New Music reBlog

May 18, 2012

Matthew Herbert’s One Pig, On Tour, and the Making of a Sty Harp

Composing the sounds of an animal’s life cycle and ultimate consumption into a musical portrait, Matthew Herbert’s “One Pig” is in turns grotesque and sentimental, rock and opera. I expected squeamishness and vegetarian conversions when I saw it on tour, but instead, the crowd eagerly devoured the creature at the end. (Make of that what you will.)

One Pig is in Manchester, UK tonight before continuing to Brighton and Portugal.

As my own incurable appetite is for musical instruments, for me a highlight of the show is Scotland-based, American artist Yann Seznec’s Sty Harp. (See also our coverage of his iPad music game development work.) Gut strings in historical instruments already make use of animal parts, so a stringed instruments seems appropriate. But by dissecting obsolete, forgotten technology – a bit of a theme in these parts lately – Yann is able to make an effective, expressive instrument.

Sadly, there’s not much video of the instrument in action, but seeing it is a highlight of the live show. Yann’s performance has its own theatricality, rocking out on these extended strings around the “pig pen” like a boxer swinging against the ropes of a ring. First, Yann shares some notes on the show itself:

The album is an elegy to a life lived for the benefit of humans and raises complex questions about our relationship to these often-maligned and misunderstood creatures.

The album is made entirely out of sounds from the pig and its surroundings – the first squeals, the sound of it being alone for the first time, and the dripping of its blood after being butchered. The result is a delicate, beautiful, and occasionally terrifying musical composition with a profundity rarely heard in electronic music.

The live show debuted at the Royal Opera House, London, in September 2011 and has since toured the world, performing at Berghain Berlin, STRP Eindhoven, Club Silencio Paris, Liquid Room Tokyo, Ancienne Belgique Brussels, and more. Future dates include headlining at Future Everything in Manchester, the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, Palais de Tokyo in Paris.

The show explores and questions the life, death, and consumption of the pig. A chef cooking onstage brings the sound and smell of cooking pig, and the performance features a brand new custom instrument – the “Sty Harp”, built and performed by Edinburgh-based artist Yann Seznec. This representation of the pig’s home is used to trigger and control elements of music, forming an integral part of the 5 piece band. The rest of the band is comprised of Sam Beste on keyboards, Tom Skinner on SPDS, Hugh Jones on samplers, and Matthew on various keyboards and samples and things.

Yann explains how the instrument itself is constructed:

In terms of the Sty Harp, the instrument is built using hacked Gametraks, which were a failed proto-motion controller from around 2003. They were sold only in the UK, and worked by using two joysticks with strings attached that you clipped onto your hands. These could then sense the distance and vague location of your hands …a few terrible games were released on PS2, Xbox, and PC for the Gametrak before they were pulled from the market.

In any case, I took apart a whole load of these (I probably have owned more gametraks than anyone in the world, ever) and used their innards for the string/joystick controllers, which are totally great! I built a whole system with Jon (from Lucky Frame) to hook up twelve of these controllers into my computer at once. I’m using an Arduino with a mux shield to handle the 36 analog inputs (x/y/string for 12 controllers) at once, converting them into MIDI and sending them over to Ableton.

In Ableton the controllers are doing a number of different things, slightly different for each song. In the Max patch I made I can send out 5 individual MIDI notes from each string, one for general movement above a threshold, and one each for a push, pull, up, or down movement. These movements are also sending out CC values, as is the pulling of the string. So each string controller is sending a whole pile of MIDI data at all times, and I pick and choose for each song which gestures to use. So in some cases I’m just triggering individual sounds using the strings, but in others I am using some strings to trigger clips, others to control effects on those clips, and still other effects to do master play/stop/effects/etc.

The climax of the Sty Harp happens about 2/3rds of the way through the show, when the whole band joins me in the sty for the symbolic butchering of the pig. For that song each band member controls different strings, building a huge sound wall.

You can read more about my building of the sty harp here: http://theamazingrolo.net/styharp/

We’re playing in Manchester on Friday the 18th, Brighton on Monday the 21st, then in Lisbon on June 29th and Porto on June 30th.

http://www.matthewherbert.com/

Matthew Herbert – One Pig: exclusive album stream The Guardian

reBlogged from: Create Digital Music

on May 18, 2012 at 02:00 PM

Erdem Helvacioğlu, Eleven Short Stories

Let’s play a word association game. If I say, “prepared piano,” many of you might think “John Cage.” Yes, John Cage was a pioneer for prepared piano, and yes, Sonatas and Interludes becomes an almost inevitable comparison when discussing any prepared piano composition, but I only mention Cage because I don’t want you to think about him. (I realize, of course, that’s like saying, “Don’t think of a honey badger.”)

The problem with comparing Eleven Short Stories to Cage is that while the basic instrument is the same(ish), the end results are anything but. If you listen to this album with Cage as your expectation, you will be confused at best and incorrectly disappointed at worst. Cage’s prepared piano is exotic, percussive, and somewhat esoteric. It is high art in the best sense. Erdem Helvacioğlu’s prepared piano is electronic, quasi-minimalistic, and highly accessible. This is more a pop album, also in the best sense.

Eleven Short Stories is inspired by the works of film directors Kim Ki-Duk, David Lynch, Krzysztof Kieslowsi, Theodoros Angelopoulos, Jane Campion, Anthony Minghella, Ang Lee, Atom Egoyan, Darren Aronofsky, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and Steven Soderbergh. As to which director is paired with each piece, that is deliberately left unstated. Each is given a title suggesting a scene, such as “Jittery Chase” and “Shrine in Ruins,” and since each track is more about its title than anything else, Helvacioğlu seems wise to avoid any specific associations.

As a whole, it is abundantly clear that Helvacıoğlu has a remarkable ear, and he makes it easy to forget that all these sounds are generated from a piano. Every sound, every nuance serves the music, and nothing ever feels forced or hollow; his background in electroacoustic music most likely contributed to these highly successful preparations. The means of recording are also an important part of this album. Helvacioğlu used five microphones, two extremely close to the strings with the other three serving to capture broader perspectives. He also isn’t afraid to use multi-track recording to get all the sounds he needs, which brings me back to this being a pop album.

The influence of popular music is evident in several tracks, even to the extent that there seems to be a backbeat and claps on occasion.¹ More than that, though, is that this CD feels like a pop album. Most ‘classical’ CDs are about taking music that was originally meant to be heard live and attempting to archive it. They are recordings, if you will. In this case, the music seems to be written for the CD, and would be rather difficult to reproduce live—each piece has a unique preparation and the multi-track recording would require that some sounds be played over speakers in a live setting. The tracks are also relatively short (4:21 on average), adding to the pop feel. This isn’t a recording. It’s an album, and a very good album, at that.²

Helvacioğlu does a wonderful job evoking each of these eleven scenes. Two standouts for me were Blood Drops by the Pool and Six Clocks in a Dim Room. The former is decidedly the most experimental on the CD, but also one of the most evocative. The scraping sounds would be perfectly at home in any thriller, and the gradual accretion of the “blood drops,” which crescendo into chaos in the middle of the track is just fantastic. Were I alone in a dark alley in a strange city, this is not the music I’d want to hear. Safe at home, I love it. Six Clocks on the other hand has an entirely different feel. There is a driving beat that fades in and out, which might be heard as either rhythm guitar or bass, and a simple melody produced by plucked strings hangs over this foundation as other ambient sounds fill out the track.

There is a fair amount of variety across the CD, both in sounds and styles, and I imagine that nearly everyone will have their own favorite tracks. Still, there remains a cohesiveness to this album that works extremely well, thanks in large part to the single underlying source of sound production. I was not familiar with Erdem Helvacioğlu before this CD, but I am now anxious to hear what else his discography has to offer. Eleven Short Stories is an excellent CD, and I would highly recommend it.

Just don’t think about Cage.

---

Erdem Helvacioğlu. Eleven Short Stories (Innova Recordings, #245) March 2012 – Buy it on Amazon

¹Every time I hear claps in a song, I inevitably think of this. I just couldn’t think of any possible way to mention this in the review without, well, utterly confusing most people who clicked the link while simultaneously tarnishing my reputation as an academic. Enjoy.

²There are two CDs that spring immediately two my mind that share the same album “feel,” both of which are on heavy rotation at home: Leah Kardos’ Feather Hammer, and Jean-Philippe Goude’s Aux Solitudes. I would highly recommend both.

reBlogged from: I care if you listen(.com)

on May 18, 2012 at 12:00 PM

150 Years Of 'Taps'

reBlogged from: NPR Blogs: Deceptive Cadence

on May 18, 2012 at 10:00 AM

Notation: Augmented and Interactive

Since I spend a good part of my life notating music and I often use computers to do it, I pay some attention to developments in the computer notation world. It's a very good thing that the tools available for notation are far from limited to Sins and Fibs. (BTW: If you happen to teach music theory in an institution which presently requires the purchase of Finale or Sibelius*, why not do your cash-strapped and loan-burdened students a favor and encourage them to use an open source program like Musescore? It's free and open source, can do everything that would be required in a university-level theory sequence or orchestration class, and it's constantly getting better.)

The latest item to come across my desktop is INScore, an augmented and interactive program. "Augmented" means it allows all sorts of objects — among them score notation, graphics, text, signals or triggers or sensors of various sorts — to share space (and music-notational space-time) on page or screen and "interactive" means that it can be used in real time to generate and respond to objects and events and scores can even be designed in real time.  The utility of a program like this — for live animated scores for players, triggering electronics, re-arrangeable in realtime — is obvious.  It looks to me to be in an early but very much usable stage of development and is multi-platform and open source.  If anyone reading this gives INScore a spin, please let me know what you think of it.
_____
* AFAIC the one thing worse than a music school or department requiring student to purchase a particular notation program — however good they may be (I use Finale and Sibelius myself, with a half dozen other notation programs as well) and however convenient it may be for classroom management — is giving credit courses for learning to operate one of these programs. 

reBlogged from: Renewable Music

on May 18, 2012 at 12:00 AM

Peter Mennin / Richard Yardumian-Split Release (1971)

Today is the birthday of Peter Mennin, who died 29 years ago- in 1983, at 60 years of age.Notes excerpted from the back cover (enclosed):Born in Erie Pennsylvania, May 17, 1923, Mennin attended the Oberlin Conservatory briefly before serving in the Air Force, later resuming his studies at Eastman School of Music. In 1947 he joined the composition department at the

reBlogged from: A Closet of Curiosities

on May 18, 2012 at 12:00 AM

Visual Music: My God, It’s Full of Dots – Yayoi Kusama Meets Musical Design

Tenori-On and iPad apps, hardware designs and visual creations: set against the beautifully-generative mind of Japanese/New York artist Yayoi Kusama, the flurries of dots and circles and patterns in musical interfaces take on a richer meaning. This video, from a workshop hosted at the Tate Modern alongside an exhibition of Kusama’s work, needs little introduction. Instead, the dizzying cuts of geometric abstraction, the array of visual ideas for musical interface begin to take on the same personality of her expansive creations. The galaxies produced out of the minds of musicians somehow overlap with this iconic artist. I hadn’t really made the connection before, even as a fan of her work, but with this workshop, the sympathetic vibrations – intentional or not – become clear. Description:

Sonic Kusama:

Workshop exploring connections between the work of Yayoi Kusama and creation and representation of new music & sound art through visual audio interfaces.

Presented by Simon Little and Kelvin Brown with Chase Lane.

Audio track by Capstone Music

Video production by Territory Studio

If you’re in London, Infinite Kusama is on view now at the Tate Modern.

reBlogged from: Create Digital Music

on May 18, 2012 at 12:00 AM

May 17, 2012

Bruckner al fresco

That is the view of the Pic du Canigou, the Catalan holy mountain, seen this morning from where we are staying at Le Racou in Languedoc. At the foot of Canigou is Prades where Pablo Casals lived in exile from the Spanish fascists, and in previous years I have followed the path of the refugees who fled from Spain only to be interned in French concentration camps in the last months of the Spanish Civil War. But such is humanity's propensity to do evil to its fellows that just a few years later the flow of refugees was reversed as Jews and other 'undesirables' fled from the fascist powers in Germany and Vichy France into Spain. Their number included Alma Mahler and her third husband the Jewish Austrian-Bohemian author Franz Werfel. Rendered stateless by the Nazis and without exit visas, Werfel and his wife were forced to cross the French/Spanish border by climbing high into the Aspres range, which is an extension of the Pyrénées, to avoid French gardes mobiles who were stooges of the Gestapo. Among the Werfel's baggage were Mahler manuscripts and the autograph score of Bruckner's Third Symphony, which Alma had kept out of the hands of another passionate Brucknerian, Adolf Hitler. This year our travels have been informed by that little-known east to west flow of refugees which was facilitated by the enigmatic American journalist Varian Fry and included a number of prominent intellectuals. The photo below was taken by my wife as we literally followed the path of the Werfels and the Bruckner manuscript over the mountains to safety in Spain. More to follow on this story, meanwhile there is a lighter take on Alma Mahler here.

