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Everyone’s favorite online contemporary classical station, Q2 (part of the WNYC family), needs your help. They would like for Q2 listeners to take a survey to help them gather information that will shape the station’s future programming.

Want more vocal music? Less crossover? Or more programs featuring Olivia Giovetti? Q2 wants to hear all about it!

Getting ready to enjoy all those new, happy/shiny Xmas presents, I’m sure… Well, here’s another that won’t cost you a dime:

S21′s WPRB-favorite-son, announcer Marvin Rosen, is getting a jump on the upcoming Alan Hovhaness centennial with a 24-hour marathon broadcast of Hovhaness’s music (that’s Marvin above, in 1992, with Hovhaness at the composer’s home). ”Mountains and Rivers Without End” begins Sunday, Dec. 26th at 7pm, and will feature more Hovhaness than you can shake a stick at (I know more than a few composers who might well be furiously shaking that stick, but I myself am pretty partial to this American original). Two guests during the marathon will be clarinetist and conductor Lawrence Sobol (December 26, evening), and pianist Sahan Arzruni (December 27, early afternoon) both of whom have recorded the composer’s music. In the New York/New Jersey area you can tune to WPRB at 103.3 FM, while the rest of can stream it all live online.

Marvin is about as well-positioned as anyone to lead you through Hovhaness’s vast output; his doctoral dissertation was on Hovhaness’s music; he was a friend of the composer for many years and spent two weeks in Seattle working with him on his piano music in preparation for the first of two recordings on the Koch International Classics label. Marvin also wrote the liner notes for other Hovhaness recordings on the Koch International Classics label as well. And Marvin has one of the most extensive rare collections of Hovhaness’s music both on CD and LP, so there are bound to be many treats heard. So turn out to tune in, and give Marvin some virtual caffeine support through the long night and day!

Two more pieces of recommended listening from the BBC Proms concerts: Robin Holloway’s Reliquary transforms Schumann’s, er, problematic Gedichte der Königin Maria Stuart into a genuinely beautiful, affecting work. It’s reminiscent of reconstructions and expansions of 19th century music by Berio and Schnittke, and you can listen to it here until Thursday.

Jonathan Dove’s A Song of Joys for chorus and orchestra is a brief and buoyant setting of Walt Whitman. How appropos to see Galen’s post on the influence of John Adams, because that’s who I would have guessed composed this work if I heard it without knowing the composer. However, Dove isn’t an upcoming student composer–he’s 51 years old, and was influenced by Adams ahead of the curve of plenty of other composers his age. The BBC disagrees with me about Dove’s youth, however, where the announcer matter of factly describes him as a “young” composer. I guess Elliott Carter has raised the average age of composers. I turn 50 in November, and I just started writing pieces again. Wow, I’m a young composer!

You can listen to Dove’s A Song of Joys here (give it a try, it’s under 5 minutes).

Finally, Kathy Supove’s The Exploding Piano concert at Le Poisson Rouge from August is available in full at WQXR.  Just click here to listen to lots of piano and electronics and Kathy making what sounds to me like chipmunk noises (intentionally per composer Michael Gatonska’s request). While the streaming can’t convey Kathy’s brilliant red hair or whatever fantastic outfit she wore that evening, the whole concert is a nice preview of her new CD, The Exploding Piano. A neat feature about this page is that unlike other streaming broadcasts, you can isolate individual works on the program. My favorite was Missy Mazzoli’s Isabelle Eberhardt Dreams of Pianos. I don’t hear any Adams at all in her trippy work, so there’s at least one young star on the rise owing nothing to Big John.

Perhaps I missed it if Rodney Lister posted about this, but fun spectral work, Lignes de fuite by Martin Matalon, heard at the Proms last Thursday, Sept. 2. You have approximately 19 hours left to listen to it free online here.  I don’t hear anything earth-shattering, but it’s well written with lots of electronic-music-like sonorities and a good sense of forward motion.

