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 »
Oct 01, 1999
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 »
Oct 01, 1999
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 »
Oct 01, 1999
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 »
Oct 01, 1999
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 »
Oct 01, 1999
The Philadelphia Orchestra at 100
To celebrate The Philadelphia Orchestra’s centenary on November 16, 2000, the artistic and management team of the orchestra decided to devote their entire 2000-2001 concert season exclusively to music composed since the orchestra was founded–that is to say the music of the 20th century.
Sep 01, 1999
Describe your best and worst memories of premiere performances
John Corigliano “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…” Tim Page “…I’d choose the first performance of the orchestral version of Reich’s Tehillim in 1981 as the “worst” premiere.” Laurel Ann Maurer “I premiered [Meyer Kupferman’s]… Read more »
Sep 01, 1999
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 »
Sep 01, 1999
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 »
Sep 01, 1999
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 »
Sep 01, 1999
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 »
Sep 01, 1999
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 »
Sep 01, 1999
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 »
Sep 01, 1999
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 »
Sep 01, 1999
Tania León: What it Means to be an American Composer
Although raised in Cuba, Tania León was born into a family that had roots from all different parts of the globe. Since arriving in the United States, where she has been based since 1967, she has come to realize that her own multicultural heritage is what makes her a quintessentially American composer.
Aug 01, 1999
What do you expect to hear when someone says “American music?”
Chen Yi “I think that all musical works composed in the States AND influenced by American culture are considered American music.” Judith Lang Zaimont “In a very real sense, it is the lifeblood of our country expressed in sound.” Howard Mandel “America’s music is wide and wild, fed by hundreds of old and new musical… Read more »
Aug 01, 1999
What is American Music?
Frank J. Oteri Photo by Melissa Richard America is a land of immigrants and the culture of America has been formed and reshaped time and time again by the immigrants whose traditions get introduced here and then morphed into something completely new. When we speak of an “American tradition,” it is almost an oxymoron because… Read more »
Aug 01, 1999
Soundtracks: August 1999
We have tracked down new recordings of music by 65 American composers this month. As always, the variety is overwhelming. There are three new MMC anthologies of orchestral music featuring works by 21 composers proving that the orchestra continues to be a source of inspiration for composers with a wide variety of stylistic inclinations ranging… Read more »
Aug 01, 1999
The Unlimited Flavors of American Pie: How Immigration and Emigration have Shaped American Music
Sid Whelan Photo by MJ Sharpe What is American music? If, in answering that question, we start by discussing roots music (in my opinion a more appropriate term in the context of American culture than “folk” or ‘traditional”) such as bluegrass, country, gospel, blues, zydeco and rockabilly, and then move on to pop and popular… Read more »
Aug 01, 1999
What do you expect to hear when someone says “American music?” Chen Yi, Composer
Chen Yi Photo by Jim Hair Since music is a universal language, music composition reflects the precipitation of a composer’s cultural and psychological construct, I think that all musical works composed in the States AND influenced by American culture are considered American music. The modern society, especially the American society, is like a great network… Read more »
