Everybody’s in a Gang…
Spotted this morning across the street from my place here in Seattle. I hear the BMI bangers are tagging all the dumpsters south of Pike Street. Looks like a war is coming…
Lean Tuesday
While we’re all sitting around waiting for the big event (Can you guess what day tomorrow is, boys and girls?), let’s talk about movies. I’ve only seen two of the…
Last Night in L.A.: Celebrating Steve Reich
Last night’s Los Angeles Master Chorale concert in the Walt Disney appeared to be sold out. The only thing that might surprise outsiders was that the advertising had emphasized that…
John Ogdon, born January 27th 1937
John Ogdon was born, seventy years ago, on January 27th 1937. The following words were written by him in 1981. “Here then…are some of the harsh facts behind the words ‘severe mental illness’…
The Heap
Sam Pottle’s theme song for “The Muppet Show;” the feeling of breaking the thousand measure mark in a piece (without repeats); Rodney Lister’s thoughts, voiced to me almost ten years…
Mr. Justice Speaks
. . . He looks around, full of secrets; His strange deep thoughts have brought, so far, no harm. Carefully, with fists and elbows, he prepares One dark, tremendous chord…
Last Night in L.A.: the Adams Birthday Portrait
John Adams is almost 60 (February 15), and the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Green Umbrella concert last night had Adams as conductor of three of his works. It appeared to me…
Wednesday Miscellany, Take Two
The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center has announced their 2007-2008 season. Do you realize that in one year Elliott Carter will be 100 years old? Wowza. To mark the…
C’mon baby, let’s orbifold!
The theoretically minded of you out there should be aware of the work of Dmitri Tymoczko. Tymoczko is a composer and teaches at Princeton. An active music theorist, his recent…
Who-cares-about-the-Super-Bowl-now Monday
Doubtless legions of Sequenza21 fans are crestfallen this morning. Being people of superior intellect, you were all hoping for a New England / New Orleans Super Bowl. Now we get…