tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137828072008-05-08T16:09:16.541-04:00Jerry Bowlesnoreply@blogger.comBlogger74125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13782807.post-24406355401054914212008-05-08T16:08:00.000-04:002008-05-08T16:09:16.585-04:00

IMSLP may be back up and running shortly: http://imslp.wikidot.com/

Alan Theisenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678660736905514054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13782807.post-85237181310054131002008-04-26T13:59:00.002-04:002008-04-26T14:08:49.652-04:00

Greetings, Sequenza21 readers! Another hectic semester has concluded at Florida State University, but the event dominating my life right now is the upcoming premiere of my new Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Ensemble. The work will be performed May 1 (this Thursday) at the University of Southern Mississippi (my alma mater). By all accounts, rehearsals have been going well which is a good

Alan Theisenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678660736905514054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13782807.post-51807297699506783552008-03-06T12:45:00.002-05:002008-03-06T13:01:03.448-05:00

In reply to a recent blog, I figured I'd spill my own guilty pleasures. (By the way, I love Tom Myron's comment on New York Times classical music critics playing even their guilty pleasures safe - you're the man, Tom!) Here we go: Ready? I have no guilty pleasures. None. Don't get me wrong. I used to. But these days, I'm not ashamed at all to discuss the music I love. Not all of it is

Alan Theisenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678660736905514054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13782807.post-6674872423203366112007-11-13T09:35:00.000-05:002007-11-13T09:54:15.270-05:00

As of last night, the premiere performance of my Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Ensemble has been moved from November 29, 2007 to April 24, 2008. The lesson I've learned is that it doesn't matter what I believe regarding the difficulty of performing my works, as the actual performers may think and feel just the opposite. In this case, the ensemble needs more time to work on the Saxophone

Alan Theisenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678660736905514054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13782807.post-36625239830670849602007-10-20T15:06:00.000-04:002007-10-20T15:08:04.464-04:00

Sorry, people. If you are a fan of free, online public domain scores, you're out of luck: http://imslp.org/

Alan Theisenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678660736905514054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13782807.post-3291697573639760822007-10-15T21:39:00.000-04:002007-10-15T21:40:16.059-04:00

"Men of high civilization have become voracious hearers but do hardly listen. Using organized sound as a kind of opiate, we have forgotten to ask for sense and value in what we hear." -- Curt Sachs

Alan Theisenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678660736905514054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13782807.post-21434452184763821022007-09-13T17:44:00.000-04:002007-09-13T17:49:58.268-04:00

Last night, I completed my Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Ensemble. The piece is essentially a re-working of my earlier Concerto for Saxophone and String Orchestra (three movements), but with the addition of new fourth movement. Movements are as follows: I. Lento drammatico II. Burlesque III. Passacaglia IV. Molto energico e preciso The entire work is 22 minutes long. The new Concerto

Alan Theisenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678660736905514054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13782807.post-13467423656753992302007-08-13T13:21:00.001-04:002007-08-13T13:27:18.438-04:00

More blogging on my Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Ensemble is forthcoming, but for now, here is what I'm listening to: Goffredo Petrassi - Concerto for Orchestra No. 2 Charlie Mingus - Boogie Stop Shuffle Charles Ives - Variations on "America" Ben Folds - Rockin' the Suburbs Hector Berlioz - Scherzo of Queen Mab Elliott Carter - Partita Wolfgang Rihm - Jagden und Formen G. P. Telemann -

Alan Theisenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678660736905514054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13782807.post-9769436479370279882007-07-18T18:28:00.000-04:002007-07-18T18:30:12.080-04:00

A recording of Eclogue for Solo Flute (2007) is up on my MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/alantheisencomposer (Click the top tune if it doesn't play automatically.) The performer is Misty Rondeau Theisen. Enjoy!

Alan Theisenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678660736905514054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13782807.post-21962324660197521062007-07-14T00:27:00.000-04:002007-07-14T00:28:28.769-04:00

As promised, here is the first installment in my series of essays chronicling the composition of a new finale for my Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Ensemble. The Concerto (with wind ensemble) is a re-orchestration of my earlier Concerto for Alto Saxophone and String Orchestra (2002). The original is three movements long, containing: an introductory, elegiac Larghetto; a short scherzo

Alan Theisenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678660736905514054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13782807.post-26227339919935992902007-07-13T01:32:00.000-04:002007-07-13T01:39:46.551-04:00

Hello fellow Sequenza21 campers! First of all, let me apologize for my lack of participation over the past six months. I was busy with my first year of doctoral school at Florida State University, giving papers at three conferences, and composing several new works. I have gotten my account working again and plan on blogging regularly as I did when I began two years ago. Here is the plan: I

Alan Theisenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678660736905514054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13782807.post-1168799120891638952007-01-14T13:23:00.000-05:002007-01-14T13:25:20.923-05:00

I am sorry to report the passing of jazz saxophonist Michael Brecker. He was 57. Full story here.

Alan Theisenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678660736905514054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13782807.post-1165926979926151572006-12-12T07:34:00.000-05:002006-12-12T07:36:19.943-05:00

I know that this is just a simple link (that many of you have seen before), but it is wonderful nonetheless: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdxkVQy7QLM If you are a musician, this is the best five minutes you may ever spend on YouTube.

