Anders Koppel: Festivity back in the concert hall
How does it sound – a double concerto written by a musician weaned on Beethoven, salsa, Stravinsky and Bulgarian folk music? In short – like nothing else! The Danish composer…
Dang, Beat Me to It.
He’s been on my list for a while now, to make famous (ha ha) as an S21 “click pick”. But before I get the chance to feature him, Huck Hodge…
Happy Birthday, Sonny!
Sonny Rollins, aka the Saxophone Colossus, turns 78 today. Check out the multimedia celebration at his web site. This year’s focus is on his fans, his web visitors, his greatest…
War & Music
Watching the gritty HBO series called Generation Kill about a platoon of young Marines at the beginning of the invasion of Iraq, it struck me again how ambivalent music’s relationship…
At the Proms–Vaughan Williams, Osborne, and Eötvös
One of the threads of this year’s Proms is a survey of the works of Ralph Vaughan Williams in commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of his death. On August 26,…
New Haven, Before and After One Arrives
Big Ups to David Lang and Christopher Theofanidis who have just been appointed to the faculty of the Yale School of Music. They will teach graduate students in the school’s…
They’re Trying to Wash Us Away
It’s been three years since the human and moral disaster that was Hurricane Katrina overran New Orleans and uncovered an ugly blight on America’s soul. To help make sure that…
Carter, Messiaen, and Stockhausen at the Proms
Among the focuses of the Proms this summer are the centennials of Elliott Carter and Olivier Messiaen and the eightieth birthday of Karlheinz Stockhausen (due to his death in 2007,…
M50: Minimalism Turns Fifty
This September marks the 50th anniversary of musical Minimalism, an artistic revolution which critic Kyle Gann has described as “the most important musico-historical event of my lifetime.” I’m delighted to…
An Other Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste
Lazy, hazy summer days… Not much really happening, unless you hoof it to some festival or other… Or, for the price of simply wearing out your finger clicking, you could…