The radical music of John Zorn, Diamanda Galás, and Merzbow: a hermeneutic approach to expressive noise

Music at the turn of the twenty-first century has expanded in new, previously inconceivable directions, many of which espouse a newfound freedom from dominant models of beauty and aesthetic excellence. From this musical space, vital new musical practices are emerging from composers such as John Zorn, Diamanda Galás, and Merzbow; however, because their music is so utterly unconventional, existing critical tools are failing to lead toward a greater understanding of the meaning created through the music. This interpretive lacuna has compelled the present study, which seeks to create a discursive space along with appropriate critical tools to help scholars and listeners better understand new streams of radical music from the late twentieth and early twenty-first century. The radical music of John Zorn, Diamanda Galás, and Merzbow presents special hermeneutic challenges to anyone who endeavors to find meaning within their aggressively alienating expressive languages. To this end, I propose a multifaceted, multi-perspectival approach that is grounded the hermeneutic philosophy of Paul Ricoeur and the psychoanalytic theory of Jacques Lacan, but that also emerges organically from the exigencies of the works under consideration. Across case studies on Zorn, Galás, and Merzbow, I demonstrate how a hermeneutic approach can uncover comprehensible musical meaning even when confronting the extreme expressive languages of these composers. Ultimately, I hope to provide a model for future investigations into musical meaning to help elucidate the work of other radical composers.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Musicology

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2014

Author dc:creator

• Wilson, Steven

Contributors dc:contributor

• Magee, Gayle S.
• Buchanan, Donna A.
• Solis, Gabriel
• Silvers, Michael

• Hermeneutics
• Experimental Music
• John Zorn
• Diamanda Galas
• Merzbow
• Jacques Lacan
• Paul Ricoeur

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2014 Steven Wilson

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/50554

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/50554