Louisville Mining Its American Legacy The Louisville Orchestra was the first American orchestra to set up its own recording company. It recorded American - one of the most ambitious promotions of American composers ever. "By 1959, when the commissioning component of the Rockefeller grant came to an end, the Louisville Orchestra had commissioned, performed and recorded 116 works by 101 composers." Now the orchestra is in financial difficulty, and its trove of historic recordings offers an opportunity... Louisville Eccentric Observer 05/08/03 

Let's Dance Wid Dubya Several musicians have fallen in love with Dubya's voice and have sampled his words into dance music. "Bush's speeches to the American people, particularly those concerning the Iraq war and September 11, have proved a popular source of material for a number of dance music producers and a host of releases featuring the voice of George W are now available." The Guardian (UK) 05/07/03 

MPR's New Take On Contemporary Music MPR's new "American Mavericks" series explores contemporary music. "In some ways as daring as the composers it brings to life, the show departs from the standard classical-radio recipe, using sound effects from train whistles to ocean waves to shrieking cats. It plays rock and art music in the same episode. It deftly moves music from background to foreground and back again. It tells complicated stories with a breezy, youthful irreverence underpinned by airtight research and writing, courtesy of Village Voice music critic Kyle Gann." The Star-Tribune (Minneapolis) 05/11/03 

Opera For Prudes An Opera Colorado production of Mozart's Don Giovanni has been ordered 'toned down' after a group of home-schooled students viewed a dress rehearsal, and complained about the overtly sexual nature of a scene in which "a woman - dressed in a one-piece bustier, fishnet stockings, garter belt and high heels - [cavorted] with a sometimes shirtless Don Giovanni." Since the entire plot of this particular opera is based on the sexual exploits of its title character, one might have expected the company to tell the complainants to get bent. But the president of the company was apparently similarly shocked to discover that there is sex in opera, and ordered that the show be sanitized for audience protection. Denver Post 05/07/03 

The New New Composing A new music learning program - a toy - teaches kids about composing music. "Hyperscore, the composing portion of Tod Machover's 'Toy Symphony' trinity, is a sophisticated musical tool in the guise of a simple computer game. Children position drops of sound and colored lines on the screen, building up layers and length into a texture that is as complex as they can manage. It is not, however, just a matter of drawing a picture and getting a pretty tune..." Newsday 05/11/03 

"Handmaid's Tale" American Premiere In Minnesota Minnesota Opera is staging the American premiere of Poul Ruders' "A Handmaid's Tale (based on the Margaret Atwood book). Company officials have already cast "The Handmaid's Tale" as a "financial bath. They couldn't attract a corporate sponsor, and while the opera comes from a popular book, it's not from a beloved one. 'Maybe it was just a backlash of the times, with the war and all, but make no mistake, we created something extremely volatile and controversial. You have illicit sex, perversion, betrayal, hope and love and such heartbreaking loss. But if audiences are going to be trapped for three hours, you have to grab and entertain them, and this does that quite well'." St. Paul Pioneer-Press 05/09/03 

Where Operas Come To Be Born New York City Opera's annual opera workshop is the place new operas come to to be seen - a kind of coming-out party. "Portions of 10 new American operas be presented, including one by Lou Harrison, who died in February. This year's other composers range from the young and unknown (Patrick Soluri, 28) to the decorated (the Pulitzer Prize winner Bernard Rands). All events are free and open to the public, offering a rare opportunity to catch a glimpse of the country's operatic future. From a performer's perspective there is nothing else quite like it in the country. Opera scouts and industry insiders have been present in past years, and there are stories of works being picked up at the Vox and slated for full production." The New York Times 05/06/03 

The Music Critic Problem - Hearing It On Radio Is Better What's wrong with contemporary music criticism? "The customary practice is that anyone can be approached for his or her opinion on the latest film, play, novel or exhibition. Behind the convention is an ideology: that the less you know about the subject in advance the better, since your ignorance connects you to the audience." On radio, however, one can hear and compare the music and be guided by someone who knows what they're talking about... The Guardian (UK) 05/10/03 

What Makes A Great Piano? "Yes, pianists grouse that Steinways are not what they used to be. Yes, pianists ascribe whatever faults they found in whatever Steinway they just played to every Steinway. And no, the majority would never play anything but. Steinway knows all this. Every new piano that rolls out of the Steinway & Sons factory — in Astoria, Queens, next to oil tanks that block the view of the Rikers Island jails — is an attempt to refute the notion that the only good Steinway is an old Steinway." The New York Times 05/11/03 

