March 18, 2010
Artemis Quartett: Dissonance, Forensic Evidence, and Knowing
L et’s make nonfiction that is more thrilling than fiction. Let’s use the best of what fiction has to offer and make it more exciting because what happened was real.”A rtemis Quartet’s performance in Kansas City last Friday night received a warm reception here.
Ellen Windemuth, founder, Off_the_Fence Productions, Amsterdam.
- Natalia Prischepenko, violin
- Gregor Sigl, violin
- Friedemann Weigle, viola
- Eckart Runge, cello
I n fact, one of the qualities that impressed me especially was Artemis Quartett’s emphasis on the dramatic tensions between the parts—discourse between the instruments, yes, but as though the instruments (and the scores) have long-lasting disagreements, and express points of view that are founded on different evidence, profoundly different life-histories, irreconcilably different politics, and so on. Each player/part is not about to renounce what he/she ‘knows’.
[50-sec clip, Artemis Quartett, Beethoven, String Quartet in F minor, Op. 95 II, ‘Allegretto ma non troppo’, 1.6MB MP3]
T he exciting (and thought-provoking) result is a durable refractoriness to “nice” conclusions—a richness of trans-indivdual tension and dramatic complexity, even in works that are very familiar to us from repeated listening or performances.
T he encore, Astor Piazzolla’s ‘Suite del Ángel: Milonga del Ángel – Melancólico’, was another 6.7-min illustration of this.
T his Piazzolla suite is part of his series of “ángel” compositions from the 1950s and 1960s, usually performed with bandoneon or other instrumentation instead of this gorgeous arrangement for string quartet. Piazzolla had studied with Nadia Boulanger and famously alleged that his unusual counterpoint methods, for better or worse, could be blamed on her insidious pedagogy. In the “ángel” movement that the Artemis performed as an encore, we have lyrical elements that are passed among the quartet members, some of whose musical ‘testimony’ is corroborative of others’ testimony and some of whose testimony is discorroborative or contradictory. The scordatura-governed dissonance is earnest but not fierce; laconic, not agitated and verbose; and, as noted above, its rhetoric is serious, not whimsical or anecdotal.
T his peculiar Piazzolla suite is similar in narrative technique and orchestration methods to the 1949 ‘Sonata for Double Bass’ by Paul Hindemith. In that work, the bass player uses scordatura, tuning up a whole-step, which lends an unsettling, destabilizing effect to the sonata. In this Piazzolla movement, the cello’s C-string is tuned, I think, a whole-step down. In both works, the parts conjure a song in the form of a dialogue between the instruments. Hindemith: creator of ‘disharmonious counterpoint’ in which traditional combinatorial rules are subverted by a ‘decoupled system’ of tonality, or, maybe more accurately, a novel with an “unreliable narrator” point-of-view character. Piazzolla: creator of ‘testimonial dissonance’, with similar “unreliable” point-of-view characters.
T he same melody can be sung either alone or together with other players/characters, or entirely different melodies can be enunciated at the same time, or with variations that substantially alter the sense that the melody makes—the very embodiment of subjectivity and multiple, unstable points-of-view.
W hile we can recognize that the point of view of the “ángel” cello is constitutionally dour or sometimes irritable/unsympathetic, the subtlety and the disputes among the other parts’ responses prevent us from deciding that the cello-narrator, for all his vividness and probity, is more than just a figment of Piazzolla’s imagination. Our drive for certainty is flouted again and again, but we continue to listen, and there arrive more clues. We continue our listening with feelings of prolongèdly heightened suspense. Or ‘suspense-mingled-with-poignant-sense-of-loss-plus-optimism’.
T he result is that we get a riveting, realistic depiction of what may happen to human psyches when they are self-styled and unrelenting. They each know what they know; they each agree to disagree. Such complexity is emotionally engaging and believable, not confusing. In other words, read the quartet as you would read a good novel—as though it were real.
[50-sec clip, Artemis Quartett, Piazzolla, ‘Milonga del Ángel-Melancólico’, 1.6MB MP3]
T he Beethoven the Artemis offered was remarkably cogent and organic. The group dispatched the agitated, mercurial first movement of the Quartet in F minor (Op. 95) with a deft combination of rhapsodic vigor and cool control.”
Anthony Tomassini, New York Times, 02-MAR-2010.
- Artemis Quartett website
- Artemis Quartet. Piazzolla Project. (Virgin, 2009.)
- Artemis Quartet. Beethoven: String Quartets Opp. 59/2 & 18/4. (Virgin, 2008.)
- Artemis Quartet. Beethoven: String Quartets Opp. 95 & 59/1. (Virgin, 2008.)
- Bateson G. Steps to an Ecology of Mind: Collected Essays in Anthropology, Psychiatry, Evolution, and Epistemology. Univ Chicago, 2000.
- Hoefer B, Pintrich P. Personal Epistemology. Erlbaum, 2002.
- Huemer M, ed. Epistemology: Contemporary Readings. Routledge, 2002.
- Kieran M, Lopes D, eds. Knowing Art: Essays in Aesthetics and Epistemology. Springer, 2007.
- Lackey J, Sosa E, eds. The Epistemology of Testimony. Oxford Univ, 2006.
- McDonald T. Artemis String Quartet Review. Kansas City Star, 13-MAR-2010.
- Olsson E. Against Coherence: Truth, Probability, and Justification. Oxford Univ, 2005.
- Roberts R, Wood W. Intellectual Virtues: An Essay in Regulative Epistemology. Oxford Univ, 2010.
- Rounds D. The Four and the One: In Praise of String Quartets. Lost Coast, 1999.
- Smith M. Understanding Unreliable Narrators: Reading Between the Lines. NCT, 1991.
- Sosa E. A Virtue Epistemology: Apt Belief and Reflective Knowledge. Oxford Univ, 2009.
- Tomassini A. Beethoven that is robust, if a little strange. New York Times, 02-MAR-2010.
- Vaihinger H. The Philosophy of ‘As If’. Routledge, 2008.
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Originally from Chamber Music Today, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 18, 2010 at 12:14 PM | Comments (0)
Movies, music and art you won't understand, at the Contemporary Museum and ... - St. Louis Post-Dispatch (blog)
Movies, music and art you won't understand, at the Contemporary Museum and ... St. Louis Post-Dispatch (blog) Prima is a sometime member of the legendary avant-garde ensemble The Red Krayola, a band that for 40 years has been suspected of not knowing how to play its ... |
Originally from "contemporary classical" | "avant garde" music - Google News, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 18, 2010 at 12:13 PM | Comments (0)
Southwest Chamber Music's further adventures in Hanoi - Los Angeles Times (blog)
Southwest Chamber Music's further adventures in Hanoi Los Angeles Times (blog) Arts-world assists for new music are nothing new. American avant-garde music, for instance, pretty much began with John Cage's New York debut concert at the ... |
Originally from "contemporary classical" | "avant garde" music - Google News, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 18, 2010 at 12:13 PM | Comments (0)
Polish composers: radical innovation - National
Polish composers: radical innovation National It is that rare thing: a piece of contemporary classical music that ordinary people actually relate to. The same can be said of the music of Poland's other ... |
Originally from "contemporary classical" | "avant garde" music - Google News, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 18, 2010 at 12:13 PM | Comments (0)
Music Notes: Ethos Percussion Group, Classical Guitar Society, jazz showcase - The State Journal-Register
Music Notes: Ethos Percussion Group, Classical Guitar Society, jazz showcase The State Journal-Register The group performs contemporary classical and non-Western percussion music. Friday's concert will include an arrangement of Guido Haazen's “Missa Luba,” a ... |
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What's on in Germany: March 18 - 24 - The Local
What's on in Germany: March 18 - 24 The Local This Week's Highlights: Joan Baez arrives in Düsseldorf, Romeo and Juliet take a turn through Munich, and there's lots of music in Berlin. ... |
Originally from "wolfgang rihm" OR "joan tower" OR "conlon nancarrow" OR "scelsi" OR "sciarrino" AND music - Google News, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 18, 2010 at 11:10 AM | Comments (0)
Coming Up Next: Friday 19 March :: Electroacoustic:Acoustoelectronic
Grab your headphones for an evening of:
Electronic Music with Acoustic Instruments and Acoustic Music That Sounds Electronic
Natasha Barrett: Moblis in Mobli (2006); Fetters (2002)
Unreleased 2-track remixes
Natasha Barrett was one of the composers at this year’s Other Minds 15 Festival in San Francisco
Two string quartets by young Danish composers that sound as if they were electronic:
Simon Steen-Andersen: String Quartet (1999)
The Silesian Quartet
Jexper Holmen: Intend/Ascend (2002)
The Silesian Quartet - DaCapo (DK) 8.226530
The classic MEV group, who flourished in and around Italy in the 60’s and 70’s are back for a reunion of sorts with a live electronic improvisation:
Musica Elettronica Viva: Mass. Pike (2007)
Alvin Curran, Frederic Rzewski, Richard Teitelbaum
Live recording, Tangelwood, MA
New World Records 80675
Originally posted by rchrd from Music From Other Minds, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 18, 2010 at 08:13 AM | Comments (0)
The Creatures in the Garden of Lady Walton - All About Jazz
 All About Jazz | The Creatures in the Garden of Lady Walton All About Jazz Words like "ambitious" often suggest bolder, sweeping music, and while a larger cast of characters augmenting Clogs' longstanding line-up does allow for a ... |
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A Saint-Saëns cello concerto - The Spokesman Review
A Saint-Saëns cello concerto The Spokesman Review He was a member of the European Union Youth Orchestra and the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra playing under such conductors as Pierre Boulez and Bernard ... |
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Alda, Steinhardt to dissect Bach - Detroit Free Press
Alda, Steinhardt to dissect Bach Detroit Free Press Cranbrook Music Guild: with oboist Nermis Mieses performing works by Schumann, Dutilleux, Silvestrini, Bach and Poulenc, 3:30 pm Sun. ... |
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A-list, Bs top '10-11 - The Spokesman Review
A-list, Bs top '10-11 The Spokesman Review In addition to the standard repertoire of symphonies and concertos, next season will include less familiar works by Bohuslav Martinu, György Ligeti and Paul ... |
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Milwaukee Event Calendar - OnMilwaukee.com
Milwaukee Event Calendar OnMilwaukee.com Chamber Music Milwaukee joins the Music Department's celebration of composer Libby Larsen with a concert that features several of her works and one by her ... |
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Passion play - Bay Area Reporter
 Bay Area Reporter | Passion play Bay Area Reporter Another element in the legend surrounding the piece is that, when Helmut Rilling gave Golijov the commission for it (also extended to Wolfgang Rihm, ... |
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Music Feature - Artvoice
Music Feature Artvoice Kolor explains, “We decided to replace Interchange with Un fruscio lungo trent'anni, a work by the Italian composer Salvatore Sciarrino. ... |
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A little Ligeti goes a song way - London Free Press
A little Ligeti goes a song way London Free Press ... the opera workshop at UWO's Don Wright faculty of music perform a brief scene from contemporary Hungarian composer Gyorgy Ligeti's Le Grand Macabre. ... |
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Take this detour
I’ve written before about the one and only Alex Temple, late Yalie and NYC denizen, later studious University of Michigan grad, currently working his thing in the windy city of Chicago.
