of Eugenius he asked for pardon of those who supported Eugenius. Ambrose reposed on April 4, 397, two years after the death of Theodosius. Ambrose's successor as bishop of Milan was Simplician.
Ambrose is ranked with the great Western Christian leaders of the time: St. Augustine of Hippo, St. Jerome, St. Gregory the Great, and St. Hilary of Poitiers. Ambrose was most known for his administrative talents, given his education and early experience before becoming a bishop. Yet, like Hilary he was an Alexandrian and was in the forefront in the doctrinal issues of the day, particularly those concerning Arianism. His sermons were famous and were influential in the conversion of Augustine, whom he eventually baptized. His endeavors in hymn writing became models of hymns of dignified simplicity for future times. Ambrose is credited with introducing antiphonal chanting wherein one choir alternates with another.
External links
- St. Ambrose the Bishop of Milan (OCA)
- Ambrose, Bishop of Milan (GOARCH)
- Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series II, Vol. X: St. Ambrose from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library
- Wikipedia:Ambrose
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