Scheherazade.2
Out today on Nonesuch is John Adams’s Scheherazade.2, a concerto for violin and orchestra of symphonic proportions. Composed for soloist Leila Josefowicz and the St. Louis Symphony, conducted by David…
Just Strings Concert in Santa Monica
On Wednesday, September 21, 2016 the innovative Soundwaves concert series continued at the Santa Monica Public Library featuring the music of Lou Harrison and John Luther Adams as performed by…
Interview: Christian Carey Talks with the Kepler Quartet
One of the noteworthy recordings released in 2016 is the Kepler Quartet’s third volume of string quartets by Ben Johnston (New World Records). Johnston, who turned ninety this year, is…
Signal plays Reich at Miller
Opening Night at Miller Theater On September 15, Ensemble Signal, conducted by Brad Lubman, presented an all-Steve Reich program to open the season at Columbia University’s Miller Theatre. There was…
Richard Carrick Named Chair of Berklee Composition Department
Composer, conductor, and pianist Richard Carrick has been named chair of Berklee’s Composition Department. Carrick is a 2015-2016 Guggenheim Fellow and co-founder and co-artistic director of the contemporary music ensemble…
Interview with Robert Morris
On September 15-18 at Spectrum, Collide-O-Scope Music begins its eighth season with a Festival celebrating the music of Robert Morris. A wide range of works will be featured, for electronics,…
David Toop: Into the Maelstrom (Book Review)
Into the Maelstrom: Music, Improvisation, and the Dream of Freedom before 1970 By David Toop Bloomsbury, 330 pp. Even given the relative expanse of a projected two-volume history of improvised…
Mikel Rouse’s Metronome Project
Mikel Rouse’s Metronome project has been in heavy rotation around these parts. His latest album, Take Down, had a five-year long gestation. Given the varied reference points, one can hear…
More Proms (and Cafe Otto)–Grisey, Nobre, Villa-Lobs, Sollima, and Hellawell
The Prom on August 20, presented by The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Ilan Volkov, opened with the first UK performance of Dérives by Gérard Grisey. It’s hard to…