My playlist was electronic music, primarily the sounds and songs of the slots and video poker machines in the Detroit casinos. Who writes those catchy tunes that let everybody around know you’ve just hit 400 credits on that last spin? There were some OK Motown cover bands in the bar areas. The radio on the ride home featured a really ragged performance of the Barber Adagio by the London Philharmonic with Previn conducting. A totally unrelated example of slot machine music is at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgVOMdx5_Xc
For myself, I put on Ives’ Fourth o’ July, Central Park in the Dark, and the last two movements of Symphony No.2; later on my wife and I put on, in succession and no random whatsoever, Begger’s Banquet, Let It Bleed, Get Yer Ya-Yas Out, Sticky Fingers, and Exile on Main Street (five strong ones in a row; kinda like the Yankees of 1949-52 or the Celtics of the mid-sixties); the night before I was listening to the string quartets of Ian Wilson and Kevin Volans, while plugging in notes into my Finale, and watching the A’s on TV.
Copeland is always appropriate, if a bit overexposed.
And who wouldn’t want to hear some Dixieland on July 4?
But my first choice would probably be Dvorak’s 9th, “From the New World”.
I was on a plane and at the airport most of the day and listened to mainly DJ Krush live at Moscow 2003 (bootleg I think) and miscellaneous Radiohead and my recent tunes. I’ve always thought it was a little weird to listen to music for ‘external reasons.’ External events influencing internal experiences, blah… 😉
Was nice to have the day off and actually have time to listen to some music (and to compose)
Ravel–Mother Goose Suite
Method Man–Tical
Antheil–Ballet Mechanique
Yesterday, in the spirit of the immigration that brought all of our ancestors here, I listened to Bloch’s “America” and Dohnanyi’s American Rhapsody.
“To hear people who were so quick to argue for impeaching Clinton for lying about a blowjob now argue that sentencing a Bush crony to prison for the same crimes after conviction by a jury of his peers is “excessive’ is the height of chutzpah.”
Unhinged and creaking. Cue the crickets.
I went with mid-20th century symphonies: Barber 1, Copland Dance Symphony, Ives 2, Harris 7, but the real boss of the day was Schuman 6 (Bill, not Bob). Damn, that piece is awesome. I wish it was done more often.
The Third is my secret favorite Ives work – though I always claim it’s the Concord. And Thanksgiving is next. I’ve written a playable piano transcription of the Ives Third that I want to publish someday.
Ives’ Thanksgiving is one of the only pieces of his that I’ve never warmed up to (the other one is his third symphony — everything else is amazing). But his Fourth of July is appropriate for any holiday, and any day of the year.
I play Charles Ives’s “Thanksgiving” on July 4, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Memorial Day, New Year’s Day, Father’s Day, Easter, Epiphany, Presidents’ Day, and St. Swithin’s Day.
Putting together a “Composer Next Door” show for this Sunday with John Corigliano’s Symphony No. 1 in its entirety as well as his Elegy for orchestra and the Tarantella movement from Gazebo Dances (piano-four hands version).
I’ve been doing a lot of work outside today before storms come to the Philadelphia area, but was happy to listen to some of Earle Brown’s early works while running to Loews to pick up more propane…
I think anything by a U.S. composer is appropos, although I have to say that I’m not terribly proud to be an American these days. We have some great composers in this country, but lousy politicians. Perhaps if we impeached both Bush and Cheney, I’d start to feel slightly more proud of my country. To hear people who were so quick to argue for impeaching Clinton for lying about a blowjob now argue that sentencing a Bush crony to prison for the same crimes after conviction by a jury of his peers is “excessive’ is the height of chutzpah.
In between my own stuff (never-ending when you are a composer, I suppose) there has only been some Jordi Savall/Pedro Estevan (La Lira de Espéria), Serrat (Sombras de la China), and younger Chinese sound-art guys. (i.e., just another day…)
Well, my literal playlist for the day involves, Mendelssohn and Dvorak Eb (in both cases) string quartets, Bach C major and minor Preludes and Fugues, Bk II, Schubert Hungarian Divertissement, and The Alcotts. I heard a broadcast while I was doing other work, from WAMC in Albany, that involved An American in Paris, The Fourth of July, A Ballad of Americans (actually I think it’s A Ballad of..something else, but I can’t remember of what just at the moment)(Robinson/LaTouche), and two Sousa Marches. I would not mind claiming that as the playlist of the day.
continuing with Monk this afternoon.
Götterdämmerung.
