Composer Blogs@Sequenza21.com
Composer/keyboardist/producer Elodie Lauten creates operas, music for dance and theatre, orchestral, chamber and instrumental music. Not a household name, she is however widely recognized by historians as a leading figure of post-minimalism and a force on the new music scene, with 20 releases on a number of labels.

Her opera Waking in New York, Portrait of Allen Ginsberg was presented by the New York City Opera (2004 VOX and Friends) in May 2004, after being released on 4Tay, following three well-received productions. OrfReo, a new opera for Baroque ensemble was premiered at Merkin Hall by the Queen's Chamber Band, whose New Music Alive CD (released on Capstone in 2004) includes Lauten's The Architect. The Orfreo CD was released in December 2004 on Studio 21. In September 2004 Lauten was composer-in-residence at Hope College, MI. Lauten's Symphony 2001, was premiered in February 2003 by the SEM Orchestra in New York. In 1999, Lauten's Deus ex Machina Cycle for voices and Baroque ensemble (4Tay) received strong critical acclaim in the US and Europe. Lauten's Variations On The Orange Cycle (Lovely Music, 1998) was included in Chamber Music America's list of 100 best works of the 20th century.

Born in Paris, France, she was classically trained as a pianist since age 7. She received a Master's in composition from New York University where she studied Western composition with Dinu Ghezzo and Indian classical music with Ahkmal Parwez. Daughter of jazz pianist/drummer Errol Parker, she is also a fluent improviser. She became an American citizen in 1984 and has lived in New York since the early seventies

Visit Elodie Lauten's Web Site
Saturday, December 24, 2005
Dog of a year

If the Chinese year starting at the end of January 2006 is the Year of the Dog, 2005 was a dog of a year for music. Beset by war, rising prices and catastrophes from tsunamis to hurricanes, people's money went to charities or other more necessary expenses. Annual CD sales in 2005, according to a Nielsen statistic shown in the Wall Street Journal, are lower than they were in 1995. This includes all musical styles and digital downloads. Obviously, people have figured out how to get their music for free. I haven’t bought a CD myself in years, and I may listen to music on the internet, but as a rule, I do not download. I use the public libraries to get access to books and CDs. Actually, one of my proudest contributions to society is donating my own CDs and videotapes in large quantities to libraries. Should we complain about piracy or accept the fact that CDs have become more like works of art to be collected.

My musical year 2005 centered around two college productions, one opera and one orchestral premiere, none of which were in New York, and a CD release of piano soundtracks on 4-Tay. I had to turn down a venue because I was too busy looking for a job… and still looking.