Contemporary Classical

Click Picks, Contemporary Classical, Deaths, Experimental Music

And one more…

Henri ChopinHonest, I swear this is Sequenza21, not the obituaries. But this is otherwise (and unfairly) likely to pass unnoticed in our usual music-blog land: Henri Chopin, one of the pioneering figures in sound poetry, passed away in France on January 3rd.

Born in 1922, he was one of the great explorers of a poetry that favored supremacy of the voice — in all its manifestations — over the “tyranny” of the word. An early adopter of tape recorders and the same electronic studios European composers were at work in, and for many years an active publisher of magazines that disseminated many of the leading voices of the 50’s, 60’s and &70’s, his influence on a whole generation of avant-garde poets and musicians was strong (though largely unheralded over here). Even though officially labeled a poet, Chopin’s work was just as much a kind of music.

A generous free sampling of his recordings are kept on their own page at UBUweb, and a bit more is to be had at Erratum.org.

by Steve Layton
Contemporary Classical

New Music & Public Radio

State of Affairs is a call-in discussion program on Louisville’s NPR affiliate, 89.3 WFPL (kind of like Talk of the Nation), Weekdays at 11am (EST)

Tomorrow’s topic is NEW MUSIC.  I will be a guest along with Marc Satterwhite, professor of composition at the University of Louisville.  Marc also coordinates the Grawemeyer Award.  Joining by phone will be Peter Lieberson, latest Grawemeyer winner.

It’s a call in show, so if you have a comment or question give us a yell (I don’t know the number, but it will be announced throughout the program).

“But Daniel, I don’t live in Louisville.” No worries, you can tune in online at http://www.wfpl.org/listen.htm

That’s tomorrow, Wednesday, January 9 at 11am.

After State of Affairs, move on over to Classical 90.5, WUOL (also public radio in Louisville) for Lunchtime Classics, a live concert program.  Wednesday’s program features Marc’s compositions performed by faculty at the University of Louisville.  He will also present some recorded selections and talk about his work.  I’ll be hosting this program.  You can listen online to 90.5, as well.  Visit www.wuol.org.

by Daniel Gilliam
Contemporary Classical

Deadline Approaching for Pulitzer Shenanigans

Remember how last year’s music Pulitzer was awarded to Ornette Coleman’s “Sound Grammar” even though the album wasn’t entered into the competition?  I argued at the time that by awarding the prize to a composer who hadn’t entered, the Pulitzer committee had essentially voided the requested $50 “handling fee.”  This is significant because the number of people who apply for the prize each year is quite small–last year there were only 129 entries for the music prize.  Presumably what happens is that only people who think that they write in the right style and have the right connections and national profile bother to enter–why throw away 50 bucks unless you think you have a shot, right?  Wouldn’t it be nice if the slate of entries were a more accurate representation of the totality of contemporary American composition?

This year’s deadline is January 15, for “works that receive their American premiere between January 16, 2007 and January 15, 2008.”  (How you’re supposed to make that deadline if your premiere is on January 15, I’m not sure.)

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to pick your best piece from 2007 and submit it, following all the guidelines except for the entry fee.  Include a note indicating that the reason that you aren’t sending an entry fee is that since Coleman was awarded the prize without having entered, the competition is clearly open to anyone, whether they officially enter and pay the handling fee or not.  I’ll be submitting my piece “Waiting in the Tall Grass,” which was premiered by Relâche at the end of November.

by Galen H. Brown
Contemporary Classical

Naxos’ Sonic Revolution

Naxos has a spate of exciting releases coming out, including recordings of works by Carter, Wuorinen, Coates, and Hersch, all of which will be covered in subsequent columns. Today’s posting focuses on their recently released new music sampler.

Various Artists

Sonic Rebellion

Naxos

WWW.Naxos.com

Want to familiarize yourself or your loved ones with modern classical music, but not sure where to begin? Sonic Rebellion, a compilation of excerpts from Naxos recordings, is an excellent single disc starter kit. The CD features composers in most of the main stylistic idioms prevalent in recent times: modernism, minimalism, aleatory, neo-romanticism, and even electronic music. Naxos is to be applauded for selecting a nice balance of compositions — both watershed works as well as several pieces that aren’t by the “usual suspects.”

Highlights include Conlon Nancarrow’s Toccata for Violin and Player Piano, a lively piece featuring rhythmically complex music that doesn’t take itself too seriously. At the other end of the spectrum is Krysztof Penderecki’s moving string orchestra piece Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima, which employs clusters of sounds in a pileup of dissonances, signifying a long woe-filled keening. Jorgen Plaetner’s Beta bridges the gap between avant-garde electronic compositions and popular electronica. A portion of Charles Wuorinen’s Second String Quartet asserts the enduring vitality both of modernist post-tonality and the traditional chamber music milieu.

Of course, the bits and pieces here are not enough to give a thorough grounding in the music of our time. Hopefully, the CD will inspire listeners to dig further, in the process gaining greater appreciation for the abundant and diverse riches available in contemporary concert music.

by Christian Carey
CDs, Composers, Contemporary Classical

You Ought to Be in Movies

I am not, generally speaking, a big fan of movie music although the ability to produce useful art on demand appeals to my lifetime hack sensibilities.  I don’t think Bernard Hermann and Miklos Rozsa are overlooked concert hall geniuses who might have been among the greats had they not traded their souls for big houses in Beverly Hills.  They are what they are.