I’m goin’ American, old school this afternoon on WITF!
12:06PM John Philip Sousa: Solid Men to the Front! — Eastman Wind Ensemble/Frederick Fennell (Mercury 434300).
Trad: Yankee Doodle — Robert Shaw Chorale; RCA Symphony Orchestra/Robert Shaw (RCA 60814).
Henri Vieuxtemps: Souvenir d’Amerique, “Yankee Doodle” — Tchaikovsky Chamber Orchestra/Lazar Gosman (CBS 45529).
Samuel Barber: Fadograph of a Yestern Scene — New Zealand Symphony Orchestra/Andrew Schenck (Koch International 7010).
Samuel G. Ward: America the Beautiful — Tanglewood Festival Chorus; Boston Pops/John Williams (Sony 48224).
George Gershwin: Porgy & Bess: Excerpts (arr/Heifetz) — Leila Josefowicz, violin; John Novacek, piano (Philips 462948).
Randall Thompson: Symphony No. 2 in e — New Zealand Symphony Orchestra/Andrew Schenck (Koch International 7074).
1:25PM John Adams: China Gates — Christopher O’Riley, piano (Albany 38).
Virgil Thomson: The River — Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra/Neville Marriner (Angel/EMI 47715).
Joan Tower: Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman No. 1 — Colorado Symphony/Marin Alsop (Koch International 7469).
Jennifer Higdon: Southern Harmony: Gentle Waltz — Ying String Quartet (Quartz 2055).
2:06PM Aaron Copland: The Tender Land: Suite — Boston Symphony/Aaron Copland (RCA 6802).
Harold Arlen: I Love a Parade — Boston Pops/John Williams (Sony 46747).
Jerome Kern: Mark Twain — Boston Pops/Keith Lockhart (RCA 68786).
Charles Ives: March lll with the air Old Kentucky Home — St. Louis Symphony/Leonard Slatkin (RCA 61222).
Chris Brubeck: Convergence: Le Grande Parade du Funk — Czech National Symphony/Paul Freeman (Koch International 7653).
A bunch o’ Hindustani Raga: Pandit Pran Nath, Brij Bhushan Kabra, Bahauddin Dagar, Mashkoor Ali Khan, Debashish Bhattacharya…
My playlist was electronic music, primarily the sounds and songs of the slots and video poker machines in the Detroit casinos. Who writes those catchy tunes that let everybody around know you’ve just hit 400 credits on that last spin? There were some OK Motown cover bands in the bar areas. The radio on the ride home featured a really ragged performance of the Barber Adagio by the London Philharmonic with Previn conducting. A totally unrelated example of slot machine music is at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgVOMdx5_Xc
For myself, I put on Ives’ Fourth o’ July, Central Park in the Dark, and the last two movements of Symphony No.2; later on my wife and I put on, in succession and no random whatsoever, Begger’s Banquet, Let It Bleed, Get Yer Ya-Yas Out, Sticky Fingers, and Exile on Main Street (five strong ones in a row; kinda like the Yankees of 1949-52 or the Celtics of the mid-sixties); the night before I was listening to the string quartets of Ian Wilson and Kevin Volans, while plugging in notes into my Finale, and watching the A’s on TV.
Copeland is always appropriate, if a bit overexposed.
And who wouldn’t want to hear some Dixieland on July 4?
But my first choice would probably be Dvorak’s 9th, “From the New World”.
I was on a plane and at the airport most of the day and listened to mainly DJ Krush live at Moscow 2003 (bootleg I think) and miscellaneous Radiohead and my recent tunes. I’ve always thought it was a little weird to listen to music for ‘external reasons.’ External events influencing internal experiences, blah… 😉
Was nice to have the day off and actually have time to listen to some music (and to compose)
Ravel–Mother Goose Suite
Method Man–Tical
Antheil–Ballet Mechanique
Yesterday, in the spirit of the immigration that brought all of our ancestors here, I listened to Bloch’s “America” and Dohnanyi’s American Rhapsody.
“To hear people who were so quick to argue for impeaching Clinton for lying about a blowjob now argue that sentencing a Bush crony to prison for the same crimes after conviction by a jury of his peers is “excessive’ is the height of chutzpah.”
Unhinged and creaking. Cue the crickets.
I went with mid-20th century symphonies: Barber 1, Copland Dance Symphony, Ives 2, Harris 7, but the real boss of the day was Schuman 6 (Bill, not Bob). Damn, that piece is awesome. I wish it was done more often.
