ZoomClouds: S21 Composers Forum

... lling out the larger venues. But I also know the other two halls would have compromised the experience for both the quartet and the audience. Chamber music is an intimate artistic expression, more poetry than spectacle. Rather than looking for the most income I could generate from these concerts, or...

Last month, I wrote about starting on a new orchestra piece, and the delirium of having the music race through my head day and night. This week, I cleansed my mind somewhat by bringing the music into one of my classes, using it to show the students how I approach creating large forms from simple mat...

Check out the Santa Fe New Music Festival this Wednesday night – in addition to Piotr Szewczyk’s performance of ViolinFutura (coming soon to a planet near you), Piotr will be premiering my Fifteen Minutes, a set of 16 brief works I wrote for him under the mistaken impression that I was giving him wh...

... ture later, which are actually quite interesting and challenging. Right now I have to report on an odd tidbit, at least very odd for me: although the music starts off with a wild flurry of activity, thirty-one measures go by – more than a minute – before there is anything that could traditionally be...

Just got the 2007 royalty statement from Albany Records for this 2002 disk of my chamber music. To my surprise, they are showing I had 1.5 times as many CD sales as digital downloads last year. I would have guessed we were past that tipping point by now – by which I mean I would have thought digita...

Here’s my second annual rant about children’s music, a topic I find constantly confounding. Last year I was befuddled by “Bingo.” This year, “Do a Deer” has my head unhinged.Forget for a moment the unlikelihood of a family learning solfege in 1930s Austria. Maybe Sister Maria had an Italian or Frenc...

... g Ruo is what many composers strive to be: uncompromising artistically and tremendously successful professionally. He often walks the borders between music and not-music, managing to make the fine line come alive through the force of his artistic personality.He will tell you he is a visually oriente...

... ounced, soon after he arrived, that he intended to start a contemporary ensemble. ACME, as the group is called, gave its first concert this week.Most musicians know Ransom as the virtuoso flutist from Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and Professor at Yale University. Many others realize that ...

We all know how crucial it is for inexperienced composers to hear their music. I almost said “young composers,” but inexperience isn’t about age, necessarily. Of course, it’s important for all composers to hear their music, but for inexperienced composers every performance is a formative experience....

The estimable Mr. Claus brought me a copy of Alex Ross’s The Rest Is Noise for Christmas, which I’ve just finished. I’m not the literary or musical critic this book deserves, but I can offer a bit of a personal appreciation.Here are seven things I like about The Rest Is Noise:1. Political nuance...

... lti-movement works is the opportunity to create formal parallelisms – corresponding passages that converse with one another across broad stretches of music. A nice recent example of this potential is Kyle Gann’s Sunken City, which contrasts two dramatically and subtly differentiated musics in its tw...

... ’s Play is a lark -- an attempt to create a light-hearted piece that reflects the strengths of the woodwind quintet ensemble. It was fun to work with musicians of this caliber, especially Igor Begelman and David Jolley, with whom I've worked before, and Joseph Robinson, with whom I was working for t...

... aginaire" (1982)For Soprano and EnsemblePerformed by Ingrid Schmithüsen and the Société du musique contemporaine du QuébecAvailable on this album at emusic"Crois-tu en l’immortalité de l’âme?" (incomplete 1983)Performers unknownLive performance on this DVD* * * * *“...I pursued my work with ...

... . Indian Rose GardenII. Chinese Witch's LakePerformed by the Danish Notional Radio Symphony OrchestraAvailable along with many of Nørgård's works on emusic* * * * *In the last three years I've been rather preoccupied with the idea of writing two movement compositions. In reflection, I think thi...

... is the recording of the piece I wrote over the summer that was magnificently premiered by the Nouvel Ensemble Moderne at the 2007 Domaine Forget New Music Sessions in northern Québec earlier this summer. The rehearsal process was pretty painless and with each subsequent reading I became more and m...

I apologize for my recent absense. I'm currently enjoying new music, discussion, the Canadian wilderness, and the wide Saint Lawrence river at Domaine Forget. Regular posts will resume in September. have to apologize for my long lack of posts. With this post I plan to return to my previous regula...

