The Cycle of Get
From our earliest encounters with music, we are told tales of extraordinary accomplishment by musicians: stories so magnificent that no musicologist could hope to put them into context. It is absurd to think of Mozart applying for graduate school, but we scarcely question a cinematic portrayal of him dictating the Requiem from his deathbed.
Feb 15, 2012
Come and Get Your Pulitzer
Submissions for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize in Music are now being accepted.
Dec 12, 2008
Has Winning the Pulitzer Made a Difference?
Wayne Peterson “…My commissions have soared and everything I have written since that time has been published…” Christopher Rouse “…the number of commissions and performances of my music have remained about the same in my pre-Pulitzer and post-Pulitzer periods…” Charles Wuorinen “…as I look over the list of winners I am struck by how many… Read more »
Jun 01, 2000
The State of Music Publishing
Arnold Broido (Chairman and Past-President of Theodore Presser Company and Chairman of the International Confederation of Music Publishers) and his son, Tom Broido (Presser’s current President) describe the current state of music publishing and how that impacts the publication of new music.
Feb 01, 2000
Paul Moravec: The Whole Range of Human Emotion
Shakespeare’s plays, a novel by Stephen King, and personal letters from American soldiers written in wartime have all served as inspiration for compositions by Paul Moravec. However, when he is composing more abstract instrumental works, like his extremely beautiful Violin Concerto, Moravec claims there is always “a kind of musical narrative” at work even if it does not have a precise verbal meaning.
May 01, 2016
Prizing American Music
Frank J. Oteri Photo by Melissa Richard Over the years, I have frequently bemoaned the fact that there is no Nobel Prize for Music. While only in my most musically zealous moments I’d claim that musical contributions are as significant as strides toward world peace, even in my soberest moments I know in my heart… Read more »
Jun 01, 2000
George Tsontakis: Getting Out of My Introvertism
Although George Tsontakis has had a career that most American composers would envy, he aspires to a hermetic existence in the middle of the woods and composes something only when someone commissions it and nothing at all if no one does. Perhaps surprisingly, it’s a strategy that has served him well.
Oct 01, 2018
‘Singers and Musicians’ Part 2: On Conductors, Identity, and Musical Segregation
Every identity comes with inherent biases, assumptions, and privileges to varying degrees. A helpful exercise is to take an identity and think of the immediate mental image that comes to mind when you invoke it. Let’s take “conductor.” Picture a conductor in your mind. What does this person look like? What are they doing? What are they wearing? Who is in the frame with them?
Feb 25, 2019
Spaced Out with Henry Brant
Brant describes the evolution of his career and his concept of musical space.
Jan 01, 2003
Thinking Big: David Del Tredici, A Conversation in 13 parts
How to write what you want for orchestra.
Jun 01, 2003
The Times They Are a Changing
I’m simultaneously ecstatic and somewhat puzzled by the choice of Ornette Coleman’s Sound Grammar as the winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize in Music
Apr 17, 2007
Ellen Taaffe Zwilich: Goose Bumps in the Candy Shop
Although Ellen Taaffe Zwilich has received more accolades than most living composers—the first woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Music and the first composer chair at Carnegie Hall, as well as the only living composer ever mentioned in a Peanuts® comic strip—she believes that the pinnacle of success is hearing a wonderful performance of one of her compositions.
Jun 01, 2011
Caroline
Caroline Shaw is different in many ways from previous Pulitzer Prize winners, but it is the sense of enjoyment in being a part of something bigger than oneself that, in my humble opinion, makes her stand out.
Apr 19, 2013
Neo This, Neo That: An Attempt to Trace the Origins of Neo-Romanticism
Does the word “neo-romanticism” has historical validity?
Sep 01, 2003
Roger Reynolds: The Benefits of Being Outside the Loops
Although Roger Reynolds has been based in California for the last 40 years, his Midwest upbringing and formative experiences in both Europe and Asia have given him a world view that knows no boundaries. Read the interview…
Dec 01, 2009
This Year’s Model (or, That’s What They Don’t See)
In C, Taylor Swift, and Cultural Canonization: A reflection in 53 phrases.
Dec 12, 2014
Melinda Wagner: It’s Just Who I Am
Although most of the music she composes is completely abstract, Melinda Wagner still always crafts her music intuitively and in such a way that it reflects her personality.
Jun 01, 2015
Rediscovering John LaMontaine
John La Montaine reflects on his meteoric rise to success in the late 1950s and the current music scene.
Sep 01, 2003
Not Quite a Horse Race
The Grawemeyer has yet to be as widely an acknowledged accolade—even among new music aficionados—as other honors like the annual Pulitzer Prize. Did your morning newspaper (those of you who still read such things) run a story on the Grawemeyer Award this morning?
Nov 26, 2012
Soundtracks: June 2000
It is perhaps poetic justice that concurrent with our issue inspired by the winner of the 2000 Pulitzer Prize in Music that Bridge Records has released the world premiere recording of the Pulitzer winner from 1999, Melinda Wagner’s Flute Concerto. There are a number of other Pulitzer alumni among the featured composers this month: Howard… Read more »