Well, Alex is back in New York for a moment, joined by fellow composers Brian Mark, Seth Bedford, Angélica Négron, and Jeremy Howard Beck. DETOUR presents works by all these up-and-comers, made to accompany archival films found in the Prelinger Archives, this Saturday, March 20th, at 8pm, at the Gershwin Hotel (7 East 27th Street, 9pm / Cover $10)
The videos range from airline ads to political propaganda. Some have been edited and others left intact. The music that’s been added to them covers a wide variety of styles and languages, from electronic soundscapes to live chamber music. Alex’s own offering is called A Presentation to the Board, and uses electronic music and a live speaker to turn a 1950’s public service announcement about life in the suburbs into a pitch by a representative of an evil conspiratorial corporation to a despotic government.
Alex has also been muy busy with other projects that involve both voice and smart deconstructions/meldings of pop and high culture. A recent favorite is Imogene, which lucky yous can hear in two different versions at Alex’s works page. Go ahead, try it, you’ll like it!
Originally posted by Steve Layton from Sequenza21/, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 18, 2010 at 05:10 AM | Comments (0)
"Science Meets Art.. and Grief": Zukerman Plays Berg Concerto in NY March 18-20 - PlaybillArts
 PlaybillArts | "Science Meets Art.. and Grief": Zukerman Plays Berg Concerto in NY March 18-20 PlaybillArts In 1972 Mr. Zukerman didn't know a note of Berg's music. He was introduced to it that year by Pierre Boulez, then the music director of the New York ... |
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Champignon Mushrooms
Sound Clips: Champignon Cutting and Champignon Cutting Phase Shifted by Michael Peters
The first clip is close mic recording cutting champignon mushrooms for dinner. The second recording is phase shifted it using granular synthesis.
Originally posted by Margaret from Sound is Art, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 18, 2010 at 02:02 AM | Comments (0)
Floating in Free Pitch Space
Microtonal theorist Timothy Johnson, of whose theoretical skills and even more his work ethic I stand in awe, has sent me the MIDI file he made of the first 30 measures of the final movement of Ben Johnston's Seventh String Quartet, of which I wrote in my last post. At 2:41, this represents about a sixth of the third movement, which must total 16 minutes. I can't listen to it enough: exotic consonances floating in a totally free, gridless pitch space. This is truly the music of the distant future. He made the file with piano sounds, since MIDI string sounds are vulgarly inadequate, so you'll have to imagine this played by a string quartet. I wish I thought I would live long enough to write music like this, but I'm too pragmatic, not visionary enough. The score is published by Smith Publications, if you're interested in studying it yourself.Originally from PostClassic, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 18, 2010 at 02:00 AM | Comments (0)
"COSMIC WOMB" for 2 Pianos with Digital Delay (Somei Satoh) - Margareth Leng Tan
Originally posted by jeff from new music reblog plus, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 18, 2010 at 01:59 AM | Comments (0)
March 17, 2010
Polish composers: radical innovation - National
Polish composers: radical innovation National In fact, he was an arch avant-gardist for much of his early career, influenced by atonalists and 12-tone serialists such as Anton Webern and Pierre Boulez ... |
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UWO Don Wright music faculty opera workshop students rawk Reaney's Pick with a ... - London Free Press (blog)
UWO Don Wright music faculty opera workshop students rawk Reaney's Pick with a ... London Free Press (blog) It's about three minutes from Ligeti's Le Grand Macabre. Off-stage is Prof. John Hess. When John & I talked about this, he suggested the students could do ... |
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Thielemann Confesses
What does Christian Thielemann think of the music of Gustav Mahler? The German conductor, possibly the most convincing Wagner interpreter of our day, was recently asked that question at a Munich press conference, and it was a charged query: for some years, Thielemann has been trailed by rumors of reactionary political sympathies, even of anti-Semitism, and his avoidance of Mahler has in some places been taken as evidence of his alleged views. (Jane Kramer reported on the Thielemann controversy in a New Yorker article in 2001.) Jens Laurson, of the ionarts blog, attended the press conference, and notes that Thielemann’s response to the Mahler question took a surprising twist. The conductor said: “Mahler’s music lends itself most to those conductors who know how to hold back, who are good at understatement. That doesn’t exactly accommodate my conducting style; I’ve not been terribly successful at that yet. The music of Mahler is already so full of effects, if you are tempted to add anything, you only make it worse. I admire those conductors who achieve that certain noblesse—which is what I desire to achieve, eventually. Not always to enhance something.” Laurson’s entire post is, as they say, worth reading.
Photo: Thielemann in a Bayreuth bookstore, 2004.
Originally posted by Alex Ross from Unquiet Thoughts, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 17, 2010 at 11:10 PM | Comments (0)
Talujon Percussion performs Friday - The Daily News Online
Talujon Percussion performs Friday The Daily News Online Based in New York City, Talujon performs regularly for such highly regarded organizations as the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society, Bang on a Can, ... |
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Preview calendar: Clubs and concerts for March 18-24 - North County Times
Preview calendar: Clubs and concerts for March 18-24 North County Times San Diego IndieFest 6: Metric, Far and the Nappy Roots ---- The three groups headline this two-day, outdoor concert festival with live music on seven stages ... |
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The Hartt School Announces Upcoming Events For April 2010 - Broadway World
The Hartt School Announces Upcoming Events For April 2010 Broadway World The Ensemble presents new and unusual works, including music by John Cage, Donald Erb, and Steve Reich, as well as premieres by Hartt composers. ... |
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Julia Fischer cancels concerts; UMS rebooks dates with new artists - AnnArbor.com
Julia Fischer cancels concerts; UMS rebooks dates with new artists AnnArbor.com Both appear unaccompanied, and both play concerts that, in the spirit of Fischer's planned recitals, take the music of Bach as a central focus. ... |
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Theatre Review: Soap at Riverside Studios - Londonist
 Londonist | Theatre Review: Soap at Riverside Studios Londonist The range of music, from Gnarls Barkley to Tchaikovsky's Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies, to something that sounded very like londonist fave's Rage Against ... |
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Do It For the Children
By Colin HolterA cunning strategy: Build in some psychological headroom with pieces for which the audience will have to extend good faith, then fill in that space with pieces that are less conceptually foreign.
Originally from NewMusicBox, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 17, 2010 at 05:12 PM | Comments (0)
Shut Up ’n’ Let the Music Do the Talkin’ Some More
The start of the Crucifixion section:ily:Georgia;color:#25383c;">Conclusion of the Crucifixion, and the Deposition from the Cross:
Originally from henningmusick, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 17, 2010 at 02:10 PM | Comments (0)
Thomas Adès Features Three World-Premiere Recordings on latest Album, Available March 23rd
Thomas Adès: Violin Concerto, Concentric Paths; Tevot; Couperin Dances
Berlin Philharmonic/Rattle; Anthony Marwood, violin, with Chamber Orchestra of Europe/ Adès; National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain/Paul Daniel
CD and downloads available March 23 from EMI Classics
“Five stars out of five. Tevot (2007), written for the Berlin Philharmonic, is Adès’s largest orchestral work. It shows a Sibelian mastery of development and transition – even when the harmonic material is, like Sibelius, relatively conservative and the melodic content reminiscent of 20th century neo-romantics. Like a latter-day symphonist, Adès takes the listener on a vivid sonic journey, juxtaposing tensile motifs on woodwinds, strings and percussion with constantly moving, seductively textured blocks of sound.” — Financial Times [Andrew Clark]
EMI Classics presents the world-premiere release of three of Thomas Adès’s new works recorded live, partly conducted by the composer himself, and, in the case of Tevot, by Sir Simon Rattle with the Berlin Philharmonic.
“Tevot” means “arks” in Hebrew but another meaning is “bars in a piece of music.” In an interview with The Guardian, Adès said: “I liked the idea that the bars of the music were carrying the notes as a sort of family through the piece. And they do, because without bars, you'd have musical chaos. But I was thinking about the ark, the vessel, in the piece as the earth. (…) It sounds a bit colossal, but it's the idea of the ship of the world." The work was commissioned by the Stiftung Berliner Philharmoniker and the Carnegie Hall Corporation; it was premiered by the Berlin Philharmonic and Sir Simon Rattle at the Philharmonie in Berlin in February 2007 and received its US premiere, also with the Berlin Philharmonic and Rattle, at Carnegie Hall in November 2007. Sir Simon Rattle considers Adès “perhaps the most extravagantly gifted (of young UK composers),” and he and the Berlin Philharmonic program Adès’s works frequently.
In September 2005 Adès’s Violin Concerto written for Anthony Marwood was premiered at the Berliner Festspiele and the BBC Proms, with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe conducted by the composer.
The album is rounded out with Adès’s Three Studies after Couperin (2006) and a three-movement suite (2007) from the opera Powder Her Face.