Luciano Berio:”Thema (Ommagio a Joyce)” (1958)Acousmatic MusicNot commercially available* * * * *The perfect piece of music for whatever your Bloomsday festivities may be Berio’s “Thema” is one of the first masterpieces and one of my favorite works in the acousmatic genre. It also features ...

A very dramatic person told me that folk music is dead. I don’t really know if these songs have anything to do with that or with each other, but I thought I would put them all together anyway and see what happens. Luciano Berio: from Folk Songs (1964)“I Wonder as I Wander…””A la femminisca”Perform...

... of Bryan’s acousmatic works “Into Callous Hand” and Bryan was actually the friend I referred to in my first post who suggested I start a contemporary music mp3 blog. The following post is the first of what I hope will be many guest mp3 blog posts on this blog. and intimateAvailable from Locust Reco...

... voy”Accidentally Like a Martyr”Available on Excitable Boy Calexico:”Black Heart””Across the Wire”Available on the excellent album “Feast of Wire” at emusic”Blood Flow””Frontera”Available on ”The Black Light” at emusic* * * * *Over the years I’ve read and talked to a lot people who say that c...

... ied with the score. As a result I doubt I will remember to check comments and post that many long entries. That said I do intend to continue posting music – I just may not have as much to say about it as I’ve had to in the past. To me it’s what you see when you get past a romantic conception that ...

... id A, but I can talk about my relationship with Sgt. Pepper’s and some of what it has personally meant to me.When describing my position as a popular music aficionado I often claim I am at heart a Beatles baby because when I was about eight or nine, and really began to start loving music, it was thr...

... specific composer, genre, or topic. Of course the labeling system isn’t extensive or perfect. For example I’m not labeling things like contemporary music, chamber music, or mp3s since most of my posts focus on these things. Also there are the occasional posts like this that don't really fit into ...

... fact the only work he wrote for the traditional Japanese Gagaku orchestra. Possibly because Takemitsu spent most of his career writing contemporary music for Western instruments his approach to the Gagaku, although filled with traditional approaches, is far more viscous and ghostly than the music ...

Last night I was fortunate to have my first faculty recital. I programmed 6 pieces, about an hour of music, equal parts acoustic and electroacoustic. Things went off without a hitch and it had very little to do with me. What always impresses me is how many people are so giving of their time and t...

... in the Keys to the Future Festival, and although yours were not chosen for performance this time around, we very much appreciate your sending us your music, and would like to wish you continued good fortune in your creative life. Sincerely, Joseph RubensteinExecutive and Artistic DirectorKeys to the...

... vid D. McIntireSpeech Songs by Charles DodgeLove Song by Paul RudyNotjustmoreidlechatter by Paul LanskySong Cycle for Haruki Murakami by Matt Dotson (music) and Bart Woodstrup (video)Mouth by Patrick Peringer and Josh KalichmanI deliberately didn't put anything by myself on there, even though I have...

... practice. Well, I haven't heard anything official from CMS yet, but I'm really stoked about it. A performer contacts me out of the blue and wants my music? That is still squarely in the "awesome" column of my book.I know some composers who don't get that excited about performances of their pieces ...

Okay droogs, confession time. I'm having a bit of a falling out with Beethoven. Don't get me wrong, I'm not casting aspersions on Beethoven or his music. Beethoven's music just sounds so frustrated to me lately that I haven't wanted to listen to it. I used to be the same way: constantly frustrat...

... ng world, "there is always one more bug." I dutifully put the finishing touches on things, but I hate to do so and I really drag my feet with it.The music may be done, but the score isn't yet. Or everything is in Finale but I still need to make it look pretty. And then I have to do the parts. An...

... play as fast--although it probably still is fast as necessary--and I was never ridiculed or criticized for doing so, or for trying too hard to make a musical statement. I find more simplicity now--clearer thoughts, musical lines--not to say I am finding things more matter-of-fact, quite the contrary...

... thm is rarely ever metronomic. Like tuning, "scientific" correctness is not necessarily what sounds best. She never conceded my point.I know a lot of musicians like her. Their goal is to play more or less like a machine: perfectly in tune with a tuner and in rhythm with the metronome. But music play...

