tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53541482318960151242024-03-13T08:22:47.899-07:00Around The BendPhilosophical ranting and other general bellyaching about the state of music with some cloudbursts of unabashed joy when it goes right.Nuhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546538315016461916noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354148231896015124.post-43717576717115614792009-02-27T06:24:00.001-08:002009-02-27T06:40:45.114-08:00Books before MoviesI've always been the one who had to read the book before the movie. Now I notice more and more that big book stores are pushing the books before the films. Witness all the adds in tandem with the release of Watchmen (which I'm reading right now).<br /><br />My question is why don't people look at the score before they go to a concert. Oh, I know that the answer will be that the "layman" can't understand a score of music. I propose with all this interactive internet niftiness proliferating that someone (maybe me) create a little program where people can look at the contours of a piece of music in time that would indicate things like pitch and rhythmic dissonance/assonance on a time line so that the layperson can get a feel for why a score looks the way that it does with the music right there to refer to. No classes necessary, the site could have a score following tool that shows the rhythmic, pitch, and maybe even timbre lines below the actual score so that plain old folks can start to see what they're getting into and start to recognize the profile of a piece that they may enjoy.<br /><br />Let's demistify the creative process and let some of those people who we all know can handle but have been lead to feel stupid because reading "music is so hard and specialized". If reading music is so hard then how come people of all ages master it daily? People feel empowered in situations where there is a familiar element. This is why recognizable characters comfort us when doing something recognizable and surprise when they step out of line. It's all sonata allegro baby........except when it's not.Nuhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546538315016461916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354148231896015124.post-79302662192746185372009-02-06T09:27:00.000-08:002009-02-06T09:32:29.236-08:00Sharing KnowledgeAs a follow-up to the “More You Know” blog of last week I’ve decided to take my own advice and put up links to more information on concerts on the Merkin Concert Hall website. The first concert up is the iO Quartet’s brilliant programming suggested by Helmut Lachenmann to go around his string quartet Grido. Simply go to http://kaufman-center.org/merkin-concert-hall and click on more info in the box where you see iO Quartet's concert.<br /><br />As a performing presenter I often find myself assuming that the audience will be as excited about a performance because of all the amazing details in the works; performer’s particular affinity for a composer or work; culture or period in which a work was written; politics of the time a work was written; etc.; now they will be able to gain some of that knowledge from the presenter before the concert. I firmly believe that this approach will enhance people’s enjoyment of the program and I hope that it may even sway some folks looking for something to do to take a shot at some serious music.Nuhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546538315016461916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354148231896015124.post-39704946943807389042009-02-05T07:52:00.000-08:002009-02-05T07:56:43.235-08:00iO's InnovationThe iO Quartet concert is a series of scenes for string quartet that all challenged the genre at each respective time of publication. That all of these pieces were coming from a decidedly avant-garde slant is a testament to the idea that experimentation with musical form and content can lead to new and wonderful places. Each of these pieces switches gears in novel ways throughout the unfolding of the material. The iO’s tell me that this programming was suggested to them by the composer Helmut Lachenmann ,which speaks to my favorite kind of programming wherein the living composer helps to “curate” the concert; this adds a healthy dose of context, if not influence, to the proceedings. <br /><br />The context comes from the history of different composers in different times choosing to experiment with the “normal” ways of composing music. Beethoven was already musing on unconventional structures and surprising harmonic shifts for his day. Schubert’s approach was to cast a single voice over layers of shifting texture and gesture, resulting in rapid changes in a “story” we’re being told without words, an excellent entre-act to what unfolds in the first half. I’ve often thought of Webern’s music as a privileged peek into another kind of communication at once very expressive and intimate. His ideas flow in a way that makes perfect sense within itself but comes across to the audience as a private game observed through a kaleidoscope. Lachenmann’s titanic Grido is an essay in ever-shifting textures that hang together with signposts of pulsing and twittering machines that enter briefly to then change the entire landscape again.