Author: Anthony Cornicello

Contemporary Classical

A belated response to David Byrne

I’m happy to be returning to posting here at Sequenza21.  It has been a while.

Recently, a quote from David Byrne was brought to my attention by Joe Benzola in a Facebook post. (The original Byrne post may be found here.)  Although the quote is from 2008, it’s new to me; besides, Byrne was responding to “modern music” written in 1957 as if it was new, so I feel okay with my discussion here.

Essentially, Byrne’s comments amount to “why don’t these composers act normal?”  I’ve heard comments like this from my undergraduates, usually non-music majors in my electronic music class. When we get to Cage and Stockhausen, there’s always one kid who thinks he’s either being funny or brilliant by asking either of the following questions:  “Is he on drugs?” or “Did he make any money from this?”

Both my students and Byrne share a similar misconception about ‘classical’ music; really, about music genres outside the larger umbrella of mass-marketed pop music, according to blog posts on 토토사이트 순위.  That is, the very odd idea that one can create a piece of music, indeed a whole body of works, not for hopes of financial gain.  Sure, many of us receive commissions to compose works, but for the most part, the money generated is meager in comparison to even a modest success in the pop world.  One can also point to the few highly-paid artists like Glass or Adams, but they are a rarity.  Many of us are creating works out of our own artistic desires, whatever they may be.

This brings us to the next point – the often-repeated idea that contemporary composers deliberately try to alienate their audiences.  First of all, I’ve never heard any composer say that.  And I knew Cage, and Babbitt, neither of whom created ‘audience-friendly’ music.  More accurately, they knew that what they wrote would appeal to a limited audience, nothing compared to the vast crowds listening to pop genres.  You could say the same thing about, say, Thelonious Monk.  This is akin to ‘narrowcasting’: targeting a message to a specific audience, like when a college radio station has a hour-long show all in Italian.  In all cases, the messenger knows and indeed revels in the fact that he or she is not going to reach a huge percentage of the audience at large.

On a side note, I am reminded of a quote from Cecil Taylor, which I heard in Ken Burns’ Jazz documentary.  (Okay, I have a LOT of issues with the tone of the post-1945 portion of the documentary, but still…) When asked why his music was so difficult to follow, Taylor responded (I’m paraphrasing here) “I spend many hours practicing before a concert.  Why can’t the audience do the same?”  Okay, that’s harsh.  One can say that he’s not exactly accommodating.  Yet, he’s asking his audience to prepare for the experience.  How, I’m not sure.  Perhaps by learning how to be open-minded, allowing the music to flow rather than trying to control it or pigeon-hole it into a pre-conceived notion.  Don’t expect to hear tunes based on “What is this Thing Called Love?” or the blues (at least not past the mid-60s, from what I know).  That’s where audience members, including Mr. Byrne, get lost.   They’re expecting an experience similar to what they already know, and it is simply not there in this case.  I will agree, however, that some artists take this to an extreme, leaving the audience little to grasp on to.  I don’t find this with the composers mentioned in the Byrne article.  Schoenberg is quite traditional in many ways, especially when it comes to motive and structure.  In many ways, he is a Neo-Classical composer, with a twist!

One last point:  opera is about spectacle.  Whether you’re talking about bringing in half the zoo for a production of Aida, massive sets for Wagner, or the staging in the Zimmerman, it’s all about the wow factor.  It’s a huge multi-media event, so it’s no wonder that more recent operas have made use of technology.  And that operas continue to be written.  And, yes, Mr. Byrne, sometimes there is a long gap between the creation of a work and its first performance.  It takes a long time for a work to be produced in general; when larger forces are involved there is more preparation needed.  Sets have to be built, costumes designed, and musicians rehearsed; even for a commissioned work, it is not uncommon for a few years to elapse between the composer putting down the pen and the conductor holding up the baton.

Yes, composers are not always the most practical in a business (or pop-music) sense.  We create music that makes our performers work a little (some more than others), and we expect our smallish audience to engage in active listening.  Is that truly a horrible thing?

Composers, Concerts, Contemporary Classical, Festivals, Music Events, New York

ICO (formerly VIM:TRIBECA) Concert Series Disaster

Last year, many of us saw a posting regarding the VIM:Tribeca concert series. The organizers, Judd Greenstein and Kimball Gallagher, wanted to put on concert series of mostly new works; the composers were responsible for providing performers. The concerts were to be put on in the Gallerie Icosahedron (I’m deliberately not linking to them, for reasons that will be apparent soon!). The first indication of trouble to us should have been the delays, imposed by the gallery, regarding scheduling and, we found out later, the renting of a piano. The first public sign of trouble was the sudden announcement that the concert series was now to be called the ICO series.

