January has brought a richness of performances of contemporary music. At the half-way point on the calendar this has already been a marvelous month, but there’s much more to come. Each of the major music organizations across the county seems to have decided on some exceptional music. I haven’t been able to attend everything: too many tickets, too many nights. Wouldn’t it be nice to be paid to attend the concerts? Wouldn’t it be nice just to afford them all? Oh, well, the old suit will last another year or so before replacement. The Phil is leading the way, of
Read moreBoth György Kurtág and Peter Eötvös will be in New York this month as part of the Hungarian Ministry of Culture’s Hungarian Culture Year (“Extremely Hungary”). Carnegie Hall presents two weeks of folk, symphonic, and new music, as well as educational programs performed by today’s most noted Hungarian musicians. Featured highlights of the festival will be three concerts of music by two of Hungary’s greatest living composers. On January 29 Peter Eötvös will lead Ensemble ACJW in a portrait concert of his music. On the program will be the U.S. premiere performance of Octet Plus (2008) for soprano and wind
Read moreWhat are you doing? @alma Wassup, Tweeps! G. conducting 2nd 2nite. Goes on 4ever. Stuck at home w/ Evl Sis. Boorrring. about1 hour ago from web @AlexZ Did u show him my score yet? Did he like it? How much did he like it? Loved it, I bet. about 59 minutes ago from TweetDeck @gropius Tx, God, u’re there, A. We r in bg trble. Must speak 2 u urg. G. has been talking about us 2 nut case Freud. It’ll be all ovr Vienna. about 59 minutes ago from TweetBerry @alma OMG. I thought u were the
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Composers, Concerts, Contemporary Classical, Downtown, Electro-Acoustic, Experimental Music, Music Events, New York, Opera
Interpretations continues its twentieth season of provocative programming in New York City. Founded and curated by baritone Thomas Buckner in 1989, Interpretations focuses on the relationship between contemporary composers from both jazz and classical backgrounds and their interpreters, whether the composers themselves or performers who specialize in new music. To celebrate, Jerry Bowles has invited the artists involved in this season’s concerts to blog about their Interpretations experiences. Produced in tandem with La Mama ETC and Performing Artservices, the centerpiece of the series this year is a two-week, three opera, 10 performance, mini-retrospective of the recent works of Robert Ashley:
Read moreCorey Dargel’s remarkable “theatrical song cycle” Removable Parts is being reprised at the HERE Arts Center. The run started yesterday and goes through Sunday (Jan 7-11). The show, which is performed by Corey Dargel (voice) and Kathleen Supové (piano), is a sort of cabaret show about Body Integrity Identity Disorder which, in a strange and wonderful way, ends up dealing with questions of love, the self, and of what “normal” really means. I saw and reviewed the show when it was premiered in September 2007, and I loved it. The Removable Parts website has audio and video samples. UPDATE: Corey
Read moreInteresting piece by Martin Kettle in Friday’s Guardian, but one very strange line: “The musical establishment may continue to agonise over the important question of whether a bad man can produce a great piece of work. . .” Are there really people who ask that question, or is it simply a rhetorical flourish? My sense has always been that Carmina Burana is loved by audiences but doesn’t get a lot of respect from the establishment, but that the reasons are musical rather than based on Orff’s politics. Would we think any more of Wagner’s music if he hadn’t been a
Read moreVeda Hille – Indie pop plus Hindemith! Vancouver’s Veda Hille is an indie singer/songwriter who fashions classical instrumentation and catchy tunes into an erudite pop style. This Riot Life, her latest CD, draws on a wide assortment of influences. Its frequent eschatological references and cryptically, messianic-tinged lyrics (“Ace of the Nazarene,” “Book of Saints, ““Rose of Sharon”) represent a recent find: an old hymnal belonging to her grandmother. The harmonic sophistication and extended formal designs of her songs reflect Hille’s classical training, as does an unorthodox rendition of “The Moon,” a Shelley setting by Paul Hindemith. Prog-rock inflections are
Read moreWhat better way to ring in the year than to take in a couple ensembles, from opposite ends of the spectrum, showing in much the same way what the whole point of playing is? Wojciech Kilar is a Polish composer from the same 60’s group that gave us Penderecki and Gorecki, but is notable for his detour into film music (Like Coppola’s Dracula). This is his utterly simple/hard 1988 piece Orawa (there are a bunch of other video performances of this on YouTube, but this one with Agnieszka Duczmal conducting the Chamber Orchestra “Amadeus” has them all beat for pacing and
Read moreI thought we might talk about what musical goals y’all have for the New Year. I know I have some. Last year, inspired by Jay Batzner, I resolved to send out two scores every month–to competitions, calls, or just musicians with whom I have some sort of connection. I am happy to say I met the goal of 24 scores in November and exceeded it by a few this month. I plan to continue this practice in perpetuity. This year, I have three new resolutions. 1) Write some pieces that are easy to play. My last three pieces–a string quartet,
Read moreA little palette-cleanser to shift our focus away from stimulating discussions of academe – after all, school is only out for a short while – what ‘holiday’ music do you admire? This week, I’ve been listening to Anonymous 4’s Wolcum Yule around the house, enjoying both the Renaissance pieces and Maxwell Davies’ “A Calendar of Kings.” A ‘guilty pleasure’ is Vaughan Williams’ Hodie.
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