Also on Facebook and Twitter. Photos are (c) On An Overgrown Path 2012. Report broken links, missing images and errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

reBlogged from: On An Overgrown Path

on May 17, 2012 at 09:00 PM

Can You Beat Out The 'Rite' Rhythm?

reBlogged from: NPR Blogs: Deceptive Cadence

on May 17, 2012 at 09:00 PM

Talking up, not down: London Sinfonietta’s new Blue Touch Paper series

I was lucky to have been invited last night to attend a preview of the London Sinfonietta’s three latest projects in their Blue Touch Paper scheme. The main part of the evening involved work-in-progress previews of around 20 minutes for each … Continue reading →

reBlogged from: The Rambler

on May 17, 2012 at 05:00 PM

The Sinking of the Titanic: Gavin Bryars Ensemble @ Barbican

Just over one hundred years since the sinking of the Titanic. The tragedy was immortalized with emotional intensity and delicate musical sensitivity in The Sinking of the Titanic, written by British composer Gavin Bryars, and performed by him and his Ensemble at the Barbican on April 15. Bryars is recognised as a diverse musician and composer, his roots as a jazz bassist never far from the surface of this Titanic work. The Sinking of the Titanic (1969) was originally released on Brian Eno’s Obscure label in 1975 and is the composer’s first major work. Along with Jesus’ Blood Never Failed Me Yet (1971), this work sold over a quarter of a million copies when re-released in more recent performances. The Gavin Bryars Ensemble was founded in 1981 and continues to perform across the world.

Gaving Bryars and his ensemble performing "The Sinking of the Titanic" at Barbican Centre - Photo http://www.gavinbryars.com

According to some reports of the tragedy, the ship’s string ensemble kept on playing the hymn tune Autumn as the ship sank on April 14, 1912. This was the inspiration for the piece and, as a result, a string quartet forms the core of the ensemble. Fragments of the hymn tune can be heard throughout this work which lasts just over an hour. Philip Jeck’s turntabling added an additional layer of sonic material to the live music, creating sounds that never gratuitously attempted to recreate the sounds of the Titanic yet always suggesting an air of nostalgia. Two large mirrored screens played visuals prepared by Bill Morrison and Laurie Olinder (the images showed footage of the Titanic.) The music was never overstated, and the looped hymn tune became something of a meditation on the disaster rather than an attempt to recreate the experience through the visuals and music, which were always in synergy.

Gaving Bryars and his ensemble performing "The Sinking of the Titanic" at Barbican Centre - Photo http://www.gavinbryars.com

The slow opening accompanying footage of the Titanic about to embark on its journey was coloured by Jeck’s turntabling, rich in crackling sounds that were further coloured by percussion that sought to capture the creaking of the ship commencing its journey. The first time we heard the hymn tune performed by the quartet, we were confronted by the faces of the passengers: a poignant moment. The music always had the hymn tune at its core yet the material that encased it flowed like water, Jeck’s material adding something rather real to the experience: voices and sounds reminiscent of what one would imagine could be heard on the ship. Even with the ebb and flow of the material it remained something quite static, not in a disconcerting way, but rather in a moving meditative way. The silent close to this work was nothing but fitting. This was something beyond a concert but it represented a powerful and moving tribute to the disaster.

–

Steven Berryman is a composer and teacher working and living in London. Follow him on Twitter: @Steven_Berryman

reBlogged from: I care if you listen(.com)

on May 17, 2012 at 05:00 PM

Music as World Building (1)

In adding Les Troyens to my landmarks list, I forgot to note one other attraction of the opera, which is Berlioz's musical world building.  World building is usually thought-of as an element of fiction — fantasy and science fiction in particular, whether in literature, films, tv, or games — , through which just enough structure and details are presented as to make vivid the suggestion that the location of the fiction is within a larger and plausible (at least within the terms of its own logic) world 

Les Troyens is set in Troy and Carthage and is peopled by Trojans in the first two acts (Greeks are only a background presence) and refugee Trojans and Carthaginians populate acts three through five. The historical status of Troy is, well, complicated, but the myth is vivid, in both Homer and Vergil while the historical Carthage (near modern Tunis)  is much more established, but it is also the myth here, of a thriving city established in only seven years by exiles from Phoenician Tyre, that is at work.  A substantial part of Berlioz's project in Les Troyens was to project the two city-states through distinctive music and while we are now perfectly clear that his was not a reconstructive project and he was composing for western orchestra within a range the limits of which we now readily recognize (compare the range of instruments and scales/tunings Lou Harrison used to contrast Rome with Bythinia in the original version of Young Caesar),  the composer audibly pushed those limits to suggest these two states as contrasting cultures, if only in the anthems and marches he devised, with the Trojans in particular marked by major-minor contrast, unconventional functional harmony and by reminiscences of French Revolutionary music, repertoire that presumably continued to carry a marker for otherness.

There is some prehistory to this in that the ancient and exotic was a frequent and early theme in opera, but it took some time before the ancient and/or exotic actually was distinguished musically. Rameau's Les Indes galantes, presented four tableau representing non-European cultures, but these were supposed to be contemporary, fictional stories within real worlds, and the music was not strongly distinguished (if at all) from Rameau's usual style.  The tradition of imitating Ottoman military music is more familiar, particularly in Viennese classicism, and even when a composer's contact with actual Janissary music was relatively close (think of the Austro-Turkish War of 1787) this is again in the context of fictions told about real cultures.  Haydn's Il mondo della luna arguably attempts some fictional world (well, okay, satellite) building in the form of the faked moon landing, which is distinguished largely by reserving the key of Eb for the pseudo-lunar scenes.

A useful case for the potential advantages of world building as a compositional project may be found by considering Roger Session's opera Montezuma as a counter-example. Sessions made no attempt to synthesize distinctive musical styles for the two clashing cultures portrayed and I suspect that this lack of characterization contributed to the opera's failure.

reBlogged from: Renewable Music

on May 17, 2012 at 03:00 PM

Marketing Plan Tactics For Independent Musicians - Part 1 of 3: New Album Preparations

Chris Hacker here, I create Marketing Plans for artists at Cyber PR® and really enjoy working with my many clients. I’ve noticed a huge problem though. Artists call the Cyber PR® offices all the time looking for us to promote their new album, totally fine of course, but the problem lies in that many of these artists call us when their albums are coming out the next week!! It completely baffles me that an artist or band will work so hard on an album, spending hours and hours writing songs and practicing these songs and then spending large sums of money recording, mixing and mastering, to only rush the release with no plan in place! Not planning enough lead time for a press campaign isn’t the only issue, but many people we talk to try to release their album when some of the basic music promotion elements aren’t even in place, for example a website where you can sell the music!

In a three part series I will discuss some basic components of a marketing plan to help properly market you and a new release. This first blog post in the series can eloquently be called the “getting your sh*t together” phase. Here I’ve laid out 5 areas that need to be addressed before any official announcements should be made about a new album coming out.

1. Digital Distribution

Figure out how you’re going to digitally distribute the album, and a physical CD only release or selling the CD and mp3’s strictly on your website is not the way to go. You need to make your music available everywhere digital music can be streamed and bought, such as on iTunes and Spotify, and the best way to do that is work with a digital distribution company like CD Baby or Tunecore. With that said, I talk to people all the time who then take this one step too far and sign up with multiple distribution companies because they think they are covering all their bases this way. Which they are not. All that does is put multiple copies of the same album on iTunes and the like, which looks silly and can cause unnecessary confusion. And if you plan on working with a PR company to promote the release don’t set the release date until AFTER you have talked with them first.

2. Online presence

Make sure your online presence is complete, effective and contains all the necessary promotional tools. There are lots of places online that artists can have a presence, here I talk about three of the most important sites: Official Website, Facebook and YouTube.

Official Website - Your website should have a place where people can easily listen to and buy your music (but not a player that plays automatically when a person enters the site, can’t stress that enough), a homepage that has a news section where people can read the latest happenings with your career, and a newsletter sign up form, one that offers an incentive for signing up such as free music or discounts on merch. Plus it always surprises when I go to an artist website and can’t find any contact information or links to their social media networks.

Facebook - Just as important as your website is your Facebook Fan Page. On the new timeline there are three tabs that are on display; one tab should be a band profile that at a minimum contains a music player, tour dates and press quotes. Next is a newsletter sign up form, and again, this should offer an incentive for signing up. And the last visible tab should be a Store.

YouTube - Another important piece of your online presence is YouTube. I’m always curious how people listen and discover new music and time and time again the response I hear back is YouTube. It’s critical to have videos up on YouTube for every song of the new release by the release date or soon after. Not saying these have to be well produced music videos, but just the songs themselves. To do this some artists just put up an image of their cover and leave it at that, but people are much more inclined to listen to your music if there are scrolling lyrics they can read as they listen or if there is a slideshow to watch. Taking free archival footage and editing together to make a music video is another relatively easy and inexpensive way to create a video for your songs, and can be a lot of fun too.

3. Newsletter

This is real simple. Have one. And contact your mailing list once a month with news. Don’t cut corners on this either, a newsletter is where you’ll see the greatest impact on sales. All the tweets and facebook posts about a new album out for sale won’t equal the results of a well crafted newsletter, so spend money on a mailing list service provider that can help you design a rich looking email and provide analytics and tracking capabilities so you can measure the effectiveness of your newsletters and make adjustments where need be.

4. Touring

Ideally you’ll have a tour booked immediately following the release, which greatly helps a PR campaign. A local blog or local newspaper will be much more inclined to cover a new album for an artist if a show is booked in town. And not saying this has to be a month long tour, just a few regional dates will help with your press efforts. Now timing can be tricky here, just like setting a release date too soon, you don’t want to book a tour and then not have the album ready or press plan in place. So wait until you have a better idea of what that will look like and then start booking a tour, and if the tour doesn’t happen until a month or so after the release that is quite alright.

5. Merchandise

Pretty much everything in regards to your music career takes longer than expected, from making the album to creating the artwork to booking shows, and this definitely applies to any merchandise you want to have available to sell with the new album. And merch isn’t limited to T-Shirts and tote bags, handmade items can make for great unique offerings. Here’s a tip, at your merch booth bundle your music with these items cheaply and easily through download stickers from MerchMusic.com, where 120 codes will cost you just $10. Even though people aren’t buying CDs much anymore, they are still interested in supporting artists they love so give them lots of different ways to support you and purchase your music instead of just having a CD and leaving it at that.

So remember, plan early so you can have these items when you’re ready to release a new album, which I will be getting in to in more detail in the next blog post where I will discuss some basic principles for an effective pre-sale and album launch.

To find out more about the marketing plans I create for artists please visit our page here.

reBlogged from: Music Think Tank (primary) RSS

on May 17, 2012 at 12:00 PM

Spektral Quartet’s Theatre of War (preview)

May 23-24, 2012: Spektral Quartet and High Concept Laboratories Present Theatre of War

by Arlene and Larry Dunn

On Wednesday, May 23 in Chicago, the Spektral Quartet and High Concept Laboratories will present Theatre of War, an artistic investigation into the disconnects between the experiences of those most directly affected by our wars and the experience of the public at large. The event comes at a salient moment, immediately following the NATO summit meeting in Chicago. Theatre of War will be held at the Chopin Theatre and will be repeated on Thursday, May 24. All ticket proceeds are being donated to the Vet Art Project (www.vetartproject.com)

In every era there are artists who are able to use their work as a prism through which the public can examine troubling facts that might otherwise be hiding in plain sight. Examples abound, as diverse as Picasso’s antiwar masterpiece Guernica and Nina Simone’s civil rights broadside Mississippi Goddam. With our personal history in the struggles for civil rights and against the War in Vietnam, we consider this an important role of art. We have been troubled by the lack of public discourse and artistic light shone on a decade of US war-making.

We applaud the Spektral Quartet and their collaborators for embracing this artistic tradition with Theatre of War. The multimedia production will employ music, film, literature, and theater to examine the consequences of our nation being at war. With our modern all-volunteer military, few Americans are directly involved in our war efforts. We as a society hold those who serve in high regard. But we tend to do so with an empty reverence. We worship them as heroes without really understanding what we ask them to do in our names, nor comprehending the physical and psychic toll they pay in doing it. These are the disconcerting realities Theatre of War will confront.

The musical components of Theatre of War will be “Stress Position” by Chicago composer Drew Baker and George Crumb’s “Black Angels.” Guest pianist Lisa Kaplan of eighth blackbird will perform “Stress Position,” a staged piece for solo amplified piano. The pianist is subjected to a kind of torture, stretched to the limits to play constantly at the two extremes of the keyboard. As the volume increases and the lights go out, the audience is engulfed in the experience. The Spektral Quartet will play “Black Angels,” written by Crumb at the height of the Vietnam War turmoil. It is scored for electrified string quartet and the players are also required to vocalize, play percussion, and bow water-filled crystal glasses, creating eerie, otherworldly effects.

Richard Mosse, a filmmaker and photographer who has been embedded with US military units in Iraq and Afghanistan, will provide the video portion of the program. His short films “Theatre of War,” “Gaza Pastoral,” and “Killcam” expose elements of our military efforts of which the everyday public are typically unaware.

The literary and theatrical segments of Theatre of War will come from Nobel laureate Wislawa Szymborska and Chicago writer Virginia Konchan. Szymborska’s poems “Hatred” and “The End and the Beginning” assay the fundamental nature of human conflict and reconciliation. Konchan’s short story “Blackbird,” adapted for the stage by Molly Feingold of High Concept Laboratories, probes the scars of war borne by a returning soldier and his frustrated search for healing.

In presenting Theatre of War in the wake of the NATO Summit, we hope the Spektral Quartet and their artistic partners will spark a personal-level examination of our ongoing global military operations. Following the program, the audience will be encouraged to share their reactions in discussion with the artists and with each other.

Chicago-based Spektral Quartet was formed in 2010 with a commitment to play a wide-ranging repertory in traditional and genre-breaking venues. The members are Aurelien Fort Pederzoli (violin), J. Austin Wulliman (violin), Doyle Armbrust (viola), and Russell Rolen (cello). High Concept Laboratories, led by Co-artistic Directors Molly Feingold and Kevin Simmons, collaborates with Chicago-area artists and performers to foster the creation and development of new works.