Musicians are as reliant on their equipment as they are their arms and legs. Great equipment is half the battle to playing well. But the search is not so easy. I’ve been trying out new mouthpieces for months now. Actually, I’ve been searching ever since I started playing clarinet. The perfect m...

... 're lucky, you'll get a bit more than half the notes in tune. That's why I feel like slapping people when they say "Oh, it must be such a JOY to play music!!!". In an orchestra, the oboe sets the pitch. Uppity oboe. "My way or the highway." These days all oboists use electronic tuners to be sure the...

... d hard work -- teetering on the brinks of four major commissions. One -- a consortium commission involving five orchestras -- is a done deal, but the music isn’t due until Jan. 2010, so I don’t really feel compelled to dive into it just yet. Another one is pretty much a done deal, just a few technic...

... o come with a little Oops message, as in Congratulations, now you are too old to do X.On a related note, I’m planning a semi-centennial concert of my music in 09-10. That’s definitely something I’m not too old to do -- although I will be if I wait any longer.that one’s not due until July 2009, so, a...

... as some cogent thoughts about Cage here.On a personal note: I could have survived the twentieth century, albeit a bit less pleasantly, without Cage’s music.I’m not sure I could have survived the twentieth century without his books. in Congratulations, now you are too old to do X.On a related note, I...

... There haven't been too many special programming requests so it should flow together easily (knock on wood).I like taking widely different pieces of music and trying to organize them into vignettes. It is kind of like playing a big, musical game of Go using iTunes as the board. Okay, maybe not. l...

... rdent opponent of freedom. Thank you, Senator, for all but destroying government support for the arts around the exact minute I entered college as a music major. I'm sure a very Maplethorp-ish experience awaits you in the afterlife.rent pieces of music and trying to organize them into vignettes. ...

... but I decided the discussion has been so good that I didn’t want to limit possible topics.Soooo… What did you think of those guys?tered college as a music major. I'm sure a very Maplethorp-ish experience awaits you in the afterlife.rent pieces of music and trying to organize them into vignettes. ...

... mock Elvis, or both? How?Other Comments?good that I didn’t want to limit possible topics.Soooo… What did you think of those guys?tered college as a music major. I'm sure a very Maplethorp-ish experience awaits you in the afterlife.rent pieces of music and trying to organize them into vignettes. ...

I just heard about Donald Erb's death. I'm a huge fan of his music and was lucky enough to have some lessons with him quite a long time ago. I saw him cut and gut several folks in master classes and was terrified of showing him my work. He liked my piece and only suggested that I add a single mea...

... that time, especially considering that I didn't seriously start composing until I was 20. Hell, I didn't even seriously start doing electroacoustic music until 2005. I have a long way to go, but you know something? I'm going on that way.I'm not where I was 10 years ago. Ten years from now, I'm ...

... our stone anywhere. Anywhere! As the game evolves, situations demand specific placements and your options decrease. I feel the same thing about my music. At first, I can do anything. Then, as the piece progresses, my choices are restricted and, if all goes well, inexorable.The head of the group...

... us played during lessons and was able to say exactly what needed to be done--I always wondered if I would be able to do the same, as a servant of the music, a transmitter of the traditions to the next generation. I think it finally clicked, at the age of 47! I felt the ease and flow of playing and v...

... Sagala, a composer whose life seems to be on a parallel track to my own. We have experienced a lot of similar things in similar ways even though our music bears almost no relationship to each other. It is interesting how much sameness there is even when the music is totally different.Anyhow, Jerem...

... n, because the difficulty I have comprehending her is tied inextricably with the difficulty I have understanding myself – which, of course, fuels the music I write. I wonder if I should try to be more proactive in resuming communication, as frustrating as it can be, for the sake of maintaining a co...

Well, I forgot to prepare a bit for my theory class today. Not in terms of material (continuous variation forms) but specifically in terms of the music I was going to play. When talking about basso ostinato patterns, I have to play "When I am laid in Earth" from Dido and Aeneas. Yes, it has been ...