The Harmonic Series in Music | Assaff Weisman | TEDxNYIT

• published: 11 Nov 2014
• views: 62

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. Exploring the universality of music through the naturally--occurring harmonic series. This talk refers to a Bobby Mcferrin demonstration called "Watch me play the audience". As a performer of classical music, I frequently meet members of my audience who invariably like to share their impressions of the program they just heard. Very often, they will admit to having had difficulty with a certain work on the program, and with predictable regularity, they describe that work as being “dissonant.” By examining the naturally occurring phenomenon known as the harmonic series, this talk takes a closer look at this troubled and troubling “dissonance.” What exactly is it? Why do we react to it in the way that we do? When did it sneak its way into our music, and why are composers so intent on using it over and over? Assaff Weisman has been captivating audiences with his intensity, lyricism, and communicative style since his solo debut at the age of 12. The Greenville News observed “this piano virtuoso has facile fingers that toss off daredevil passages with ease and a mind for music that is as nimble as his fingers.” Weisman’s performances have taken him to some of the major venues in Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas, including appearances at the Rudolfinum in Prague, Beethovenhalle in Bonn, Philips Hall in The Hague, the Millennium Piano Festival in Spain as well as in Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, and the U.K. As first prize winner in the 2006 Iowa International Piano Competition, he has appeared as soloist with the Sioux City Symphony, American Chamber Orchestra, Ridgewood Symphony Orchestra, and Connecticut Valley Chamber Orchestra as well as the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional of Peru. An avid chamber musician, Weisman has collaborated with Isidore Cohen, Michael Tree, and Peter Wiley among others, and has taken part in the Aspen Music Festival, Campos do Jordão (Brazil), Lima Chamber Music Festival (Peru), The Music Festival of the Hamptons, and Verbier (Switzerland). He is a founding member and the executive director of the award-winning Israeli Chamber Project. About TEDx, x = independently organized event In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)