Theatre of War

Chopin Theatre

1543 W Division

Chicago, IL 60642

Wednesday, May 23, 2012 at 7:30 PM

Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 7:30 PM

General Admission: $30.00

Student Admission: $20.00

Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/242801

Arlene and Larry Dunn are avid fans of a wide range of contemporary arts and music endeavors as well as life-long social activists. They are frequent contributors of “audience perspective” blog postings for digitICE, the blog of the new music juggernaut International Contemporary Ensemble. They live in rural LaPorte County, Indiana.

reBlogged from: Sequenza21/

on May 17, 2012 at 07:00 AM

Radiophonic Madrid (MP3)

Not all is grey static in the sound world of the excellent broadcast/podcast series Radius, out of Chicago. As always, it takes the phenomenon, the practice, of radio as its subject, but not every Radius participant tunes to the near-dead space between stations. The entry by Desh & Ekis, “Xprmtal Short Wave Radio B-Side (Radius Edit),” is a mix of serrated, burnished, but still quite audible and intelligible signals, from spoken bits to ceremonial drumming. The duo, who are based in Madrid, Spain, are willfully less easily scannable in their project description:

Site: Argantek Industrial State, AIII Motorway, km 23, MAD ESP.

A landscape of scrapheap hills, rusty heavy-duty machinery, abandoned building sites sheltering engine cults’ followers. A constant metallic buzzing interferes with encoded technical transmissions and radio spectrum “white spaces” while, high above, floats a chaos of frequencies.

Two short wave radio broadcasters establish contact through these airwaves, their dialogue sent back to the listeners of the area who are unaware of such free-form vibrations coming from their speakers.

Nonetheless, their mundane fantasy of subverted communication has a rich narrative groove to it, not the groove of metrically coherent rhythm but the groove of sequence, of found sounds paced and given associative power through contrast and accrual. The slow fade-out is a bit of a cheat in most experimental music, but here, as the sounds wind down, there’s a sense of the disparate noises, bonded by chance intervention, finally giving way to entropy.

Track originally posted at theradius.tumblr.com. More on Desh at digikampradesh.wordpress.com and on Ekis at facebook.com/ard2music.

reBlogged from: Disquiet

on May 17, 2012 at 06:00 AM

Understanding Through Tangential Questioning: Art, Dance Your Ph.D., and the Large Hadron Collider

(Shane Crerar received a BSc. in chemistry in 2000, and a BFA in sculpture in 2010.  He lives in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada and is employed by the city where he works as an arts administrator, dealing with public art, collections, film, and community arts organizations.)

Dance and theater make no sense to me.  I was formerly a chemist, and I cannot count how many times I watched someone’s expression go blank  and heard back “I hate chemistry” or some other adverse reaction to math and science when I told them what I do.  I imagine that dance and theater are as incomprehensible to me as chemistry is to, well…everyone else.  It can be a matter of taste: some people love pineapple.  I hate it.  Some people hate licorice.  I love it.  Some people love dance, and maybe I just miss the reference point.  Some people find it hard to relate mathematics to “real world” examples, while I find the relationship between dance and reality overly strained and contrived.  But on the other hand, I’m fascinated by “Dance Your Ph.D.”

Dance Your Ph.D. works for me. I’m not sure if the original intent was to market science through dance, or to market art to scientists, or maybe it is based on a meme of ridiculous interpretive dance. But it works. A Ph.D. thesis represents a huge investment of time and energy, but it also represents an incomprehensible tome that is rarely read, in full, by more than a handful of people. “Dance Your Ph.D.” provides an alternate way to present years of work as a “real world” phenomenon.

I think there is a common perception that science and art shall not mix. Having been involved in the culture of both, it seems to me that the general attitude is that the other is incomprehensible mumbo jumbo. Dance Your Ph.D., however, flies in the face of that idea.  The winning entry from 2011 uses a stylized video technique created by stitching together thousands of still images. Perhaps it works for me because although it is literally interpretative dance, it is derived from a thoroughly explored concept. The concept is intimately familiar to the artist, if not the audience.

Art and science have a longstanding relationship, and it does a disservice to both to pretend that isolation from one another is the best approach. For example, there is a long history of illustration in biology. Chemistry uses pictograms with specific rules to convey structures and arrangements of atoms and molecules. Many of these traditional methods have specific rules to most accurately represent ideas, or particular aspects of an idea. These methods of visualization are developed to work within the scientific community, frequently to the exclusion of the lay person. But interesting things begin to happen once those strict rules of representation are relaxed. Most specifically, in Dance Your Ph.D. we see scientists imagine their works through dance.

It is my firm belief that art can be an aid to science. One may often find that a concept cannot be understood clearly until that concept can be communicated. Not only do others benefit from the dissemination of knowledge, but working out how to discuss and communicate an idea can solidify it for oneself. Explaining the concepts in a Ph.D. thesis through dance may actually be of great benefit, not only to people who may become interested in the topics danced, but also to the scientist who is finding a new avenue to communicate her idea.

I think that one of the most significant scientific projects currently in progress is in desperate need of such communication. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the most extensive and expensive scientific project in history. It is close to answering a problem that has been at the heart of particle physics research for the past 50 years. It seems to me that the magnitude of the project and the public funds dedicated to this international facility demand that its importance be recognized, if not understood.

Since the conception of the Standard Model of physics, physicists have been trying to find every particle and force it predicts, and the Higgs boson is the missing piece of the puzzle. The Higgs boson is incredibly important because it is the particle that (theoretically) gives matter mass, and the Large Hadron Collider is trying to find it. But how often does one encounter references to the LHC in arts writing? The LHC is not a breakthrough technology. It is one more step along a path that started with the first particle collider in the 1950s. Alongside other scientific achievements like atomic energy, space travel, or even relativity (and its time travel implications), the LHC seems like a little ‘c’ concept. The closest the LHC has come to stirring the collective interest of the world was the discovery of time-traveling neutrinos, which turned out to be an error in data caused by a loose cable.

Despite the relative obscurity of the LHC in popular culture, it has managed to capture the imagination of some artists. Kate Findlay has created a series of quilts based on photographs of the Large Hadron Collider. The development of her project appears to be based on images released in 2008, and the article indicates that she is working towards projects that incorporate aspects of the LHC beyond recreating photographs in quilts. I find this rather poignant. The images of the object inspired her to learn more about it, and as she’s developed her quilts, she’s developed an interest not simply in the imagery, but in the concepts the LHC is exploring. I believe this is important. The interest is not drawn by the fact that it is science, or physics, or technology, but instead starts from imagery.

I feel that science can provide inspiration for art, as the above example demonstrates. I also believe that science shouldn’t be afraid to get involved with art. The Collide@CERN project gives me hope that scientists can engage in the development of artwork. The project is a partnership between CERN (the organization behind the LHC) and Ars Electronica, which is an international festival celebrating art, science and technology. This should be a fantastic partnership because CERN is at the forefront of science, and Ars Electronica is a forum for science-based art. The project involves a two-month residency at CERN followed by a one month residency at Ars Electronica Linz. Throughout the residency, the artist (Julius von Bismark) will have mentors from both CERN and Ars Electronica.  The goal is to develop and create works in the second half of the residency.

It seems rare, indeed, for science to seek out the arts. Projects like Dance Your Ph.D. and Collide@CERN are the exception, not the rule.  To me this seems like a failure of both art and science, as there is ample opportunity for each to enrich the other.

="a2a_dd a2a_target addtoany_share_save" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcreatequity.com%2F2012%2F05%2Funderstanding-through-tangential-questioning-art-dance-your-ph-d-and-the-large-hadron-collider.html&title=Understanding%20Through%20Tangential%20Questioning%3A%20Art%2C%20Dance%20Your%20Ph.D.%2C%20and%20the%20Large%20Hadron%20Collider" id="wpa2a_2">
Related posts:

• Public Art and the Challenge of Evaluation


• Art and politics


• Live from GIA: Day III – The Art of Change

reBlogged from: Createquity.

on May 17, 2012 at 05:00 AM

Dancers of Ubud

In May and June 2010, I visited the island of Bali in Indonesia for 17 days, mostly the cultural center of Ubud, where I went to amazing art museums, galleries, shops and restaurants by day, and attended performances every night featuring gamelan music and dances such as the Baris, Barong, Fire, Jauk, Kecak, Legong, Mekepung, Tari Belibis, Taruna Jaya and Oleg Tambulilingan. Balinese dancers are among the most beautiful ever, with their delicately painted faces, intricately patterned costumes and mesmerizing movements. Now cue up some Balinese gamelan music and enjoy the Dancers of Ubud slide show over on Flickr! (For the best results, click the full screen icon in the bottom right corner on the Flickr slide show.)

reBlogged from: Arcane Candy

on May 17, 2012 at 04:00 AM

May 2nd, 2012 playlist

Lee Hyla ~ At Suma Beach ~ BMOP
Ingram Marshall ~ Woodstone
Lisa Bielawa ~ A Collective Cleansing
Alarm Will Sound ~ Mt. Saint Michel
Morris Knight ~ The Origin of the Prophesy
Steven Gorbos ~ Plunge
Nico Muhly ~ The Egg
Maestro Subgum and the Whole ~ Rubber Hose
Syzygys ~ Badol Bashimu
Frank Zappa ~ Secular Humanism
William Bolcom ~ Scherzino ~ Prism Quartet
Beata Moon ~ Piano Sonata
Adrian Knight ~ Världens Undergång

reBlogged from: Music For Internets

on May 17, 2012 at 02:00 AM

April 11th, 2012 playlist

This is only a partial playlist of the first hour.

Dylan Mattingly ~ Lighthouse (Refuge Music by a Pacific Expatriate) ~ Contemporaneous
Alvin Curran ~ For Mg
John Halle ~ Spheres ~ Ethel
Sam Pluta ~ Tile Mosaic (after Chagall) ~ Yarn/Wire
Music for Homemade Instruments ~ Some Bang Goin' On
Aaron Siegel ~ A Diminished Thing

reBlogged from: Music For Internets

on May 17, 2012 at 02:00 AM

April 18th, 2012 playlist

Also a partial playlist, this time of the first two hours.

Molly Heron ~ Pretty Machines ~ West Fourth New Music Collective
ensemble, et al. ~ In a Crowded Room With Nothing to Think About
Julia Wolfe ~ Early That Summer ~ Ethel
Alex Mincek ~ To Nowhere From Nowhere ~ Wet Ink Ensemble
Art Jarvinen ~ Edges ~ Some Over History
Aaron Siegel ~ Science Is Only A Sometimes Friend
Zack Browning ~ String Quartet ~ JACK Quartet

reBlogged from: Music For Internets

on May 17, 2012 at 02:00 AM

April 25th, 2012 playlist

Dylan Mattingly ~ Atlas of Somewhere (On The Way To Howland Island) ~ Contemporaneous
Nicholas Vasallo ~ The Fifth World
Marcelo Zarvos ~ Rounds ~ Ethel
Gabriel Prokofiev ~ Concerto for Turntable and Orchestra
Eric Wubbels ~ alphabeta ~ Yarn/Wire
Alvin Curran ~ In Hora Mortis
John Cage ~ 24x24 ~ So Percussion
John Cage ~ Child of Tree ~ So Percussion
Harrison Birtwistle ~ Chronometer ~ realized by Peter Zinovieff

reBlogged from: Music For Internets

on May 17, 2012 at 02:00 AM

May 16th, 2012 playlist

Alvin Curran ~ Music Is Not Music
David Brynyar Franzson ~ The Negotiation of Context - B ~ Yarn/Wire
Scott Brickman ~ Knotty Pines ~ Duo 46
Nico Muhly ~ Drones & Piano ~ Bruce Brubaker
Tim Hansen ~ Goldbrick Oilslick ~ West Fourth New Music Collective
Evan Ziporyn ~ Big Grenadilla ~ BMOP
Music Of Our Time 1967
Ingram Marshall ~ Peaceable Kingdom
Martin Bresnick ~ Caprichos Enfaticos ~ Lisa Moore and So Percussion

reBlogged from: Music For Internets

on May 17, 2012 at 02:00 AM

309 :: 18 May 2012 :: Improvisers

On Friday’s program, guest host Harry Bernstein explores improvised music.

 

• Muhal Richard Abrams: Panorama, from the album, Sightsong, 1976 on Black Saint


• Leroy Jenkens: Um Cha Chi Chum, from the album, Leroy Jenkins Solo, 1977, on Lovely Music, LTD


• George Lewis: Untitled Dream Sequence, from the album, The Solo Trombone, 1976, on Sackville


• Roscoe Mitchell: Eeltwo Part 2, from the album, The Solo Concert, 2009, on AECO
  
  Star Night, from the album, Duets and Solos, 1990, on Black Saint


• Anthony Braxton: Opus 77E, from the album, Alto Saxophone Improvisations, 1979, on Arista
  
  Composition 998, from the album, Compositions, 1989, on Hat Hut Records

reBlogged from: Music From Other Minds

on May 17, 2012 at 02:00 AM

April 4th, 2012 playlist

Post New Music Bake Sale wrap-up

Aaron Siegel ~ Every Morning, A History
Tim Hansen ~ Good Times ~ West Fourth New Music Collective
Alex Mincek ~ Pendulum VI: Trigger ~ Yarn/Wire
Zack Browning ~ Secret Pulse ~ Cadillac Moon Ensemble
Matt Frey ~ Compression ~ West Fourth New Music Collective
Tod Machover ~ Towards the Center
Max Eastley ~ Metallophone
Music for Homemade Instruments ~ The Evils of Pots
Alvin Curran ~ Romulus and Remus Make a Ruckus
Péter Eötvös ~ Music for New York
Charlemagne Palestine ~ Strumming Music for Strings

reBlogged from: Music For Internets

on May 17, 2012 at 01:00 AM

May 16, 2012

Cage’s Rhetorical Sleight-of-Hand

LUBLIN – I’m publishing – to exactly coincide, through the wonders of technology, with the moment of my delivering it in Poland – my talk for the Cage100 symposium in the charming town of Lublin. It’s a rather curmudgeonly examination (and I hope I won’t be stoned by the Cage aficionados here assembled) of Cage’s ...

reBlogged from: PostClassic

on May 16, 2012 at 09:00 PM

Carlos Fuentes, composer?