The Third is my secret favorite Ives work – though I always claim it’s the Concord. And Thanksgiving is next. I’ve written a playable piano transcription of the Ives Third that I want to publish someday.
Ives’ Thanksgiving is one of the only pieces of his that I’ve never warmed up to (the other one is his third symphony — everything else is amazing). But his Fourth of July is appropriate for any holiday, and any day of the year.
I play Charles Ives’s “Thanksgiving” on July 4, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Memorial Day, New Year’s Day, Father’s Day, Easter, Epiphany, Presidents’ Day, and St. Swithin’s Day.
Putting together a “Composer Next Door” show for this Sunday with John Corigliano’s Symphony No. 1 in its entirety as well as his Elegy for orchestra and the Tarantella movement from Gazebo Dances (piano-four hands version).
I’ve been doing a lot of work outside today before storms come to the Philadelphia area, but was happy to listen to some of Earle Brown’s early works while running to Loews to pick up more propane…
I think anything by a U.S. composer is appropos, although I have to say that I’m not terribly proud to be an American these days. We have some great composers in this country, but lousy politicians. Perhaps if we impeached both Bush and Cheney, I’d start to feel slightly more proud of my country. To hear people who were so quick to argue for impeaching Clinton for lying about a blowjob now argue that sentencing a Bush crony to prison for the same crimes after conviction by a jury of his peers is “excessive’ is the height of chutzpah.
In between my own stuff (never-ending when you are a composer, I suppose) there has only been some Jordi Savall/Pedro Estevan (La Lira de Espéria), Serrat (Sombras de la China), and younger Chinese sound-art guys. (i.e., just another day…)
Well, my literal playlist for the day involves, Mendelssohn and Dvorak Eb (in both cases) string quartets, Bach C major and minor Preludes and Fugues, Bk II, Schubert Hungarian Divertissement, and The Alcotts. I heard a broadcast while I was doing other work, from WAMC in Albany, that involved An American in Paris, The Fourth of July, A Ballad of Americans (actually I think it’s A Ballad of..something else, but I can’t remember of what just at the moment)(Robinson/LaTouche), and two Sousa Marches. I would not mind claiming that as the playlist of the day.
continuing with Monk this afternoon.
Götterdämmerung.
I’m goin’ American, old school this afternoon on WITF!
12:06PM John Philip Sousa: Solid Men to the Front! — Eastman Wind Ensemble/Frederick Fennell (Mercury 434300).
Trad: Yankee Doodle — Robert Shaw Chorale; RCA Symphony Orchestra/Robert Shaw (RCA 60814).
Henri Vieuxtemps: Souvenir d’Amerique, “Yankee Doodle” — Tchaikovsky Chamber Orchestra/Lazar Gosman (CBS 45529).
Samuel Barber: Fadograph of a Yestern Scene — New Zealand Symphony Orchestra/Andrew Schenck (Koch International 7010).
Samuel G. Ward: America the Beautiful — Tanglewood Festival Chorus; Boston Pops/John Williams (Sony 48224).
George Gershwin: Porgy & Bess: Excerpts (arr/Heifetz) — Leila Josefowicz, violin; John Novacek, piano (Philips 462948).
Randall Thompson: Symphony No. 2 in e — New Zealand Symphony Orchestra/Andrew Schenck (Koch International 7074).
1:25PM John Adams: China Gates — Christopher O’Riley, piano (Albany 38).
Virgil Thomson: The River — Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra/Neville Marriner (Angel/EMI 47715).
Joan Tower: Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman No. 1 — Colorado Symphony/Marin Alsop (Koch International 7469).
Jennifer Higdon: Southern Harmony: Gentle Waltz — Ying String Quartet (Quartz 2055).
2:06PM Aaron Copland: The Tender Land: Suite — Boston Symphony/Aaron Copland (RCA 6802).
Harold Arlen: I Love a Parade — Boston Pops/John Williams (Sony 46747).
Jerome Kern: Mark Twain — Boston Pops/Keith Lockhart (RCA 68786).
Charles Ives: March lll with the air Old Kentucky Home — St. Louis Symphony/Leonard Slatkin (RCA 61222).
Chris Brubeck: Convergence: Le Grande Parade du Funk — Czech National Symphony/Paul Freeman (Koch International 7653).
A bunch o’ Hindustani Raga: Pandit Pran Nath, Brij Bhushan Kabra, Bahauddin Dagar, Mashkoor Ali Khan, Debashish Bhattacharya…