Since the release of Adès’s opera The Tempest on EMI Classics in June 2009, the recording has received attention on a global scale. In France, the disc was recently awarded the prestigious Diapason d’Or de l’année, and in the U.S. the album was a ‘Critic’s Choice’ pick in Opera News.
Originally from Interchanging Idioms, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 17, 2010 at 11:28 AM | Comments (0)
Philip Langridge: fun cut short
It is still difficult for me to believe that tenor Philip Langridge is no longer with us. On March 5 he died of cancer—apparently a very aggressive form—just weeks after appearing as the Witch in Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel at the Met. I saw him in this deliciously disturbing production (by Richard Jones) when it first appeared in 2007, and Langridge stole the show. Wearing a body suit with sagging arms and some serious matronly poundage, all plopped atop high heels, he looked like Julia Child's nutty evil twin.
Langridge was also an electrifying Aron opposite John Tomlinson's Moses in Graham Vick's vivid conception of Schoenberg's Moses und Aron, which I reviewed in 2004. These disparate operas not only gave Langridge magnificent music, but the chance to etch characters that one recalls for months. The sobriety of his Aron was countered by the waves of laughter he produced in the Humperdinck.
Barry Millington's obituary in The Guardian is here. During the final run of Hänsel und Gretel, Langridge said, "I don't think I've ever had so much fun in my whole career."
[Photo: Philip Langridge as the Witch in Hänsel und Gretel in 2009, photographed by Beth Bergman]
Originally posted by bhodgesnyc from Monotonous Forest, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 17, 2010 at 11:28 AM | Comments (0)
An interview with Alfred Darlington, modern-day dandy and experimental ... - Weekly Alibi
An interview with Alfred Darlington, modern-day dandy and experimental ... Weekly Alibi Your work is concerned with innovation and new media art—do you think there is any true avant garde happening now? As in answering above, just surviving is ... |
Originally from "contemporary classical" | "avant garde" music - Google News, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 17, 2010 at 11:28 AM | Comments (0)
Review | Chinese composers show Western influence - Kansas City Star
Review | Chinese composers show Western influence Kansas City Star ... Souls Unitarian Universalist Church enjoyed the music of avant-garde, Western-trained Chinese composers inspired by thousand-year-old Buddhist concepts. ... |
Originally from "contemporary classical" | "avant garde" music - Google News, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 17, 2010 at 11:27 AM | Comments (0)
From Jazz to Avant Garde at Carnegie Hall - All About Jazz
From Jazz to Avant Garde at Carnegie Hall All About Jazz Making Music: Louis Andriessen on Saturday, April 17 at 7:30 pm Details about the US premiere of Andriessen's new work have been announced: Entitled Life, ... |
Originally from "contemporary classical" | "avant garde" music - Google News, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 17, 2010 at 11:27 AM | Comments (0)
New Music festival features contemporary classical composers - Palm Beach Post
New Music festival features contemporary classical composers Palm Beach Post It's a modest price to pay to hear so much new music, and concertgoers interested in contemporary classical composition should make a point to attend. ... |
Originally from "contemporary classical" | "avant garde" music - Google News, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 17, 2010 at 11:27 AM | Comments (0)
Composer Lowell Lierbermann to Conduct Concert of His Works - NorthcentralPa.com
Composer Lowell Lierbermann to Conduct Concert of His Works NorthcentralPa.com By Feed: Mansfield University News MANSFIELD, PA— The Mansfield University Music Department will present Lowell Liebermann conducting faculty chamber groups ... |
Originally from "contemporary classical" | "avant garde" music - Google News, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 17, 2010 at 11:27 AM | Comments (0)
Not Learning to Read Finnegans Wake - CBS News
 CBS News | Not Learning to Read Finnegans Wake CBS News Not satisfied with the wholesale distribution of wholesome texts, the agency pressed forward into the no man's land of the avant-garde, seeking to show its ... |
Originally from "contemporary classical" | "avant garde" music - Google News, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 17, 2010 at 11:27 AM | Comments (0)
David Byrne's avant-garde dance film makes sense - Reuters
David Byrne's avant-garde dance film makes sense Reuters Working with multiple cameras on many nights of the "Music of David Byrne and Brian Eno" tour, Hillman Curtis caught that production -- in which the band, ... |
Originally from "contemporary classical" | "avant garde" music - Google News, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 17, 2010 at 11:27 AM | Comments (0)
Artistic prominence and social responsibility
Part of the genesis of my Yo-Yo Ma feature on Sunday was my curiosity about how artists deal with the responsibilities of assuming a political role. I make a distinction, here, between taking on a self-appointed function as a spokesman for human rights or Darfur or green living or whatever cause you believe in, and achieving a stature through your work that leads to your being regarded as a figure of authority. Obviously, there are artists who have crossed the line and gone into politics altogether: Ignacy Jan Paderewski, the pianist who became Prime Minister of Poland, and Vaclav Havel, the playwright who became president of Czechoslovakia and then of the Czech Republic, are two obvious examples. But I was curious about artists who find themselves for one reason or another in a figurehead position: like Casals, whose refusal to perform under Franco made him a symbol of heroic resistance,Originally from The Classical Beat – Classical Music Forum – washingtonpost.com, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 17, 2010 at 11:26 AM | Comments (0)
Meeting Horner
When I first came to UCLA, many of my colleagues referred to this chap as “Jamie”–a nickname he now supposedly loathes. He did his Masters work at UCLA, was a TA, a classmate of Mark Carlson, and was on the way towards getting a PhD, but the Roger Corman films started coming fast and furious. Juliana was an undergrad with him at USC. My dear friend and patron, Ronnie–who lets me stay in her Palm Springs house to compose and goes with me to new music concerts in LA–is his cousin. And despite all these connections, I had never met James until last Thursday when he came to speak to our composers about his work on Avatar.
He was soft-spoken at first, and as the two hour session went on, he became more forceful and clearly enjoyed talking and teaching these young and eager students–also his biggest fans. Many of them stayed afterwords to have their picture taken with James. He graciously stayed late to pose and speak with them.
Some memorable quotes and paraphrases:
- He has tremendous respect for John Williams. “In a class by himself.”
- Cameron was clear that he did NOT want any themes or melodies. “A tuneless score.” [WOW!]
- JC kept a tight hold on the reins for the entire score.
- JH graciously acceded that it is JC’s vision, his movie, his world. He pushes until it’s right.
- He spoke about his collaboration with Wanda in their effort to find a sonic palette “unlike anything we’ve ever heard.” Of the 25 instruments he culled, JC rejected 20 of them. JH ultimately blended these sampled instruments into his orchestration.
- He seemed proud of that his orchestration, “which I do myself” is rooted in tradition, but adding these new [sampled/world] instruments transforms it.
- JH, when asked what his favorite score was, admitted that he couldn’t pinpoint one film, rather cues from a variety of films.
- Juliana asked whether he would ever write an opera; he said ‘no’ but he would LOVE to write a ballet.
- “I could never make people cry in my concert music. In my music for film, I can. [...] I loved having the opportunity [in TITANIC] to help the audience fall in love with two characters; and knowing that they will both die offered me a unique musical challenge.”
I found James to be a true gentleman; a smart businessman; an excellent teacher; an sensitive artist with a big heart; and a composer who loves the art of collaboration, despite not always getting his way.
When the composition area at UCLA interviews perspective undergraduate students in composition, one of the questions we ask them is “Who are your favorite composers?” James Horner has been at the top of that list for five years running. I confessed that statistic to Horner as the session wound down. He was clearly touched. Another student [winner of this year's Jerry Goldsmith Award] confessed that James was his childhood “hero.”
For someone who had been described as quiet, shy and private, I saw a gracious, generous, sensitive but outgoing and humble man. He promises to come back for a future visit.
Originally posted by Roger Bourland from rogerbourland.com, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 17, 2010 at 11:25 AM | Comments (0)
The Winter War In Tibet - Eurasia Deluxe
Part ambient and part minimal post-rock, Eurasia Deluxe by The Winter War in Tibet is a great example of riffs looking for a melody. The tracks titled Eurasia 1-7 are parts of melodies lifted along by drifting drones and lilting beats. There is a feeling of Zen and magic throughout this hour-long album. “Eurasia III” actually sounds a bit U2-ish to me. The ensemble is a collaboration of musicians from Minsk, Belarus and they appear to have a gift for creative teamwork. This is a good collection of instrumentals for both active listening and intellectual background music.
The album is available from Clinical Archive in 320kbps MP3.