According to the obituary for Carlos Fuentes in the NY Times:

Though Mr. Fuentes wrote in just about every genre, including opera (a 2008 work inspired by the life of Gen. Antonio López de Santa Anna, the wooden-legged president of Mexico during the Texas Revolution)…

No. Carlos Fuentes did not write an opera, he wrote an opera libretto. José María Vitier, unnamed in the obituary, wrote the opera. Again, the composer goes missing.

reBlogged from: Secret Geometry - James Primosch's blog

on May 16, 2012 at 08:00 PM

City Opera's Telemann

I caught the New York City Opera version of Telemann's Orpheus at El Museo del Barrio last night, and find myself in accord with the Zerbinetta estimation. I'm happy to have seen the work, and Rebecca Taichman's staging has some...

reBlogged from: Alex Ross: The Rest Is Noise

on May 16, 2012 at 07:00 PM

New horizons in concert publicity

reBlogged from: Alex Ross: The Rest Is Noise

on May 16, 2012 at 06:00 PM

Classical Music Is Supreme Today At The Nation's Highest Court

reBlogged from: NPR Blogs: Deceptive Cadence

on May 16, 2012 at 06:00 PM

SFCMP Zone 5: in which discussing a plan leads to some confusion

Artistic director Steven Schick and the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players (SFCMP) concluded their fortieth season with a program featuring a broad mix of new music. Everything from pure electronics to solo viola was represented. One is struck by both the diversity of programming and the highly polished performance presented by SFCMP. Unfortunately I missed the pre-concert discussion, but in catching the tail end of it I noticed that all the composers represented on the program were present, and they were discussing their music and new music in general with Schick.

Aaron Gervais’s piece Culture No. 1 began with a short sample played by pianist Karen Rosenak on a laptop. The less-than-5-seconds clip was the inspiration for the following section of music. This “call and response” between short audio clips and music based around and inspired by them continued throughout the piece a total of five times. Each of the samples, according to the program note, was found “left over” from other projects on the composer’s hard drive. The piece was about 9 minutes long, and is, to the best of my knowledge and a recent google search, the only piece currently in the repertoire for piano and harp. Through delicate amplification of Karen Gottlieb’s harp, the balance was worked out quite satisfactorily.

Violist Nancy Severance performed Australian composer Brett Dean’s Intimate Decisions (1996), which was ten minutes of beautiful viola writing (not to mention playing!). The title comes from one of Dean’s wife’s paintings, and the character of the piece holds true to Dean’s experience writing for a solo stringed instrument, which his program note compares to writing a personal letter or having an intense discussion with a friend. Dean himself is a professional violist, and premiered the work himself even though it was commissioned by his colleague Walter Küssner. Perhaps because of the composer’s intimate knowledge of the instrument he was writing for, Intimate Decisions hold true to the title: the solo viola at times seemed to have a quite conversation with itself.

Brett Dean - Photo by Mark Coulson

Mark Applebaum’s piece Pre-Composition began with what sounded like somebody on stage testing a mic out to see if it is on, perhaps in preparation for a verbal introduction to the piece that was to follow. Shortly after, the audience realized that this was no introduction, and the piece was already being performed. Simultaneously an 8-track tape piece built from samples of spoken words and an examination of the composer’s creative process, Pre-Composition is a conversation between the composer and several of his selves. One self is particularly interested in making the electronics more complex, suggesting mono, a flange, and various other things. Another self is the “spiritual” self, and keeps making “deep” comments about the goings-on amongst the other “selves.” The audience laughed through the whole piece, which was simultaneously a brilliant comedy sketch and an insightful piece on the composer’s creative process.

Also programmed was Nathan Davis’ The Bright and Hollow Sky for flute/alto flute/piccolo, clarinet/bass clarinet, trumpet/piccolo trumpet, steel string acoustic guitar, and percussion. I read the program note before the performance, and I must say the piece was quite surprising because it was not quite what I had expected. I kept waiting for the trumpet’s predicted “explosion into an ecstasy” that I must have missed somehow. The performance was stellar, although there were a couple tense moments towards the end where it was revealed that yes, you can hear when a trumpeter coughs through their instrument. Beginning the second half of the program was Lou Harrison’s wonderful work for guitar and percussion, Serenade (1978). While I know the piece to be a wonderful work, it seemed that David Tannenbaum was perhaps having an off day. The performance was less than technically precise, although Tannenbaum managed to capture the spirit of Harrison’s open harmonies.

Mark Applebaum

The world premiere of Edmund Campion’s new commission Small Wonder (The Butterfly Effect) brought the concert to a brilliant close. The orchestration (two violins, two clarinets, two percussionists, string bass) fell into the shape of a butterfly. The bass in center stage formed the thorax along with the plugged-in conductor (click track), while the other instruments were arranged symmetrically to form the antiphonal “wings” fluttering around this central body. The materials used to create the piece were taken from a computer program designed by the composer to generate random yet ordered sets of percussive materials. This flirtation with chaos played a central role in the composition, and the setting of ordered materials against the disordered electronics had a wonderful effect. I loved the piece, and the performance was secure as well. The rhythmic patterns (judging by what I could observe/hear) were very complex, and I commend the ensemble for a solid interpretation of this new piece.

In a way, the order of the program sums up the subtitle for the concert: in which discussion of a piece (Applebaum and Dean) leads to some confusion (Campion). I look forward very much to SFCMP’s coming season, announced at tonight’s concert: they will be playing 4 hours and 33 minutes of music by Cage in celebration of his centennial, plus music by a diverse crowd of composers and a Reich program at the San Francisco Conservatory.

–

Kelsey Walsh is a pianist and currently resides in San Francisco. Follow her on twitter: @kwpianist

reBlogged from: I care if you listen(.com)

on May 16, 2012 at 05:00 PM

From a Diary: I:xxv

Communicate?  I want music that communicates in the same way a copper pot handle communicates heat.

reBlogged from: Renewable Music

on May 16, 2012 at 02:00 PM

Roman Haubenstock-Ramati ~ Klavierstücke

	Roman Haubenstock-Ramati ~ Klavierstücke Klavierstücke Roman Haubenstock-Ramati (1963-65) ....For piano....	From: stanchinsky Views: 3 1 ratings
	Time: 09:58	More in Music

reBlogged from: Uploads by stanchinsky

on May 16, 2012 at 01:00 PM

How to Book a Tour: Unconventional Advice

There’s plenty of advice out there for booking a tour. In fact, I’ve written on it a few times (including this step-by-step guide). People generally talk about the same kind of stuff: how to approach a venue, where to book, promoting, etc. However, I want to cover some of the territory that people don’t talk about, the pitfalls that you’ll come across along the way.

When the Promoter Wants You to Fill the Bill
Some promoters/venues prefer that you pitch them an entire show (with locals) before confirming the show. It makes their life easier (they don’t have to find bands for the show) and local acts make booking a touring/unknown act a safer bet. So if you don’t have any contacts in an town far away, who do you find band?

Three easy solutions:

1. See who is already playing the venue on a weekend


2. Look up bands in the city’s alt-weekly paper


3. Post an ad on Craigslist.

When you can’t fill in a date or run out of venues to ask
Sometimes it seems that everyone in town is booked or no one is interested. You don’t have many options because you’re on a tight tour route or have dates/before and after that are already confirmed. These things happen. When they do, this is what I usually do:

1. Use Google, Google Maps, Yelp, City Search, or Four Square to look up “live music” and the city name. Sometimes, there are places that host bands that don’t pop up in the usual venue databases. You might also try contacting a store or organizations that would suit your ideal, target audience. Examples include: skateboard shops, youth groups, non-profit fundraiser, goth clothing store, music store, independent record store, etc.


2. Contact: breweries, wineries, colleges, and fans in the area.


3. Use Craigslist and search in the “Gigs” section. Often times, new bars/venues will post there looking for live music, as well as people throwing house parties, fundraisers, or events looking for a band.


4. See what shows are booked and ask the bands on those bills if they’d be willing to add you to the bill. Be sure to pitch how you will get them new fans, make more money, or bring people to the show.


5. Consider doing an acoustic version and do some busking. I know some acts who busk in Santa Monica, CA and make $200-$400 per day in donations and CD sales. You can also contact the local Occupy Movement encampment about working with their cause by performing (if there’s one there).

When You Don’t Know Anything about the Venue that You’re Booking

It’s always a good idea to know what kind of situation you’re booking into: Will they have an adequate stage? Will they have a sound system and engineer? What kind of audience is there? If you’re booking a venue that you haven’t worked with before, do a quick search online about them. Check out their website, see what kind of acts perform there normally. Look up reviews on Yelp. Ask bands that are on their calendar.

 

These are just some of the areas that few people talk about when giving advice about booking a tour. What have you run into that you’d like advice about? What areas can you speak to for other bands?

 

Simon Tam is owner of Last Stop Booking and author of How to Get Sponsorships and Endorsements. Simon’s writing on music and marketing can be found at www.laststopbooking.com

reBlogged from: Music Think Tank (primary) RSS

on May 16, 2012 at 12:00 PM

Créations pour Basson au Centre Pompidou, 5 avril 2012

	Créations pour Basson au Centre Pompidou, 5 avril 2012 Jeudi 5 avril 2012 Centre Pompidou, Grande Salle FRÉDÉRIC KAHN Unendlichkeit (2011-2012) pour basson, support audio et dispositif électronique temps réel Commande : Ircam-Centre Pompidou Dédicace : À l'intention de Paul Riveaux (Ensemble intercontemporain) Réalisation informatique musicale Ircam/Thomas Goepfer Paul Riveaux, basson Dai FUJIKURA Calling (2011-2012) pour basson solo Commande International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), Tokyo Opera City Dédicace : Rebekah Heller, Ayako Kuroki and Pascal Gallois Création : 2012, États-Unis, par Rebekah Heller Création française Editions : Ricordi Munich Pascal Gallois, basson	From: ensembleinter Views: 5 1 ratings
	Time: 06:46	More in Music

reBlogged from: Uploads by ensembleinter

on May 16, 2012 at 11:00 AM

Holler- Spharen

	Holler- Spharen York Holler's "Spharen" (2006) for large orchestra.	From: John11inch Views: 7 1 ratings
	Time: 39:32	More in Music

reBlogged from: Uploads by john11inch

on May 16, 2012 at 05:00 AM

Stulginska- The Fog

	Stulginska- The Fog Agnieszka Stulginska's "The Fog" (2008?) for string quartet and tape delay.	From: John11inch Views: 8 0 ratings
	Time: 05:37	More in Music

reBlogged from: Uploads by john11inch

on May 16, 2012 at 03:00 AM

Rihm- Ungemaltes Bild

	Rihm- Ungemaltes Bild Wolfgang Rihm's "Ungemaltes Bild" (1994) for orchestra.	From: John11inch Views: 1 0 ratings
	Time: 16:11	More in Music

reBlogged from: Uploads by john11inch

on May 16, 2012 at 02:00 AM

Hosokawa- Floral Fairy

	Hosokawa- Floral Fairy Toshio Hosokawa's "Floral Fairy" (2003) for string quartet.	From: John11inch Views: 4 0 ratings
	Time: 06:16	More in Music

reBlogged from: Uploads by john11inch

on May 16, 2012 at 01:00 AM

Ung- Khse Buon

	Ung- Khse Buon Cambodian-American, Grawemeyer laureate Chinary Ung's Khse Buon (1980) for solo viola.	From: John11inch Views: 14 0 ratings
	Time: 16:59	More in Music

reBlogged from: Uploads by john11inch

on May 16, 2012 at 01:00 AM

May 15, 2012

Justice Ginsburg's favorite records

The list that I hinted at the other day has now been published on the New Yorker website.

reBlogged from: Alex Ross: The Rest Is Noise

on May 15, 2012 at 10:00 PM

Kathleen Ferrier: A Voice Not Forgotten

reBlogged from: NPR Blogs: Deceptive Cadence

on May 15, 2012 at 08:00 PM

Skrillex, as Reviewed By Very Young Children

This may already be the image you have in your mind of Skrillex’s fan base, but let’s get real: these are actual kids, and they really are getting introduced to electronic dance music through Skrillex for the first time.

“What is dubstep?”

Darned if I know any more, kid.

What have we learned?

1. All kids sound cooler when they have English accents. (It’s unreal. They can be throwing a temper tantrum and still sound oddly sophisticated, or at least charmingly in-character. CDM’s sizable readership of English people may wonder what the heck I’m talking about, then dare me to buy an umbrella and take up babysitting until I come to my senses.)

2. This video will prompt haterade in comments so long as you have a soul made of ice.

3. Kids can dance.

4. These kids look cooler than I do.

5. Saying you need to take substances to understand Electronic Dance Music is a fair statement – that is, provided you have entirely lost connection with your inner child or ability to dance. (That’s not to judge the use of such substances one way or another, only to say viewing any substance as a prerequisite to music appreciation may be overstatement. This does bring new meaning to candy ravers, however.)