<br /><br />Programming thematically allows the audience in on several levels, giving them entre into the composer’s thoughts about the writing of the piece. It’s all dialogue in good music of any stripe, so to hear how these dialogues are set up and then dealt with is the key to becoming a good listener of art music, or any other for that matter. Very often the music that appeals first to our senses is that which is familiar to our ears either because of its popularity or because it’s made up of recognizable rhythms, harmonic progressions and melodies. <br /><br />In the first half of the program on February 10 we begin with work in the realm of familiarity that then stretches into more experimentation, fragmentation and poetic license with form. The string quartet is put through its paces making sounds in the usual way but with unusual forms. With these ideas thoroughly worked out in the first half, we then have the privilege of hearing the Beethoven with fresh ears. He begins with a muscular opening figure, then shifts gears many times as if to show as many facets of the jewel as possible before giving us a fog-lifting ending accomplished through a surprising shift to F Major, which ends the concert in the tonal way that it began. The beauty and impetuosity of Beethoven’s writing in this short, potent masterpiece cannot be understated; it is a sly work of organizational genius. To have been written when it was took the conviction of a master artist at work with the raw materials of a chamber ensemble that has gone on to reign supreme in the art of chamber music.Nuhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546538315016461916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354148231896015124.post-87093973771716589232009-01-26T12:42:00.000-08:002009-01-26T13:25:00.177-08:00The More You KnowI've found throughout my life that I'm the guy who has to know everything possible about whatever it is I'm doing. When I was a kid it was an obsession with the cars that my dad liked. We would go to car shows and collect any information possible about makes, models, etc. I would then go home and research everything I could about the cars and spit it back to Dad until he wanted to strangle me. There's a kid in my neighborhood who does the same thing with sports stats. This behavior is not uncommon with pop culture. Witness the several points of access to pop music stars for example with their own webpage, myspace, facebook, fan sites, etc. People in the Kiss Army wouldn't be caught dead not knowing everything about releases, lyrics, and other trivia regarding them.<br /><br />We really haven't seen much of this go on in the music world of late with the possible exception of Pavarotti and his ilk but you have to back to Liszt and Paganini to find the iconic status and encyclopedic knowledge of a "classical" artist. So, being an afficionado of new music (after learning all of the brass instruments as a youth; all I could about swimming; cooking) seemed very natural to me after developing my car obsession. Maybe it's just the type of person I am but wouldn't it be nice if we could cultivate this kind of acquisitiveness amongst the youth today. They certainly have more information at their fingertips than I ever did. Imagine my parents deep discussion about me after asking for The Grove Dictionary as a senior in high school!<br /><br />Perhaps the problem is the glut of information that can be found online that has lead to the demise of the poor travelling encyclopedia salesmen-or any other for that matter-that my mom would patiently listen to before sending away (we bought our encyclopediae from the super market because it came with cheap china or something. I fear that younger people today are so overloaded with media that it's difficult for them to even find things that might really enhance their lives in meaningful ways. OK, that's pretty dramatic but there's a lot to be said for exposing young people to art before their openness to the world around them gets closed off by habits formed at a young age.<br /><br />The idea of educating yourself on something that's supposed to be entertaining is often a sticking point with those not familiar with it. It's analagous to having a painting that isn't figurative turning off someone with no exposure to it. We humans are not big fans of surprise. But if this appetite can be developed by gently leading people to information that they might use to educate themselves just a little bit before showing up to a program that has other pieces that point to elements shared, there can be success for the lay listener. I've done my level best to encourage artists I present to show their music in context alongside other composer's works that have something in common with each other. I then write about it myself and try to give links to books, cds, etc. so that people may be able to know something about what they are going to hear in my hall. If they're leaving the house for one piece on the program, they might as well learn as much about the rest......if they feel like it.<br /><br />I'm just getting together all of these resources for our new website at <a href="http://kaufman-center.org/merkin-concert-hall/explore">Merkin Concert Hall </a>. Hopefully we will attract some adventurous people we can turn into adventurous listeners.Nuhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546538315016461916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354148231896015124.post-3501902190959323412009-01-26T12:41:00.000-08:002009-01-26T12:42:36.993-08:00Musically Speaking Blog: What’s Shakin’ in January?What’s shakin’ in January? Plenty! Merkin Concert Hall’s <a href="http://kaufman-center.org/merkin-concert-hall/membership">Musically Speaking</a> series continues with Chamber Jazz offering us yet another in a season of premieres by composers at work in the many diverse areas of musical utterance available to us here in the Big Apple. Midwest meets Mideast on January 10th when Ryan Cohan hits town from Chicago with his award-winning band, featuring music from his latest effort, One Sky, while Omer Avital takes the stage with his Omer Avital Ensemble. He’ll give us the world premiere of Song of a Land: Middle Eastern Afro-Jewish Music written for his hybrid ensemble of 12 musicians ranging from a string quartet to an Israeli pianist, Turkish clarinetist, Israeli saxophone, trumpet players and the maestro on the bass. Omer has been a guest at Merkin these past two seasons with appearances in the trios of Aaron Goldberg and Omer Klein in September of this year, a performance that included another world premiere.