I come to praise Michael Nyman.  No, really.  Since the nice people at Naxos began distributing Nyman’s MN Records a couple of months ago, several of his musical adventures have come into my possession and I have to admit that I find them as light as the floating feather in Forrest Gump and as addictive as an open box of Entemann’s chocolate-covered doughnuts.  I play them again and again, knowing I should move on to something meatier–like, say, the amazing new Da Capo recording of Per Norgard chamber works or Lee Hyla’s extraordinary Lives of the Saints.   But it couldn’t

Click to Play For the past couple of years the Kepler Quartet has been on a mission from God to record all ten of Ben Johnston’s string quartets with their intended tunings. The first recording in this series–String Quartets Nos. 2, 3, 4 & 9–was our (or, at least, my) favorite album of the year. Eric Kepler remembered and offered us (with Ben’s blessing) a Fourth of July treat we couldn’t refuse. Enjoy Ben Johnston’s microtonal version of the National Anthem. It was written for the N.Y. Miniaturist Ensemble a couple of years ago, and Eric made this studio quality

Steve Smith, writing this morning in the Center of the Universe Times: During a panel presented recently at the National Performing Arts Convention in Denver, the American Music Center and the American Composers Forum reported preliminary findings from “Taking Note,” a survey of American composers. The study was undertaken to help those organizations better serve their constituencies. According to its findings, the average American composer is a highly educated 45-year-old white male. Update: Judith Zaimont has more from the study on her MusicMaker blog.

Benjaim Zander, conductor of the Boston Philharmonic, has become a hot ticket on the corporate leadership circuit. Here’s why:

David V. Foster, whose management firm Opus 3 Artists represents many top performers, conductors and Osvaldo Golijov, has come up with an idea for an annual festival at Carnegie Hall that will recognize leading orchestras for the the “creativity and distinctiveness” of the programs they propose to perform.   Called Spring for Music, the festival is scheduled to begin in May 2011, at Carnegie Hall.   According to the Center of the Universe Times: The Festival of North American Orchestras, as the organizing entity is called, will rent the hall and handle production and marketing, and the orchestras will bear their

You know how you like to put on an Erroll Garner CD sometimes and lie back on the sofa and imagine you’re somewhere–I know–that cool little bar with the piano downstairs at Blake’s in London–and you sit down and launch into “I Got the World on a String” and when you’re finished the killer Sloane Ranger at the far table walks over and asks you to play “Misty” for her? Or, maybe you’re at a Norwegian Christmas party and you’ve had a few Linjes and Elephant chasers and the band is really great except for the guitar player and you

I’ll go first. Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys, Sandstone (W.Va.) High School Gymnasium. 1959. Bill was pissed because the total gate was less than $200 but he was there with musicians and once he started to play the money thing disappeared. All the great ones: “Uncle Pen,” “Footprints in the Snow,” “Little Maggie,” “Blue Moon of Kentucky,” “Molly and Tenbrooks,” “In the Pines.” Update 1: Stop me if you’ve heard this one. I saw Charlie Mingus play one night at the Five Spot Cafe in 1963. First day of the first time I was ever in New York.

Among the cats who know great charts, the names Eddie Sauter and Bill Finegan are magic.  Eddie exited a long time ago; Bill, just last week.  [youtube]87_iN2xW6Ks[/youtube] 

Bang on a Can NYC Marathon May 31 – June 1, 2008 6:00pm World Financial Center Winter Garden, New York, NY This year’s Marathon will take place at the World Financial Center Winter Garden from 6pm on Saturday May 31st through 6am on Sunday June 1st. Here is a schedule of composers and performers: 6:00pm Alarm Will Sound performing Son of Chamber Symphony (3rd Movement) by John Adams Pamela Z performing Chalky Crystal Liquid Cave by Pamela Z Alarm Will Sound performing Carmen Arcadiae Mechanicae Petpetuum by Harrison Birtwistle Lisa Moore performing Lightning Slingers and Dead Ringers^^ by Annie Gosfield