6. VICE got kids dancing to Skrillex. What should CDM introduce them to? (Xenakis might terrify them; how about Aphex Twin?)

After all, I do hear dance music advocates routinely point out that Skrillex could be an introduction to young folks to electronic music that opens more doors later. These kids are absolutely getting a fresh start.

“Where’s the after-party?”

reBlogged from: Create Digital Music

on May 15, 2012 at 07:00 PM

Signals Improv

Sound Clip: Signals Improv by Richard Graham

The following demonstrates cognitive model mapping based on Tonal Pitch Space abstractions between performance “space frames” (cf. Emmerson, 2007).

Video documentation

The sustainer pick-up allows for one to interrogate string profiles within spatial music (specifically within the context of multi-channel speaker arrays). Contrasting monaural and polyphonic feeds also allow for one to interrogate performance space frames, whereby monaural audio may occupy a local (stage) frame, whereby expectancy schemas are met, in terms of musical gesture (both physical and figurative), and field (arena) may present processed materials in a more environmental context where gestural expectancy may be challenged. Interaction between space frames is encouraged in order to establish compositional narrative between abstract tonal pitch space abstractions and physical performance space (cf. Emmerson, 2007). A series of perceptual effects result in relation to typical monaural technology, including the ability to construct unconventional chord voicings relative to complex timbral and spatial configurations. The multi-channel system allows any composer to utilise dissonant tone combinations with reduced roughness or psychoacoustic dissonance, due to the physical separation of each pick-up. Auditory Scene Analysis (cf. Bregman, 1990, 1993, 1994) principles apply here, as spatialising tones apart may encourage stream segregation, relevant to similarities and differences in other concurrent cue configurations.Perceptual groupings ubiquitous within instrumental practice may be challenged by adopting contrasting differences in pitch, timbral and spatial location cues.

The live performance system is constructed in the open source object orientated programming language, Pure Data and allows for the real-time manipulation of each of the strings, allowing various pitch, timbral and spatial morphologies per string-profile. The system consists of a DSP library providing contrasting distortions, granular synthesis abstractions, reverberation, delay, and ambisonic spatialisation abstractions, decodable to stereo, quad, or octagonal speaker arrays. Algorithms have been established based on extraction and interpolation of various hierarchies of effective and figurative performance gesture per string, such as note attack and melodic contour.

Contours may be extracted globally for the whole instrument or independently for each string, treating each string as an individual voice. Contours may be directly applied to an array of synthesis parameters, such as the azimuth of an ambisonic spatial gesture. Scaled amplitude may be applied to distance.

More on this artist

reBlogged from: Sound is Art

on May 15, 2012 at 06:00 PM

I Dream of Wires Documentary: Carl Craig, Canada, and Modular’s Beauty and Agony [Video]

Like the modulars themselves, an upcoming documentary on these analog synth beasts has been lurking behind closed doors. But that won’t be the case for long. “I Dream of Wires,” the crowd-funded documentary that probes artists’ fascination with making music by connecting patch cords, will see a public showcase at Montreal’s MUTEK Festival. This and an upcoming film release, atop a big get-together in New York, could make this a proper summer of modular.

In anticipation of their showcase, MUTEK has released two significant excerpts from the film. One talks to Carl Craig, Detroit techno legend, top. Craig describes how this tech has influenced his music, and what inspired him to look at modulars. The other clip – true to MUTEK’s Canadian home base and the origin country of the film itself – looks at Canada’s contribution to electronic music history. Detroit’s place in techno certainly needs no introduction, but it’s about time Canada got its role in synthesis recognized (below), having given the world pioneer Hugh Le Caine and the University of Toronto Electronic Music Lab, among other highlights. This excerpt turns the clock forward to modern-day synth goodness. We’re of course happy to know of a certain digital synth designed in Canada, but here the modular Renaissance gets the spotlight. As the film creators explain:

Recently, Canada has again come to play a significant role with the modern day resurgence of modular synthesizers; it is home to two highly respected manufacturers: Modcan, founded by Toronto’s Bruce Duncan, was the first company to reintroduce modular synthesizers to the post-MIDI marketplace, and Intellijel, founded by Vancouver’s Danjel Van Tijn, is one of the fastest growing and most respected lines of Eurorack synthesizer modules.

The MUTEK showcase will include live modular performances by Sealey/Greenspan/Lanza (Orphx/Junior Boys), Keith Fullerton Whitman (Kranky/Editions Mego), Solvent (Ghostly International/Suction Records), Clark (Warp Records), and Container (Spectrum Spools).

The film itself is a production of director Robert Fantinatto and Jason Amm (aka Ghostly International recording artist Solvent); Solvent is also composing the musical score. This isn’t simply a history of electronic music; instead, it focuses on the modern revival of the instruments. (The history is a subject of a future film, but we’ll let them finish this one first.)

It’s worth saying that modular synths aren’t all pleasure – they bring some pain, too. That’s why it’s worth watching the interviews excerpted in the November promo for the film. In that piece, even as they sing the praises of modular analog’s joys, musicians talk about challenges ranging from live performance setup to tuning. It’s impossible to understand the love for these instruments without grasping some of their idiosyncrasies. In the earlier clip, you see everyone from builder Lori Napoleon to pioneer and custodion of electronic music history Joel Chadabe to composers like the late Richard Lainhart and the legendary Morton Subotnick, as well as builders and the film’s own Solvent.

The filmmakers continue to raise funds from fans. A recent West Coast USA tour, funded by IndieGogo, added interviews with Trent Reznor, John Tejada, cEvin Key, Jack Dangers, Bernie Krause, Richard Devine, Make Noise, Cynthia, The Harvestman, SynthTech/MOTM, Metasonix, Intellijel, and others.

Round 3 funding: http://www.indiegogo.com/IDOW-round3

Keep tabs on the film on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/idreamofwiresdocumentary

reBlogged from: Create Digital Music

on May 15, 2012 at 05:00 PM

The Fax Machine as Dubstep Muse (MP3)

When we speak of dropped lines, we mean breaches in communication that are severe enough to cause the connection to end: a severing beyond mere degradation of transmitted information. In the capable hands of Schrödinger’s Dog, the dropped line takes on a double meaning. This is because the fragile sound of a fax handshake, the scratchy short-circuiting noise of that fading technology, serves in his song “Automatic Negotiation” as the source material for a track that takes dubstep as its genre model. And like many a dubstep track, “Automatic Negotiation” takes a break midway through for a lengthy — and nearly silent — pause, when the fax’s ringing is heard on its own, before letting loose a half-speed variation on what had come before. This pause is known in the trade, to the point of cliché, as a “drop.” It’s a stellar track. The fax sound isn’t transformed significantly beyond its originating mix of squelch and jitter, so the familiar noise is no less a part of the “musical” aspect of the piece as are the tones and beats that lend it framing context.

The track is by Schrödinger’s Dog, aka British musician Mike Wolf, who thanks the American musician Margaras (aka Ryan Abbott) for some of the sound manipulation. Track originally posted for free download and streaming at soundcloud.com/schrodingers-dog. More on Wolf at twitter.com/strangeloup.

reBlogged from: Disquiet

on May 15, 2012 at 05:00 PM

"Pas de cinq" Mauricio kagel

	"Pas de cinq" Mauricio kagel Mauricio KAGEL " Pas de cinq " Scène à déambuler Enregistré le 11 février à la Cité de la musique Editeur Universal édition Interprétation Frédérique Cambreling Jérôme Comte Éric-Maria Couturier Samuel Favre Frédéric Stochl Coproduction Ensemble intercontemporain Cité de la musique Réalisation vidéo et montage Anne Delrieu Lumière Fabien Leca Opérateurs image Fabien Leca, Céline Metzger Captation sonore Philippe Davesne Producteur délégué Benjamin Bibas / Radiofonies Europe Coordination éditoriale Luc Hossepied / EIC Production exécutive Ensemble intercontemporain Remerciements à Laurent Bayle, Directeur général de la Cité de la musique à ses équipes, et à Christian de Portzamparc, architecte. Remerciements spéciaux à Frédérique Cambreling, Jérôme Comte, Éric-Maria Couturier, Samuel Favre et Frédéric Stochl	From: ensembleinter Views: 3 0 ratings
	Time: 09:39	More in Music

reBlogged from: Uploads by ensembleinter

on May 15, 2012 at 04:00 PM

Princeton Symphony Plays Sarah Kirkland Snider

Princeton Symphony Orchestra

Richardson Auditorium, Princeton, NJ

May 13, 2012

ChamberMusicianToday.com

PRINCETON – The Princeton Symphony’s final concert of its classical season included two repertory staples – Brahms’s Fourth Symphony and Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G Major – as well a revised version of Sarah Kirkland Snider’s sole work to date for orchestra, Disquiet. Although Snider is a rising star in the world of contemporary music, she has thus far made her name as a formidable composer of vocal works, notably the song cycle Penelope, as well as theatre music and chamber compositions for groups such as yMusic and NOW Ensemble.

She first conceived some of the material for Disquiet back in 2000, and the original version of the piece was premiered at Yale while she was a graduate student there in 2004. The revised version given by the Princeton Symphony, conducted by Rossen Milanov, is a single movement tone poem around a quarter of an hour long. Rather than depicting “disquiet” primarily via its pitch or rhythmic language, creating abundant dissonances or angularity, Snider takes another approach: uneasiness is primarily delineated by the work’s formal design. Thus, one may at first be surprised to hear the its often lush harmonies and strong melodic thrust. But as Disquiet unfolds, a labyrinth of disparate gestures and contrasting sections, often supplied in quick succession, imparts the title’s requisite restive sensibility.

Milanov brought out the piece’s wide dynamic shifts, exhorting brash tutti and hushed sustained chords from the orchestra. The piece’s quick sectional shifts allowed several performers brief turns in the spotlight: concertmaster Basia Danilow, clarinetist William Ansel, and flutist Jayn Rosenfeld noteworthy among them.

One hopes that, with this performance under her belt, Snider will get the opportunity to create more works for  orchestra. Given  Disquiet’s colorfully cinematic use of motives, one also wonders whether she might try her hand at film-scoring.

reBlogged from: Sequenza21/

on May 15, 2012 at 02:00 PM

Around the horn: It Gets Better edition

ART AND THE GOVERNMENT

• Weird, the very day that the Huffington Post published my “debate” with Carla Escoda about arts funding, the New York Times published a “Room for Debate” feature on a very similar topic. Something in the water? Anyway, Sean Bowie has a nice summary if you don’t have time to read all eight entries.


• The National Governor’s Association, which has been friendly to the arts in the past, has released another study highlighting the economic role of arts and culture in state government.


• Marisela Treviño Orta has a good take on a bill proposed in the California Assembly that would have placed a tax on live theater tickets. Thanks to advocacy by the LA and SF arts communities, the bill has been withdrawn.

MUSICAL CHAIRS

• Andrew Taylor is leaving his longtime post as the head of the University of Wisconsin’s arts administration program to join the faculty at American University in Washington, DC. Quite a coup for Sherburne Laughlin and company.


• Anne Corbett is moving on from her role as executive director of CulturalDC (formerly Cultural Development Corporation) to lead a commercial real estate development project in northwest Washington, DC.


• Congratulations to Mary-Kim Arnold, new arts program officer for the Rhode Island Foundation…


• …Wayne Martin, new executive director of the North Carolina Arts Council…


• …and Earl Lewis, new president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, succeeding Don Randel. Mellon continues its record of hiring its head honchos from academia – Lewis was provost of Emory University and already serving on Mellon’s board.


• The Center for Effective Philanthropy recently published an interesting analysis of the winding career paths of foundation CEOs.

IN THE FIELD

• A huge gift from Oregon philanthropist Fred W. Fields will go to the Oregon Community Foundation to support education and the arts.


• Nina Simon shares some lessons learned from her first year as executive director of the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History.


• Liz Lerman has choreographed a performance of Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun for the University of Maryland Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra played from memory and danced around the stage during the piece. While the dancing is about at the level one would expect from classical musicians, there’s enough there to suggest a vision of what might be if people actually pursued this as a serious subgenre. The video and further discussion, from Andrew Taylor, are available at the link.

INTERVIEWS, CONVENINGS, AND CONVERSATIONS

• The Animating Democracy project at Americans for the Arts hosted a wonderful blog salon during the first week of May on impact and evaluation of social change in the arts. The posts are well worth sifting through, but some of my highlights included contributions from Rachel Grossman, Mark Stern (and again), Chris Dwyer, and former Createquity Writing Fellow Katherine Gressel. And now, just a couple weeks later, the Public Art Network is doing a blog salon on evaluation in public art.


• Barry Hessenius has another interesting interview, this time with Association of Performing Arts Presenters director Mario Garcia Durham.


• Nina Simon reports from the 2012 American Association of Museums conference.


• The Foundation Center’s PhilanTopic blog has a “Flip” (video) chat with Courtney O’Malley, VP of the Starr Foundation, about foundation transparency. It’s an interesting choice of topic (and thus, conversation), given that Starr is probably one of the least open and transparent foundations supporting the arts in its size group.


• The NEA’s Art Works blog did a week’s worth of posts on art and science (or “artscience”). Here are a few examples. In the last link, the NEA’s Senior Advisor for Program Innovation, Bill O’Brien, notes that the NEA will be encouraging grant applications that involve collaborations with science across all of its programs.

RESEARCH CORNER

• The NEA co-organized a convening at the Brookings Institution last week on the topic of “The Arts, New Growth Theory, and Economic Development.” I was fortunate to attend and may share some of my notes later, but in the meantime, audio from the day’s sessions is available here.