<br /><br />We’ll end the month of January with Joel Harrison, featuring the great Oliver Lake and super-cellist Wendy Sutter among others. Wendy will give us the world premiere of Joel’s Sonata for Solo Cello, which is part of her amassing of solo cello literature kicked off most recently by her premiere and recording of Philip Glass’s Songs and Poems for Solo Cello.<br />Oliver Lake will join Joel’s ensemble for his award-winning commission from the Doris Duke Foundation of Vox Americana with another ensemble firmly rooted in the chamber jazz begun by the likes of Gil Evans, Gunther Schuller, Jimmy Giuffre, Andrew Hill and many others who followed. This medium gets taken one step further with our own Special Music School Chorus taking part in this multi-movement work exploring extended composition in an improvisational setting. Joel has also made a very special set of arrangements of the music of Paul Motian that will also feature Oliver’s inimitable sax artistry along with guitarist Liberty Ellman and an all-star cast of string greats.Nuhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546538315016461916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354148231896015124.post-51638873416936227842009-01-26T12:39:00.000-08:002009-01-26T12:41:03.803-08:00Musically Speaking Blog: Jazz Crossing Cultures - Ryan Cohan & Omer AvitalWhat holds together the music in the first concert Merkin Concert Hall produces in 2009? Togetherness, camaraderie and working together multi-culturally to make the world a better place through music—specifically jazz music. While jazz is most often referred to as America’s art form, many of today’s very exciting interpreters and composers are from other cultures and bring their talents and ethnic music from home to bear on the forms inherent in jazz music.<br />Pianist/composer Ryan Cohan takes a philosophical approach in his suite One Sky and casts it for a straight-ahead combo playing music with some of the tightest piano playing you’re going to hear coming out of Chicago. While Ryan draws inspiration from a metaphysical realm, Omer’s music is produced by life in a metaphysical realm with a hybrid approach in his Song of a Land, subtitled A Middle Eastern Afro-Jewish Musical Suite. What I’m trying to say here is that they both take the same approach vis a vis “tradition”; it’s simply that they cut their material from a different cloth. Omer uses Israeli folk music, North African Andalusian music, Arabic music, etc., and Ryan writes music from a decidedly swing aesthetic.<br /><br />What holds all this together? We have certainly had elements brought to bear on the musical language since the beginnings of jazz, but more and more we are finding direct references to other cultures coming from the musicians’ personal experience. This isn’t Philip Glass or the Beatles discovering Ravi Shankar and putting some of it in their songs; it’s someone who grew up within the tradition using folk music that is a part of their identity. This is not me claiming that Omer and Ryan have written music that trots out pieces recognizable by title. Rather, it’s me reveling in the fact that the music they produce is informed by personal experience, which is the spark that gives improvised music the hope of direct connection to an audience.<br /><br />Ryan’s music captures the imagination through the door of philosophy offering us his personal view of just being in this world. Omer uses music from his past to show us where he’s been and where he’s headed at the same time. Both of them are leading jazz music to a new tomorrow.Nuhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546538315016461916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354148231896015124.post-38240587898485775312008-11-18T12:53:00.000-08:002008-11-18T13:01:10.044-08:00Eliott Carter's First Hundred YearsI particularly like the title above because at 99 Elliott Carter doesn’t seem to be slowing down. In fact, he has written more and varied works (an opera, more symphonic works, etc.). There is an embarrassment of riches in his output for winds. His chamber music has been where most all of his watershed works have come from and the opportunity for Elliott’s orchestration to really shine comes from the unusual combinations of wind music to be heard throughout his career. From the charming and slightly challenging Quintet for Winds (1948) we hear a young voice aligning himself with what’s come before by marrying elements of both American and European sensibilities. This was de rigeur for much of the new American composers; especially those who studied abroad in Nadia Boulanger’s Paris studio (Carter, Copland, Thomson, and many others). The forms are classical for the most part with a nod to American popular dance music in the rondo that is the last movement.<br /><br />From there he seems to move into new territory almost immediately by tackling the exact problem that every composer faces when writing for the wind quintet, how to orchestrate it so that it doesn’t sound like the hot mess that many wind quintets turn out to be. Elliott deftly uses the character of each instrument to play not just a dramatic role but also a defining characteristic of the texture. Indeed the Eight Etudes and a Fantasy (1950) written just two years later goes off in search of novel combinations in an almost experimental (yet thoroughly enjoyable) piece that stand up as a dramatic statement leading to the fantasy which sums up all that has come before it. As you will see below, in a five year period three composers with very singular voices brought their first wind quintets to light using elements from the past but definitely looking toward the future. In each case the composer traveled much further afield in the second work adopting what was the beginning of their signature styles. Berio is the exception to this; he was translating a larger element of his music to a smaller ensemble to great effect.