Our regular listen to and look at living, breathing composers and performers that you may not know yet, but I know you should… And can, right here and now, since they’re nice enough to offer so much good listening online: Beth Custer (b. 1958 — US) Extra, extra!… Fearless woman seizes her day!… Beth was born in South Bend, Indiana, raised in western New York, but has lived in San Francisco for for the last twenty-five-and-some years. As if she wasn’t busy enough being a composer, performer, bandleader, clarinet teacher, and running a record label, she’s also a founding member
Read moreThe indispensible Alex Ross is back from a fact finding mission to gauge the state of serious music making in the provinces and his report, in this week’s New Yorker (yes, the New Yorker) finds cause for optimism. What’s the state of serious music making in your city?
Read moreJudd Greenstein and Kimball Gallagher are looking for a few good proposals for the 2007-2008 season of VIM: TRIBECA. Proposals may be submitted by performers (instrumental and vocal), composers, ensembles, or mixed-art groups that include music. VIM: TRIBECA is centered around music in the Western classical tradition, Greenstein says, but proposals may be made by any musicians whose work pushes the boundaries of genre, or whose work is affiliated with other traditions. Download a pdf file with details here. And get out there and push a genre today. Just don’t be too noisy. Our buddy Marvin Rosen will be joined by American
Read moreOkay, so nobody wants to discuss A3. How about C4, the terrific choral collective championed by S21 regular Ian Moss? The talented boys and girls are doing a concert about the always-popular subject of love tonight at 8 pm at the Norwegian Seamen’s Church, 317 East 52nd Street (between 1st and 2nd Avenues). On the bill are new works by C4 members Jonathan David, David Rentz, Moss, Malina Rauschenfels and Karen Siegel, plus stuff by a bunch of other people. Lykke til! Further evidence of the deaggregation of classical music distribution; our friends at Naxos have launched an online boutique called NaxosDirect. Best film score ever. Discuss.
Read moreIt’s Daniel Gilliam’s turn to be S21er in the spotlight this weekend. If you happen to be near Louisville, Kentucky at 4 pm this Sunday, drop by Central Presbyterian Church for the world premiere of Daniel’s Song of the Universal, a cantata for soprano solo, choir and piano, based on the text by Walt Whitman. Lacey Hunter Gilliam, Daniel’s wife, will be the soloist. Also on the program will be the premiere of O for Such a Dream for choir, soloist and piano, by Daron Aric Hagen, as well as new music by Louisville composer Fred Speck, and anthems by John Leavitt and Paul Halley.
Read moreTwo quick notes: First, the American Symphony Orchestra League is reporting that the full House Appropriations Committee has approved the major arts funding increases which the Interior Subcommittee had recommended on May 23rd. InsideHigherEd.com confirms the story, saying that “The House Appropriations Committee approved legislation Thursday that would increase spending on the National Endowment for the Humanities to $160 million in the 2008 fiscal year, up sharply from the $141.4 million that the agency is receiving this year. The bill, which finances the Interior Department and numerous other agencies such as non gamstop casinos, would also provide $160 million to the National
Read moreThe Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas concert at Rose Hall last night was one of those rare “what’s not to love” events that only occasionally grace New York stages. Take a program of thinking man’s bon bons (Gershwin’s Cuban Overture, Silvestre Revueltas’ Sensemayá, Ginastera’s barnburning Estancia), add a star turn by Latin music legend Paquito D’Rivera, and throw in an energetic and talented young orchestra led by a drop dead gorgeous conductor and you have a surefire receipe for fun. Many of the audience members came dressed for a post-concert gala which gave the evening a particularly elegant flair and provided a refreshing contrast
Read moreOur regular listen to and look at living, breathing composers and performers that you may not know yet, but I know you should… And can, right here and now, since they’re nice enough to offer so much good listening online: Stephane Ginsburgh (b. 1969 — Belgium) I first ran across this fine pianist a few years ago, while searching the web for information about Marcel Duchamp’s prescient, chance-based 1913 “compositions”, Erratum Musical — In 2001, Stephane recorded a number of his own interpretations of Duchamp’s score for the Sub Rosa label. A little of Stephane’s official bio: Born in Brussels,
Read moreThe Sunday evening concert explored the range of voices of a piano with four works for piano and orchestra, almost four concertos. Pierre-Laurent Aimard was pianist in three and merely a conductor in the fourth, Dialogues for Piano and Large Ensemble (2003) by Elliott Carter. One result of the differences in attitude (or fashion?) regarding contemporary music between northeast and southwest is that we hear much less of Carter’s music than do you in the more variable climates, so that hearing the work seemed both old and new. Tamara Stefanovich was given the chance to shine as soloist, and she did
Read moreAn evening joining the dots between music genres and digital art forms, and exploring the worlds of electronic music, contemporary classical practice and interactive visual arts, all taking place on a Cold War air base – that’s Faster Than Sound at the Aldeburgh Festival. It took place on Saturday, see more pictures of the event here, and read the background story here.
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