Originally posted by Marvin from Free Albums Galore, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 17, 2010 at 11:24 AM | Comments (0)
Going It Alone - San Francisco Classical Voice
Going It Alone San Francisco Classical Voice The rest of the first half was a swift roundelay of new music. Two short pieces, each memorials to other composers, demonstrated in their different ways ... |
Originally from lutoslawski OR xenakis OR boulez OR Dutilleux OR ligeti OR "elliott carter" OR stockhausen OR "steve reich" OR "tristan murail" AND music - Google News, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 17, 2010 at 11:12 AM | Comments (0)
Heading south to play loud - Ottawa Citizen
Heading south to play loud Ottawa Citizen You walk on Sixth Street and it's something like a gigantic Stockhausen noise experiment, with all the bands playing in different bars and bleeding into ... |
Originally from lutoslawski OR xenakis OR boulez OR Dutilleux OR ligeti OR "elliott carter" OR stockhausen OR "steve reich" OR "tristan murail" AND music - Google News, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 17, 2010 at 08:12 AM | Comments (0)
Top live show - Time Out New York
Top live show Time Out New York The material floats between ethereal rounds such as the Steve Reich–goes-madrigal “Cocodrillo” to the intricately arranged aural cinema of “Adages of ... |
Originally from lutoslawski OR xenakis OR boulez OR Dutilleux OR ligeti OR "elliott carter" OR stockhausen OR "steve reich" OR "tristan murail" AND music - Google News, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 17, 2010 at 05:12 AM | Comments (0)
Now Thank We All Our God - quite the crowd
This is a work in progress. Tonight, as I was enjoying my evening alone in the Salt Lake City Hilton near the airport, Omar showed up with his spinet, a blind guy who played the vibes, and a one armed marimba player. Next thing you know, the guy in the room down the hall knocked on the door. He said he could play four clarinets at once. In 72 EDO! I have never seen that before. So I had to record one more take of the first seven chords of Now Thank We All Our God. Heavenly. Fake but accurate...Play it:
Originally from Podcast Bumper Music, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 17, 2010 at 05:11 AM | Comments (0)
Duncan Campbell and the Bruce High Quality Foundation Take A Bumpy Ride to Utopia - Village Voice
Duncan Campbell and the Bruce High Quality Foundation Take A Bumpy Ride to Utopia Village Voice Listening to Xenakis's music on an iPod provided by the Drawing Center while examining his scores and architectural plans, which look pretty similar, ... |
Originally from lutoslawski OR xenakis OR boulez OR Dutilleux OR ligeti OR "elliott carter" OR stockhausen OR "steve reich" OR "tristan murail" AND music - Google News, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 17, 2010 at 02:12 AM | Comments (0)
Now Thank We All Our God - loud piano
This is a work in progress. I used the FF piano samples this time. I need to figure out a way to chose the samples based on the volume.Play it:
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Originally from Podcast Bumper Music, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 17, 2010 at 02:11 AM | Comments (0)
To the Moon, Alice
The awesome Ensemble Pi is performing the latest collaboration between artist William Kentridge and composer Philip Miller at Arts World Financial Center on March 21 and 22 at 8 pm
Sounds From the Black Box will feature the world-premiere live performance of Miller’s new compositions for Kentridge’s recent film animations. Joining Ensemble Pi will be the South African vocalist Tshidi Manye (who plays Rafiki in Broadway’s The Lion King) and Miller will also be onstage sampling sound clips to create the audio landscapes that are so integral to his scores.
Here’s a two-minute preview clip of one of the films, Journey to the Moon:
Click here to view the embedded video.
Originally posted by Jerry Bowles from Sequenza21/, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 17, 2010 at 02:10 AM | Comments (0)
March 16, 2010
Samuel Interview: SXSW 2010 - Spinner
 Spinner | Samuel Interview: SXSW 2010 Spinner My dad was into really into experimental sounds, like John Cage and Steve Reich. I grew up listening to my own music, which focused on pop-punk, hardcore, ... |
Originally from lutoslawski OR xenakis OR boulez OR Dutilleux OR ligeti OR "elliott carter" OR stockhausen OR "steve reich" OR "tristan murail" AND music - Google News, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 16, 2010 at 11:12 PM | Comments (0)
Music News - San Francisco Classical Voice
Music News San Francisco Classical Voice Stay up to date with weekly classical music news from the Bay Area, across the US, and around the world. Events at Berkeley's Crowden ... |
Originally from lutoslawski OR xenakis OR boulez OR Dutilleux OR ligeti OR "elliott carter" OR stockhausen OR "steve reich" OR "tristan murail" AND music - Google News, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 16, 2010 at 11:12 PM | Comments (0)
Soap at Riverside Studios, W6 - Times Online
Soap at Riverside Studios, W6 Times Online This extremely adept dude strips down to his pants while keeping a battery of bright orange balls bouncing in time to the music. ... |
Originally from lutoslawski OR xenakis OR boulez OR Dutilleux OR ligeti OR "elliott carter" OR stockhausen OR "steve reich" OR "tristan murail" AND music - Google News, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 16, 2010 at 11:12 PM | Comments (0)
Garrett Fisher—At the Hawks Well
There is a fluid back and forth motion across continents and centuries that impresses when it comes to the work of Garrett Fisher. It's showcased once again in his latest piece At the Hawks Well.Originally from NewMusicBox, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 16, 2010 at 11:12 PM | Comments (0)
The Aesthetes vs. the Omnivores
By Frank J. OteriThe classical music business and the wine business in the United States have both traditionally marketed themselves on the elite and ultimately somewhat pretentious conceit of masterpieces whose unchallengeable provenance would be determined by aesthetes; but in a world where everything is relative, there are no masterpieces.
Originally from NewMusicBox, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 16, 2010 at 11:12 PM | Comments (0)
Fun with Google Books, Part 1
I’ve been happily exploring all the free stuff available on Google Books, including complete runs of out of print magazines like Life. Check out what Igor Stravinsky used to do when he visited his buddy Charles Chaplin in 1937. Of interest, Stravinsky is described primarily as “the famous conductor,” although in all fairness to Life, they mention an upcoming concert in Manhattan where three of his ballet scores will be performed.
Charlie and Igor having some laughs
Originally posted by Christian from Sequenza21/, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 16, 2010 at 11:10 PM | Comments (0)
Roland Berger Strategy Consultants hosts classical music concert - Consultant News
Roland Berger Strategy Consultants hosts classical music concert Consultant News He often collaborates with many modern composers, including Wolfgang Rihm, Jörg Widmann, Rodion Shchedrin, Mikis Theodorakis and Hans Werner Henze. ... |
Originally from "wolfgang rihm" OR "joan tower" OR "conlon nancarrow" OR "scelsi" OR "sciarrino" AND music - Google News, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 16, 2010 at 11:10 PM | Comments (0)
Minneapolis Trombone Choir 37th Annual Concert: On the Emotional Lives of Once and Future Brass Players
A frisky spirit makes my trombone sing.”T he thirty-seventh annual concert by the Minneapolis Trombone Choir (MTC) was an exotic and thrilling experience. The performance this past Sunday evening at Judson Church in Minneapolis featured approximately 40 trombone players, some of them alternately switching to euphonium or tuba for several of the works that comprised the evening’s program. The pieces were conducted by Jim ten Bensel, Mike Bratlie, John de Haan, Tom Huelsmann, and Stan Bann.
Chris Barber, trombonist.
S everal pieces of new music were performed, including Eric Ewazen’s ‘Concertino for Bass Trombone’, conducted by John de Haan, with soloist Derek Crosier and a trombone octet consisting of Neil Baumgartner, Doug Coleman, Zach Friesen, Lauren Husting, Scott Kruse, John Metcalfe, Greg Michnay, and Brian Wistrom. The 11-minute piece begins with an atmospheric chorale section, giving way to more aggressive, virtuosic, up-tempo writing. Crosier’s cadenzas (at 7 minutes and 9 minutes) were heart-felt, luminous things. Beautiful!
J im ten Bensel, who has directed MTC for many years, is a Yamaha trombone artist with Bachelor and Master degrees in music education from the University of Minnesota. He is currently on the faculty of MacPhail Center in Minneapolis, specializing in low brass and jazz combos. As a performer, Jim has toured with Stan Kenton, Henry Mancini, Ralph Marteri, and other bands. Jim currently plays with the Barbary Coast Dixieland Band, the Bella Gala Big Band, and the George Maurer group, among others. As a classical trombonist, Jim was in 1988 awarded ‘Best Classical Brass’ by the Minnesota Music Academy Awards.
S ome 40 years ago I’d received some lessons from Jim (who was then at U of M), and, through all these years, I’ve vividly remembered his engaging teaching methods. I’ve lived away from Minnesota most of the intervening years and have been logistically unable to attend his performances, so I looked forward to Sunday’s MTC concert with much anticipation.
M y anticipation was well-rewarded.
H earing a concert by Jim ten Bensel and his colleagues is a lot like having a heart-to-heart with a good friend. You alternately laugh and get misty-eyed, and, when it’s over, you feel a sort of renewed sense of what matters. Jim’s energy for putting sounds in the air is so genuine—so real—that you find yourself hoping it might linger in the air longer than is physically possible. Hoping.
I attended this event with family members, including my parents who are in their eighties. My dad has always held low brass instruments dear, having played euphonium in high-school band when he was a kid. When I was a child, my dad used to hum/improvise a hidden baritone part whenever a piece of classical music was playing on the stereo. Often, his humming would enable me to hear a part that was actually there in the score but was too colored-over by other, brighter instruments for my inexperienced ears to notice. At other times, his humming would be revealed to be completely spurious—an extemporized harmonizing with whatever else the composer had written. The mystery of how my dad was able to fluently/synchronously impute and hum a part into a piece of music that was unfamiliar to me (and to him?) fascinated me. Was part of what convinced me that music deeply made ‘sense’, despite the fact that it was pure magic.
A t any rate, with all the years of these built-up neuroendocrine ‘triggers’, and with all of us emotionally ‘locked-and-loaded’ just so, the MTC’s inspired performance of ‘Pilgrims’ Chorus’ from Wagner’s ‘Tannhäuser’ (well, not just that one, but other works on the program as well) proved more than sufficient to raise tears in the eyes of many in the audience, particularly us once-and-future brass-players. The MTC’s powerful transgenerational evocation of what music has meant to us—to each of us, throughout our lives, separately and together—was most welcome, handkerchiefs and all.
M inisters and priests, take note: the acoustic persuasiveness of 40 low-brass players pouring their hearts out in a modest-sized church sanctuary is a spiritual force to be reckoned with, one not unlike that of the world’s great cathedral pipe organs.
T he MTC encore (Meredith Willson’s ‘76 Trombones’) was icing on the proverbial cake for the enthusiastic 150+ lovers of brass ensembles and low-brass in attendance. Bravo!
- Jim ten Bensel website
- ten Bensel faculty page at MacPhail Center for Music
- Eric Ewazen website
- Eric Ewazen faculty page at Juilliard
- Judson Church, Minneapolis
day.blogspot.com/2010/03/minneapolis-trombone-choir-37th-annual.html">
Originally from Chamber Music Today, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 16, 2010 at 07:27 PM | Comments (0)
Allô, soleil!
This sunshine thing: I could quite take to it.Here at King's Chapel to hear Paul Cienniwa play Couperin's Huitième Ordre.
Originally from henningmusick, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 16, 2010 at 07:27 PM | Comments (0)
Nic Bommarito - three albums
My big discovery of 2010 just may be Nic Bommarito. His mixture of electronica, post-rock and Americana folk influences is one of the fresher sounds I’ve heard while perusing the internet for better than average music. Nic Bommarito clears better-than-average like a pole vaulter clears an anthill.
