The Ambiguous Chords of Affirmation
It was an evocatively strange and ambiguous experience to hear Anton Batagov play Morton Feldman’s Triadic Memories last Sunday evening in the newly restored Board of Officers Room at the…
RIP Lou Reed (1942-2013)
“One chord is fine. Two chords are pushing it. Three chords and you’re into jazz.” – Lou Reed Much of my music passes the above “into jazz” marker. That said,…
“200 Motels”, but no room for the rowdy…
A funny thing happened last night during the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s performance of 200 Motels. The audience turned on itself. Before the show, the chorus warmed up the crowd with…
NY Polyphony Records Old and New
A new video (posted yesterday) of New York Polyphony live in midtown Manhattan at St. Mary’s. We have been playing the quartet’s latest BIS recording, Times go by Turns, in…
Old Bottles, New Wine
Some of the most timeless, gripping, modern and surprising music I hear consistently are the vocal works of Renaissance Italian composers and their associated circle – Monteverdi, Gesualdo, the great…
Tonight: NYNME Celebrates Lukas Foss
Monday at the DiMenna Center, New York New Music Ensemble presents a program of works by Lukas Foss (1922-2009). Lukas (with whom I studied in the 90s when I was…
The Permanent Collection
A bit past the halfway mark in Richard Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll comes a passage marked “Lebhaft” (lively tempo). It begins with a bright, energetic horn fanfare that is quickly answered…
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The Imani Winds Bring Improvisation to Classical Chamber Music Performance
Imani Winds: Jeff Scott, Toyin Spellman-Diaz, Valerie Coleman, Monica Ellis, and Mariam Adam. (Photo by Matthew Murphy) (Houston, TX) Since the group’s inception in 1997, the Imani Winds have continued…
Society for Minimalist Music Conference: Opening Concert
The Society for Minimalist Music is holding their biennial conference this year on the campus of Cal State Long Beach from October 3d through the 6th. Opening day included a…
The Death of the People’s Opera
The demise of the New York City Opera is a tragedy for American composers, singers and fans of new opera. With rare exceptions, it has been, since its founding in…