Some well-to-do friends of mine purchased at a charity auction recently a chance to play disk jockey for an hour on WBGO in Newark which is, I believe, the most listened to jazz radio station in the world. Since they aren’t that much into jazz, they promptly passed the opportunity on to me as a kind of belated 65th birthday present. I’ve been told to expect a call soon to discuss my “playlist” which can run no longer than 52 minutes. My problem, of course, is how to distill more than 50 years worth of listening into such a short
Read moreHey, the new Miller Theater schedule is out. Some great-looking programs, including the New York premiere of Iannis Xenakis’s only opera, Oresteia. Composer Portraits are: Peter Lieberson, Oliver Messiaen (centennial celebration), Marc-Andre Dalbavie (world premiere of his cello concerto), Jefferson Friedman (world premieres for pianist Simone Dinnerstein and indie-rocker Craig Wedren), Milton Babbit (complete string quartets—first time in one evening), Georg Friedich Haas (U.S. premiere of In Vain, his intense 75-minute tour-de-force for 24 players), Arlene Sierra (says here that ICE performs a world premiere by this intriguing young American living in London), Leon Kirchner (90 birthday celebration) and Jason
Read moreOur friends at the Metropolis Ensemble will perform a new take on Stravinsky‘s The Rite of Spring called The Rite: Remixed tonight at Prospect Park in Brooklyn. Composers Ryan Francis, Leo Leite, and Ricardo Romaneiro have reimagined the Rite of Spring as a piece for chamber orchestra and live electronics. For those of you unfortunates who don’t live here in the Center of the Universe, you can hear the webcast live on NPR.org starting at 7:30 p.m. ET. It’s part of the Wordless Music Series, which you can find out more about in an hourlong pre-concert special beginning at 6:30. Founded in 2006 by conductor Andrew
Read moreGot four and a half minutes for a meditation on life, religion, and nature? Our friends at Aguava New Music Studio have a new video by Susanne Schwibs, music by Cary Boyce, performed by Aguava New Music Studio and the IU Contemporary Vocal Ensemble directed by Carmen Helena Tellez. A DVD will be available very soon from www.aguava.com. The score is available from G. Schirmer’s Dale Warland Choral Series. [youtube]gNn6BsXl_Sw[/youtube]
Read moreThere are a handful of words that send me reflexively scurrying for the off button: “Mozart,” “President Bush said today,” “Sandy Duncan,” “drum solo. ” I loved it when Buddy Rich told Johnny Carson once that he never practiced “because it hurts my ears.” Which, of course, is why I have to mention that the first of four upcoming concerts organized by Jason Kao Hwang at the Living Theater with RUCMA (Rise Up Creative Music and Arts) is called Drum Solos! and features drummers Newman Taylor Baker, Andrew Drury and Tatsuya Nakatani. Thursday, July 17, 10:30 PM Drum Solos ! Newman Taylor Baker Andrew Drury
Read moreSure, a short latte, or a couple humbows & a coke… Or, just about any couple weeks through this year, that or even less will get you into any of a slew of great concerts in the sfSound series. Beginning tomorrow (!), when you can hear Steve Reich’s Four Organs (1970), Giacinto Scelsi’s Kya (1959), Salvatore Sciarrino’s Muro d’orizzonte (1997), Tom Dambly performing Mauricio Kagel’s Atem (1970) for trumpet and tape, violist Alexa Beattie performing Alan Hilario’s kibô (1997), and a new collaboratively-created piece by sfSoundGroup, directed by Matt Ingalls. The sfSound Group consists of a central core (currently David Bithell
Read moreFew operas I have seen have left as great an impact on me as Bernd Alois Zimmermann’s Die Soldaten which I originally saw at City Opera in the early ’90s and just saw again in its current run at the Park Avenue Armory as part of the 2008 Lincoln Center Festival. (There are only two performances left and I’ve heard that the run is practically sold out. When I was there on Wednesday night there was a posse of desperate folks hoping they could wrangle tickets, but if indeed no official tickets are left and you haven’t seen it, join
Read moreNothing for those slooow summer days like another round of “everything sucks/everything’s fine” wars… Courtesy of The Guardian, Joe Queenan kicks it off with an article on how he just can’t take any more, what we “high priests of music” have been pawning off as art these last couple-three generations or so… While Tom Service tells Joe he needs to unbunch his underwear a bit… Or is that Tom getting in a bunch over Joe’s blow-off?… Read both sides; and there’s plenty of room in the comments both here and there, to thoroughly reach no consensus or conclusion whatsoever. Ah Summertime,
Read moreFrom composer Paul Laino. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSasEp1-j1Q[/youtube] And don’t forget: the S21 concert submission postmark deadline is one week from today. Fire me an e-mail; Pierrot or subsets thereof.
Read moreBSO MUSIC DIRECTOR JAMES LEVINE LEAVES TANGLEWOOD TO UNDERGO SURGERY BSO Music Director James Levine regrets that he will have to withdraw from the balance of the 2008 Tanglewood season. Because of a cyst causing pressure and discomfort, Levine will undergo surgery this week to have a kidney removed. The procedure has been described by Levine’s doctors as curative, with no other treatment necessary and with every expectation for a complete recovery. The anticipated recuperation period is six weeks -leaving ample time to prepare and conduct the season openings of the BSO and the Metropolitan Opera in September. “It is
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