Jay C. Batzner is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Central Florida where he teaches theory, composition, and technology courses as well as coordinates the composition program. He holds degrees in composition and/or theory from the University of Missouri – Kansas City, the University of Louisville, and the University of Kansas.
Jay's music is primarily focused around instrumental chamber works as well as electroacoustic composition. His music has been recorded on the Capstone, Vox Novus, and Beauport Classical labels and is published by Unsafe Bull Music.
Jay is a sci-fi geek, an amateur banjoist, a home brewer, and juggler.
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1/10/2006
Shiny Happy?
This weekend I heard Melinda Wagner's Extremity of Sky played by Emanuel Ax and the Kansas City Symphony.
Let me stop right there and talk about how cool is our new conductor, Michael Stern. Only two of the concerts he is conducting this season do NOT have works by living composers. One of those two concerts has Schoenberg's Verklarte Nacht and the other has Rachmaninoff's Third Concerto and Beethoven's Third Symphony. Schoenberg is a name that scares people away, even when he is "out Straussing Strauss," so I give the man some props. The Rach 3 vs. Eroica is a big enough program as it is. No complaints from me.
Stern is doing this whole thing right, too. He brings the composers in and talks about the music with the audience. The composers so far (local favorite Zhou Long, Joan Tower, and Melinda Wagner) have been personable and engaging. The audiences like the composers' personalities and therefore approach the piece with a willingness to like it. Stern does good work and we are lucky to have him. Can't say the same for Witchita, but we do what we can. Upcoming composers include Gordon Chin and Jonathan Leshoff.
Ok, back on task. Melinda Wagner. Since Ms. Wagner wasn't at the Sunday matinee concert, Emanuel Ax spoke a bit before the piece. Manny and Yoko started the concert with Mozart's Concerto for Two Pianos, which was okay. There is a fantastic dissonance in the slow movement, which I actually thought was a wrong note until they played it again towards the end (you can do anything in music as long as you do it twice). So the Mozart, even if it was a bit dull, lulled the audience into a positive state. At the end of his talk, Emanuel told the audience that it was okay for them to hate the piece. As long as they had a reaction, he was happy.
I think he undermined his whole pep talk. We all know how easy it is to be negative. Even if I dislike a piece I still try to find some kind of positive element to take away from the experience. I would have preferred that he end his talk with "Even if you dislike the piece, try to find something about it you like." Sure enough, people disliked the work and were glad it was over. They didn't have to think about anything. Just react.
People are going to be negative anyway. Here I am, being negative. Getting folks to think POSITIVELY about new artistic experiences should be our goal.
posted by Jay C. Batzner
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