Mogwai’s Rave Tapes
Composition-intensive post-rock … Mogwai Rave Tapes Sub Pop Mogwai’s eighth studio album, Rave Tapes, has to be taken with a handful of ironic humor. The thought of the Glasgow collective…
31 Memorable Recordings from 2013
File Under ?’s Best Recordings of 2013 (in no particular order) Yvar Mikhashoff, Panorama of American Piano Music (Mode) Robert Levin and Ursula Oppens, Piano Music 1960-2010 – Bernard Rands…
Symphony Space Celebrates Lutoslawski
Photo: Ryuhei Shindo A bit of cheering for the “home team,” as ACME played on our last Sequenza 21 concert. Last Friday, December 13, Symphony Space’s In the Salon Series…
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,…
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…
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…
One less sax concerto to track down …
Full disclosure: Caroline Shaw has played my music, so I make no claim to objectivity here. _____ The day after Paul Moravec won the Pulitzer prize, John Adams started shooting…
Benjamin Opera the Closer at Tanglewood FCM
Tanglewood capped this year’s Festival of Contemporary Music with the U.S. premiere of George Benjamin’s Written on Skin. After an initial brief hiccough (Mr Benjamin forgot his baton when he…
Guest Post: Mailman on Zorn
The 60th birthday of John Zorn! Who would believe it? I guess 60 is the new 30. On Saturday, the Lincoln Center Festival celebrated with a concert devoted exclusively to…
Miranda Cuckson Remembers Henri Dutilleux
Thank you to Miranda Cuckson for this remembrance of composer Henri Dutilleux. My visit to Henri Dutilleux was part of one of the most beautiful summers I’ve had. I stayed…