<br /><br />It’s interesting to note that Gyorgy Ligeti who also defined his style well early on with nods to his own country’s music took up the same experiment as his second wind quintet Zehn Stucke (1968). This opus also came after a setting of some of his serial tinged but folk inspired piano experiments for quintet entitled Six Bagatelles (1953). While stylistically on different sides of the aisle these two composers were obviously wise enough to reach into the wind quintets bag of tricks. Luciano Berio is worth mentioning here as well given his two enormous accomplishments in the quintet literature again kick started by the use of folk elements and novel scoring. Berio’s first work for wind quintet entitled Opus Number Zoo (1951)also reworks earlier music of the composer’s modified from some popular and folk elements as well; while the music is more clear cut, the dramatic role used by Berio was to give different players part of a spoken text that passes through the ensemble. He then moved on to something completely novel for the wind quintet, but all his own compositionally, with Ricorrenze (1987).<br /><br />Each of the three composers then went on to explore their own peculiar approaches to harmony, each with fascinating and rich careers. Never quite far enough away from a pitch center, Elliott’s music tickles the ear with a variety of texture immediately thrown into relief by the use of near misses in the rhythmic layout of each piece. This creates a tension that draws the listener into a microcosm of sounds held together by an interlocking but off-kilter forward motion. Another comparison to Ligeti is the pervasive use of melody as a sort of “cantus firmus” that slowly makes its presence felt steadily throughout his works. This is demonstrated well in his several works for solo instruments. Even in the very recent Catenaires (2006) what looks like and etude with a steady stream of fast notes belies a melody made up of the accents and various attacks that stick out of the continuous onslaught of information.<br /><br />The Quintet for Piano and Winds (1991) is as serene a statement of continuous motion as I have ever heard. The piece moves forward with a controlled urgency and grace that rarely seems harried in its movement to the inevitable finish. There is a sense that you have walked in on the middle of a conversation that’s been going on for quite some time. Like his friend Milton Babbitt, Elliott pursues every possible combination of the ensemble while keeping each instrument in its rhythmic and intervallic role. These two definitions of each character makes them placeholders in the continuum and stakes out a piece of your hearing whether you are aware of the theory behind what’s going on or not. The horn just keeps coming at you with minor thirds and seconds in values of five and it serves only to further underline the rightness of that part in the flow. The piano serves as both catalyst and commentator in the proceedings prodding the poets forward and underlining their vehemence while also providing support in repose, etc..<br /><br />The wind quintet is alive and well in the hands of the New York Woodwind Quintet. Perhaps it’s an ensemble that will continue to inspire composers with its many combinations of sounds to be explored. In the current trend of making big statements with small means it certainly has much to offer.Nuhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546538315016461916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354148231896015124.post-40658450860920577662008-09-19T09:51:00.001-07:002008-09-19T09:53:08.733-07:00Within Worlds with Omer Klein and FriendsOmer Klein gave us a new piece last night that really went beyond my expectations of what a young composer might come up with for jazz combo plus string quartet. It was a wonderful mixture of instruments but not a huge glut of styles as many <br />“crossover” pieces often become. Nor was it an extension of either his keyboard or the rhythm section. Rather, it was an engaging, very tightly composed work of about ten minutes that featured a lively dance-like theme with some nice improvised solo passages for piano and bass most prominently. <br /><br />While listening to it I was reminded of something that Omer said earlier in the concert while commenting on a tune he titled ¾ Mantra. He something along the lines of: “sometimes my ideas for pieces come to me in very small packages yet end up being the ones that become the longest ones in concert.” What reminded me of this was precisely the tightness of the composition of Septet, which firmly established its presence from the first measures—a swingy little triplet passage that left me thirsting for its return. Omer’s use of a bit of middle eastern tang also put me in mind of Chick Corea’s Temple of Isfahan, which I’ve tried—in vain—to secure for performance later this season in a series entitled Writing Jazz where we have a concert of composed responses to jazz ending in a new work by David Rakowski (that I just got and looks fantastic). We will also have a concert with another jazz pianist, Jonathan Batiste, entitled Rag’s Riches, where he will explore ragtime in his own way while sharing the concert with Imani Winds, who will play arrangements and originals by jazz composers.