In Sonoor on February 19th at 4 pm an In Memoriam for Burt Bacharach, who passed away on February 8 at the age of 94. Born in 1928 in Kansas City, he grew up in New York City. He received his musical education at McGill University in Montreal. After his military service he was taught in California by the Czech composer Bohuslav Martinu.
The great fame of Bacharach’s music meant that its virtuosity was sometimes overlooked: it was regularly dismissed as “elevator music” or “easy listening”. But a typical Bacharach composition was rhythmically complex and often confused the listener with sudden changes in time and irregular phrasing. The harmonies were sometimes unconventional (Bacharach is said to have been influenced by the bebop jazz of his youth) and he excelled at composing melodies that linger and refuse to leave.
Although his music has always been classified as pop music, jazz can clearly be heard in his carefully produced music, which was also influenced by rock, bossa nova and soul, among others.
The hundreds of songs he wrote and recorded were performed and recorded by countless musicians. It made him one of the most important composers of twentieth-century popular music.
Sonor: Sunday, February 19th, 2023, 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
