Soiled Amplitudes: My Musical Composition and Notational Aesthetic in Five Seasons - Softcover

Bathory-Kitsz, Dennis

Softcover

ISBN 13: 9798295594984

Publisher: Westleaf Edition, 2026

Synopsis

A book of unusual musical exploration, Soiled Amplitudes follows composer Dennis Bathory-Kitsz in his search for both compositional truth and the integrity of music created as graphical scores. Revealing music as a mix of so-called "colonial notation" and a panoply of new symbols, graphics, drawings, and colorful patterns, he carries the reader through the historical twists and turns of music written on paper. Along the way, Bathory-Kitsz explains what he means by nonpop, why music isn't language as we know it, how performance art and installations are part of the compositional realm, and why the world of musicians is filled with modern-day Mozarts waiting to be heard. Living in Vermont, he also lays out the life and challenges of a rural composer in an urban artistic society. With more than 100 illustrations and photographs, Soiled Amplitudes includes graphical scores contributed by 30 composers working today, along with an extensive bibliography and references.

About this title

About the Author

Dennis Bathory-Kitsz is a composer, author, editor, and digital music engraver. He composes and advocates for the presentation of nonpop music and writes about history, travel, and technology. His music has been commissioned more than 300 times and performed by his own ensembles and over 100 orchestras, chamber ensembles, choruses, and soloists around the world. His installations have appeared in numerous galleries and museums, and his musical scores are part of the historical "Notations21" project and exhibit. He has authored six books, including "I Don't Get Classical Music," and composed eleven hundred works, including the acclaimed Blood Countess opera "Erzsébet". He has co-hosted the award-winning "Kalvos and Damian" nonpop radio show and directed the Vermont Alliance of Independent Country Stores. He lives in Northfield Falls, Vermont.

Edition details

• Publisher: Westleaf Edition
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 13: 9798295594984
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 332