<br /><br />The gift of this piece commissioned by the America-Israel Cultural Foundation is one of true value and astonishing prescient given the fact that I solicited it in no way from anyone. There is definitely something in the air with our young jazz greats branching out into just—well—music without label or other baggage as they freely write what they want to with the instruments that spark their imaginations. Other lagniappes this season will be when Omer Avital (the bass player last night) graces the stage with new works for an expanded ensemble alongside the recently commissioned work from Ryan Cohan and his expanded ensemble in a series of concerts supported by Chamber Music America that highlight their jazz members’ composition projects. They will be the one mentioned above as well as an evening with Joel Harrison, Oliver Lake and Wendy Sutter; and Jamie Baum’s Ives Suite will be featured alongside Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stanko’s explorations in free jazz.<br /><br />The direction we are taking at Merkin is to shed light on what’s happening on the ground in New York’s creative music scene through surveys of artists, composers and genres to give our audience the most comprehensive look at music today. See you at the concert!Nuhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546538315016461916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354148231896015124.post-33594607732992695852008-08-29T11:31:00.000-07:002008-09-03T13:00:36.636-07:00Towering AchievementsTowering Achievement<br />Joan Tower celebrates her 70th birthday at Merkin Concert Hall on the actual date. Her output after a successful career on the piano lead her to the heights of Grammy, Gravemeyer, etc. and she adds yet another feather to her cap with the American Music Center’s Letter of Distinction to be presented by their board president, Ed Yim. The concert features solo and chamber music from most of her career. Joan really can’t be subdivided into periods since the music that she writes is consistently solid, straightforward melodic constructions with a rhythmic drive that often make the music seem to take flight. <br /><br />I hate to get too purple but the name Tower really is a fine description of Joan’s achievement as composer, performer, and teacher. Her music often evokes images for the listener and with titles like Big Sky, Copperwave, and Or Like a........an Engine you can imagine the kind of music that might bring you there. The ability to trigger such images and emotion through music is the finest example of the sophisticated communications we humans are capable of. <br /><br />Making connections on the human experience through an abstract medium has been a feature of much of the American musical output. Joan achieves these states through original modes of thought filtered through a facile use of harmony, melody and rhythm that seems as fresh as it is familiar. Her music challenges the listener through its multi-faceted casting of places and emotional states. Even the impressions she takes from the concept of purple result in ear catching music that has the ability to transport and transform the listening experience into a magical trip for the imagination.<br /><br />We will have the following pieces which I leak a bit of program notes on below. Also, some of the performers have written tribute pieces for the occasion. Oh, and Naxos cd’s will be on sale in the lobby for just $10. See you there<br /><br /><br /><br />eighth blackbird<br />Big Sky for piano trio is a piece based on a memory of riding my horse "Aymara" around in the deep valley of La Paz, Bolivia. The valley was surrounded by the huge and high mountains of the Andes range; and as I rode I looked into a vast and enormous sky. It was very peaceful and extraordinarily beautiful. We never went over one of these mountains, but if we had, it might have felt like what I wrote in this piece.<br /><br />Blair McMillen, piano<br />Or Like a ... an Engine is dedicated to the pianist Ursula Oppens who premiered it at Alice Tully Hall in New York City in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the radio station WNYC-FM, which commissioned the work. It is a motoric piece, somewhat like a virtuosic Chopin etude.<br /><br />American Brass Quintet<br />Copperwave <br />My father was a geologist and mining engineer and I grew up loving everything to do with minerals and rocks. Copper is a heavy but flexible mineral that is used for many different purposes and most brass instruments are made of copper. The ideas in this piece move in waves, sometimes heavy ones and at other times lighter — also in circles, turning around on the same notes.<br /><br />Paul Neubauer, viola<br />Simply Purple<br />This is my third piece for viola (and for Paul) which includes the word “purple.” The first was Wild Purple for solo viola and then came Purple Rhapsody for viola and orchestra. I have always thought of the viola (which I played briefly) as having this deep kind of rich purple sound, a beautiful timbre, quite distinct from other string instrument sounds.<br /><br />Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio<br />For Daniel is dedicated to Joan Tower’s nephew, Daniel MacArthur, who passed away in 2003 after a long illness. The piece tries to convey the imagined struggles associated with someone who is facing a long-term terminal illness. The hopes, joys, depression, anger, deep turmoil and occasional serenity are in constant juxtaposition in this work, as they were throughout the last years of Daniel’s life.