Head’s up on a couple things this coming week that caught my eye: WPRB’s Marvin Rosen is doing a special edition of his Classical Discoveries radio show this Wednesday, Jan. 27th. From 5:30 until 11:00 AM EST. Titled “East Meets West“, the entire five-and-a-half hours will be devoted to works by Middle and Far Eastern Composers, as well as to works by Western composers inspired by these regions. A special treat in the 10-o’clock hour will be the world premiere broadcast of the Sonata for solo viola Op. 423 (1992) by Alan Hovhaness (1911-2000), performed by Christina Fong (from a
Read moreBig news in the orchestra world. Starting next season (2010-’11), George Manahan will become the American Composers Orchestra’s Music Director. He will continue as Music Director at the New York City Opera. In my view, this is good news indeed. Manahan is a superlative musician; he’s conducted some excellent performances of contemporary fare at NYCO. One hopes that his name will entice new audience members to check out the ACO. Kudos as well to outgoing director Steven Sloane, who’s done an admirable job with the ensemble since 2002. Thoughts on the shakeup? The comments section is open below!
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Composers, Contemporary Classical, Electro-Acoustic, Exhibitions, Experimental Music, Festivals, New York
An illegal immigrant with a civil engineering degree in Paris, fugitive from his native Greece for his WWII resistance activity (for which he nearly died, and lost one eye) Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001) eventually found himself working for the famed architect Le Corbusier, first as one of any number of assistants but soon enough as collaborator. Yet he was always drawn above all else to the need to compose music. Nadia Boulanger, Arthur Honneger, Darius Milhaud –all were either rejecting or rejected. It wasn’t until Xenakis stumbled upon Olivier Messiaen that he found a teacher that saw past the inexperience and
Read moreMy long-time favorite MP3 download site eMusic has its own little online magazine. One of its features is “Jukebox Jury”, where a musician sits down with the interviewer to chat while listening to and commenting on various tracks played. The latest guest is none other than the N.Y. Philharmonic’s new Music Director, Alan Gilbert. The interview covers a lot of ground in a nicely casual way, with Gilbert listening and then giving his take on everything from his own conducting of Mahler’s 9th Symphony, to tracks featuring Christopher Rouse, Magnus Lindberg, Art Tatum, Uri Caine, John Adams, even The Field
Read moreWNYC’s acquisition of New York radio’s stalwart WQXR was a win/lose proposition. Win, in that a major classical station would stay alive; lose in that the new assigned frequency (which can conflict with a powerful Connecticut station on the same frequency) and reduction in broadcast power (from 6,000 watts to only 600 watts) reduces its reach by some millions of potential listeners. Not that it matters much to me, parked on my hiney here in Houston; I and so many others simply go online to hear the station’s stream, anywhere and anytime. And a further win: Besides the station’s main
Read moreThe S.E.M. Ensemble will open its 40th anniversary season with its annual Christmas concert at Paula Cooper Gallery in New York City on Tuesday, December 15. SEM has performed a holiday concert at the gallery for the last 25 years, and this year’s program will feature two N.Y. premieres by new-music icon Christian Wolff (above left), the first public performance of Petr Kotik‘s (above right) new percussion work performed by TimeTable Percussion, and Lejaren Hiller‘s rarely heard String Quartet no. 5, along with a work by J.S. Bach. Christian Wolff is also marking his 75th birthday this year, and has
Read moreHere are a few concerts worth checking out if you’re near New York City. Friday, December 4th: Newspeak celebrates their 5-year anniversary at Public Assembly in Williamsburg, 6:00-9:00pm. Also on Friday night in the West Village, Forecast Music spends the evening performing new works for voice at Greenwich House, 8:00pm. Saturday, December 5th: NYsoundCircuit is presenting an evening of “continuous music, food, visuals, drinks, and fashion” at the Brecht Forum, 8:00pm. Sunday, December 6th: The Knights are performing at the Church of St. Ann & the Holy Trinity in Brooklyn Heights, 3:00pm. And I always like to mention shows happening
Read moreThis month kicks off the New York Philharmonic’s Contact! series. Concerts in December and April feature seven composers and seven premieres, played first at Symphony Space and then a day or two later at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Phil tells us that “performances will include personal introductions to the music from the composers themselves, in a less formal and more intimate setting.” The list is a really great mix of styles and careers from a few different continents: The December 17 and 19 concerts feature music by Marc-André Dalbavie, Arthur Kampela, Lei Liang and Arlene Sierra, conducted by
Read moreWord has reached us that NYC’s long-running MATA new-music festival is looking for an new Artistic Director, and maybe it could just be you: The position requires a broad knowledge of contemporary musical practices and communities (local, national, and international), strong organizational and interpersonal skills, and a clear, inclusive artistic vision. Key to the AD position is the ability to maintain high visibility in the music community as both a participant and audience member. Attention will be paid most closely to applicants who are currently active in the New York music community as a composer and/or performer. Along with the
Read moreJust a few weeks ago over at our CD Review section, Jay Batzner wrote about the new Julia Wolfe Dark Full Ride CD: “Each piece transfixes me. I am writing my own music differently because of this disc. I am so glad that Julia Wolfe exists, is writing music, and that such talented performers play the hell out of her stuff.” It’s a really interesting Ride, each piece intensely working over some greater or lesser multiple of the same instrument. If you’re a skeptical “show me” kind of person, free as a bird tomorrow (Nov. 10th) in NYC and maybe
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