For anyone online tonight, check out San Diego New Music’s resident ensemble, NOISE, performing in Chihuahua this evening at 8 pm Mountain Standard Time. You can watch it live here. They will perform works by Sidney Marquez Boquiren, Christopher Burns, Matthew Burtner, Christopher Adler, Ignacio Baca-Lobera and Mark Menzies.

By now, you’ve surely heard about Project 440 at Orpheus/WQXR, and the next round of cuts will take the composers to just a dozen (to be announced September 9th on WQXR). So I thought it would be interesting to talk to the remaining 30 before the cut about this process.

Q: “You all have probably been involved in a group lesson or masterclass at some point – some sort of public forum – with a teacher, composer or perhaps an ensemble and conductor. Project 440, however, involves not only a selection committee, but comments on the internet. How do you view the critiques and praise, both positive and negative – and how does it differ from a masterclass/learning situation?”

A’s:
David T. Little:
As always, comments on one’s music should be understood for what they are: opinions. While a composer certainly can (and should) learn something by considering other people’s thoughts on their work–especially, say, in the case of a master class–they ultimately, for better or worse, answer only to themselves. When the time comes to sit down to write, I try put all of this aside and just create the best and most honest music possible.

Zibuokle Martinaityte:
Orpheus Project 440 offers young composers three main ingredients, which solidify the recipe of becoming a successful composer in the world and make it complete: exposure, the opinion of a larger audience and the critical judgment of a highly competent selection committee. The integration of these three things distinguishes it from other projects and learning environments such as master classes or public forums for composers. These usually incorporate one or two of the above-mentioned components, but have a non-worldly aspect used for isolated learning where only professionals of the field contribute their qualified opinions or honest advice. This is very useful for analysis and explanations of complex music and perhaps even improving compositional skills, but has little to do with the important relationship of composer to audience.

Due to its presence on the Internet, Project 440 is a unique and useful “reality check” with listeners who are in fact the audience whether one realizes it or not. This framework creates more vulnerability for the composer who becomes completely exposed to others not only through the sounds they create which would be typical for a composer, but also through the verbal interpretations of the listener. People have the freedom to speak candidly about the music and regardless of how we feel, it is posted and available for others to read. Furthermore, it is going to influence other listeners as well. It is my first time participating in a web-based public project and I’ve been very curious and stimulated by reading all the comments. Both positive and negative feedback is equally valuable for me, giving me a glimpse of what the listener is actually experiencing when encountering my music.

Chen Yao:
I am open to different critiques and praise, as these comments are based on the listeners’ different listening experiences on my music. I can tell that the critiques and praise I have received for my Glowing Autumn come from the listeners who are from all kinds of backgrounds. They take my music to various perspectives and levels. I deeply appreciate their individual thoughts and comments. I am very happy that my music can offer the listeners a little sound pleasure as well as an angle by which they can get to see and think what today’s young composers are creating.

It definitely differs from what you can hear and learn from a masterclass. The internet offers a no-personal interaction inviting listeners from a broader level of society, and mostly the comments you receive on line present a wide range of aesthetic levels and unfold what your music means to others. A masterclass provides a situation in which a composer can share his/her music ideas with other professional and experienced colleagues, and often the comments you receive at a masterclass deal with the composers’ understandings of what music composition is, and what might improve your composition.

Clint Needham:
I applaud the idea and effort behind Project 440 and I am honored to be selected to the next round of the competition. However, the major issue is that most comments for each composer come from friends of the composer (myself included). In an open forum where anyone can comment there is really no way of being “fair” and totally objective. That being said, I am fine with the way things are being run and I am happy the final decision comes from the committee. I would also add that I don’t think most of us would get such glowing reviews (or overly harsh ones) in a room where people, who were asked to be objective, spoke to us directly.