<br /><br />Birthday Pieces Written for Joan:<br />Blair McMillen, John Rojak, James Tocco, Paul Neubauer, Yossi Kalishstein and <br />members of eighth blackbirdNuhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546538315016461916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354148231896015124.post-39619500457831556182008-07-21T07:44:00.000-07:002008-07-21T07:47:27.958-07:00Musically Speaking<p class="MsoNormal">Musically Speaking is the beginning of many sentences in my day to day. Very often musicians find themselves having to explain what it is they do. In general, people are so busy that music exists on the periphery for them, as something to pass the time in the car, on the train or while working out. Music for use has been a concept for as long as there has been music. What began as a way to move together then became a way to worship together which then became a way to enjoy others singing poetry, etc. Somehow after the Romantic era there came this notion of music not needing to mean anything. How then would it have any relevance to anyone’s life with no charm whatsoever to recommend itself to a listener’s attention, let alone their rapt contemplation on the psyche, the world, etc. Music has been used to keep people in step or make them look good and show off at parties, to scare people, make sure brides and grooms don’t rush down aisles.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>The main ingredient in a good piece of music for me is the direction it’s going in, if any. I find myself listening for where the thrust of the music might be headed. When I hear something ear-catching I wait in patience for that part to recur. This is not to say that I have no affection for non-repetitive music made up of novel sounds that may refer to something else. If I can discern a language either of context within or reference to some story or structure without, I’m happy. So, Musically Speaking is just that to me, Music that speaks.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>With all of the signals we learn how to decipher in our lives, it’s only fair that a composer use as many as necessary to get an audiences attention. A blues tune can be imbedded in a string quartet just like a folk inspired melody can be the starting point for a serious piece of new music. A different setting for a certain “sign sound” can find its way into many forms of music. Some of the most beloved music of all time refers to other sounds found in nature or made by man. Handel’s Water Music isn’t about the water and contains no water sounds, it’s enough to listen to the majestic strains and envision yourself watching the great spectacle on the water that the music was commissioned for. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>Birds have had a great part in the history of music. There’s a certain drama in the repetitiveness of birds. You don’t know what they’re saying, but it’s compelling. I like this as an element in all kinds of music. If it’s not telling a specific story like “A Hero’s Journey” or some such thing, I’ll add one as I’m listening to it. I used to do this endlessly when I was in school and we would all be in stitches over it. People need drama and action in their music just like they do in their movies and there’s plenty of that in all kinds of music. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>Another interesting part of the music we listen to is the idea of music to relax to. Quiet, consonant music is generally thought of as something to sleep to but I find that dissonant music if presented correctly, in a language that can be understood can be just a soothing. Just listen to Giacinto Scelsi, Cage, Brown, Takemitsu, Glass, or Feldman to name a few who use systems of their own to write music that speaks a language all its own.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>Come to concerts with an open mind, but demand that there be some sort of discourse coming from the stage to you. And please, please never come just because it’s all familiar music. Art can’t hurt you.</p>Nuhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546538315016461916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354148231896015124.post-39830401095867835592007-10-26T11:50:00.000-07:002007-10-26T12:18:16.213-07:00Hat's Off New YorkNew York Magazine has been writing profiles of "serious" music composers with a slant toward the popular side of the musical coin. Two of the most recent ones are Sufjan Stevens crossing over from pop and Nico Muhly (a Philip Glass' protege) While some could quip about this it doesn't change that fact that they are covering serious-go-to-a-concert-hall-sit-still-and-listen-intently music.<br /><br />And who wouldn't want to hear music by these guys working in this exciting time of anything goes music for classical forces. Musicians are uniquely qualified to play more and more types of music than ever before with all of them having grown up with just about whatever they wanted to hear at their fingertips. There is no lack of composers who do many different styles of "serious" music coming at it from both sides.<br /><br />There seems to be less of a sense of emulation at work in the music of younger composers. There is a great sense of craft in the music of Nico Muhly who I must shamelessly plug as being one of John Schaefer's selections for his New Sounds Live series at Merkin Concert Hall. Having to arrange music for a pop star on the fly is no easy task and many people who have done this in the past rarely were taken seriously. Having worked for Bjork (among others) must have been a rather expansive experience as her musical ideas are no less august works of a serious nature.<br /><br />I'm so happy to see that music is still well on the move toward the center. I still admit my love for the thorny, intricate works of those who do it well but that's a bit further around the bend for many listeners. Let's have singing, dancing, spoken word, multi-media art performances that actually refer to our human condition today. This is how we get the really great older stuff in front of the crowd and we know there's plenty of that. The composers that New York will (hopefully) continue to profile are excellent jump-off points for bringing in future fans of the new thing. We didn't all think that onions were the best thing to eat when younger and uninitiated. Let the initiations begin!Nuhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546538315016461916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354148231896015124.post-18692576373816585132007-10-16T06:49:00.000-07:002007-10-16T07:22:01.478-07:00The Good FightI attended a concert at Manhattan School of Music last evening which showcased the faculty of the new music program there. It was an evening of excellent programming and performances. What struck me most as I sat there enjoying hearing many old friends was the typical feeling of "wow, we're all grown up now" but I also thought how lucky these young musicians are to have such fine examples to emulate. When I was in school you had to go a little farther away from school to hear this kind of music.