Are Recording Studios Obsolete? "In just a few years, the commercial recording studio has become an endangered species. Between a troubled record industry and new technology that makes studios and their expensive equipment all but obsolete, only a handful are still able to stay in business. With the extraordinary capabilities of the digital recording system called Pro Tools and the rapidly dropping cost of hard disk storage and blank CDs, musicians can set up their own recording studios for a fraction of what it used to cost to make albums at commercial facilities. The days are over for a pure music recording studio." San Francisco Chronicle 05/06/03 

See The Concert, Buy The Music Clear Channel, which dominates the American radio business and is also a major concert promoter, is offering a new deal - go to the concert, then five minutes after it's finished, buy a recording of the concert you just heard. "Although initially modest, involving only small-audience clubs and theaters in the Boston area, the venture could eventually extend beyond radio and concerts into music distribution. And that could prove troubling to critics, who already complain that the company's rigidly formatted radio stations prevent diverse artists from reaching the airwaves and that its dominance of the concert business too often forces touring acts to accept unfavorable deals." The New York Times 05/05/03 

Over One Million Served: Apple Music Downloads A Hit In its first week, Apple's new music download service (99 cents a song) sold one million downloads. "In less than one week we’ve broken every record and become the largest online music company in the world,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. Apple 05/05/03 
 

by Stuart Isacoff

Johnny Reinhard’s American Festival of Microtonal Music presented three performances of Michael Harrison’s Revelation: Music for the Harmonically Tuned Piano in late April and early May, with Joshua Pierce as the formidable piano soloist. I had heard an early incarnation of this work in a private recital a couple of years ago, with the composer at the keyboard. Harrison’s approach, which grew partly from his work with composer La Monte Young, exploits the overtones generated naturally by vibrating strings—the series of pitches that resonates softly above every “fundamental” tone. For acoustical reasons these are obscured in the modern piano’s usual equal-tempered tuning. The results here are often surprising and wondrous.

For example, in the midst of clouds of dense clusters rapidly drummed in the bass end of the instrument, an astute listener can perceive high ghost tones—sometimes bell-like, at other times vaporous—as if a choir of angels were singing along. The piece can run as long as 90 minutes, and its sections build toward a climax during which I would have sworn that Brazilian singer Milton Nasciemento had entered the room and begun chanting around a high B Flat. Joshua Pierce’s rendering of the score was virtuosic in the best sense: technically accomplished and emotionally committed in every moment. When the piece was pensive, he was tender and thoughtful; when it wanted to soar, he unleashed a torrent of energy.

The intricate textures and remarkable effects of Revelation are the result of Harrison’s desire to “emancipate the comma.” This re-working of Schoenberg’s famous phrase about the emancipation of dissonance registers the seriousness of his goal. A “comma” is the difference between two intervals with same name—a third, for example, or an octave—arrived at through different tunings systems. For example, a major third produced in Pythagorean tuning (based on a series of pure fifths) is wider than one produced by a naturally vibrating string.  Play these two versions of the same third together and the result is a jarring dissonance. For centuries, musicians sought to avoid these clashes; Harrison incorporates them into the texture of his music.

In some ways, Harrison’s vision represents the philosophical flip side of Schoenberg’s. Schoenberg’s revolution in Western music, through which he broke down conventional harmonic models, was by its nature horizontal: everything built from rows of tones scrupulously ordered, with no one tone more important than another. Harrison’s approach is vertical: harmony built on subtle harmony, overtones wrestling or reinforcing each other—producing a concoction of sound filled with otherworldly resonances. The difference between these approaches brings to mind an age-old argument, voiced in the eighteenth century between Rameau and Rousseau, over whether music attains expressivity through harmony or melody. 

Schoenberg dissolved the distinction between consonance and dissonance. In similar fashion, Harrison rehabilitates the comma into a newly welcome constituent of the harmonic universe. This gives rise to an exciting and often moving musical dimension—one that may well be the path toward music’s future. 

Stuart Isacoff, a pianist and composer, is founding editor of the magazine Piano Today, Executive Editor of Sheet Music Magazine and a recipient of the ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for excellence in writing about music. 

Previous Articles/
Busoni The Visionary
The Composer of the Moment:  Mark-Anthony Turnage
Electronic Music
Voices: Henze at 75
Henze Meets Emenim
On Finding Kurtag
Charles Ruggles:  When Men Were Men
Ballet Mécanique
The Adams Chronicles