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Improvisations on the Ledge

Improvisations on The Ledge

<p>In "Improvisations on the Ledge," award-winning composer-pianist Peter Saltzman searches for universal truths by stumbling upon them—both with words and music. The basic premise is simple: he improvises on the piano, then talks about what the music tells him. Then makes music about what the talking tells him. Then...well, it goes on like this. Droll, funny, dramatic, musical, short.</p>

After an extended layoff, I’ve decided to get back to Improvisations On the Ledge by sticking to the theme—literally. The entire season—including this episode—is devoted to musical theme: how we create, perceive it, and make music out of it.

In the pilot episode for season three, I randomly stumble upon a couple of themes, including “My Funny Valentine” and “Money, Money, Money”, then proceed to create a show out of them.

Along the way, I delve into what a “theme” is in musical terms. Is it like the theme of a story? Yes and no. In music, themes, as I discover in this episode, are far more fungible than their literary or dramatic counterpoints. They can magically transform into other themes; themes can generate new themes; musical elements that don’t seem on the surface to be thematic can become so by their repeated use.

In short, just about any sonic event can become thematic. This is what makes music special.
As we’ll find out in season three!

Music Mentioned