It can be easy to forget that there’s a big difference between hearing and listening: hearing simply being the physical act of sound entering our ears, with listening requiring active engagement. Hello – I’m Loki Karuna, and on this edition of Noteworthy I invite you to listen to a composer for whom this distinction was pivotal to her entire musical philosophy – the late Pauline Oliveros.
Born in Houston back in 1932, Pauline became a massive pioneer in the world of electronic music. But what really set her apart was her lifelong dedication to what she called “Deep Listening”—an aesthetic and meditative practice designed to heighten our sonic awareness. Using her accordion, she created music that emphasized the idea of deep listening, including this 1988 work called Crossing the Sands.
Pauline passed away in 2016, but her legacy as a theorist, author, and sonic explorer continues to inspire composers and performers, alike. By challenging us to slow down and truly listen to the world around us, Pauline Oliveros left a meaningful mark on both music and how it’s engaged, easily earning herself a spot as one of America’s MOST Noteworthy composers.
Noteworthy is a production of WDAV classical public radio.