<br /><br />All of the music was handled with style and grace by the now yeoman members of the faculty for new music that Patti Monson surrounds her students with. The performance all had a sparkle to them in that they were played with a real care and love for the language they were speaking. Navigating through the scores of some very different composers as a listener was easier than I thought it would be from just looking at the score. The placement of pieces worked well together and gave the evening a nice shape.<br /><br />I could get into the whole rant of cloistered music in the ivory tower etc. but MSM is doing a service to these kids by showing them the people who make sacrifices to follow the dream of playing the music they love. They are also offering these concerts for free which allows for the experimentation I want to keep my eye on.<br /><br />Having your own new music ensemble is a business venture but it rarely supports its musicians on its own. Many of the performers also teach which can be one of the inevitabilities of a career in music but some are supplementing in other ways which is another reality to be exhibited. Some are playing on Broadway or have other jobs. In short, few of them are making music solely on their own terms. I hope that is something the students soak in as they get into the market themselves.<br /><br />The music played was Wuorinen (Trombone Trio); Shapey (Movement of Varied Moments for Two); Tenney (Beast); Ades (Sonata da Caccia); Turnage (Two Baudelaire Songs); Lowenstern (Hum). There was also a special secret premiere of a new solo vocal work by Elliott Carter (also on Baudelaire) expertly sung by Lucy Shelton.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span><b><a name="Wrk4/28/2003 12:16:46 PM"><i><b><i><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br /></i></b></i></a></b>Nuhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546538315016461916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354148231896015124.post-16297138539264053532007-08-09T07:10:00.000-07:002007-08-09T07:24:01.420-07:00Music as SoundtrackI guess this is kind of a rant.<br /><br />Music seems to be more and more the soundtrack to people's personal journies through the world. It allows them a detachment in that is often valuable in situations when you don't want to engage with society at large. Very often this can be annoying as I've found on the Greenway here in NYC as I dodge joggers, walkers, and other cyclists who have no problem taking their detached selves into the world as I ride my bike to work. This is less of a problem when simply walking around but when in an area where you have to share space such as a sidewalk next to the river it presents potentially dangerous problems.<br /><br />Having said that I also feel that the musical experience has lost its social appeal. People insulate themselves with their mp3 players and have the magical ability to create their own personal soundtracks to accompany whatever they are doing. While this is great it seems to go against the idea that music has a use. It brings people together. I guess listening to your own music could lead to that and I certainly don't think people should start carrying boom boxes around but I still love it when I can strike up a conversation on a train or elsewhere. Shared experiences have special appeal. I find myself trying to look over peoples shoulders or listening very carefully to know what they are listening to in secret hopes that it will be something I know too.Nuhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546538315016461916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354148231896015124.post-13026562600146585832007-07-16T07:26:00.000-07:002007-07-16T08:06:26.302-07:00Sound OffI keep hearing more and more how people are getting their music from download services and not buying cds anymore. I am not one of this crowd. Even though I can admit to the amount of clutter in my life due to cds and albums (yes I'm that old) stacked up in multiple places throughout the house. I just can't seem to let go of the feeling of the "get". Bringing the record home like when I was 14 and bought Zep's In Through The Out Door (see, told you I was old) or wouldn't allow myself to listen to the New York Phil's recording of The Planets (Bernstein, 73) until I had read the liner notes.<br /><br />Somehow the experience seems inauthentic to me if not accompanied by something I can hold. Am I alone in this feeling? There is a pride of ownership not to mention a question of fidelity of sound. The mp3's that I download-primarily from emusic-are a thumbnail to me and live happily on my mp3 player. I do find myself hooking the mp3 player up to my stereo when I want someone to hear a track I haven't gone out to buy yet.<br /><br />I know as a performer that having music on your website or myspace page is helpful for people to check out what you do but I wouldn't dream of putting entire tracks online given all of the blood sweat and tears that went into the production of a quality recording, not to mention the cost.