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Johnny Reinhard’s Home At The Stereo Society
Johnny Reinhard
“The number of pitches is infinite … just because more importance is placed on the Western system today does not mean it’s the best.” Johnny Reinhard
Johnny Reinhard (1956- ) is a microtonal composer, virtuoso bassoonist and conductor. Having studied at the Manhattan School of Music he became interested in developing the bassoon compositionally and began to experiment with the use of microtones. His appreciation of microtonality developed during his fellowship at Columbia.University when he began to conduct extensive research into microtonal music in other cultures. This created his belief that all music is microtonal. He formed the American Festival of Microtonal Music (AFMM) in 1981 to showcase past and contemporary microtonal music and to introduce microtonality to the listening public. Now a prolific composer, Reinhard continues to perform, promote and lecture in his hometown of New York and all over the world.
Through his direction of the AFMM and his other individual efforts, Reinhard has almost singlehandedly revived public awareness of microtonality in the 21st century
August 2021
Johnny publishes A MICROTONAL ANALYSIS OF IGOR STRAVINSKY’S CONCEPT OF PITCH AND ITS RESULTING SCALE
April 2021
Johnny announces the launch of the virtual Microtonal University (MU), beginning September 5 2021.
September 2018
Johnny has just returned from a week in Israel, where he performed as a microtonal recorderist, the highlight being a council night improvisation in Neve Shalom, a village divided exactly, half Israeli Jews, quarter Christian Palestinians, quarter Muslim Palestinians.
February 2017
A new recording
Delighted to announce that the Stereo Society is working with Johnny Reinhard towards the commercial release of the world premiere performance of the microtonal Concord Sonata, as envisioned by Charles Ives in extended Pythagorean. We are presently working on the 16-page booklet for the fabulous performance by the brilliant duo of Gabriel Zucker and Erika Dohi last November 11, 2016.
A new book
Johnny’s new book Bach and Tuning has been published by Peter Lang and is available in paperback from your favourite on-line retailer or as an e-book here.
Microtonal University (MU)
AFMM presents a new project: MU – a virtual microtonal university
Beginning on September 5 2021, MU makes use of various platforms to offer a host of different courses, instruction, entertainment, connections, all while being connected to a worldwide social destination for microtonalists, and those with a decidedly microtonal sensibility.
Faculty members are virtuoso instrumentalists, composers and improvisers
A wide-ranging and intensive programme of events has been announced, running through August 2022. Find out about it here.
September 2018
“Having so much fun making new BandCamp albums. The 40-year AFMM archive allows a freedom not possible with the restrictions of the compact disc. I can now make a Classical Music History of Tuning, Bach-Ives, that could be used for any school, university, or conservatory interested in listening to the greats in the their natural habitat of temperament easily through the Internet. An album of Microtonal Pioneers, an album of original Reinhard compositions (solo & ensemble & orchestral), performances of many other composers, other composers performing their own works, other performers performing other composer’s compositions, an album of inciteful improvisation, and so, so much more, like radio interviews, lectures, all at just a few clicks away. This is clearly the new road for the American Festival of Microtonal Music.” Johnny Reinhard
And previously:
February – April 2018: MicroFEST NYC, under the direction of Johnny Reinhard, Three unique concerts, with many of the compositions in 128 tuning.
Summer and Fall 2017: A series of concerts in Canada, Europe and Russia with Angel Blanco.
April 24 & 25 2017: Odessa, Ukraine: Two Days And Two Nights for New Music, part of the 23rd International Festival of Modern Art, with Reinhard performing a solo microtonal programme.
March 12 2017: Gallery MC, NYC: A joint concert with Composers Concordance. Jon Catler joins Reinhard for a full evening of microtonal music, featuring new works by a plethora of veteran microtonalists.
Watch the performance of “for Johnny Reinhard” by Georg Friedrich Haas for solo bassoon in 128 tuning. The performance was from the final night of the MicroFest.
Click here for the full programme of events
Johnny Reinhard, 2010: “I began carefully plotting out the 128 pitch harmonic series scale with secure and reliable bassoon fingerings invented to service throughout the instrument’s entire range.”
Microtonal music is music which is not based on the 12-tone equally tempered scale which is so prevalent in western music. It is not constrained to any style or time period.
A paper discussing the development and precursors of the 128 Tuning System,
by Johnny Reinhard
By using only the information found in the harmonic series – also known as the overtone series – 128 distinct pitches are found outlined in its eighth octave. These 128 pitches constitute “definitive consonance.” Read the rest of Johnny’s article…
Browse Johnny’s albums here
Download a bundle of four five-minute excerpts from the Universe Symphony (18Mb): mp3 | m4a
Download a bundle of nine long excerpts from Raven tracks:mp3 | m4a
The subject of this essay — polymicrotonality — never shows up in a dictionary, although it has real meaning for my music compositions. When performing extemporaneously as a bassoonist, I couldn’t imagine improvising sans microtones. The complex world in which we live requires a new music that reflects what is special in this millennial era and, paradoxically, need not be overtly complex in its delivery. The insistence of a single tuning simply does not attract my aesthetic compass. Most significantly… Read more
To the American Festival of Microtonal Music external site
Watch the video of Johnny playing his composition Zanzibar