Sequenza21

Concerning the quality of John Adams’s Doctor Atomic, currently playing at the Metropolitan Opera through November 13, I am of many minds. This may be due in no small part to the opera being of many minds itself. Doctor Atomic is about as good as any opera could be given that its creators do not seem to have a cogent idea of what drama is. At first a documentary-style perspective on the events leading to the first atomic bomb test holds sway. In the first scene, the chorus and characters sing lines containing all the poetry of a Pentagon press

We need somebody to do a pre-concert interview with Terry Riley and maybe review his Bang on a Can happening at Le Poisson Rouge on November 8.  Free tickets, of course.  Hands? 

For those of you who, like me, have been wondering whatever happened to the once ubiquitous S21 familiar Ian Moss but have been too forgetful to ask around, we have news of two upcoming concerts and an explanation for his absence. The first concert is a surprise (well, I guess we gave it away) reunion show on Thursday night with Ian’s jazz/metal/awesomeness band, Capital M which will be playing a set of 100% improvised music at the old Knitting Factory Tap Bar, one of the legendary venues for experimental music in New York and, alas, another historic spot getting ready to flee

Corey Dargel sings “All Other Sounds (for Brian from Molly)” from his new album Other People’s Love Songs, which will be officially released on Wednesday.  Video directed by Oleg Dubson.  (Correction from Corey:  “The concert is tomorrow, but the album is released today (Tuesday) and is available from newamsterdamrecords.com as well as iTunes and eMusic, etc.  Yay!” [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2CsQrg031s[/youtube]

Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten already! Also: S21 concert update:  The S21 concerts in December are the 1st at Waltz–that’s a changed date, yo–and the 5th at Good Shepherd Church (152 W 66th).  On the program: Samuel Andreyev, Rusty Banks, Galen Brown, Rodney Lister, Alex Kotch, Jeremy Podgursky, me, and Samuel Vriezen.  (Hope I didn’t leave anyone out.) Later, er, today I’m handing in the second draft of my dissertation.  It’s about Kurtag. 

Hi Jerry, We’re opening up a search for pianists for the Bang on a Can All Stars. Please see the ad below . We’d appreciate this if you can make a post about this on Sequenza21. Thanks! Annie   Bang on a Can All-Stars Seek Pianist “The Bang on a Can All-Stars present new music the way it should be presented — with passion, precision, dynamism, stylistic authority and a welcoming informality.” – NEWSDAY “A fiercely aggressive group, combining the power and punch of a rock band with the precision and clarity of a chamber ensemble.”/- NEW YORK TIMES The