• Great list of data and visualization blogs worth following from stats blogger Nathan Yau. You can find Createquity’s version of this here. Nathan also shares five common statistical fallacies. Have you been guilty of at least one of these in the past week?


• GiveWell is doing some interesting and important research into strategic cause selection (the merits of supporting international aid over domestic education, e.g.). After some preliminary investigation on what large funders are most likely to support today, they have identified four priority cause areas for future exploration: global health and nutrition, scientific research, something called “meta-research,” and mitigating catastrophic global risks such as climate change and nuclear war. I’m particularly interested in the meta-research cause area, which GiveWell defines as “trying to improve the systematic incentives that academic researchers face, to bring them more in line with producing maximally useful work.” I wonder if they will focus on non-academic research as well. As for arts and culture, GiveWell announces that it will not be a priority; while I’m not surprised at this outcome, I’ll be curious to read their justification for it as promised in a future post.


• House Republicans have acted on their dislike of the American Community Survey and voted to eliminate it (this has no chance of passing, thankfully). Here is more on the American Community Survey. The politicization of government data collection is a very troubling trend.


• Child mortality in Africa is going down, down, down – is this a vindication for international aid, free markets, or both?


• Mark Kramer says we need a flexible paradigm for evaluation, because social problems are complex. I couldn’t agree more. Talking about evaluation in blog format is hard because the conversation requires a lot of subtlety and nuance. There isn’t one right way to do it, but at the same time there are countless wrong and/or dumb ways to do it.


• The online education revolution is only in its infancy: Harvard and MIT have just committed $60 million toward a new online course platform called EdX.

="a2a_dd a2a_target addtoany_share_save" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcreatequity.com%2F2012%2F05%2Faround-the-horn-it-gets-better-edition.html&title=Around%20the%20horn%3A%20It%20Gets%20Better%20edition" id="wpa2a_2">
Related posts:

• Around the horn: Japan edition


• Around the horn: Occupy Wall Street edition


• Around the horn: St. Patty’s edition

reBlogged from: Createquity.

on May 15, 2012 at 02:00 PM

Why Music is Less Valuable Than Expertise and Information...?

Today had me thinking about two questions that i want to address with you… Is music less valuable than expertise and quality information? And is this why music cannot be sold for high prices?

Unfortunately, just knowing something, or having experienced something, doesn’t mean all that much. At least in terms of creating and adding value to peoples lives. Although there are many things that you can grasp and understand creatively and in the realms of your own thinking, this is NOT where the value comes from. With any content that you create, whether its an article, a book, a program, or a song… The value doesn’t come from your knowledge, the value is created by you speaking directly to an immediately recognizable issue/thought or feeling. With information products, you then of course uncover the solutions that you’ve found and explain how people can use them to improve some aspect of their lives or business.

Since art, (in our case music) at its very nature is highly subjective, it is obviously different in the way it creates value for people. The only requisite here is that it speaks to someone or resonates in some way , shape, or form. The solution can sometimes be offered in a freshly illustrated perspective that could be helpful, but it’s more about recognition and feeling understood.

Is this why music cannot be sold for $2,000? Because it is not valuable in a practical way…What do you think?

It is perhaps the reason why music must be sold in volume to make any real profits. The fact is, that you are selling a subjective experience to each individual.

So, then begs the question, how do you use your creativity, talent and musical skills to increase profitibility and would you if you knew how?

Do you think you could create something that would provide value to someone else’s life to the extent that they would pay you for it, and that could pay for you to explore and continue to have fun making and performing your music?

For daily tips on leveraging your content, and building your online presence for better brand development, traffic, leads, and sales…. Follow me on Twitter

Connect with me on LinkedIn

Join Me on Google+

Jamie Leger is an Independent Singer Songwriter, and Internet Business Coach for experts and creative professionals. He specializes in helping people turn their knowledge and experience into high value products and programs and a real business. He has been making music in his home recording studio and writing content for various online publications since 2004. Please enjoy his free guide for how to setup a home recording studio.

reBlogged from: Music Think Tank (primary) RSS

on May 15, 2012 at 12:00 PM

2012 Outsound Summit lineup revealed

The San Francisco Bay Area’s underground music scene will come together this coming July in an annual celebration of its tremendous range of styles, its love of improvisation, and its collective obsession with new and unusual timbres and techniques.  It’s the 11^th Annual Outsound New Music Summit!  All events will take place at the San Francisco Community Music Center at 544 Capp Street near 20^th Street in the Mission District, and tickets can be ordered online from Brown Paper Tickets or purchased at the door.

The ever-popular Touch the Gear Expo kicks off the Summit on Sunday July 15, 7-10 pm.  It’s designed especially for anyone who’s longed for a closer look at an experimental musician’s gear on stage, and for the opportunity to mess with it.  25-30 sound artists will be there to demonstrate everything from oscillators to planks of wood with strings attached and answer questions.  Visitors of all ages have free rein to make sound and experience how these set-ups work, and best of all, it’s free.

The second Summit night is also free, and this time the composers take over.  In the Tuesday night Composers’ Symposium (July 17, 7-10 pm), John Shiurba, Christina Stanley, Benjamin Ethan Tinker, and Matthew Goodheart will all discuss how they navigate the modern compositional techniques, while combining them with improvisation and their own individual forms of experimentation. The public is invited to talk freely with the composers and ask them questions.

Performances begin at 8:00 pm on Wednesday, July 18^th with the first of four themed concerts – Sonic Poetry.  This night is curated by Outsound Board members Amar Chaudhary and Robert Anbian, who’ve recruited three leading Bay Area poets to collaborate with improvising musicians to create new word and sound compositions.  Words are by Ronald Sauer, rAmu Aki, and Carla Harryman, with music by Jacob Felix Heule, Jordan Glenn, Karl Evangelista, Jon Raskin, and Gino Robair.

The Tuesday night Composers’ Symposium prepares everyone for the second performance evening on Thursday, July 19^th – The Composer’s Muse.  Christina Stanley, Matthew Goodheart, and John Shiurba will all premiere new works running the gamut from graphic scores for string quartet, to prepared piano with sonified metal percussion, to a major work for large ensemble celebrating the newspaper.

Thwack, Bome, Chime on Friday night, July 20^th, curated by Outsound Board member Pete Martin, will feature the world of percussion in all its coloristic and dynamic glory.  David Douglas will combine percussion instruments with custom-built delays, loopers, samplers, and other effects to create The Walls Are White With Flame, a series of highly spatialized sound sculptures.  In Seems An Eternity, Benjamin Ethan Tinker will assemble three percussion trios of metal and skin percussion to explore the same musical material in canon.  And finally the San Francisco percussion ensemble Falkortet will show off its versatility combining traditional percussion, hand drums, and electronics with influences from Indonesian music, Brazilian music, Jazz, minimalism, and rock.

The final day of the Outsound Summit, July 21st, will be a big one starting with a 2-4 pm Harmolodics workshop led by Dave Bryant.  Dave will share material from his years of Harmolodic Theory performance and study with Ornette Coleman, plus his own compositional and improvisational techniques developed on his own and with his ensembles.  The 8 pm final concert, Fire and Energy, curated by Outsound founder Rent Romus, will feature Dave Bryant with his Trio, along with Jack Wright, the Vinny Golia Sextet, and Tony Passarell’s Thin Air Orchestra.

reBlogged from: Sequenza21/

on May 15, 2012 at 05:00 AM

Harrison / Felciano - Split Release (Cambridge CRS 2560)

Today is the 95th birthday of Lou Harrison, who died in 2003, aged 85.

The following notes are from the album sleeve (enclosed):

Richard Felciano's "In Celebration Of Golden Rain" for the unique combination of Javanese Gamelan and Organ, the composer conducting, intrigued the imagination all the way. Felciano

reBlogged from: A Closet of Curiosities

on May 15, 2012 at 02:00 AM

ArtPractical.com Podcast

Catherine McChrystal and Kara Q. Smith have co-hosted a podcast that complements the sound-focused current issue of artpractical.com, in which I have a story about the San Francisco area’s role in the sonic infrastructure of global arts. The audio track (available as a single MP3, and streaming at the “contemporary art talk” site badatsports.com) mixes excerpts from the issue and audio related to the stories, including a lovely early percussion piece by Paul DeMarinis, and another by Pauline Oliveros. To accompany my story, they play a bit of Shane Myrbeck’s audio from his Sent Forth art installation. There is also audio of artists Joshua Churchill and Chris Duncan in conversation.

Read my story at artpractical.com. Podcast originally posted at badatsports.com.

reBlogged from: Disquiet

on May 15, 2012 at 01:00 AM

May 14, 2012

From a Diary: I:xxiv

A friend recently made the argument — and quite convincingly — that we're in a golden age of two media — the television serial and the comic book — that has come about entirely because of two related factors, (a) the establishment of non-mass production and distribution channels and (b) the aging into a kind of aesthetic consuming maturity of at least two generations of audience who are fully fluent with the literature, conventions, and terms of the particular art form.  This combination means that there is a critical mass of demand and appreciation for thematic, formal, and technical innovation (not the least of which is smart play with the conventions of the genre) while at the same time, the economy of the niche is adequate to sustain production, and, in the case of the US subscription television networks, Showtime and HBO and the like, provide added value, above and beyond not-quite current movies, that actually brings customers in and keeps them subscribed (yep, the weird stuff can be part of profitability.)

New/experimental/radical music may not have figured the economics out yet, but it certainly operates in a niche and has done so for a very long time. I suspect that we're just beginning to understand how important Schoenberg's establishment of the Society for Private Musical Performances (Verein für musikalische Privataufführungen) had been and just how little thinking-through that there has been for the potential for such a tactical retreat from mass presentation, in terms of audience development, cooperative organization and finance, and not least, innovative freedom.  (The most common argument against a new/experimental/radical music niche is that it is "elitist".  I don't buy this argument and believe that it is unsustainable because while new music may make demands of listeners, these demands are musical and intellectual and can be met by any potential listener willing to make the effort, and it is simply not elitist in the only meaningful sense of elitism in this world, which is a connection to real political, economic or social power.)

So, yep, it may be useful to think of the future of new/experimental/radical music more in terms of The Wire or alternative comics.

reBlogged from: Renewable Music

on May 14, 2012 at 11:00 PM

Garth Knox: One Viola And 1,000 Years Of Musical History

reBlogged from: NPR Blogs: Deceptive Cadence

on May 14, 2012 at 11:00 PM

Michael Mantler - No Answer (1974)

Today is Jack Bruce's birthday. He is 69 years old. Also, the 11th of May was Carla Bley's 76th birthday.They are featured artists in this album,which is by far the darkest and most unrelentingly disturbing of Michael Mantler's albums of which I am aware.I'm not even sure why I like it, but I do-with Carla Bley's turgid ostinati like whirlpools less and lessJack Bruce's angry declamatory

reBlogged from: A Closet of Curiosities

on May 14, 2012 at 08:00 PM

Music for Plants, Music by Plants, in Two Eco-Themed Album Releases [Listen, Galleries]

“On lead synthesizer, a philodendron …” (And the crowd goes wild…)

Vegetation may not be the first association you have when thinking of electronic music. But two new albums, each released via Bandcamp, celebrate biological life of the green, leafy variety. One is a benefit compilation, with proceeds going to help trees and music inspired by that green goodness. The other uses plants as “performers,” generating its form from plant life in an installation and extended “live” release.

It seems a fitting time to think about trees and plants, as those of us in the Northern Hemisphere see the coming of summer. As I write this, outside my home office’s window, everything has become a calming canopy of maple leaves. And so, just as those trees have a chilling, soothing emotional impact, I confess that this is all really enjoyable music, gimmicks aside. The tree-themed compilation is not a bunch of aimless Earthy music; the plants are not, as you might assume, screechy noise. Instead, you get two full-length albums of terrific-quality ambient music.

Each also works to plant something living – literally. “Take to the Trees,” a compilation for Arbor Day, directs proceeds from sales to the Arbor Day Foundation for conservation and education. That means money from the release could protect and plant trees. The Data Garden Quartet is more literal: embracing the idea of “plantable music,” the ephemeral digital download code is printed on paper that can grow. For instance, on the recent “Cheap Dinosaurs” release, you get “hand-made seed paper with screen-printed album art and download code on reverse side.”

Download Cheap Dinosaurs, plant this art under a thin layer of soil in full sun to partial shade and add water. With proper care, blue lobelias will begin sprouting in the first two weeks and finally begin blooming about 4 weeks later.

Released on Sound for Good, a benefit label, “Take to the Trees” gives you four hours of music for a minimum of just US$1. The collection is eclectic, spanning fairly traditional ambient music to beats, breaks, and experiments. Some tracks sound influenced by the cadence of traditional Japanese music or Tibetan meditation. They evoke impressions of trees and forests, but often via electronic (even traditional analog) timbres, recalling the sensation of trees and experience as much as painting those scenes directly. There are epic, sprawling tracks and more compact, rhythmic compositions. Sometimes nature itself sneaks in, in jungles and mountain sojourns. More often, warm, fuzzy electronic pads glow like sunlight. Many, many artists participate, going far beyond the San Francisco scene, including our friend, technologist, blogger, and musician Mark Mosher. Jack Hertz, also a prolific blogger and performer, heads up the comp.