<br /><br />I know that artists today are still spending time putting together track lists for flow etc. to make the listening experience the best that they can. I remember being a bit miffed at Prince's decision to make the entirety of Lovesexy one track until I heard it. I for one am completely content with the old paradigm of hearing singles on the radio or my own mix tape, cd, mp3, etc. However most mix tapes I make come about after having listened to all of the music on that particular offering. I will admit that the radio is on at home far less than when I was a boy and part of me misses that. I can see the internet possibly replacing radio but sometimes it's still nice to have someone program the listening experience for you rather than just randomly poking around listening to lower quality sound bytes.Nuhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546538315016461916noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354148231896015124.post-33587871527868430812007-06-28T10:17:00.000-07:002007-06-28T10:54:57.808-07:00Tilting ForwardOne of the beautiful things about blogs is the ease with which you can shamelessly promote something. In this case it's a bit on the benign side since the performances have all past but here goes.<br /><br />I have had a band called Tilt Brass (<a href="http://www.tiltbrass.org/">tiltbrass.org</a>) which has been together for a few years now. We originally built the group with half being jazz musicians and the other half "legit" but with some background in improvisation. We tend toward process pieces in the vein of Rzewski, Wolff, Brown and the like in addition to some more straight ahead stuff but staying away from the Rebirth/Dirty Dozen thing. From the beginning we had members of the group interested in writing and arranging for the ensemble. We performed around town, out at Barbes, Bowery Poetry Club, Joe's Pub, etc.<br /><br />It used to be thought that there was this great divide between the jazz and legit music worlds. It's not particularly true in all cases as evidenced by Tilt's ability to perform the music of Dave Ballou, Anthony Coleman, Nate Wooley, Curtis Hasselbring, Charles Waters, and Taylor Ho Bynum. Each of these charts came with its own unique set of circumstances to navigate. The collective amount of experience really made for the ease of producing this show.<br /><br />Another big surprise for me was the level of quality that these pieces were written at. I as the conductor/traffic cop was feeling some pressure about how to manage a relatively short amount of rehearsal time into something productive for the digestion of all this new music. It could'nt have been simpler and here's why:<br /><br />This approach to music with many different types of musicians finding common ground goes much further than any crossover label that could be applied to it. It also puts us in good post-modern company as we bash through some barriers that some still jealously guard.<br /><br />Those who do things in a very particular way are play with forms that will always be cherished. The new way seems to be to mix things up and show off what you can do. I will always be psyched to here Dr. Michael White or the Guarneri show us how the classics are done but will also always be fantasizing about what Dr. White's turn-on-a-dime precise band would sound like playing something else.<br /><br />So give me your distended/extended blues forms, 7/8 alternating with 9/16 passages in all their microtuned splendor as well as anything else you can think of. I welcome it.Nuhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546538315016461916noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354148231896015124.post-45294741043530684632007-06-27T11:49:00.002-07:002007-06-28T10:17:38.303-07:00BeginningThis is the beginning of Around The Bend, a blog about the music I love and why. Upon arrival in NYC back in 1987 I immediately gravitated to the wilder side with an interest in how things work that still fascinates me today.<br /><br />Novel sounds still grab me as well as novel approaches compositionally. I question what it is that draws me to the new and novel. I can only think that it is because I was encouraged to listen to everything I could for my instrument as a kid and that translated to everything else over time. This makes me think that we need a new approach to getting the audience into the hall. Themed concerts, celebrity buy-ins and the like are beginning to be explored to some success. It is necessary for the audience to be interested enough to talk about the experience to others in a compelling way.<br /><br />The musical experience is always being recreated by musicians. Their specific reinvention of the sounds in real time rely on their own collective (or solo) interpretation of the composer no matter what the style. Composers in turn have to start from somewhere and almost all musical styles have accepted ways of fashioning pieces that will bear that style's name. This is changing as younger composers in the jazz and so-called classical fields pick and choose from their favorites all over the world, not just building on what's come before. This is a great entry into the musical process for many. If you like Radiohead, then you should like a group who plays their music or something like it.<br /><br />The concert experience as museum piece is fine as far as that goes. However, without engaging the "luxe crowd" (that generally shows up to the millionth performance of Death and the Maiden) with the music of today, we will continue to see a shrinking audience at that demographic. Putting old an new together can only work if programmed with care. Many young groups today are doing just that with great success. Others simply use some piece of music or style from the past and make that their own.<br /><br />Any way you look at it music is moving around the bend.Nuhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546538315016461916noreply@blogger.com2