Received a blurb from the LA Phil the other day, which in all caps proudly declares “LA PHIL LAUNCHES MICROSITE CELEBRATING INCOMING MUSIC DIRECTOR GUSTAVO DUDAMEL” … Kaboom!… Here’s the relevant bit (my bolds): On September 24, 2009, the LA Phil launched a microsite celebrating the arrival of incoming Music Director Gustavo Dudamel. Introducing audiences worldwide to Gustavo in new and engaging ways, the comprehensive microsite, located at http://www.laphil.com/gustavo, features videos such as Gustavo’s first rehearsal with the YOLA Expo Center Youth Orchestra, the LA Phil’s video tribute “Welcome Gustavo,” and the press conferences unveiling Gustavo’s inaugural season and appointment
Read moreA few great concerts you might be able to catch, or might be missing: Carlsbad, CA: (25-27 Sept.) Sure, everybody goes here, about midway between LA and San Diego, just for Legoland California… But for the next few days, everyone should forget Legoland and instead head to the sixth annual Carlsbad Music Festival. The Calder Quartet and California EAR Unit will be playing all kinds of new music, including pieces by John Luther Adams, Daniel Wohl, Keeril Makan, Matt McBane, Ryan Brown, and Yannis Kyriakides. Premieres abound! And the weekend is given over to these ensembles supporting their special guest,
Read moreApropos 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,
Read moreWasn’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
Read moreSome years back I stumbled across The Open Space website, a creation of Perspectives of New Music stalwart Benjamin Boretz. PoNM was one of those forbidding obstacles every composition student of the 60s, 70s and 80s had to traverse and come to terms with; a journal more like a fair-sized paperback book, seemingly filled with discussions of Babbitt, Boulez, Webern, Carter, terrifyingly dense theories of pitch-class, set theory & etc. — many of us felt like we budding composers were suddenly expected to be quantum physicists rather than simply artists… Yet tucked into many issues might also be some nugget
Read moreBit of a streak for American composers: this time last year we were congratulating Huck Hodge for winning the Netherland’s Gaudeamus Composition Prize. Now it’s Ted Hearne‘s turn, for his Katrina Ballads. From the press release: This prize is € 4,550 and is meant for writing a new composition to be performed in the Gaudeamus Music Week 2010. The Gaudeamus Prize and the honorable mention were awarded by jury members Huba de Graaff (Netherlands), Anne La Berge (Netherlands), and Akira Nishimura (Japan). For this year’s International Gaudeamus Music Week, which was open to composers under 31, the Gaudeamus Foundation received
Read moreWell, that is if the time happens to be this Tuesday September 08 from 7:00pm EDT, ’till 7:00pm EDT Wednesday September 09, and you pin your ear to Princeton’s WPRB (103.3FM). I’m just reminding you of what Elodie Lauten has already so nicely plugged a little while back on her own blog: that it’s once again time for radio host Marvin Rosen to serve up his annual Classical Discoveries Marathon. And by “all new”, I don’t mean just the stock & standard 20th-century stuff; this year’s adventure is titled “Viva 21st Century – American Edition” — music by almost 100
Read moreOur third “Hilary Hahn Interviews…” segment was actually the first recorded for S21; kind of like the first Star Wars was actually the third… or something… I brought Missy Mazzoli to your attention as far back as 2006, when she’d just finished getting her Masters degree. More recently, just a couple months ago we were telling you about the popularity of the alt/classical/something group she’s now part of, Victoire. Those very few years out of school have been kind, with all kinds of projects and praise coming her way. As well they should; Missy’s work overflows with offbeat and surprising
Read moreUp and running for a few weeks now, The Cereal List blog/website attempts to goose the arse of the always-just-a-little-too-sacrosanct classical music world. Run by the shadowy “Milton Blabber”, “Randall Scandall” and “Miss Information”, the blog’s posts have their share of flats mixed with a few good sharps. Though some jabs have veered just this side of awful or even libel, when they get it right, with such gems as “Generate a New York Times Review of your Work“, they’re pretty spot on. My current fave though, has to be “How to Design a Classical Music CD Cover”: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoqcHAdyiN4[/youtube] Whoever
Read moreRonen Givony’s Wordless Music is back at Miller Theater this Sept. 9-12, doing it’s indie-rock/electronic/classical/new-music thing. The 9th brings back the 802 Tour (Nico Muhly, Sam Amidon and Doveman, w/ special guest Nadia Sirota); the 10th welcomes Do Make Say Think and DMST founder Charles Spearin’s “The Happiness Project”; the 11th features Tim Hecker, Grouper, and Julianna Barwick; and the 12th caps it off with Destroyer and Loscil performing a rare collaborative set of original music from each artist’s catalog, then the JACK Quartet. All shows start at 8pm, with tickets setting you back $15-$20. Columbia University’s Miller Theatre is
Read more