When it was announced that my work had been accepted, I was thrilled. I was to be featured alongside Pamela Stein; I contacted Kathy Supové, who was going to play my new pieces for interactive piano. And, Pam was going to sing the premiere of a piece by Lukas Ligeti. This had all the makings of an exciting event.

On Thursday, we received the following note:

1) CONCERT FEE: all concerts will be subject to a $300 minimum, payable to the gallery in half a week before the concert, with the remainder due at the show. For double-bills, each artist will be responsible for half this figure. In addition to this de facto rental fee, all money over $600 in receipts from the door will continue to be split 50/50. The fee is a guarantee against low turnout – a deposit, essentially. These checks must arrive 1 week before each concert, beginning with the February 14th show, and all checks should be mailed to Gallerie Icosahedron, 27 N Moore St., New York, NY 10013, and made out to Gallerie Icosahedron.

2) TICKET PRICE: the ticket price will now be raised to $20, with no student discounts.

3) REHEARSAL FEE: all artists will have access to the gallery from 5-6:30 on the day of the show. Any other rehearsal times need to be scheduled in advance and will be available at a $40/hr rate.

4) INTERMISSION: there will be NO intermissions of any kind. For double-bills, there will be a brief set change, but even this will be less than a standard intermission.

5) COMPS: there will be no comps, except for press.

6) PIANO: the piano needs to be kept at the back of the gallery, and cannot be moved forward.

And, furthermore, Judd and Kimball were to be removed from the organization of the concerts themselves. Actually, we’d have to individually negotiate elements of the shows, if we wished to continue.

At this point, the series is in disarray. I haven’t kept track, but most of the participants have jumped ship. I’m not sure if I would have done this had these policies been in place beforehand. But, to impose these changes mid-season – mind you, the ICO had a full slate of concerts in the Fall of 2007 – is just infuriating. And, looking at their demands, the one that irks me the most is the policy against comps or student discounts. $20 is a steep fee, particularly when you’re just going to a gallery with folding chairs. $20 would get me into a lot of concert halls in many places (okay, nosebleed seats in some places), and with more comfortable chairs.

I’m aware that costs have risen tremendously in the past few months. But, assuming their gallery would have been open those nights anyway, would the ICO series really have been displacing $300 worth of business? $900, if you count the door costs.

What’s truly disturbing is the Kremlin-style overthrow of the originators of the series. Here you have two people who have done all the work, put a huge amount of time, energy, and, I assume, their own money into this project. It seems to me that the ICO people just want the series to go away, which it seem like it will.

First of all, here is my advice. If anyone is still planning on putting on one of the ICO concerts, please go support them. Go to the gallery, and have a good time. Don’t buy any refreshments if the gallery sells them.  As a matter of fact, avoid direct eye contact with any gallery employee.  However,  if you see any art there you like, write down the name of the artist, and contact them directly when you go home. If you like, wait until their show at the ICO is done. Buy something else from them, but make sure no money goes to the Gallerie Icosahedron.

At one point, I have been told, they complained about the nature of the music being presented. It wasn’t ‘classical’ or ‘conservative’ enough. I didn’t realize that we were under the scrutiny of the new music police, telling us how to write as well as demanding that we pay – oh, and that piano is just there for decoration.  I’m sure that their list of demands would eventually include no parallel 5ths or un-resolved dissonances – and, I’m sure, no Max patches.
This is truly a horrible situation for all of us. I understand that concerts do need to be canceled sometimes. Performers get sick or injured, the composer isn’t finished with the piece, sometimes even accidents occur in the performance venue. Yet, this is truly, truly appalling: a concert canceled because of greed and almost maniacal control exerted by the proprietors of the concert space. I am disgusted by their actions.

This morning, someone suggested that we try to find another location. I’m all for that, although I have my doubts that we’d be able to find a decent concert site that would have availability for all the events (which were scheduled on Thursdays). If that can be done, I’d be thrilled. I’d be happy to wait until the Fall. I’d be happy to pay or raise funds for a performance at a good venue. And, I’ll be happy to avoid walking down the street anywhere near the Gallerie Icosahedron.

Contemporary Classical

“I’ve got a secret…”

Okay, the person with the secret was John Cage. And, the title refers to the game show on CBS, broadcast in 1960. Yes, there was once a time when a figure like John Cage appeared on TV, on CBS, and performed one of his works. Outside of South Park and the Simpsons, when have you seen major composers on TV.?(Glass appears, as an animated character [not his voice] in South Park, and is mentioned a few times on the Simpsons.)

Anyway, back to Cage: you can see it here. Enjoy!