Settle in for a little history… Juan Hidalgo (b.1927 –Spain), Walter Marchetti (b.1931 — Italy), and Zaj Most musicians who’ve fallen for John Cage and David Tudor, also know that offspring of the 1960s and 70s, FLUXUS. Far fewer know about the Spanish version, running parallel yet independently. It’s one thing to have gone experimental in, say, England at the time; quite another to have pursued this stuff in the fascist dictatorship of Franco’s Spain. In one you ran the risk of apathy; in the other actual persecution. In the mid-50s, Juan Hidalgo and Walter Marchetti were both young student composers.
Read moreOne of the hottest things in Philadelphia has to be the Relâche chamber ensemble. They’ve performed and recorded work by a wide variety of composers in the Downtown tradition including Kyle Gann, Michael Nyman, Robert Ashley, Lois V. Vierk, James Tenney, and they’re about to hit the road with Elliott Sharp’s new work “Evolute.” The piece is, to quote the Relâche press release, “a new chamber- and electronic musical work. . . [in which] Relâche’s octet instrumentation will be processed by Sharp through live electronics, resulting in a swirling mass of acoustic and electronic sound – a live classical remix.
Read moreA good time is to be had this Saturday night at Zankel Hall. Chris Thile and The Tensions Mountain Boys will premiere his bluegrass/classical suite “The Blind Leading the Blind.” As long as your sensibilities are broader than “Sator Arepo tenet opera rotas,” you should have no problem. Still: let’s keep ’em honest. If you will promise us a well-edited and not too long-winded review, Jerry and I will in turn throw our estimate clout around and get you in for free. You know how to reach us. Speaking of bluegrass, how about a round of random and rapturous applause
Read moreNew York City – On Friday afternoon, March 9, at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, music critic Tim Page of The Washington Post hosted a panel discussion between five Grawemeyer-winning composers: John Corigliano (1991), Sebastian Currier (2007), Karel Husa (1993), Aaron Jay Kernis (2002), and Joan Tower (1990). Grawemeyer Symposium: (left to right) Tim Page, Aaron Kernis, Sebastian Currier, Karel Husa John Corigliano, and Joan Tower. Tim Page began with a quote from Virgil Thomson stating that to be an American composer, one must simply be in America and compose. All five composer/panelists contributed their thoughts
Read moreI have the following CDs available for review: Philip Corner – Extreme Positions – The Barton Workshop Stirling Newberry – Xaos and Capricorn -Two string quartets on each. (Steve Hicken not eligible since he wrote the intro) Terry Riley – In C – Ars Nova – First version with voices Da Capo package (3 CDs) – Langgard, Pettersson, Romantic Trombone Concertos Huang Ruo – Chamber Concerto Cyle – ICE John Adams – Complete Piano Music Recipients must accept (and review) a second CD of my choosing. Serious inquiries only.
Read moreThe University of Louisville descended on to New York City this week for a big event, and I don’t mean the Big East tournament (well, they did that also and lost). Musicians from the School of Music, the symphony orchestra and wind symphony, filled Carnegie Hall with music from Grawemeyer-winning composers and the 2007 Grawemeyer winner. To begin the concert, the University of Louisville Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Kimcherie Lloyd, presented two very distinct works by Witold Lutoslawski (1913-1994) and Aaron Jay Kernis (b. 1960). Fanfare for Louisville by Lutoslawski surrounded the concert stage with brass, winds and percussion in
Read moreTired of playing with yourself? Well, you don’t have to anymore. Take a look at e-jamming, a web site that lets you hook up with other musicians online to write, rehearse, record and play together in real-time. Who is Nico Mulhy and should I care?
Read moreOur regular listen to and look at living, breathing composers and performers that you may not know yet, but I know you should… And can, right here and now, since they’re nice enough to offer so much good listening online: Christopher Hopkins (b.1957 — US) Christopher Hopkins is an assistant professor of music composition at Iowa State University of Science and Technology, where he teaches courses in composition, music technology, sound synthesis and orchestration. He is director of the Lipa Festival of Contemporary Music. As a composer he works in both experimental and traditional forms, with special interests in electroacoustic
Read moreSebastian Currier has won the 2007 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition for “Static,” a six-movement piece for flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano. Currier, who teaches at Columbia University, studied at the Manhattan and Julliard schools of music. His winning work was commissioned by Copland House of Cortlandt Manor, N.Y., for its resident ensemble, Music from Copland House, with funds from Meet the Composer, a national organization supporting new works by composers. The ensemble premiered the piece at Columbia’s Miller Theatre in February 2005 and recorded it for Koch International Classics. Frank has details over at NewMusicBox. And
Read moreAny musical work which has a long. complex, and– dare I say it? –troubled history — can’t help but raise a red flag. Is the artist wrestling with something alive and kicking, or is he or she merely tinkering? Lou Harrsion’s “gay opera” Young Caesar, which began as a 1969 commission from the group Encounters, was first staged as a puppet opera for vocalists and 5 instrumentalists. A subsequent version, for 11 instrumentalists, onstage singers, and full chorus, followed, and this one, performed by the Portland Gay Men’s Chorus in 1988, was roundly criticized, though the performers, some of whom
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