Personal Anecdotes About the Founders of the American Music Center Patrick Hardish, Composer; Co-Director, Composers Concordance
Patrick Hardish photo by Barry Cohen Courtesy of Patrick Hardish Otto Luening was a great mentor and influence as well as being a close personal friend. He was important to my development as a composer and on the progress of our organization, the Composers Concordance. I got to know Otto in July 1980 at Bennington… Read more »
Personal Anecdotes About the Founders of the American Music Center Sylvia Goldstein, Former Senior Vice-President, Boosey & Hawkes
Sylvia Goldstein photo by NewMusicBox Sylvia Goldstein own music in the repertoire, Aaron Copland always had time for others. One incident involving the program for a concert he was to conduct at Carnegie Hall comes to mind. The composer of a listed symphony was unknown to me or others in the office. When asked about… Read more »
Personal Anecdotes About the Founders of the American Music Center John Duffy, Composer; Founder and Former Executive Director of Meet The Composer
John Duffy photo by Jay K. Hoffman courtesy of John Duffy The AMC was a rich haven for me during my student days. How glad I was to be there as it was the only place to see and study scores by living American composers. It was there that I first encountered Aaron Copland, which… Read more »
Personal Anecdotes About the Founders of the American Music Center Samuel Adler, Composer; Professor Emeritus, Eastman School of Music; Professor of Composition, The Juilliard School
Samuel Adler photo by Katherine Cumming Courtesy of Samuel Adler In a 1926 speech, Aaron Copland said of Howard Hanson: “Hanson and Sowerby’s sympathies and natural proclivities make them heirs of older men such as Hadley and Shepherd. Their facility in writing and their eclectic style produce a kind of palatable music that cannot be… Read more »
Help! New Music Service Organizations Answer the Call
Karissa Krenz photo by Melissa Richard Music abounds more than ever these days. On any given night you can hear any type of music in the concert hall, on the web, on the radio (and of course, on your stereo). One might think that in these technologically-advanced days, it is easy for a composer to… Read more »
Soundtracks: November 1999
There are over 60 American composers featured in this month’s round-up of new recordings, which is a wonderful way to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the American Music Center this month! And, as always, the range of composers shows an astonishing array of diversity. Perhaps the most momentous release this month is the long-awaiting 10-CD… Read more »
The 60th Anniversary of the American Music Center
Frank J. Oteri Photo by Melissa Richard November is an important month here at the American Music Center. Sixty years ago this month, the dreams of Aaron Copland, Howard Hanson, Otto Luening, Quincy Porter, Marion Bauer and Harrison Kerr became a reality and the American Music Center was born. To celebrate the occasion, we have… Read more »
Personal Anecdotes About the Founders of the American Music Center
Personal Anecdotes About the Founders of the American Music Center Samuel Adler Composer; Professor Emeritus, Eastman School of Music; Professor of Composition, The Juilliard School “…I handed Hanson’s letter to Copland who opened it immediately. His face brightened, and yet there were tears in his eyes as he read the letter…” John Duffy Composer; Founder… Read more »
A "Virtual Séance" with the Founders of the American Music Center
In celebration of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the American Music Center, the history of the AMC is here presented exclusively in the words of its six founders–Aaron Copland, Howard Hanson, Otto Luening, Quincy Porter, Marion Bauer, and Harrison Kerr–culled from archival interviews, books and letters and then shuffled and re-organized to emulate a conversation.
