Composer Anthony Cornicello (born in Brooklyn, New York, 1964) writes music that blurs distinctions between performers and electronics, timbre and harmony, composition and improvisation, and explores the boundaries of what may be considered post-classical concert music. His music is vibrant and visceral, full of rhythmic energy and harmonic sophistication, and his forays into live electronics have led to exciting combinations of instruments and processed sound. Cornicello’s background as a jazz pianist is evident not only in the rhythmic activity of his music, but also in his constant investigation of the rich sonorities available from a variety of instruments.
He has been commissioned to write music for the Scorchio Electric String Quartet, ModernWorks! (funding from Meet the Composer/ Commissioning Music USA), the Auros Group for New Music, the Prism Saxophone Quartet, the New York New Music Ensemble, David Holzman, the Group for Contemporary Music, and the InterEnsemble of Padova, Italy. His work has also been featured on the Guggenheim Museum’s “Works and Process” series. Cornicello’s works have also been performed by the Chicago Civic Symphony, Parnassus, ALEA III, Composers Concordance, Madeleine Shapiro, Robert Black, among many other outstanding groups and solo performers. His music has been presented as part of the Darmstadt International Festival of New Music as well as the June in Buffalo Festival.
Cornicello’s Second String Quartet has been recorded by the Atlantic String Quartet; the Second Sonata for Piano by David Holzman (Centaur). More recently, his Post-Modern Waltz was recorded by Eric Moe for Albany Records. A portrait CD of Cornicello’s works is scheduled for 2006 release on Albany Records.
As a performer, he has conducted or played piano in his own works on numerous occasions. While a graduate student at Rutgers, he formed and directed the Janus Ensemble, a group dedicated to contemporary music. More recently, Cornicello has begun performing on the laptop, using a variety of interfaces and the Max/MSP program. Those performances, mostly with EEE!, have had a notable impact on his music, as EEE!’s music ranges from hip-hop to experimental noise. EEE! is based at Eastern Connecticut State University, where Cornicello is an Associate Professor and Director of the Electronic Music Lab.
Cornicello received the Ph.D. from Brandeis University, where he studied with David Rakowski, Eric Chasalow, and Martin Boykan. His teachers also include Charles Wuorinen, Gérard Grisey, and Richard Beirach.
His current fields of interest include developing unusual interfaces for live computer music performances, as well as continuing to investigate resonance and spatialization. His recent and current projects (mostly for string instruments and electronics) have been exploring the latter two, and the series of experimental works ReZenant Garden, performed by EEE! have operated on all three areas of interest. Future projects will include works for instrumental groups or soloists and electronics, as well as turntablists.
Cornicello's works are published by C.F. Peters Corporation and APNM, and he is a member of BMI.
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Sunday, October 16, 2005
The Decline, Fall, and Rebirth of my iPod
So, we had a power failure Friday night. It happened while we were sleeping, so I don't know exactly when it happened. (Most of our electric clocks are digital, and their backup batteries had been depleted when we awoke.) Amongst other things, I got to play with Sophia while I waited (and waited!) for Connecticut Light & Power to restore lines. There was lot of flooding, so I was patient.
The only casualty was my iPod. I had it plugged in, recharging during the night. I'm not sure if the power failure was the cause of its demise, but the little guy wouldn't start up. I tried everything - resetting, turning the hold button on and off, resetting again. I even tried the ritual incantations and the magic bone, but to no avail.
So, I went down to the Apple store in West Farms Mall, where I bought the iPod back in April. It was still under warranty, but I couldn't find the receipt. No problem, I was told, as long as it was registered, which it was.
All sorts of things were going through my mind. I thought it would take a few days; that they would have to send it back to Cuppertino, where it would sit on someone's desk while they delayed diagnosis. I was envisioning forms to complete, with questions about how many times I dropped it or if it's ever been submerged in pickle juice. And, after all that, someone would contact me with about some minor clause in the warranty - drats! they discovered the time I left it in my car for three hours during that hot day back in August!
So, I go to the Genius Bar (seriously, that's what they call the repair center at the back of the store) and wait my turn. After a reasonable amount of time, I am summoned to the desk (bar?) and this fellow takes my iPod. I explain to him what's happened, he tries the reset process (out of habit, he tells me). He tries a few other things while looking up my registration info. Then, he asks this question:
"Do you have everything backed up from this iPod?"
"Yes", I said, noticing him opening up a box taken from a shelf behind the counter. "What's going on?"
"Your iPod is dead. This is a replacement model". Just like that, I'm handed a brand spanking new iPod. (Later, I am to read that it could be a refurbished model, but it looks very new.) No questions asked.
You gotta love Apple! Customer service is so important - I'm really thrilled that they remember that!
posted by Anthony Cornicello
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