<< D E T A I L S >>
Excerpts from the live recording of the premiere, performed by soprano Ann Noriel, and pianist Mark Salters.
The Business Cycle (2005)
Song Cycle for Soprano and Piano
(Utilizing texts from Creating the Corporate Future: Plan or be Planned For by Russell Ackoff , Surviving Transformation: Lessons from GM's Surprising Turnaround by Vincent P. Barabba and Eupsychian Management: A Journal by Abraham Maslow)
Five songs, approximately 12 minutes
This piece was premiered by soprano Ann Noriel and pianist Mark Salters in Schoenberg Hall at UCLA in May 2005.
<< T E X T S & E X C E R P T S >>
1. The Use of Information
"It is difficult to think of a topic that is more basic to the conduct of human affairs than the use of information. The use, nonuse, misuse, and abuse of information is about as fundamental and pervasive a social and psychological process as one can find."
Vincent P. Barabba
Hearing the Voice of the Market
MP3 (Excerpt 1)
2. Essential Properties
"The essential properties of a system taken as a whole derive from the interactions of its parts, not their actions taken separately. Therefore, when a system is taken apart it loses its essential properties. Because of this -- and this is the critical point -- a system is a whole that cannot be understood by analysis."
Russell Ackoff
Creating the Corporate Future
MP3 (Excerpt 2)
3. Seeing Reality
"Each of us sees the world through a unique set of lenses that is determined by our personal experiences, our responsibilities, and our singular interests. The result is that none of us, either as an individual or as a part of a functional group, sees reality in its entirety."
Vincent P. Barabba
Meeting of the Minds
MP3 (Excerpt 3)
4. Acceptance of the Mystery of Life
"One of the things that I have learned from existential psychology is that so many of the basic and serious problems of life are unsolvable, in that they’re impossible to understand, to make any sense of, or to be rational about; they just are. Therefore, about the only way to handle them is simply to recognize their existence and to accept them with as little fuss as possible, and wherever possible enjoy them in their richness and mystery."
Abraham H. Maslow
Eupsychian Management
MP3 (Excerpt 4)
5. A Taxonomy is Required
"What should we call what is known? Is it Data or Information or Knowledge or Understanding or Wisdom or any other of the hundreds of words that have been used over time? The issue is not, however, not about or, it is about and. In the development of solutions to [problems], information is more valuable than data; knowledge more valuable than information; understanding more valuable than knowledge; and wisdom more valuable than understanding."
Vincent P. Barabba
Surviving Transformation
MP3 (Excerpt 5)
<< C O M P O S E R N O T E >>
This piece is a birthday gift for my father, who has written several books about business. I chose to include texts from Russell Ackoff and Abraham Maslow, authors who have influenced dad’s work. In the process of working on this piece, it became clear to me, that there is an enormous amount of "philosophy" in the study of business that overlaps with an improved understanding of the bigger issues of life. I have always admired my father’s direct approach to the world, and hope to someday live up to Maslow’s "Acceptance of the Mysteries of Life" as well as he has. |
