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Category Archives: Media
Great Guitar Pieces Nobody Plays
Some of the harmonics on the series would be quite out-of-tune if played on a regularly tuned, equal-tempered guitar.Tenney obviates this problem by retuning a couple of strings on the guitars responsible for each harmonic—and restricting the musical material for that guitar only to those notes that can be sounded accurately in tune.
The repertoire of American composer James Tenney (1934-2006) is among the most diverse and stimulating in experimental music.
He studied with, amongst others Chou Wen-Chung and John Cage.Tenney’s work deals with perception (For Ann (rising), see Shepard tone), just intonation (Clang, see gestalt), stochastic elements (Music for Player Piano), information theory (Ergodos, see ergodic theory), and with what he called ‘swell’ (Koan: Having Never Written A Note For Percussion for John Bergamo), which is basically arch form.
More invective – when you have nothing nice to say
Thanks to Wendy MacNaughton for this
Lipatti’s Final Essay
“…wanting to restore to music its historical framework is like dressing an adult in an adolescent’s clothes. This might have a certain charm in the context of a historical reconstruction, yet is of no interest to those other than lovers of dead leaves or the collectors of old pipes”
“Music has to live under our fingers, under our eyes, in our hearts and in our brains with all that we, the living, can offer it.”
Dinu Lipatti was a consummate artist whose playing was sublime.
As usual, the critics are limited by their own shortsightedness and inadequacies. This essay explains why it is important to play music in our time even if it not of our time, and how striving for authenticity can strangle creativity in performance.
Watch an orchestra in action – LSO play
The London Symphony Orchestra has launched a Flash website which allows you to get inside the orchestra with multiple viewpoints of the different sections playing Ravel’s Bolero.
There are up to four different views of the orchestra at the same time, and a live chart showing which sections of the orchestra are playing.
This is a great performance with Valery Gergiev conducting and a fascinating insight into orchestration and orchestral playing.
The music will be updated from time to time and it’s completely free! Definitely worth a play!
“I base my identity on being a composer, who does other things.” Ned Rorem
Another birthday – it was Ned Rorem’s 90th yesterday..
It’s an occasion that would be easy to miss. Apart from some concerts here and there, there has not been a fanfare, or any special mention in the media for this prolific American composer and Pulitzer Prize winner.
He became notorious for his diaries published from the 1950s and he is far better known in certain circles for his literary work than as a composer. As he put it to the Paris Review in 1999, his early diaries were “filled with drunkenness, sex, and the talk of my betters.”
In an interview with WYNC’s Sarah Fishko in 2002 he reminisces about his teacher who introduced him to the music of Debussy, Stravinsky and Ravel, and also pointedly adds
“I never go to classical concerts any more and I don’t know anyone who does. It’s hard still to care whether some virtuoso tonight will perform [Beethoven‘s] Moonlight Sonata a bit better or a bit worse than another virtuoso performed it last night.”
Here is the full article celebrating his achievements by ANASTASIA TSIOULCAS of NPR Classical.
92nd Street Y An American tribute to Andres Segovia
Segovia and his guitars 92Y concerts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
An American tribute to Andres Segovia
Date: Sat, Oct 26, 2013, 8 pm
Location: Lexington Avenue at 92nd St
Venue: Kaufmann Concert Hall
The Metropolitan Museum’s Guitar Heroes app
This is a free app to go with the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s exhibition, Guitar Heroes – Legendary Craftsmen from Italy to New York.
Through collaborations with musicians and experts, the app brings to life the guitar makers’ creative process and celebrates the enduring relevance of these instruments.
It features museum-commissioned musical performances expressly designed for this exhibition, artist interviews, and rarely seen archival video footage.
Plus pictures of guitars!
Well worth a punt, and a visit, if you are in the vicinity.
“Without music, life would be a mistake” – Friedrich Nietzsche
Just a nod in the direction of the German philosopher, cultural critic, poet and composer, Friedrich Nietzsche, whom many remember for his declaration “God is dead”.
It’s his 113th birthday today (Nietzsche’s) and is celebrated by the Google Doodle.
Nietzsche made quite an impact on composers during the 1890s. Continue reading
The Vulcan Lute
Lute playing Trekkies rejoice – you can now learn the instrument of your choice!
The Vulcan lute (sometimes referred to as Vulcan harp, Vulcan lyre, orVulcan Lyrette) was a twelve-stringed instrument, played on the planet Vulcan, that was tuned on a diatonic scale and noted to be very soothing. (VOY: “Innocence“)
Spock was proficient at playing the Vulcan lute and was known to play it often during his off-duty hours. (TOS: “Charlie X“, “The Conscience of the King“, “Amok Time“, “The Way to Eden“; Star Trek V: The Final Frontier)