We are tardy in adding our voice to the vast chorus of congratulations that have greeted Elliott Carter’s attainment of centenarian status. Getting old is not in itself an achievement, but what makes Mr. Carter’s milestone all the more remarkable is that he remains so amazingly productive and healthy in mind and body. He has produced more music in the last decade than most composers do in a lifetime and his work has become deeper, richer and more complex (some would say unlistenable) with the passage of time. We can’t top Willard Scott but we do want to do
Read moreStanding, left-to-right: Garth Sunderland, Emily Brausa, Thomas Piercy, Samuel Andreyev, Jeremy Podgursky, Alex Kotch, Rodney Lister, Rusty Banks, Samuel Vriezen. Kneeling, left-to-right: Christina Perea, Galen Brown, Miranda Cuckson, Laura Barger, David Salvage. The hall was cold; the music was hot. We hope to share the sounds with you soon.
Read moreComposer, artist, Fluxus member, Scratch Orchestra member, John Cage associate, and chemist George Brecht died in a nursing home in Cologne, Germany, on Friday, December 5th. Brecht, who was born George MacDiarmid but took Bertolt Brecht’s name in homage, was one of the most significant and influential avant garde artists of the 1960s. The title of this post refers to a document (page 17 of the linked PDF file) Brecht wrote for Fluxus in 1969 in which he proposes “moving landmasses over the surface of the earth” using conveyances such as icebergs or massive amounts of styrofoam, since his made-up
Read moreThose of you who were at the first Sequenza21 concert two years ago may remember that pianist Hugh Sung played my piece Systems of Preference or Restraint. What you may not have noticed was the technology he used to do it. That technology is now considerably more accessible to the average performer, and I encourage you to keep reading after the cut.
Read moreThis week the Next Wave Festival 2008 is raging at BAM, and there are several chances next week to hear Lightning at our feet, the latest from Ridge Theater and Michael Gordon at the Harvey Theater. (Dec 9, 11-13) Gordon and I spoke on the phone about the new work that premiered in Houston. Listen to our conversation here – Lightning Interview with Gordon and Clare. Here’s an added bonus, Gordon has a new EP coming out Tuesday, a fascinating “Purgatorio: Popera” on Canteloupe. We talked about it, as well as being married to a composer (Julia Wolfe) and everyone’s
Read moreWe’ve spent a lot of time at S21, spotlighting various composers and their recordings that can be found online. But what about all that video hanging around out there, that you might otherwise never catch? So I thought I’d start a semi-regular post showing off some of the interesting stuff that’s caught my eye and ear. First up is a reminder that Sarah Palin is not what all Alaska is about… Shawn Savageau is studying percussion at UA Fairbanks (not far from the grubstake of that other diametric-Palin-opposite, the composer John Luther Adams). He was forward-thinking enough to upload videos to YouTube, of
Read moreThe Manhattan edition of the Sequenza21/Lost Dog Ensemble concert–as seen in the New York Times–is happening tonight at 8 pm at the Good Shepherd Church, 152 West 66tth Street (between Broadway and Amsterdam). Admission is free, as in you don’t have to pay to get in. This is your last chance to see a Sequenza21 concert until we save up enough money to have another one so don’t miss it. Our friends at Other Minds in San Francisco invented the New Music Séance in 2005, and after two sold-out editions, they’re back with a third. The event will feature three
Read moreAnd NYTIMES WIN, as the kids like to say. That’s right, Monday night’s S21 concert at Waltz Astoria was a big success. Lost Dog played wonderfully, and I can vouch for the fact that the program is every bit as good as we’ve been claiming. And of course a good review in the Times by our pal and internet neighbor Steve Smith is a nice bonus. This Friday at the Good Shepherd Church (152 West 66th Street in Manhattan) should be even better, and I’m told that most of the composers will be in attendance, many having traveled hundreds or
Read moreHot off the…ur presses. Australian Brett Dean has won the 2009 Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition for his violin concerto The Lost Art of Letter Writing (2006; if you have RealPlayer installed you can hear a couple minutes of it here, as well as a podcast interview with Dean himself). The Grawemeyer Award, granted annually by the University of Louisville, is the world’s most prestigious composition prize—worth $200,000—and Dean is the first composer from Oz to win the award. Dean’s The Lost Art of Letter Writing was selected from a field of 145 entries worldwide, and the Grawemeyer’s prize announcement describes the
Read more[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1ThSi1wbqU[/youtube]
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