Alas, no composers among the MacArthur geniuses named today but Dawn Upshaw, who probably makes a decent living at this singing and recording business, will be getting a check for $500,000. (I’m not saying she doesn’t deserve it, mind you, just that there are probably equally deserving singers who could use a boost at this point in their career but, then, Ms. Upshaw has had a tough couple of years and could probably use a boost, too, so forget everything I’ve said up to this point. Let’s pretend that you’re a MacArthur judge. Who would you give the award to?
Read moreShould that be Dargel in briefs?
Read more“Music should either touch your soul or make you dance,” Michael Abels says, and though he admits there is a lot of music out there that doesn’t do either, those should be the goals. “I always ask my students ‘what is the purpose of your music?’ You can’t create it unless you know what you want it to do.” Abels, 45, is a Los Angeles-based composer and educator who heads the Music Program at the progressive New Roads School in Santa Monica, a private K-12 school that–upscale zip code, notwithstanding–has a very diverse student population, with nearly half of the students on scholarship. For Abels, that’s one of the
Read moreI’ve been paying some bills for the past couple for the past couple of days and haven’t had a chance to update much. While I’m still catching up, why don’t we do a followup to our great music fiction list–the essential non-fiction books about music. Perhaps, we could have a beginner’s or popular list and an advanced list. Who’s got something?
Read moreReview in yesterday’s NYT of a novel called The Spanish Bow by a Chicago-born, Alaska-domiciled writer with the unlikely name of Andromeda Romano-Law. The teaser is this: “In a dusty, turn-of-the-century Catalan village, the bequest of a cello bow sets young Feliu Delargo on the unlikely path of becoming a musician.” Reminds me that I don’t think we’ve done a list of novels in which music, or musical instruments, have played a key role. I’ll start the list with the distinctly unfriendly to the little people Annie Proulx’s Accordian Crimes. Who’s next?
Read moreOn September 15, 2001 Kalvos & Damian put out a call for pieces composed in reflection of the September 11th tragedies in New York and Washington and Pennsylvania, to be broadcast on the late, lamented radio program. Their list is here. There have been lots of pieces since–Adams’ On the Transmigration of Souls, Carl Schroeder’s Christine’s Lullaby, Michael Gordon’s The Sad Park. Who can name some others?
Read moreFabulous review of Corey Dargel’s “darkly enchanting” theater piece about voluntary amputation, Removable Parts, in today’s New York Times. A few years from now when Corey is permanently ensconsed in the old Bobby Short room at the Carlyle, we’ll all say we knew him when. Matthew Cmeil has a new website. Steve Layton has a hot new piece for your dining and dancing pleasure: Spin It (2002; 2007 performance) Alesis QSR & my FreeSound posse (sandyrb, oniwe) Minimalist multi sax and keyboard barrage, to be played as loudly as you or your neighbors can stand… The technique is all Rzewski &
Read moreHad a great time this morning on Marvin Rosen’s Classical Discoveries radio show in Princeton and on the worldwide Internets. I didn’t get a chance to play as much of the Sequenza21 concert from last year as I would have liked because Frank (J. Oteri) and Marvin rudely insisted on talking and picking some stuff they wanted to play, too. I did manage to sneak in Mary Jane Leach’s haunting oboe piece and Jeff Harrington’s three preludes which had the joint jumping. And, of course, Frank’s very brief guitar piece with the unpronouceable Brazilian name which tied the whole thing together. I left
Read moreTomorrow would have been John Cage’s 95th birthday and to mark the occasion, Avant Media Performance is staging two multimedia realizations of works by Cage at the The Kitchen, 512 West 19th St. beginning at 8. Four6 (for any way of producing sounds) will be performed in an electro-acoustic realization featuring Patrick Davison, video; Randy Gibson, electronics and percussion; Mike Rugnetta, guitar; and Megan Schubert, voice. The second half of the concert promises to be a real hootenanny with Winter Music, Atlas Eclipticalis, and Song Books realized for singers, actors, videos, and lighting being performed simultaneously. Randy Gibson’s “One Wall – for
Read moreMarvin Rosen has a terrific Classical Discoveries program coming up next Wednesday. His guests from 8:30 am until 11 will be the legendary Frank J. Oteri and…umm, me. That assumes, of course, neither of us oversleeps and misses the train to Princeton. (Neither Frank nor I can operate an automobile, which is a hallmark of the true New Yorker.) As many you know, I’m sure, Wednesday is the birthday of an unlikely pair of composers–John Cage and Amy Beach. What only Frank would know is that it is also the birthday of 1952 Pulitzer Prize winner Gail Kubik and 2000 Pulitzer Prize winner Louis Spratlan. Marvin has
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