Alan Theisenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678660736905514054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13782807.post-1164153352575212312006-11-21T18:55:00.000-05:002006-11-21T18:55:52.586-05:00

"...unceasingly we are bombarded with pseudo-realities manufactured by very sophisticated people using very sophisticated electronic mechanisms. I do not distrust their motives; I distrust their power. They have a lot of it. And it is an astonishing power: that of creating whole universes, universes of the mind. I ought to know. I do the same thing. It is my job to create universes, as the basis

Alan Theisenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678660736905514054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13782807.post-1159837327735756832006-10-02T20:55:00.000-04:002006-10-02T21:02:07.753-04:00

Eight Sentences About Classical Music That Should Be Banned (according to Matthew Guerrieri) 1) "Nobody actually enjoys listening to atonal music—they just want other people to think they’re a pretentious intellectual." For the record, I enjoyed listening to atonal music well before I was a pretentious intellectual. Seriously, stop telling me that I don’t like what I do like, OK? Because

Alan Theisenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678660736905514054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13782807.post-1159203373101611382006-09-25T12:49:00.000-04:002006-09-25T12:56:13.130-04:00

Happy 100th Birthday to Dmitri Shostakovich! My favorite works: Symphony No.14, Op.135 Symphony No.15, Op.141 Violin Concerto No.1, Op.77 (especially the scherzo) Festive Overture, Op.96 Piano Concerto No.2, Op.102 (Mvt. II) Six Poems by Marina Tsvetayeva, Op.143A

Alan Theisenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678660736905514054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13782807.post-1159032475915414732006-09-23T13:23:00.000-04:002006-09-23T13:45:20.643-04:00

In case you missed Stephen Colbert mocking John Zorn, here is the video clip. Bravo, Stephen. I actually like your composition/documentary better. Attention MacArthur committee: $500,000 to a Mr. Stephen Colbert, please.

Alan Theisenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678660736905514054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13782807.post-1158875038787505442006-09-21T17:38:00.000-04:002006-09-21T17:59:29.396-04:00

Zorn. Did anyone else see the amazing Stephen Colbert ripping John Zorn a new one on last night's (Sept. 20) Colbert Report? Brilliant. Speaking of which, I've never encountered a more adequately titled piece of music.

Alan Theisenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678660736905514054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13782807.post-1156452867042695912006-08-24T16:52:00.000-04:002006-08-24T16:54:27.060-04:00

Maynard Ferguson has died at age 78.

Alan Theisenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678660736905514054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13782807.post-1156059276197200812006-08-20T03:10:00.000-04:002006-08-20T03:44:37.860-04:00

I've just posted the second and third movements of my Concerto for Alto Saxophone and String Orchestra in the Sequenza21 Listening Room. The first movement is also on the list (scroll down to find it).The concerto was written for my former saxophone professor, Lawrence Gwozdz (who was kind enough to give the premiere with the Szczecin Philharmonic in Poland). I conceived the work in three

Alan Theisenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678660736905514054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13782807.post-1155878893871840682006-08-18T01:22:00.000-04:002006-08-18T01:39:49.386-04:00

In his Harmonie universelle (1636), Marin Mersenne spends a lot of time describing the harmony of the spheres. His understanding of astronomy is based largely on Kepler (1571-1630), and thus, is based on the seven known planets (Jupiter is the root, Saturn is the second, the Moon is the third, Mercury is the fourth, Venus is the fifth, the Sun is the sixth, Mars is the seventh and Jupiter again

Alan Theisenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678660736905514054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13782807.post-1155814040102833412006-08-17T07:24:00.000-04:002006-08-17T07:27:20.113-04:00

Yesterday I finished my second setting of a text by Longfellow. Here are the first few measures:

Alan Theisenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678660736905514054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13782807.post-1154564310778314932006-08-02T20:16:00.000-04:002006-08-02T20:18:30.796-04:00

"Entertainment is that which requires nothing of the participants to participate. Art of any sort is that which requires some effort initially, some active input from the participant that he or she then gets back many-fold from the experience. To refuse to make that distinction is simply irresponsible. "As for accessibility, all that means is that they recognize it. If you want music to sound

Alan Theisenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678660736905514054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13782807.post-1154061272642833202006-07-28T00:30:00.000-04:002006-07-28T00:34:32.660-04:00

I just wrote the first twelve measures of my new Quartet for Clarinet, Violin, Cello, and Piano. I'm trying hard to not think of the Quartet for the End of Time.

Alan Theisenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678660736905514054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13782807.post-1153114294485014912006-07-17T01:15:00.000-04:002006-07-17T01:31:34.513-04:00

This past Thursday (July 13) marked the 55th year after Arnold Schoenberg's passing. Listen to these two online recordings in memoriam: Phantasy, Op.47. Helen Kim, violin; Adam Bowles, piano.Chamber Symphony, Op.9 (trans. Webern). Luna Nova New Music Ensemble."One must not forget that – theory or no theory – a composer's only yardstick is his sense of balance and his belief in the infallibility

Alan Theisenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678660736905514054noreply@blogger.com