There are three of his albums, that I know of, available freely on the web. His latest one is Harp Fragments and the appeal of his music is obvious from the first track, “Hymn For 200 Sugar Packets”. There is a combination of the melodic with the majestic surrounded by impeccable arranging. While some of the tracks sound a bit lo-fi, that doesn’t take away from the virtuosity of this music. “Folk Psychology” displays his love for Americana and folk elements, an influence that is never too far away in any of his compositions. Another stand-out is “Way Better Than Too Much Post-Rock”.
Taciturn is the album before Harp Fragments and, while not as outstanding, it is still an excellent collection of instrumental sounds. Both of these album are from the 12rec netlabel.The artist’s sense for the right sound at the right time is extraordinary. The two “Taciturn” tracks are the longest on the album at almost 10 minutes each but they never get boring. “Badly Asbestos-Covered”, despite the odd name, is quite pretty with traces of indie rock in it. I also like Bommarito’s same named tribute to composer Arvo Part.
Lastly, there is a briefer (21 minutes) EP titled Paranormal is Normal which is available in the Open Source Audio section of The Internet Archives. “Mixed during a period of insomnia in Lhasa, Tibet,” it is five tracks of music that is slightly more experimental than the first two albums. The title track and “Ambulance Sonata” are a bit minimalist and meditative while I like the jerkiness of “One Kind of Redshift” and the droning peacefulness of “Pure Sound”. Nic Bommarito is an artist to watch.
Download
Harp Fragments
Paranormal is Normal EP
Taciturn
Originally posted by Marvin from Free Albums Galore, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 16, 2010 at 07:27 PM | Comments (0)
Guest composers visit UIndy - University of Indianapolis
 University of Indianapolis | Guest composers visit UIndy University of Indianapolis With influences ranging from rave music to the American avant-garde to Chinese folk song, Ching-chu Hu creates stunning music of consummate craftsmanship. ... |
Originally from "contemporary classical" | "avant garde" music - Google News, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 16, 2010 at 07:26 PM | Comments (0)
Enter the Dragon's new soundtrack - Stuff.co.nz
Enter the Dragon's new soundtrack Stuff.co.nz Avant garde rock veterans Pere Ubu set a benchmark in 2004 when they performed a live score to B grade sci-fi classic It Came from Outer Space, ... |
Originally from "contemporary classical" | "avant garde" music - Google News, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 16, 2010 at 07:26 PM | Comments (0)
Harvest: Trombone Concerto premiere
Well, it’s done. The premiere — and recording session! — for my new trombone concerto has come and gone, and it couldn’t have gone better…
I blogged about my personal trombone master class with Joe Alessi back in June, then blogged about the concept for the concerto back in July, and then set to writing actual notes, which I finished in early November. The Ridgewood Concert Band in New Jersey gave a “preview” performance in early December, but I didn’t hear it. In fact, I’d never heard the piece, straight from start to finish, until I sat in the audience for the official premiere on Friday night. But I need to backtrack a little more.
The West Point Academy Band was the co-organizer of the consortium to commission the concerto, and from the beginning, they were the ensemble stuck with the “official premiere,” which they were to present with Joe Alessi (principal trombonist with the NY Philharmonic — and generally considered to be the greatest trombonist ever to walk the earth) at the Eastern Division CBDNA (college band directors national association) Convention. I knew I was writing a concerto for the best trombonist ever, meaning I could write literally anything. If Alessi — for whom Christopher Rouse wrote his Pulitzer Prize-winning trombone concerto! — couldn’t play the part, it simply wasn’t playable. Also, um, Joe f*ckin’ Alessi. So, uh, no pressure. (Did I mention that he premiered the Rouse concerto?!)
Alessi had rehearsed with the West Point Band on Tuesday, March 2, but I was still home in Austin. I didn’t fly out to West Point until Wednesday, and I worked with the West Point Band on Thursday morning. (Alessi had rehearsal with the Philharmonic, so he wasn’t there.) I was wearing shiny driving moccasins and a black zippered cardigan-like sweater, so I fit right in.
I was relieved that I had these two hours with the band but without Alessi because it gave me the opportunity to find and fix some big errors — like completely wrong notes in the horn parts. (Remember, kids: horns are in F.) The horns, by the way, were incredible. The parts in the piece are extremely demanding, but you’d never know it hearing these players.
(Speaking of which, in case anybody was wondering, the West Point Band is a professional ensemble — a permanently-stationed Army Band. They’re stationed at the Military Academy, but these aren’t students — they’re pros. And boy howdy, you can tell.)
The concerto has a prominent double bass part, loaded with percussive “Bartok pizzicato.” I put snap pizz. in most of my bass parts, but how often is it actually the loudest thing in the entire band? Never. Until SSG Phillip Helm plays the part. I have never heard (and seen!) such a powerful snap pizzicato. I thought he was going to rip the bass in half. I love this guy.
The next morning, I was up bright and early. Good thing my army housing had coffee (and artwork) in the lobby!
Why was I up so early? Because that day — Friday, March 5 — was the day of the recording session. On a piece that I had still never heard in person with the soloist.
I’ve had recording sessions with ensembles prior to their individual performance, but never prior to even hearing the piece — that is, recording the piece before it even premieres. What if something was just awful, or I found that I hated a particular measure? Well, too late to fix it now!
We started by recording the end of the piece, because it’s probably the most demanding chop-wise for everybody. The last note of the piece, per Joe Alessi’s request, is a gliss-hit off of high F. As in, the F at the top of the treble clef. As in, the note that is the top standard note on a French horn. But this ain’t a horn concerto — it’s a trombone concerto. That F is a ridiculous note. I’d originally written the piece to end on the F an octave lower, but Alessi asked if I’d mind if he took it up an octave. “After 18 minutes of non-stop playing, you want to end with that high F?” I asked. His reply: “Well, if I don’t do it, somebody else will.” Right on.
So we run and record the last 24 bars or whatever, and Alessi nails the high F (of course), and then says, “I’d like to get a few more takes of that. I think I can do about 10 more, but that’s it.” Dude. 10 more takes — of high F. High “F,” as in, “Joe F-in’ Alessi.” And we’re just starting recording! (The session ran from 10am until 5pm, after which Alessi had to go perform with the New York Phil. Jeez. Monster.)
The session was pretty incredible. I think the CD — which we’re going to release as a free download on my website as soon as it’s ready — will be a stunner. Here I am with Alessi and LTC Timothy Holtan, the director of the band.
Then I flew home for a few days, and then flew back to the east coast — to West Chester, Pennsylvania, for the premiere of the concerto. West Point’s concert also included the premiere of “Points of Departure” by Roshanne Etezady. Here’s Roshanne during the sound check for her (very fun) piece.
Here, Alessi and Holtan go over a few things during the sound check.
The premiere performance that night was the best premiere I’ve ever had, and possibly the best performance I’ve ever had. (It’s tough to judge, being a premiere, where it’s the first time I’m hearing the piece start-to-finish, and the first time I’m hearing it without following a score. My brain is going so crazy trying to process everything I’m hearing that I sort of become mush.)
Alessi and the West Point Band were flawless. There’s one especially demanding moment in the slow movement where Alessi works his way up to high D — a note so high that I had to create a new sample for it in my MIDI playback, because trombones aren’t supposed to play that high — and he hits this D just perfectly and beautifully, coming at the end of this long legato line. He hits it mezzo-forte, holds it while the ensemble drops out, leaving him alone with this insane note, which he then shapes dynamically down, then back up again, holding it seemingly forever until the band comes back in, and he continues playing — in the same register. It was perfect. The audience audibly gasped when he did it. (That moment was topped only by the end of the first movement — and the movements are all connected, so there was no pause — when Roshanne’s dad let out a “wooo!” from the back of the hall.)
It was an amazing night. Alessi is coming to UT Austin in September to perform the piece with Jerry Junkin and the UT Wind Ensemble, but that performance can’t come soon enough. I want to hear him play it again now! I’d heard all about how brilliant Alessi is, but I didn’t know what that really meant until Friday. He’d be a brilliant artist on any instrument. I’m just so happy that through some insane bit of fortune on my behalf, he’s the person who was tasked with premiering this concerto and making my little 18 minute doo-dad sound like something important. (Also, if you want to get a whole lot of applause and pretend it had something to do with you, have Joe Alessi play your piece. Holy shit.)
Originally posted by HoytBlum68 from John Mackey's Blog, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 16, 2010 at 07:23 PM | Comments (0)
Rake leaves during dinner? He does what he pleases (3,8)
Reviewing New England Conservatory's Don Giovanni.Boston Globe, March 16, 2010.
Originally from Soho the Dog, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 16, 2010 at 05:12 PM | Comments (0)
Prior engagement
Reviewing the Boston Symphony Chamber Players.Boston Globe, March 16, 2010.
Originally from Soho the Dog, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 16, 2010 at 05:12 PM | Comments (0)
Footnotes: Carnegie Orchestras
In this week’s issue of the magazine, I write about a remarkable procession of international orchestras that tied up Carnegie Hall for much of the month of February. The results of the notorious Gramophone orchestra poll, in which I participated, can be seen here. If you’re curious about Sibelius’s “Kullervo” Symphony, you can hear excerpts from Osmo Vänskä’s recording with the Lahti Symphony courtesy of the BIS label.
I wasn’t the only one to be bowled over by Vänskä’s rendition of the piece with the Minnesota Orchestra; Sedgwick Clark, the editor of Musical America, wrote on his blog, “If this was an example of their standard level, the orchestra’s subscribers may be the luckiest in the nation.” I first heard the Finnish conductor in 1994, when he led musicians from Lahti at Saint Peter’s Church. Two years later he conducted the Iceland Symphony at Carnegie; I don’t ever expect to hear Sibelius’s Second Symphony played more powerfully than it was that night. And in 2005 I ventured to Minneapolis to hear the Minnesotans on their home turf. Why they don’t sell out Carnegie on every visit is a total mystery to me.