Christopher Lee:
I view comments I receive from the Internet not at all like those I would get at a masterclass, or even from a newspaper review, though that’s closer. Comments from online listeners represent feedback one would get from a concert audience, made up of people with very diverse backgrounds and degrees of experience with music. As such, I think this is important feedback to have, and represents “the last stop” our music makes on its journey into the world, but I would expect composers to take the same attitude towards it as they do to reviews: some will care, and others will not. This seems to be an interesting new direction for the reception of concert music however, and puts the music back into the public arena in a way reminiscent of the 1930′s and early 40′s with Copland and other populist composers.

Alex Mincek:
The comments have been fun and interesting to read. However, because many of the people who have commented perhaps feel as though they are in some way directly voting, there has been some amusing hyperbole. This project has been a unique experience and so I don’t really find it has much in common with a masterclass situation. While it is certainly informative to hear feedback, I don’t think the dynamic between myself and an anonymous commenter has much in common with any teacher/student relationship I have encountered. I think the project has more in common with a post-concert situation, where, after hearing my work people sometimes share their reactions and opinions without necessarily intending to be pedagogical in any way.

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Heads-up, listeners! WPRB‘s Classical Discoveries host Marvin Rosen has a couple nice treats through the day this Wednesday:

Wednesday, July 14, 2010 at 11:00am (EDT) Classical Discoveries Goes Avant-Garde will present the world premiere broadcast of Morton Feldman‘s 21-minute ‘lost work’ Dance Suite [For Merle Marsicano] (1963), recorded by Glenn Freeman, percussion and Debora Petrina, piano-celeste. This is ahead of its September limited-edition release on OgreOgress Records. Originally composed for the dancer and choreographer Merle Marsicano, it was the longest work Feldman had composed to date and provides insight into his upcoming 1964 solo percussion work The King of Denmark. This very unique and haunting sound world, created with various keyboards, mallet instruments and exotic percussion instruments, can later be heard in several of Feldman’s epic length works of the late 1970s and 1980s.

Then from 12:00pm till 2:00pm (EDT), world-renowned Israeli cellist and new-music champion Maya Beiser — whose latest and most excellent CD release Provenance is riding high in the charts – will join Marvin live in the WPRB Studio to chat and perform.

As always, NYC’ers can tune in directly to WPRB at 103.3 FM on the dial; everyone else can head to the WPRB website and click the “Listen Now” link on the left side of the page.

Hi Jerry,

Wanted to share two recent interviews:

1. Paul York, cellist and professor at the University of Louisville, has a new CD (Cello Vision – Centaur 2989) featuring new music by Stefan Freund, Aaron J. Kernis, Steve Rouse, Frederick Speck, Paul Brink and Marc Satterwhite.  The Kernis is a world-premiere recording of Ballad for solo cello and seven cellos.  Freund’s Toccata is also a premiere recording.  The interview is here.

2. George Tsontakis was in town last week for a world premiere with the Louisville Orchestra.  Impetuous was commissioned for the LO by a fellow Yaddo board member, Nana Lampton.  The interview with George is here.

One more note, you can hear the premiere broadcast of Impetuous by George Tsontakis on Sunday, February 28 at 6pm (EST) online at www.wuol.org.

Hope all is well!

Daniel
Daniel Gilliam, Station Manager
Classical 90.5 – Louisville’s Fine Arts Station
Louisville, KY 40202
(502) 814-6540

“Classical Discoveries” host Marvin Rosen (WPRB, 103.3 FM, or always streaming online, too) reminds us that he’s got a special added edition of the show Tuesday morning from 5:30 to 8:30 AM EDT. The program will include the Symphony No. 5, “Western Hemisphere” by American composer William Grant Still (1895-1978) , Pipa Concerto by Chinese composer Xiaogang Ye (1955- ), Concierto para violonchelo y orquesta by Mexican/American composer Samuel Zyman and much more.

