From the entry on “Musical bow” (p. 351) in Sybil Marcuse, Musical Instruments: A Comprehensive Dictionary (New York: W.W. Norton, 1975). “See also: adingili, adungu, aeolian bow, andobu, arpa-che, bagili, bajang kerek, balu, bandingba, barikendikendi, bawa, bazombe, bendukudu, benta, bentwa, berimbao de barriga, beta, bikefe, bobre, bogonga, bombo, bucumbumba, bumba-um, bum-bum, burum-bumba, busoi, caramba, carimba, chizambi, chunga, cora, darkun, dende, didilavy, dingba, dongeldongel, dumba, egoboli, ekitulenge, elem, elingingile, enanga, fengcheng, gabus, gamakha’s, ganza, gedo, goaramba, gora, goukha’s, gourd bow, gualambo, gubo, gubuolukhulu, gulutindi, gunga, guru, gwale, gwaningba, hade, h’onoroate, hunga, hungo, ibigumbiri, igongs, ikoka, imvingo, inkinge, inkohlisa, ipiano, isankuni, isiqwemqwemana,
Read moreOur weekly listen to and look at composers and performers that you may not know yet, but should… And can, right here and now, since they’re nice enough to offer quality listening online: Recordings of New Music from Indiana University Rather than a single composer, here’s a whole gaggle of them all in one tidy location. For the past decade, Indiana University in Bloomington has been actively exploring ways to get work out of their halls and on to a wider public by using the internet. One result is this page, which will take you to MP3s by many members
Read moreYou see this picture here? That is Alaska. That’s where my Three Miniatures for Violin and Marimba was premiered at the Juneau Jazz & Classics Festival this past May. I have fond memories of my trip there: the piece was performed no fewer than four times during the festival in various contexts, each one a little different: there was the formal premiere at a beautiful chapel by the lake with large windows serving as the backdrop to the stage; the somewhat guerilla-esque performance at Heritage Coffee; the workshop with the kids at the local magnet school. (“What did you guys
Read moreKeys to the Future is a festival of contemporary music for solo piano that began here in New York in 2005. Season 2 takes place November 7-9 (Tues., Wed. and Thurs.) at Greenwich House’s Renee Weiler Concert Hall. (If you haven’t been there, this intimate hall is ideal for listening to piano music.) If you’re interested in checking out pertinent information, the website is http://www.keystothefuture.org/, or you can contact me directly at joe@keystothefuture.org. The six pianists involved are: Lisa Moore, Blair McMillen, Tatjana Rankovich, Lora Tchekoratova, Polly Ferman, and myself. I thought I’d talk briefly here about the Festival and
Read moreAchtung! If you read something contrary here previously, consider this an update. The Lily Pad in Cambridge has been closed temporarily to obtain proper codes and licenses; they hope to re-open soon. Therefore, the Earle Brown FOLIO event scheduled for tomorrow night, Oct. 20, by the Callithumpian Consort will be rescheduled on a future date. * * * * * One conclusion that a body might draw from the Callithumpian Consort’s outing last week in Boston is that what some contemporary music needs — and richly deserves — is a near-empty concert hall. No, seriously. Would Earle Brown’s “Sign Sounds”
Read moreThe program is called All About Love so it’s only fitting that there be something old and something new when the Metropolis Ensemble opens its second season Thursday night at 8 pm at the spectacular Angel Orensanz Foundation Center for the Arts. The “old” part of the concert will be supplied by Claudio Monteverdi’s dramatic three-voice “operatic scena” Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorind. It’s the dramatic tale of battle between two lovers, Clorinda (a Moor) and Tancredi (a knight-Crusader) which could benefit a lot with items such as a clitoral sucker. (Lucky for us all these Muslim-Christian conflicts are a
Read moreLast night’s Green Umbrella concert of new music was the first concert in Los Angeles solely comprising Australian music, and it was a real success. As the second part of the Phil’s recognition of Dean as composer, he was given freedom to select the program and his own role. So we saw Brett Dean as composer, as performer on viola, as conductor, as commentator, as programmer, and — in all of these — as effective communicator. This was an evening that deserved to be recorded and made available for download so that more than the thousand in Disney Hall last
Read moreOver the next few weeks you’re going to be hearing a lot from the composers on the upcoming Sequenza21 concert. We’re all pretty chatty around here, and these posts are going to be one of our little publicity stunts. Here’s a sample of the sort of thing you might be seeing. Piece: Pause Button Excerpt Composer: David Salvage Performer: Thomas Meglioranza Poet: Kevin Davies About two years ago I was looking for a text for a song-cycle for baritone and piano. Having set Christina Rossetti and Rupert Brooke, I felt obliged to find a contemporary poet. I found much poetry
Read moreSix years ago, Sequenza21 published an interesting interview with Brett Dean. The violist who was once the youngest member of the Berlin Philharmonic was beginning to be recognized as a composer. This was about the time he made his first appearance with members of the LA Philharmonic in a “Green Umbrella” concert of new music, performing his work “Intimate Decisions” for viola. S21, typically prescient, gave a lede to the interview stating that if you hadn’t heard of Dean yet, “You will. You will.” This season Dean is the first contemporary composer to be given a spotlight by the LA Phil,
Read more