Originally posted by Alex Ross from Unquiet Thoughts, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 16, 2010 at 05:10 PM | Comments (0)
"Shutter Island" showcases new classical music - Denver Post
"Shutter Island" showcases new classical music Denver Post But this time it was the sound of a foghorn, and it had the rich, compelling texture of music. It was music. It was also a real, old-fashioned foghorn. ... |
Originally from "wolfgang rihm" OR "joan tower" OR "conlon nancarrow" OR "scelsi" OR "sciarrino" AND music - Google News, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 16, 2010 at 05:10 PM | Comments (0)
Polar bears beat finches in music-off - The Guardian (blog)
 The Guardian (blog) | Polar bears beat finches in music-off The Guardian (blog) And as YouTube and music history tells us, it's no new idea to expose animals to musical instruments. Marvel here at Nora, the piano-playing cat, ... |
Originally from "wolfgang rihm" OR "joan tower" OR "conlon nancarrow" OR "scelsi" OR "sciarrino" AND music - Google News, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 16, 2010 at 05:10 PM | Comments (0)
The Codex Torino J.II.9 - a digital edition
counter)induction's upcoming concert features composers reacting to, responding to and generally engaging with music from the Codex Torino J.II.9, a fascinating book of music from 15th century Cyprus. We'll be posting more about the new works and the codex itself in the next week and a half, but first I thought it would be great to post a link to this incredible digital edition of the codex.
This webpage is organized and hosted by the Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo Unico delle Biblioteche Italiane e per le Informazioni Bibliografiche in Rome, and contains images of the entire codex, as well as a great deal of information about the codex itself, if your Italian is up to it.
There are some great recordings of this repertoire out now but I thought it might be nice to start off highlighting the physicality of the codex. It is many things, a chant manuscript, a liber motetorum, and a chansonnier, but it is also quite beautiful. The time, fire and water have weathered it, certainly, but have also given its colors and clarity that much more power through contrast— in the long fight against entropy, we have at least one exquisite survivor.
More on the music within the covers and the new works counter)induction will be performing in the next few days.
LINK: http://www.internetculturale.it/upload/sfogliatori/franco-cip/francocip.jsp?s=6&l=en
Originally from counter)induction, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 16, 2010 at 02:11 PM | Comments (0)
Dress Rehearsal
Gosh, what a blast last night was. The imminent performances of the Passion are going to transport the audience to another and a better world. In addition to all the [good kind of] chills which were vibing in abundance . . . as I listened to the Deposition from the Cross, it brought me back almost physically to a warm visit to a southerly friend. This was as I conceived the piece, as I hummed it back to myself from the MS., on that day 26 months ago, when the ink was only drying on the page.Listening to Sine sing the piece through last night, was a larger-than-my-musical-grasp experience, and it seemed to me as if I had written the piece for this very collection of musicians. There are no words for the feeling a composer gets, of so profound an attunement with the universe, a ‘condition’ to which his work has somehow attained, yet not (apparently) any mere result of exercising his own sonic will, as it depends upon the participation — indeed the dedication — of other free beings.
There are no proper words for it, but it is certainly an exalted joy.
Originally from henningmusick, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 16, 2010 at 11:47 AM | Comments (0)
Chopin Year in Switzerland and Middle East - thenews.pl
Chopin Year in Switzerland and Middle East thenews.pl A concert at Lucern was conducted by the orchestra's Music Director, Jacek Kaspszyk. Angela Hewitt was the soloist in Chopin's Concerto in E minor. ... |
Originally from lutoslawski OR xenakis OR boulez OR Dutilleux OR ligeti OR "elliott carter" OR stockhausen OR "steve reich" OR "tristan murail" AND music - Google News, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 16, 2010 at 11:12 AM | Comments (0)
Brad Mehldau's 'Highway Rider' A Triumphant On-The-Road Saga - Hartford Courant
Brad Mehldau's 'Highway Rider' A Triumphant On-The-Road Saga Hartford Courant Previous Carnegie composers-in- residence include such serious-music heavyweights as Elliott Carter and John Adams. Mehldau and his wife and their three ... |
Originally from lutoslawski OR xenakis OR boulez OR Dutilleux OR ligeti OR "elliott carter" OR stockhausen OR "steve reich" OR "tristan murail" AND music - Google News, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 16, 2010 at 05:12 AM | Comments (0)
Tuesday Links
Loads of stuff to get lost in today. Allons-y!
- Beautiful images of Helene Grimaud by her partner Mat Hennek. It has always perplexed Miss Mussel that artist photographs are often so artless, when that’s the very thing everyone is trying sell.
- Why American health care costs so much. Or at least one explanation which is rebuffed on a dizzying myriad of grounds in the comments.
- Canadians are a lot of things but one of them isn’t “straight-jacketed by outdated gender constructs.” Murmurings that the government was considering changing the words in the national anthem to be more gender neutral were quickly and soundly shot down.
- A new must read: Princess Noire: The Tumultuous Reign of Nina Simone as reviewed by William F. Gavin in the Washington Times.
- Looking for a super cool apartment in Berlin? This one’s kitted out in homage to chessboxers. Yes, chessboxing is a real thing. It is also, incidentally, kind of awesome.
- “Audiences want to experience high-quality traditional events in a world that is already dominated by experimentation and celebrity. There is no need to tinker too much with a system that works.” — Jeff Gilhooly, director of Wigmore Hall on what classical music needs to do differently to attract a larger audience. Being in charge of the world’s most prestigious recital hall may have skewed his perspective somewhat.
- Imagine, if you will, the Burger Force.
- If you are on a Mac and spent the last 30 minutes reading these links instead of doing your work, you need Freedom.
- Still not sure if ChatRoulette is for you? Here’s a rather lovely video tour. All participants are fully clothed, if memory serves.
Originally posted by Miss Mussel from The Omniscient Mussel on Classical Music & Culture, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 16, 2010 at 05:12 AM | Comments (0)
Wolfgang Rihm - Financial Times
Wolfgang Rihm Financial Times The music ranges between languid warmth and chill calculation, and the end has a deadly sting. Rayanne Dupuis was the sensational soloist, using all the ... Wolfgang Rihm: Total Immersion, Barbican, review |
Originally from "wolfgang rihm" OR "joan tower" OR "conlon nancarrow" OR "scelsi" OR "sciarrino" AND music - Google News, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 16, 2010 at 05:10 AM | Comments (0)
CD RELEASE OF THE WEEK - FOX CT
CD RELEASE OF THE WEEK FOX CT Previous Carnegie composers-in- residence include such serious-music heavyweights as Elliott Carter and John Adams. Mehldau and his wife and their three ... |
Originally from lutoslawski OR xenakis OR boulez OR Dutilleux OR ligeti OR "elliott carter" OR stockhausen OR "steve reich" OR "tristan murail" AND music - Google News, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 16, 2010 at 02:11 AM | Comments (0)
Now Thank We All Our God
This is a work in progress. I'm just starting up this one, for piano, harp, finger piano, brass, and flutes.
Play it:
Subscribe here:
Originally from Podcast Bumper Music, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 16, 2010 at 02:11 AM | Comments (0)
March 15, 2010
John Adams to Be Feature of Six-Concert Festival in Paris - Nonesuch Records (blog)
John Adams to Be Feature of Six-Concert Festival in Paris Nonesuch Records (blog) The concert marks the start of Domain privé John Adams, an 11-day celebration of the composer's music, the remainder of which will be held at the Cité de la ... |
Originally from lutoslawski OR xenakis OR boulez OR Dutilleux OR ligeti OR "elliott carter" OR stockhausen OR "steve reich" OR "tristan murail" AND music - Google News, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 15, 2010 at 11:12 PM | Comments (0)
Review: Kevin Ramessar And Friends
In today’s Waterloo Region Record
My first encounter with Paul Simon’s 1984 album Graceland was in a university music history classroom. We were so deeply engrossed in discussing the album’s depiction of other and the ethics of appropriation that I actually didn’t really listen to much of the music. Saturday night at the Registry, I got a chance to hear what I had missed the first time round.
It turns out that Paul Simon is a rather gifted songwriter. Consecutive dispatches from the Department Of The Bleeding Obvious are considered poor form for a reviewer but sometimes we have to take one for the team. Guitarist Kevin Ramessar is exceptional.
Saturday’s concert — called Return To Graceland — was a tribute to Simon in the best possible sense. The group re-invented rather than re-created Simon’s songs, making the evening a musical event in itself rather than a trip to the museum.
The band consisted of Ramessar on guitar, Paul DeLong on drums, Matthew Lima on bass and saxophonist Jeff King, as well as a pianist and violinist whose names I’m embarrassed to admit I forgot to write down.
Throughout the evening, the idea was to use Graceland as a jumping off point from which to explore the entire Simon songbook. Although the music was never jazzy, extended solos by most all the band members except Lima were the norm. Most of the time, they seemed like completely natural extensions of the song, quite a feat considering how well-known the originals are.
The pianist was the most jazz-influenced, although he revealed his classical training in one of his most-used improvisational devices: octaves.
Rather curiously, the violinist used a mute throughout the evening, which made his instrument sound more like a soprano saxophone than a fiddle. The smooth texture was blended well in the ensemble but the brightness of an unmuted instrument would have been a nice contrast on occasion.
One of the most mesmerizing arrangements was Scarborough Fair. Ramessar showed some of his classical skills, intertwining the lines horizontally rather than in a vertical manner more typical of chorded guitar. The heavily reverbed false harmonics in the violin solo were also a nice touch.
Giselle Sanderson joined the group for 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover and Gone At Last. Her voice is immediately arresting and these two songs were some of the best of the night. The band plays well together but they outdid themselves in Gone At Last, transforming it from the hillbilly picking of the original to the slick gospel rock you might find on the Gaither Gospel Hour.
Ramessar’s alternate harmonization of Bridge Over Troubled Water shows that he knows his way around a theory textbook as well as he does a fretboard. It was just the right blend of new and familiar and succeeded in making me hear an old classic like it was the first time.
Originally posted by Miss Mussel from The Omniscient Mussel on Classical Music & Culture, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 15, 2010 at 11:12 PM | Comments (0)
Sounds Heard: Music from Raritan River—Newman & Oltman Guitar Duo
By Frank J. OteriThis disc of music for guitar duo devoted to a broad range of composers, including work by composers not typically associated with the guitar, is pretty exciting.