On Marvin’s regular Wednesday show (same early-bird hours) you’ll hear the American broadcast premiere of From Ancient Times for wind ensemble (2008) by Belgian Composer Jan Van der Roost,  River of Sorrows (2006) by the young American Composer Todd Goodman, and The Phoenix (2002) for voices and chamber ensemble by American Composer Patricia Van Ness. There will also be music by Latvian composer Rihards Dubra, Portuguese composer Joly Braga Santos, and many others.

Apropos our earlier news about the cutbacks to Marvin Rosen‘s “Classical Discoveries” and “Classical Discoveries goes Avant-Garde” programs on WPRB radio:  I’ve just received the good word from Marvin himself that — due in large part to all your messages of support –the station has decided to keep “Classical Discoveries goes Avant-Garde” in the schedule, each Wednesday from 11AM until 1PM ET. Marvin also writes: “I’ve been asked by the Classical Director to let you all know how WPRB feels. Please see her quote to me below”:

“Please thank your listeners for me and for the whole of WPRB management, for letting us know what they think and for showing support for the programming they love. It’s well-deserved.”

“P.S. – I would like to remind you all that the WPRB Listeners Survey is still on until the end of this month.  This is your opportunity to express your preferences in the programming and give your opinion. I would like to thank Sequenza 21 readers for overwhelming  support.  It is incredible to see the power of the written word. These 2 extra hours for more modern works is exciting news for me and hope for everyone else!” — Marvin Rosen

Go team go! Way to make a difference. (The show resumes next week, and remember that even if you can’t listen through the air you can still catch it anywhere in the world with WPRB’s live internet audio stream.)

Wasn’t it just a couple weeks ago we were singing praises to WPRB’s Marvin Rosen for his annual all-day, all-modern radio marathon — not to mention how great his year-round advocacy for promoting new and lesser-known music in general was?

So imagine the shock to learn just this week, that WPRB is suddenly cutting Marvin’s regular Wednesday 5:30AM to 11:00 “Classical Discoveries” show to run only from 6:00 to 8:30, and deleting his afternoon “Classical Discoveries Goes Avant-Garde” program altogether!

For more than a decade Marvin has been sharing his wide listening experience and deep enthusiasm with all kinds of listeners; not only in New York, but through internet streaming with fans from Seattle to Singapore to Seville. And with some room in the airspace to be able to range fairly freely, offering up things like guest composers in the studio, and deeper explorations of everything from “Music of Jewish Insipration” to “The Negro Speaks of River – Music for Kwanzaa” to “Spotlight on Women Composers”. His own connections with the classical community are strong; this is the guy after all, that just two days ago spent the morning with composer Derek Bermel, and that afternoon had George Crumb in the studio for an 80th-birthday celebration! To think that a public radio station would trim all that good work connecting living music with its audience to little more than a shadow seems more than misguided.

I know there are a lot of you out there, who at some time or other have encountered something truly wonderful thanks to a regular or even chance listen to Marvin’s show. WPRB is still a public radio station, reliant on your opinions (and your dollars). If you’re one of those many who’ve been on the receiving end of the good that Marvin spreads, maybe make a little effort on his behalf and write directly to the station and make your voice heard: whether to the Program Director (program@wprb.com) or to the Station Manager (manager@wprb.com), let them know how you feel.

In Marvin’s own words from his website:

“I try to prove on every show that there is much beautiful music of our time that deserves to be heard. Composers are working hard today. Their works deserve to be presented to the public. Listeners often tell me that they didn’t know that new music could be so melodious and beautiful. Although I play recent works by well-known composers I emphasize the little-known ones that are recorded on the small record labels. I will periodically invite various composers to be guests on my program. Sometimes a program will have a particular theme as, for example, ‘Music by Turkish Composers’ or ‘Music composed in the 1990s’. ‘Classical Discoveries’ seems to be the answer for all who are just simply tired of the boredom that appears on so much classical radio today. Personally, I feel, that this type of programming may be the answer if classical radio is to survive in the future. Classical music is a great thing. It should not be allowed to go to pot.”

No it shouldn’t Marvin, no it shouldn’t.