Writing for films is a craft, not an art, but it is a demanding craft that not every composer–even a great one–can do.  In Andre Previn’s memoirs of his Hollywood years (which is called No Minor Chords because Irving Thalberg once degreed that no MGM picture should ever contain music with a minor chord), Previn writes of having taken one of the big moguls, Louis B. Mayer, I believe, to the Hollywood Bowl to hear the Sibelius Violin Concerto.  Afterwards, he asked him how he liked it.  “Well,” Mayer said.  “It was good but he couldn’t write for pictures.”

I suspect Mr. Mayer was right.  Many “serious’ composers (and writers, too, think of Faulkner) are not good at writing for pictures.

The latest example of underachievement in the category of film music is Osvaldo Golijov, whom Francis Ford Coppola specifically commissioned to write the music for Youth Without Youth, Coppola’s recent comeback film which was seen by absolutely nobody.  On the surface, Golijov’s enormous multicultural sound palette would seem perfect for film.  Alas, the result is more insipid than limpid, if you know what I mean.

On the other hand, Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead fame nails his film debut with the score for There Will Be Blood.   The music has to be pretty dramatic to match Daniel Day-Lewis’ over-the-top, spit-slinging, snot-dripping performance as a rabid early oil man but Greenwood pulls it off.  So he’s channelling Penderecki, Gorecki, and Messiaen, originality is less important than conveying mood in film music.  Like Ry Cooder, another unexpected star of film music, Greenwood shows himself to be a master of atmosphere and shifting physical and mental landscapes.  If he wants to give up his day job, he’s probably got a future in Hollywood.

by Jerry Bowles
Composers, Contemporary Classical, Deaths

Jennifer Fitzgerald (1975-2007)

Jennifer FitzgeraldThe past few months have seemed depressingly full of deaths, including some of the grand figures of our time. But sadder still is when we lose a wonderful musical voice far too soon. I just learned over at NewMusicBox that the highly talented composer and pianist Jennifer Fitzgerald lost her life to cancer just a few days before Christmas. Only 32 years old, but already crafting some really beautiful, exciting music… One of the strange artifacts of the Internet age is that a person can leave and yet appear to be around through their webpages, busy and happy, like nothing at all had happened yet. Jennifer’s own website still has news of the recent NYC performance of her opera-in-progress, Judgement of Paris, and her composition list includes a number of pieces that were in the works. Both from her official site, as well as her Myspace page, you can hear excerpts of her music, that show all kinds of command and promise of even more good to come. I never met Jennifer; but through her music I’ll never forget her, either.

by Steve Layton
Contemporary Classical

“Concrete Frequency” in Los Angeles

The music year in Los Angeles is getting off to a good start with an exciting mini-festival by the L.A. Phil, led by David Robertson.  What’s even nicer is that the Phil has given Sequenza21 readers a chance to win two tickets to next Friday’s concert, January 11, the program that appropriately includes “Sequenza X”.  The contest ends tomorrow night, so enter now!

First, let me tantalize you just a little with some details of the series.  Next week there will be the premiere of a new Michael Gordon work with Bill Morrison, “Dystopia”, with the Boulez “Explosante-Fixe” as the prelude.  The series opens with Copland’s “The City” with film; the Varese “Ameriques” is on the program with works by Zappa and Crumb.  The second program, which you readers have a chance to win tickets, opens with the Berio, followed by the Ives “Central Park”, and then works by Feldman, Benjamin and Zimmermann.  There are two concerts, by visiting groups, of city songs and of electronic music.  The festival includes three films with discussions at ArcLight (“Metropolis”, “Taxi Driver”, and “A Clockwork Orange”).  And there will be a seminar.  Click this link to read the program. 

And do enter to win the tickets to the concert at WDCH on Friday, January 11.  Just follow this link.

by JerryZ
Chamber Music, Composers, Contemporary Classical, Piano, Scores

Winter Music

Renewable Music‘s long-time American-in-Deutschland, Daniel J. Wolf, had the idea of inviting composers to contribute to an album for piano, simply centered around this moment and season. No publishers, no glitzy “call for works”, just a friendly invitation for any interested. The result is the A Winter Album, twelve piano pieces of quite diverse hues, for each and everyone of us to freely peruse in our gray and inclement hours. The composers may not be known to you, but all the better; they’re a stellar bunch in my book: Dennis Báthory-Kitsz, Jon Brenner, Steed Cowart, Elaine Fine, Hauke Harder, Ben.Harper, Jeff Harrington, Aaron Hynds, Lloyd Rodgers, Jonathan Segel, Charles Shere, and Daniel James Wolf himself. Pianists, warm yourself over these embers; and thanks, Daniel. (photo by Ian Britton)

by Steve Layton
Contemporary Classical, Copyright, Recordings, Strange

Ripped your Adams CDs to your computer? The RIAA says pay up.

And you thought the only ones who needed to worry were the illegal file-sharers? After reading this article, think again:

…in an unusual case in which an Arizona recipient of an RIAA letter has fought back in court rather than write a check to avoid hefty legal fees, the industry is taking its argument against music sharing one step further: In legal documents in its federal case against Jeffrey Howell, a Scottsdale, Ariz., man who kept a collection of about 2,000 music recordings on his personal computer, the industry maintains that it is illegal for someone who has legally purchased a CD to transfer that music into his computer.

The industry’s lawyer in the case, Ira Schwartz, argues in a brief filed earlier this month that the MP3 files Howell made on his computer from legally bought CDs are “unauthorized copies” of copyrighted recordings.

“I couldn’t believe it when I read that,” says Ray Beckerman, a New York lawyer who represents six clients who have been sued by the RIAA. “The basic principle in the law is that you have to distribute actual physical copies to be guilty of violating copyright. But recently, the industry has been going around saying that even a personal copy on your computer is a violation.”

by Steve Layton