Originally from NewMusicBox, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 15, 2010 at 11:12 PM | Comments (0)
The Mount Everest of String Quartets
One of the best things the Microtonal Weekend at Wright State University did for me was initiate me into familiarity with Ben Johnston's Seventh String Quartet. Written in 1984, the piece has never been played. It has a reputation as being the most difficult string quartet ever written. Timothy Ernest Johnson of Roosevelt U. gave a paper analyzing the third movement (his doctoral dissertation is on the entire work and also Toby Twining's Chrysalid Requiem), and for the first time I learned exactly wherein that difficulty consists.
If you know much about Ben's Third Quartet, you know it works its way measure by measure through a 53-note microtonal scale. The finale of the Seventh is built on a similar plan, but the structural tone row consists of 176 pitches - all different, 176 pitches within one octave, heard in the viola on each successive downbeat. Many other notes are heard in the other instruments whose harmonies link each note to the next, and Tim tells me that altogether there are more than 1200 discrete pitches in the movement - more than one per cent, five times as many as most people can perceive. That does sound a little tricky to play. Tim demonstrated how the players are supposed to proceed from the opening C to the subsequent D7bv-, a pitch ratio of 896/891. The violist is tasked to move upward from this C and come back down on a pitch 9.7 cents higher - just under one tenth of a half-step - than she started on. At the downbeat of the next measure, the violist lands on Dbb--, pitch ratio 2048/2025 - another ten cents higher. And so on for another 175 measures until the viola ends up traversing the octave and ends at C again. A good half of Tim's paper was spent talking us through the performance challenges of the first two measures. Between the first and second downbeats (pictured below), the quartet is supposed to tune the F to the C and the Bb- to the F, the Ab- and Eb- in the cello to the Bb- in the first violin and the 7th harmonic G7b- above that, and find the 11th subharmonic below G7b-, and, voilà, viola, you're on D7bv-. It's just 4/3 x 4/3 x 2/3 x 2/3 x 7/4 x 8/11, and bob's your uncle, there's your 896/891. It can't be too much more difficult than four people traversing a 177-meter tightrope together without holding hands, or manually flying four biplanes in parallel in and out of the mountains through a dense fog. I mean, it's not like they're calculating all this while playing an accelerating tempo canon, for god's sake.
The tempo is slow and the rhythms relatively simple, though there are serialized aspects to the rhythm and meter, correlated to pitch differences in the row. Ben recalled that his original proportional scheme would have made the piece last 48 years. Tim Johnson was applauded by others in the audience who had tried to untie this Gordion's knot and failed; he's been working on it for five years, and developed a set of computer programs to help him process the cascades of pitches and ratios. Best of all, he played a MIDI version of the movement's opening 30 measures. It was, indeed, breath-taking: consonances slid into slightly new consonances in recurring patterns, but with no sense of a background fixed pitch grid whatever. (Tim promised to send me the MIDI file, so I'll post it as soon as it comes.) I think I can truly claim that never, in the history of the world's music, has such deeply-layered complexity sounded so translucent.
I have bowed low before many an unfathomable musical achievement, but before this one I absolutely prostrate myself. Imagine Ben writing in pencil, in 1984, a string quartet that would later require multiple computer programs to unravel again! How can a mere MIDI-piano version of 30 measures of a yet-unperformed work change your ideas of what music can achieve? Boulez and Stockhausen, you are hereby blown out of the water, your musical understanding has been revealed as merely rudimentary by this Burj Khalifa of sonic conceptualization. The Kepler Quartet, from whom violinist Eric Segnitz was present for the conference, is expected to record the piece for their series of Ben's complete quartets on New World. Good. Luck.
Thankfully, due to another analysis paper by Daniel Huey of U. Mass., we also got to hear Ben's Tenth Quartet (1995), which I'd also never heard before. This is a considerably simpler piece, and in fact the final movement is a theme and variations on the tune "Danny Boy," which isn't revealed until the very end. The harmonies are tight, fluid, elegantly voice-led, and creamy. The Kepler's next CD (SQs 1, 5, and 10) comes out in October, and I guarantee you'll enjoy the 10th. Its simplicity-within-complexity and complexity-within-simplicity will gratify biases all across the spectrum, and with its resonantly pure yet exotic chords it just sounds great.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
In other news drawn from the colloquium (which was astonishingly dense with relevant news, considering it flew by in a mere 29 hours), the other honoree was the late piano tuner Owen Jorgensen, who wrote the massive book on the history of keyboard tuning manuals in English, Tuning (I won't take the time to look up its voluminous subtitle). Momilani Ramstrum of Mesa College talked about Jorgensen's life and said that he rather embarrassed Michigan State as their staff piano tuner by becoming more of a celebrity than most of the faculty, so they made him a full professor and let his teach piano tuning. On the other hand, registered piano technician Fred Sturm of UNM gave a polite but exhaustive tirade against Jorgensen's influence, charging that since he limited himself to British sources, and Britain was a few decades behind the Continent on tuning issues, he's created a misleading picture of tuning history that others (myself included) are now quoting uncritically. This sounds perfectly plausible, and doesn't interfere with the pleasure I get from Jorgensen's passionate speculations about the relation of composing to tuning. However, it turns out there's a new tome in English now by Patrizio Barbieri simply called Enharmonic which contains a more accurate and voluminous documentation of the history of tuning all across Europe and across the centuries. You can obtain it, as I soon will, at Barbieri's web site, and I will expect you all to have read it before I blog on the subject again. Frank Cox passed around a copy, and it looks massively impressive.
Microtonal guitarist John Schneider, slapping an endless series of interchangeable fretboards on his axe, started us out with a 100-minute introduction to the history of tuning that hit every salient point, made every principle clear, demonstrated every nuance beautifully on the guitar, and was thoroughly delightful and entertaining. If you ever need a lecturer on this topic, he's your man. I couldn't have done it. In five hours or 15 weeks I can make a lot of good points about tuning, but he's distilled it into a compact traveling road show. And John Fonville led a group of students though a continuum of perfectly tuned tone clusters in Partchian otonalities and utonalities whose beauty we could all appreciate. He's looking to take that to various schools as well. If I can ever get these guys up to Bard, I will jump at the opportunity.
Ben Johnston offered some lovely reminiscences on his education and career, which microtonal composer Aaron Hunt quotes on his blog, so I refer you there. Aaron gave his own colorful presentation on the microtonal instruments he's selling through his Hπ company, to whose web site http://www.h-pi.com/index.html I additionally direct you. Thanks to Franklin Cox and Wright State University for a colloquium that delivered more punch per presentation than just about any academic event I've ever attended.
I'll only add that, in addition to what Aaron quotes, Ben Johnston and I shared a moment I'll never forget. After my address in his honor, he hugged me and said, "Thank you, thank you, thank you." I replied, "Ohhhh, thank you." And he looked me right in the eye with the old twinkle I remember from decades past, and growled cheerfully: "You're welcome." False modesty on his part would have been devastating at such a moment. For him to acknowledge some small honor I could do for him was pleasant, but for him to acknowledge what he'd done for me - spinning my life off in a direction I hadn't anticipated, yet one that expressed perfectly what I needed to do - was ten thousand times more fulfilling. If decades hence any student ever thanks me for my impact on his or her life, I'll remember how important the words "You're welcome" can be.
Originally from PostClassic, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 15, 2010 at 11:10 PM | Comments (0)
Wolfgang Rihm, Barbican, London - Financial Times
Wolfgang Rihm, Barbican, London Financial Times The music ranges between languid warmth and chill calculation, and the end has a deadly sting. Rayanne Dupuis was the sensational soloist, using all the ... Wolfgang Rihm: Total Immersion, Barbican, review |
Originally from "wolfgang rihm" OR "joan tower" OR "conlon nancarrow" OR "scelsi" OR "sciarrino" AND music - Google News, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 15, 2010 at 11:10 PM | Comments (0)
A good day for the Minnesota Orchestra - Minneapolis Star Tribune (blog)
A good day for the Minnesota Orchestra Minneapolis Star Tribune (blog) Not long ago, the British magazine Gramophone asked music critics to rate the world's orchestras, and when the results were published there were whoops in ... |
Originally from lutoslawski OR xenakis OR boulez OR Dutilleux OR ligeti OR "elliott carter" OR stockhausen OR "steve reich" OR "tristan murail" AND music - Google News, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 15, 2010 at 08:12 PM | Comments (0)
Wolf-Dieter Seiffert, CEO of the Henle…
Wolf-Dieter Seiffert, CEO of the Henle Publishing House, blogs about Schumann and Chopin. ping.fm/JZTYA
Originally posted by Matthias Röder from Zeitschichten, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 15, 2010 at 08:11 PM | Comments (0)
Review: Joe McPhee/Chris Corsano with John Edwards/Paul Dunmall at the Cafe Oto, Tuesday 9th March, 2010...
Wordsworth famously wrote in his introduction to 'Lyrical Ballads': 'poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility.' There was plenty of 'spontaneous overflow' flying around on Tuesday evening last at the Cafe Oto, the first leg of Joe McPhee/Chris Corsano's two night residency and the end result was: instant poetry. Joined by master bassman Jon Edwards and Paul Dunmall on tenor saxophone, a fascinating gig unfolded – one of the best of the year in a year so far full of them. Tranquility a plenty here this morning... but the recollection scenario may be a trifle more complicated. A few days back and no notes taken, only the snapshots and aural fragments remain in this ageing bundle of synapses. And I am not the poet but the inadequate carrier, the origins and immediate results were on the night. But here we go:Opening with the headliners, drummer/percussionist Corsano and McPhee on alto saxophone, starting quietly with discreet noises, taps and rattles, breathy ghost notes, they soon started to stretch out across the territory available. Which given the majestic pedigree of Joe McPhee and the younger Corsano's awesome technique is a wide, wide open space. McPhee is a master of multisonics on his instruments and Corsano uses an expanded kit and often electronics to buttress his rhythmic muse. Their explorations moved from small gestures - some on the brink of audibility, a fascinating move in this crowded room but it worked, forcing you to concentrate - to the wilder polyrhythmic shores of Corsano unleashed, with McPhee hard-blowing over the top. McPhee's experiments with sounds and granularities were balanced by a strong melodic anchoring throughout. A modal/folkish feel at times.