Artists:

John Koch-Northrup, Ian Boddy, Burning Artist, Chromasonic, Crystal Dreams, Todd Fletcher, Groupthink, HG Fortune and Inner Dreamer, inside/ outside, Oskar Menzel, Joe McMahon, Mesawzee Eagle, Mirada, Shane Morris, Mark Mosher, Mystified, redgreenblue, John Sherwood, Symatic Star and Tange.

http://sound4good.bandcamp.com/

If “Take to the Trees” is hours of human playing and human experience recalling the feeling of plant life, “Data Garden Quartet” turns to the plants to “generate” the score, in nearly two hours of extended listening. Blending minimalism and ambience, the product is a wash of sound, with waves of timbres crested by gentle buzzes, glitches, and hums, all in extended rhythms and cycles (sometimes recalling nothing so much as the occasional stroke of a Javanese gong).

The project looks to make natural phenomena audible, “information which we cannot perceive through our biological senses”:

The musical compositions you are about to listen to were generated by the electronic impulses produced by four tropical plants. This data, interpreted by humans with the help of computers, has been employed to organize sound into beauty perceivable by the human ear. While the means of producing this beauty can be described in technical terms, the natural creative force generating this experience is less apparent.

These 116 minutes were recorded during an installation at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in April, in a “quartet” of a philodendron, two schefflera plants, and a snake plant. (Images here are from that exhibition.) The team:

Sam Cusumano: electronics

Joe Patitucci: sound design

Alex Tyson: production, graphic design

More images, though I think my favorite of all is the wonder of the gawking young girl. It’s too easy for us to become jaded, and forget, sometimes, the magic of the things we make.

Quartet: Live at The Philadelphia Museum of Art datagarden.org

http://datagarden.org/about/

Data Garden also do an interview with Abigail Bruley for Creators Project:

Interacting With Plants To Create Polyphonic Music

reBlogged from: Create Digital Music

on May 14, 2012 at 08:00 PM

C'est une harpe qui fait ces sons?

	C'est une harpe qui fait ces sons?	From: ensembleinter Views: 0 0 ratings
	Time: 01:18	More in Music

reBlogged from: Uploads by ensembleinter

on May 14, 2012 at 06:00 PM

Sweet spot

Reviewing Emanuel Ax.
Boston Globe, May 14, 2012.

reBlogged from: Soho the Dog

on May 14, 2012 at 05:00 PM

Brooklyn Village at Roulette, by the Brooklyn Philharmonic (Est. 1857)

Last March, and for two nights only, Brooklyn Village was performed in Downtown Brooklyn. Advertised as a “multimedia spectacular,” the show took the audience on a time travel to honor the cultural heritage of Downtown Brooklyn, and showcased the trifecta of what some people call Brooklyn’s cultural renaissance: the newly “rebooted” Brooklyn Phil, the Brooklyn Youth Chorus (BYC) and Roulette.

Alan Pierson and the Brooklyn Philharmonic - Photo by Joshua Simpson

From the very beginning, the retro, era-bending tone was set since the program itself came in the form of a fake issue of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle whose date had been carefully smeared to remain intentionally vague. The “articles” introduced the pieces, the performers and the composers in a mockingly sensational way (Brooklyn Indie Rock Musician Sufjan Stevens Detained by NYPD). The dramatic dimension was introduced by Alan Pierson who greeted the entire hall with great enthusiasm (I’m paraphrasing): in these uncertain times of crisis, what Brooklyn needs is more music! Pierson thanked the people who bravely crossed the frozen east river on a sled, and the audience seemed to enjoy the good-natured, humorous atmosphere.

The program began with the Scherzo from Beethoven’s Eroica (Symphony No. 3—the first work played at the Brooklyn Phil’s inaugural concert in 1857): an honorable performance even though the horn section reminded us, at times, how hard their instrument is to play. The piece didn’t come to a real end as it faded out and gave way to a young singer from the BYC sharing some personal thoughts about Brooklyn, from the perspective of genuine Brooklynite while the rest of the chorus was getting on stage. Sarah K. Snider’s piece Here (2012) followed, performed impeccably, a cappella and from memory by the BYC conducted by Dianne Berkun. One never knows where to start when talking about the BYC since their overall musicianship is remarkable (solid pitch, diction, sense of shape and textures.) Snider’s musical fresco was supported by pictures of Parkslope townhouses (?) projected in the background.

The program continued with Aaron Copland’s Prelude from his Symphony No. 1 (1924/1928) with its bittersweet flute/strings doublings and crepuscular crescendi, and morphed into the next piece: Matthew Mehlan’s Canvas (2012). More hybrid in its idiom, Canvas moved through various moods and featured some very colorful instrumentations. Halfway through the piece, soprano Lauren Worsham walked on stage to sing along with 4 young boys from the BYC and they all painted a vivid image of Brooklyn with neon signs and brass hits. The first half ended with an overall tame rendition of Sufjan Stevens’ Isorhythmic Night Dance with Interchanges from “The BQE” (2007) although the flute section (David Wechsler and Jeanne Wilson) played Sufjan’s crazy arpeggios perfectly.

Even if the first half was overall musically satisfying, the program still remained far-fetched and looked like the result of a late night dare at the Brooklyn Social: start with the Eroica, end with the BQE and make it look legit.

The second half started with another dramatic episode setting the action on the imaginary final day of St. Ann’s Church in Brooklyn, about to be destroyed to give way to the Brooklyn bridge. The BYC sang Idumea (1763) by Charles Wesley—a hymn from the Shape Note tradition—and so did some audience members since a score came with the program.

Francis Guy’s painting “Winter Scene in Brooklyn” (on display at the Brooklyn Museum) was the inspiration behind Am I Born by David T. Little on a libretto by Royce Vavrek. Scored for the BKPhil, the BYC and solo soprano, Am I Born felt like a powerful musical immersion in a naive representation of a small Dutch village as well as a space/time travel (the idea behind the whole concert). The focus kept on shifting from the shopkeepers and the villagers frozen in their 1820 life to a 2012 spectator’s point of view: what does this modest piece tell us about the history of Brooklyn? About its future? What has changed? What has remained the same?

Musically speaking, David T. Little’s craft was remarkable. In a previous interview, Little told us about his collaboration with the BYC, his interest in the Shape Notes tradition, and the orchestration challenges that he had to overcome. The result was stunning: Little’s fresh orchestration, rhythmic and colorfully grounded in the low register, was emotionally effective and made great use the resources that were available to him. Each moment of icy stasis was an opportunity for (the ubiquitous) soprano Mellissa Hughes to shine and deliver Vavrek’s libretto with her most expressive voice.

I have been thinking a lot about this concert in the past weeks, trying to pinpoint what made me so uncomfortable. It may be unfair, but I can’t help but to relate this kind of project to the ongoing artisanal trend in Brooklyn (the use of the expression local composers in the press kit had something to do with it). Could one say, without playing too much on words, that the more we go local the less we go global? At which point does deserved pride turn into navel gazing? It is, of course, too early to tell and I am looking forward to the Brooklyn Philharmonic’s next season.

–

Thomas Deneuville, the founder and editor of I Care if You Listen, is a French-born composer living in NY. Find him on Twitter: @tonalfreak

reBlogged from: I care if you listen(.com)

on May 14, 2012 at 05:00 PM

Modular Lovers to Gather in NYC, Celebrate Legacy of Buchla, CV

You could almost call it Buchlafest.

Led by Manhattan electronic music hub Harvestworks, fans of modular synthesis, composition and performance with patch cords, and Don Buchla’s modular synths are set to gather in New York this summer. In the video below, they introduce not only their event plans but also provide a neat and tidy introduction to what analog synthesis – and the Buchla name, not nearly as well-known among laypeople as Moog – are all about.

The lineup is looking terrific. This event lacks any kind of corporate sponsor or big event production; it’s a labor of love for people who are passionate about modular synthesis and music. In the lineup: Morton Subotnick, Alessandro Cortini, Carlos Giffoni, Mark Verbos, Xeno & Oaklander, and Loud Objects. Subotnick will debut the premiere of a live performance, and there will be a presentation of tape music by the late Richard Lainhart, all in quad sound. There’s also an exhibition of boutique analog synth producers, the likes of which has been more of a rarity on the US’ East Coast. And if you wish to support this from afar, there’s a lovely poster and compilation record in the offering.

The event will be effectively community-produced, with an IndieGogo campaign supporting costs. (IndieGogo is a cousin to Kickstarter, but is a bit better-tailored to the needs of not-for-profits and this kind of event.)

More information:

http://www.indiegogo.com/sourceofuncertainty”>http://www.indiegogo.com/sourceofuncertainty”>http://www.indiegogo.com/sourceofuncertainty

reBlogged from: Create Digital Music

on May 14, 2012 at 04:00 PM

Musician's Arsenal: Killer Apps, Tools and Sites - GigFunder

---

---

Fan funding: it is the saving grace for the broke independent band. Where before bands couldn’t consider studio time or hiring promotional companies to support their release, with a little hard work, some social media love, and good old fashioned word of mouth spread, bands can raise the cash they need to fund their dream projects. With the big four players fairly entrenched in the field (PledgeMusic, Rockethub, KickStarter and Indie GoGo), it’s hard to imagine a new player coming into play. However, GigFunder has found a unique need to fill in the fan funding world.

“There were always particular bands I wanted to come to my college town, but they skipped over us every time” says Matt Pearson, founder of GigFunder. In response, Matt started a fan funding platform that would provide fan driven tours. It’s a novel approach to touring that works out beautifully for all involved. In this model, the band builds a campaign by stipulating their tour expenses. GigFunder has considered all the variables by determining if the band tours in a van, in a small car, with/without a trailer, cost per band member per meal, accommodation expenses, etc. GigFunder also allows you to build profit margin into the equation.

Once you have all the expense accounted for, your fans essentially ask you come to their city. When a fan requests you come to their city, GigFunder runs the expenses and determines what it will cost the band to tour to that city. At that point, the band and fans work to promote the tour in much the same way any other fan funding campaign is promoted. If enough money is raised, the tour happens. If not, then no go. In this scenario, the band is happy because they have a tour paid for and guaranteed attendees, fans are happy because they get the band they want in their city and the venue is happy because the tickets are pre-sold. It’s a win-win-win! Artists can also fund a pre-planned tour. This is the more traditional fan funding model in which a goal specific goal is set and fans help the band realize this goal.

As in any fan funding campaign, the success of these campaigns depends on the vitality of your social media presence and the quality of your incentives. The obvious and base incentive for GigFunder will be entry to the show. But, Matt Pearson tells me artists have been very creative so far, offering up free guitars after shows, meet and greets, allowing fans to request specific cover songs and even bringing fans on stage with them. GigFunder launches today, so head over there and check it out! Start planning your tour today, or let your fans decide where you’ll be going.

---

What do think of fan funding campaigns? What’s your take on fan driven tours?

---

Leave me your thoughts in the comment section below. 

---

reBlogged from: Music Think Tank (primary) RSS

on May 14, 2012 at 12:00 PM

SoundCloud as Sketch Book (MP3)

SoundCloud.com turns a particular idea of the bootleg on its head. The term “bootleg” is often associated with black market recordings, but much of the realm is actually more grey market: not fake versions of commercial goods, but commercial versions of uncommercial goods, such as live recordings or studio outtakes. SoundCloud is where many musicians, professional, aspiring, and casual, post their works-in-progress. In other words, these are free versions of uncommercial goods. For a particular sort of listener — a listener increasingly characterized as a SoundCloud sort of listener — that is an enticing operation. Which means informed musicians are posting the very things that previously would have been considered the things one gets out of the way before posting something. Tautologies aside, it makes for good listening, and for a great social experiment in sound. Take Greg Surges, who besides having a great family name for someone eking the most out of experimental electronics, is an accomplished participant in the online music world. His mundanely titled “patch 052012 sketch_2″ seems to take a filename for its name, but that’s true to what it is: an “improvised sketch,” as he puts it, for a forthcoming live concert (in Tijuana later this month). He explains his process briefly: “Using homebrew computer-controlled hardware into a custom software filterbank. Slower drones and percussive effects here.” The piece is a mix of slight fluctuations in tone and gentle if insistent percussion, like a Martian drum circle heard from beyond a massive sand dune.

Track originally posted soundcloud.com/greg-surges. More on Surges, who is based in San Diego, California. at gregsurges.com and twitter.com/gregsurges.

reBlogged from: Disquiet

on May 14, 2012 at 09:00 AM

May 13, 2012

Go west, pure fool

"Mrs. Edgar Peixotto, smart white silk gown with square decolletage. In her hair she wore a silver glitter crown, matching the trimming of the gown. Mrs. C. R. Krauthoff was most becomingly gowned in a heavy cream cloth gown on...

reBlogged from: Alex Ross: The Rest Is Noise

on May 13, 2012 at 10:00 PM

Well, what do you know

A chap in Switzerland sent a message, out of the blue, inquiring after Timbrel and Dance, the choir-&-percussion setting of Psalm 150 which I wrote for the November 2003 Evensong at the Cathedral Church of St Paul in Boston, an event generously organized by then-m.d. Mark Engelhardt.

More news: But first, the backstory to the news: Although it has been performed relatively frequently as a piece for flute, and even for alto flute, I originally wrote The Angel Who Bears a Flaming Sword for trumpet solo.  It’s one tough piece for trumpet.  A long blow, as my old R High mate Steve Falker trenchantly observed.  An Atlanta trumpeter has agreed to have a gander at it.

reBlogged from: henningmusick

on May 13, 2012 at 09:00 PM

Music PR agencies please note

'About Fray Martín de Villanueva as a composer, it is important to emphasise one thing: he was not a master but a good craftsman who knew the trade and composed correct works. These works are not in any case comparable with the one by his coevals Guerrero, Morales, Victoria, etc.'