What role, if any, do you think technology will play in the composition and performance of your music in the next 25 years? Paul Lansky
Paul Lansky Photo courtesy New Albion I’d like to reply by first rephrasing the question: how do you think your music will change as a result of technology? I haven’t the faintest idea. All I know is that technology has already had, and will continue to have a radical effect on the music I write… Read more »
What role, if any, do you think technology will play in the composition and performance of your music in the next 25 years? Pamela Z
Pamela Z Photo by Lori Eanes Technology (whether “high” or “low”) has always had an effect on my work, and I have no reason to believe that will change in the next 25 years. I think that all artists are to some extent influenced by the tools they use to make their art. In my… Read more »
What role, if any, do you think technology will play in the composition and performance of your music in the next 25 years? Morton Subotnick
Photo courtesy Morton Subotnick The speed of information access and the amount and low cost of memory will make MIDI output devices unnecessary in the performance of my music. More and more I am ONLY using a computer. I think we will see a major evolution in the recorded media. It will change to DVD… Read more »
American Innovations in Electronic Musical Instruments
Joseph A. Paradiso photo by Rich Fletcher The desire for musical expression runs deeply across human culture; although specific styles can vary, music is generally considered a universal language. It is tempting to surmise that one of the earliest applications of human toolmaking, after hunting, shelter, defense, and general survival, was probably to create expressive… Read more »
Soundtracks: October 1999
Of the 24 discs featured in our current SoundTracks round-up, only 2 are discs of electronic music: David Doty‘s multicultural microtonal synthesizer landscapes and the unique multi-tracking experiments of Robert Paredes. A third CD, Future Flute — Margaret Lancaster’s recital disc of works by four composers, features works which combine flute with computer electronics. Still,… Read more »
Technology and the Future of Music
Anyone pursuing music, either as a composer, a performer or a listener, cannot escape technology.
What role, if any, do you think technology will play in the composition and performance of your music in the next 25 years?
Morton Subotnick “More and more I am ONLY using a computer…” William Duckworth “…some of us are already beginning to develop new virtual instruments and to conceive of ways to facilitate live performances on line…” Pamela Z “Each time I have introduced a new tool into my arsenal, it has resulted in new ideas and… Read more »
Tod Machover: Technology and the Future of New Music
Tod Machover shares some of the extraordinary new musical interfaces he has been creating at the MIT Media Lab and explains how and why these new technologies will redefine music in the 21st century.
Describe your best and worst memories of premiere performances David Del Tredici, Composer
David Del Tredici Photo by Robin Holland courtesy Boosey & Hawkes Best: 1976 premiere of FINAL ALICE in Chicago with Solti conducting and Barbara Hendricks, soprano soloist. Because the piece was so tonal — long stretches in the purest D Major — I was terrified the piece would be ridiculed by the public, press and… Read more »
Describe your best and worst memories of premiere performances Laurel Ann Maurer, Flutist
Laurel Ann MaurerPhoto courtesy Laurel Ann Maurer I have to admit that the quality of “open-mindedness” that I believe that I possess serves me well in terms of finding the value in a new piece, but does not serve me as well when thinking of a least favorite experience. I truly work to find the… Read more »
Describe your best and worst memories of premiere performances Tim Page, Former Classical Music Critic of the Washington Post
Tim Page Photo courtesy St. Louis Symphony Orchestra I’ll have to choose the world premiere of Steve Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians — April 3, 1976 at Town Hall in New York — as the most influential concert I ever attended. It opened new sonic worlds to me and literally pushed me into criticism: I… Read more »
Describe your best and worst memories of premiere performances John Corigliano, Composer
John Corigliano Photo by Julian Kreeger courtesy G. Schirmer The best premiere I can remember is that of my CLARINET CONCERTO with Leonard Bernstein conducting the New York Philharmonic and Stanley Drucker as the soloist. My father, who died in 1975 — two years before the premiere — was the concertmaster of the Philharmonic, and… Read more »
How American Are American Orchestras?
Andrew J. Druckenbrod photo by Allison Schlesinger The twentieth century will be viewed as a time in which composers expanded the range and possibilities of musical language and sound. But also as a period that saw a rift develop between new and old music, especially in the U.S. Here, orchestras delved into the pantheon of… Read more »
Soundtracks: September 1999
As the cost of making orchestral recordings in the United States continues to skyrocket, less than 15 recordings by the major American orchestras have been slated for studio time this year. Clearly, something must be done to make American orchestral recordings viable once again and the answer is in the recording of new American repertoire.… Read more »
The Orchestra in Contemporary American Musical Life
Frank J. Oteri Photo by Melissa Richard Is the orchestra a viable contemporary American institution? That’s a question that’s been on a lot of people’s minds both within and outside the orchestral music community as well as within the new music community which all too frequently has been treated like an opposition political party. There… Read more »