They were eventually joined by John Edwards and Paul Dunmall, the bass player starting in with clicky, fast finger-picked figures high up the neck, one hand plucking and fretting as the other chased it, before he went deeper into the range and locked in with the drums. Dunmall up, for a trio at first as Mcphee dropped back, tonight playing more fully, I thought, than the other week with Matthew Shipp, in the first set unleashing torrents of long lines, a big brawling warm-hearted sound. McPhee eventually joined them, going between his alto and his pocket trumpet, this last a high-scrabbling that ran in exhilarating tandem with Dunmall. Onwards, they veered between fire music and filigree: smaller, quieter interludes – a master exercise in dynamics over this long set, finishing on a fantastic duo section between saxophone and trumpet.
Second half. Dunmall more oblique in places, short abrupt phrases tossed rhythmically about - although he unleashed plenty of longer line linearity, there was a more jagged feel, spiced with some deep blats and honks out of the classic r and b playbook. A varied set again, with the musicians splitting into trios, duos and occasional solos. McPhee hauled out his soprano to add to alto and trumpet, giving a more powerful weaving with Dunmall's tenor – the pocket trumpet struggled a little throughout due to its relatively lighter sonority. Again – what was striking was the ability the band had to move between sonic abstraction and more 'jazz' pulse orientated improvisations. Solos all round, of course – Corsano brought the house down with his and Edwards was his formidable self, McPhee and Dunmall equally assured in their expositions, the older man pushing further outwards on his instruments than the tenor saxophonist yet always returning – as did Dunmall – to primal melody. What was fascinating was the expanded space created where movement freely crossed the usual barriers – it was not 'jazz' with added sonics unsteadily grafted on or the reverse but a music in the moment that moved fluidly between these vaguely signposted areas and beyond. Several times throughout I suddenly realised that one section, say a duo between drummer and bassist which had been digging deep into expanded technical sonic gestures, bowed cymbals, frottaged bass, for example, had suddenly edged back in to the whole band rocking at full blast – with no perceived 'join' or Zornian jumpcut - rather a natural movement of mutual authority and widened vocabularies.
If a word summed up the evening, it would be 'generosity.' McPhee shared his sets equably and amicably, giving each performer plenty of opportunity to strut their considerable stuff while displaying the generous range of his own talents. A pure master. Put this all together and you have a satisfyingly/stimulatingly generous range of music – that 'spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings,' the instantaneous musical poetry of which is later commented on – here - in hazardous recollection and some 'tranquility.' The memory does not create the poetry. In this case – it was already there in the moment... Trust me on that at least...
Without generosity, there is no adventure... let Joe McPhee have the last word:
'This music...call it jazz or whatever, is a living thing, not museum music...it needs to take risks in order to adapt and survive.'
(From here... )
Originally from wordsandmusic, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 15, 2010 at 08:10 PM | Comments (0)
CMA Commissioning Program Deadline – April 9 - Sequenza21 (blog)
CMA Commissioning Program Deadline – April 9 Sequenza21 (blog) ... IRCAM), Gyorgy Ligeti (Franz Liszt Academy, Stanford, Stockholm Academy of Music, Hamburg Musikhochschule), Charles Ives (Do I have to explain?). ... |
Originally from lutoslawski OR xenakis OR boulez OR Dutilleux OR ligeti OR "elliott carter" OR stockhausen OR "steve reich" OR "tristan murail" AND music - Google News, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 15, 2010 at 05:12 PM | Comments (0)
Desert Plants Renewed
Walter Zimmermann's Desert Plants: Conversations with 23 American Musicians, published 1976, long time out of print, is now accessible again on Walter's website, here.
For those of you who do not know either Desert Plants or its author, it remains a real landmark both for American experimental music and as an account of a young composer, from Germany, discovering his own musical sensibility, with a relationship to history and geography, through an encounter with a musical other, in this case a collection of American musicians who, at the time, received almost as little attention at home as they did abroad. While several of the musicians interviewed remain less well-known or well-known only in niches, with the passage of time the music of many of those included in Desert Plants has attained a prominence that sometimes makes it hard to recall how great a challenge their music posed to the then-establishment (and, to some extent, still-institutional) avant-garde, both American and European.
For the record, my opinion here is completely biased. I was fortunate to find a copy of Desert Plants around '78 or '79 while still in High School and many of the interviews — the music those interviews drove me to — registered like lightning, a real source of inspiration, no, better: posture, funky typos and all, alongside Cage's writings, Lou Harrison's Music Primer, Nyman's Experimental Music and Peter Garland's magazine Soundings. When, with my wife, I moved to Frankfurt a decade later, knowing vaguely that Frankfurt was a town in which new music was taken seriously (Adorno, for better or worse and all that), I had no idea where the Walter Zimmermann of Desert Plants might be, but I called the only Walter Zimmermann in the Frankfurt phone book and it turned out to be the right one. Since then, Walter has become a mentor and friend, an encouraging and nurturing presence, and his sensitivity, ethical stance, musical/cultural/culinary appetite and fine sense of adventure as well as constant moral support have been a constant gift.
Originally from Renewable Music, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 15, 2010 at 05:11 PM | Comments (0)
Faux pas-ing my way into history
A former student reports meeting a young Southern belle in North Carolina, mentioning John Cage to her, and having her respond, "Oh, didn't he write some kind of opera about Sitting Bull?" I'm going to speculate she was a student at Lenoir-Rhyne College when I performed Custer down there about eight years ago. Of course, what's important about a name is how many letters it has, so, John Cage, Kyle Gann, Carl Orff, Arvo Pärt, whatever. I wrote The Planets so people would mistakenly buy my CD thinking it was Holst, but I'm equally flattered to be confused with Cage. (But Senator - I knew John Cage, and I'm no John Cage.)Originally from PostClassic, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 15, 2010 at 05:10 PM | Comments (0)
CMA Commissioning Program Deadline – April 9 - Sequenza21 (blog)
CMA Commissioning Program Deadline – April 9 Sequenza21 (blog) PS Please, somebody tell Lee Hyla, Wolfgang Rihm, Sofia Gubaidulina, Beat Furrer, David Lang, Joan Tower, Aaron Jay Kernis, John Harbison, Sebastian Currier ... |
Originally from "wolfgang rihm" OR "joan tower" OR "conlon nancarrow" OR "scelsi" OR "sciarrino" AND music - Google News, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 15, 2010 at 05:10 PM | Comments (0)
Wolfgang Rihm: Total Immersion, Barbican, review - Telegraph.co.uk
Wolfgang Rihm: Total Immersion, Barbican, review Telegraph.co.uk Wolfgang Rihm's music, in the lates of the BBC's invaluable Total Immersion series at the Barbican, displayed huge energy and generosity. ... |
Originally from "wolfgang rihm" OR "joan tower" OR "conlon nancarrow" OR "scelsi" OR "sciarrino" AND music - Google News, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 15, 2010 at 05:10 PM | Comments (0)
Art must die
I was surprised and delighted to see my name pop up in John Colapinto's New Yorker profile of the young jazz bassist and composer Esperanza Spalding. She'd been reading The Rest Is Noise—on a Kindle, no less—and pondering a quotation that appears in the first chapter: lines from a letter that Richard Wagner wrote to Franz Liszt in 1850, condemning the emergent "classical" tendency in the musical world. It's one of Wagner's most remarkable utterances, and I thought I'd reprint a longer sample here, as a footnote to Colaptino's piece. The translation is by Stewart Spencer and Barry Millington, in their Selected Letters of Richard Wagner, p. 210:
I have felt the pulse of modern art and know that it will die! This knowledge, however, fills me not with despondency but with joy, for I know at the same time that it is not art in general which will perish but only our own particular type of art—which stands remote from modern life—, whereas true—imperishable—constantly renewed art is still to be born. The monumental character of our art will disappear, we shall abandon our habit of clinging firmly to the past, our egotistical concern for permanence and immortality at any price: we shall let the past remain the past, the future—the future, and we shall live only in the present, in the here and now, and create works for the present age alone. Remember how fortunate I once considered you were in the practice of your own particular art, precisely because you were a performing artist, a real, actual artist whose every performance was clearly an act of giving: the fact that you could do so only upon a musical instrument was not your fault but the involuntary constraint of our age which compels the individual to depend entirely upon his own resources and renders impossible that sense of fellowship through which the individual artist, with the greatest possible deployment of his powers, might become part of a communal—immediate and actual—work of art. It was certainly not any wish to flatter you which made me say those things, rather was I—half-consciously—expressing my belief that only the performer is the real, true artist. All that we create as poets and composers expresses a wish but not an ability: only the performance itself reveals that ability or art. Believe me, I should be ten times happier if I were a dramatic performer instead of a dramatic poet and composer. — Now that I have come to hold this conviction, it can no longer be of interest to me to create works which I know in advance must be denied all life in the present in return for the flattering prospect of future immortality: what cannot be true today will remain untrue in the future as well. No longer do I abandon myself to the delusive idea of creating works for a future beyond the present: but if I am to create works for the present age, that age must offer me a less repellent aspect than is now the case. I renounce all fame, and more especially the insane specter of posthumous fame, because I love humankind far too dearly to condemn them, out of self-love, to the kind of poverty of ideas which alone sustains the fame of dead composers.
That last sentence is something for opera-company managers and symphony-orchestra programmers to contemplate. If you really wanted to be true to the spirit of Wagner, you would stop playing him and focus on new work instead.
Originally from Alex Ross: The Rest Is Noise, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 15, 2010 at 02:13 PM | Comments (0)
Almost there...
At last - almost finished the (incredibly) belated review of last week's Joe McPhee/Chris Corsano first night... upping it soon...
Originally from wordsandmusic, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Mar 15, 2010 at 02:11 PM | Comments (0)