In an age when every neglected work is a masterpiece and when every musician is a genius, that disarming description of the 16th century Spanish composer Fray Martín de Villanueva should serve as a case study for aspiring PR agencies. It is taken from the sleeve notes for the CD seen above of Villanueva's music in the 'Maestros del Escorial' series recorded by the Escolaria del Escorial on their own label - YouTube sample here. One of Villanueva's more arcane claims to fame is that he does not have a Wikipedia entry. Despite this, although not at genius level, his sacred music is well worth seeking out; especially his thirty minute long Pasión seguin San Juan (Passion according to St John) which inhabits a beguiling twilight zone between plainsong and polyphony. 'Maestros del Escorial - Fray Martín de Villanueva' was bought in the monastery shop at L'Abbaye Sainte Madeleine a few days ago and this post is being uploaded from the French/Spanish border. A contemporary setting of the St John Passion features here.

Also on Twitter but not Facebook while mobile. Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

reBlogged from: On An Overgrown Path

on May 13, 2012 at 07:00 PM

Preview of coming attractions

reBlogged from: Alex Ross: The Rest Is Noise

on May 13, 2012 at 02:00 PM

Ongoing construction

The building in the center of the picture has become the tallest in Manhattan. Any day now, I hear, the Bösendorfers will be hoisted up to the music critics' penthouse.

reBlogged from: Alex Ross: The Rest Is Noise

on May 13, 2012 at 01:00 AM

The next Curtis wave

I had the honor of speaking today at the commencement exercises for the Curtis Institute of Music, in Philadelphia. The graduating class was small — Curtis has a famously low acceptance rate of four percent — but I saw one...

reBlogged from: Alex Ross: The Rest Is Noise

on May 13, 2012 at 01:00 AM

May 12, 2012

MusicThinkTank.com Weekly Recap: Making A Living Is The New Success & More

Where

The Music Industry

Thinks Out Loud

 

• Simon Tam: How to Get Sponsored: Rethinking Sponsorships


• Bobby Owsinski: Making A Living Is The New Success


• James Aviaz: Q&A: Getting Music Placed in Advertising


• Simon Tam: 5 Non-traditional Ways to Promote Your Music

reBlogged from: Music Think Tank (primary) RSS

on May 12, 2012 at 12:00 PM

Roman Totenberg: A Musical Life Remembered

reBlogged from: NPR Blogs: Deceptive Cadence

on May 12, 2012 at 11:00 AM

Babbitt: "Concerto Piccolino"

	Babbitt: "Concerto Piccolino" Milton Babbitt: "Concerto Piccolino" (1999) - Lee Ferguson, marimba.	From: NewMusicXX Views: 12 1 ratings
	Time: 04:16	More in Music

reBlogged from: Uploads by NewMusicXX

on May 12, 2012 at 03:00 AM

Commissioning a New Work? What should I pay the Composer?

I get asked this a lot so I thought I should put my thoughts down for all to see

There are a variety of articles out there which talk about commissioning works, many even have prices

Randall Giles posts this page: A Brief Guide to Commissioning Music

Johansen-Werner posts his thoughts: Some Thoughts on How to Commission Music

Ken Davis adds his 2 cents: Commissioning New Music

Abbie Betnis has her ideas: How to Commission a New Work from Abbie Betinis
Even the American Composers Forum has suggestions: Commissioning by Individuals

Pretty much all of those guides are considering major performers for major works. Yes, they talk about individual or solo works. But the moment you suggest a range from hundreds to thousands of dollars you're eliminating most of the musicians on the planet. A struggling performer can't afford to pay $4-500 for a new, untried work for potentially a one-off performance.

So, here is my simple method for calculating what I might charge for a new work. Think of a commission this way:

What would you want to be paid for a performance?

If you had to bring someone in to fill the shoes for a performer, what would you expect to pay them?

    My thoughts on what to charge for commissions are rather like that.

A small "community" group might not pay their musicians, but might pay $50-100 for a single musician to come in a play on a piece if that instrument was important and there wasn't someone in the ensemble to fill the roll. A piece for community level ensemble to play in a concert, $50-100 might be very reasonable for a 4-6 min piece you are going to perform once.

A more competent ensemble, say instructors at the college or university level, might be paying the musicians more like $150 or even $250 to "fill in." Therefore, a more difficult piece, more demanding, more thoroughly composed piece might run $150-250 for 8-10 mins.

If you're hoping to feature the semi-professional/professional musician, a real star player -  20-25 min piece --a real show-piece, then $350-500 is reasonable.

If you are a semi-professional or professional ensemble then the pricing laid out in the links above are fairly consistent and reasonable pricing for commissioning a new work

.

mind, if you are a non-profit organization, any donor who commits money for a commission can deduct the money from their taxes. A great way to get money for composition is to specifically ask individual donors to fund a piece.

I should say, these thoughts are how I structure my prices, my fellow composers might have different thoughts. If you're looking to commission a new work, you really need to talk to the composer and negotiate the right price. The "reasonable" prices listed above are guidelines, not set in stone. My prices are also negotiable for friends, special occasions, payment-in-kind situations, or extenuating circumstances. Just remember, I have to make a living too. So far, I've not been able to convince my school loan creditors to accept new pieces of music in lieu of money.

Remember, even as a musician can waive fees for projects he or she really wants to play in, composers can do the same - but this should not be the default expectation. What do you think is fair?

reBlogged from: Interchanging Idioms
on May 12, 2012 at 02:00 AM

May 11, 2012

William Grant Still / Ulysses Kay-Split Release (Vox Turnabout) 1974

Today is the 117th birthday of William Grant Still.He died in December, 1978, aged 83.Notes excerpted From the back cover (enclosed):There are certain prominent figures who, over the years, acquire a label, and William Grant Still is such a man. The mere mention of his name brings the label after it almost the same breath- The Dean of Afro-American Composers.It is an

reBlogged from: A Closet of Curiosities

on May 11, 2012 at 09:00 PM

Around The Classical Internet: May 11, 2012

reBlogged from: NPR Blogs: Deceptive Cadence

on May 11, 2012 at 09:00 PM

Kronos Quartet with Rula Jebreal, Marjane Satrapi, and Tony Kushner @ the Metropolitan Museum

One would think that music and spoken word are two of the most complimentary art forms. They seem like they should be a perfect match; next to music, spoken word is the medium most reliant on pitch and rhythm, not to mention abstract concepts like cadence, consonance and dissonance. But the combination is a risky ...

reBlogged from: I care if you listen(.com)

on May 11, 2012 at 07:00 PM

Autumn Leaves

Sound Clip: Autumn Leaves by Martin Ranch

The artist writes, “I play bells that people put on young tree branches to keep deers from eating the skin of the tree. In this work, I used 14 bells, each having a particular tone due to design and material differences. Circling and closing in and out to the receptors of Olympus LS 10 recorder, this work resulted in a microtonal electric feel.”

More on this artist

martin.

reBlogged from: Sound is Art

on May 11, 2012 at 06:00 PM

Gags Ordered: The Cartoon Caption Contest Winners

reBlogged from: NPR Blogs: Deceptive Cadence

on May 11, 2012 at 06:00 PM

Tonight: Smooke has not One but Two Premieres

TWO PREMIERES BY DAVID SMOOKE

by Judah Adashi

Here in Baltimore, we take great pride in our vibrant music scene. Indeed, it’s so vibrant that my friend and colleague, David Smooke, has two local premieres in one night! (OK, one of them is in DC, but we mustn’t let such details stand in the way of rooting for the home team.)

Tonight at 8:00pm at the Atlas Performing Arts Center (1333 H Street NE), David will join Great Noise Ensemble as the featured soloist in the world premiere of his toy piano concerto, Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death. The piece takes its title and inspiration from a series of eighteen death-scene dioramas by Frances Glessner Lee, currently housed in the Office of the Medical Examiner in Baltimore. Back in Charm City, also at 8:00pm, the Atlantic Guitar Quartet will premiere David’s Topographies at the Engineer’s Club (11 W. Mt. Vernon Place).

Like the composer himself, unless you manage to bend the space-time continuum, you’ll only be able to attend one of these events. But should you find yourself at either of the above-mentioned points along the I-95 corridor, I hope you’ll take the opportunity to hear the latest fruits of David’s vivid sonic imagination!

reBlogged from: Sequenza21/

on May 11, 2012 at 05:00 PM

Riccardo Chailly and Stefano Bollani return with “Sounds of the 30s”, available from Decca on May 22

A collection of works by Ravel, Stravinsky, Weill and de Sabata feature the jazz pianist with the Gewandhausorchester

Following the success of last year’s sparkling recording of Gershwin’s Piano Concerto and Rhapsody in Blue, conductor Riccardo Chailly and pianist Stefano Bollani return with an album of jazz-inspired classical works, including two world-premiere recordings. The album, which was recorded live at the Gewandhaus, Leipzig, will be released on May 22, 2012.



Last year Decca released an all-Gershwin recording featuring these artists and it was a surprise hit. Gramophone commented that “…the performance of the Concerto is the finest I have ever heard . . . Inhibitions are left backstage and, while all parties are alive to the smallest detail, there is an irreverence and spontaneity which capture the spirit of the work like no other . . . Bollani's exuberance and panache are infectious.” This unique combination of a revered maestro (who recently has received the highest praise for his Beethoven symphony cycle), an Italian jazz pianist and a storied German orchestra has created something special and the recording shimmers as a result.



For their new recording Chailly and Bollani have turned their attention to the 1930s and works by Ravel, Stravinsky, Weill and de Sabata. The influence of jazz on Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G is undeniable. Ravel wrote the work upon his return from America where he had met George Gershwin in New York and even travelled up to the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem to listen to jazz. The concerto is remarkable in that Ravel so fluently integrated the jazz idiom into the classical model of a concerto.



Ravel’s music is followed by Stravinsky’s Tango which is heard here in both its original 1940 solo piano version as well as Felix Guenther’s orchestration (a world-premiere recording). This is a tango as it could only be conceived by Stravinsky and it is certainly a sound-world away from Ravel. This is followed with works by Kurt Weill, a composer who, like Stravinsky, fled Europe in the 1930s. Unlike Stravinsky’s analytical re-imagining of the tango, Weill has written songs which masquerade as pop-tunes but are deceptively complex creations. The two selections included, from his shows Happy End and The Threepenny Opera, are examples of his wit and musical sophistication.

reBlogged from: Interchanging Idioms

on May 11, 2012 at 04:00 PM

The Universe comes together

The 2012 edition of Spring for Music is drawing to a close, with two performances remaining: the Milwaukee Symphony tonight, the Nashville Symphony tomorrow. I've been to three of four concerts so far: Edmonton, New Jersey, Alabama. Marc-André Hamelin's rendition...

reBlogged from: Alex Ross: The Rest Is Noise

on May 11, 2012 at 04:00 PM

In May and June, Cellist Matt Haimovitz Goes “Beyond Bach” in Boston, Plays Woolf’s Après moi, le déluge in New York, and Tours with Uccello

It has already been a red-letter season for cellist Matt Haimovitz, who recently made the news with a world premiere (Philip Glass’s Cello Concerto No. 2 “Naqoyqatsi”), a nationwide recital tour (with pianist Christopher O’Riley), a hit recording (his double album with O’Riley, Shuffle.Play.Listen), and more. Now May and June see the cellist offering a characteristically diverse and challenging lineup. He performs Saint-Saëns’s Cello Concerto No. 1 in Illinois (May 4–6); gives a “Beyond Bach” solo recital at Boston’s Gardner Museum (May 17); tours with his all-cello ensemble, Uccello, playing concerts in Toronto (June 6), Buffalo (June 7), Ithaca (June 8–9), and at New York’s Bargemusic (June 10); and makes a star turn as soloist with the Trinity Choir in Du Yun’s San, Laura Elise Schwendinger’s Six Choral Settings and Luna Pearl Woolf’s concerto for cello and a cappella choir, Après moi, le deluge, at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall (May 31). In an interview below, composer Luna Pearl Woolf discusses the return to New York of Après moi, le deluge, her virtuosic, poignant response to Hurricane Katrina.



Last August, Haimovitz participated in a performance of Philip Glass’s Naqoyqatsi with the Philip Glass Ensemble at the Edinburgh International Festival, accompanying the Godfrey Reggio film Naqoyqatsi (part of a trilogy that also includes Koyaanisqatsi and Powaqqatsi). A Scotsman review of the event described the cellist’s performance as “stunning.” In March, with the Cincinnati Symphony under Dennis Russell Davies, Haimovitz gave the world premiere of Glass’s Cello Concerto No. 2, which was largely inspired by the score of Naqoyqatsi. The response was glowing; as the Cincinnati Enquirer observed, “Haimovitz performed the expansive themes with emotion and a timbre ranging from gritty to deeply beautiful.” In August, Haimovitz travels to Australia with the Philip Glass Ensemble to perform the 90-minute film version of Naqoyqatsi in Melbourne.



Having ranged this year from the Glass concerto to arrangements of Stravinsky, Radiohead, and the Mahavishnu Orchestra, this month Haimovitz delves back into the standard repertoire. Joining the Elgin Symphony Orchestra under Victor Yampolsky (May 4–6), he performs Saint-Saëns’s First Cello Concerto in Illinois for the first time since recording it at age 16 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and James Levine for Deutsche Grammophon. Haimovitz’s programming is eclectic once again on May 17, when his “Beyond Bach” recital at Boston’s Gardner Museum encompasses Bach, living American composers, and a new arrangement of the Beatles’ song “Helter Skelter.” Uccello’s East Coast June tour presents jazz arrangements for two to eight cellos from Meeting of the Spirits, which won the ensemble a 2011 Grammy Award.

reBlogged from: Interchanging Idioms

on May 11, 2012 at 02:00 PM