aworks :: "new" american classical music: March 2011

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Imagination (1966). Sun Ra /noise and electronic music/

I admit this is the only album I know of with contributions by Sun Ra, Captain Beefheart, Percy Grainger, and Autechre (among many others):

March 27, 2011 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Only Music Can Save Me Now (1978). David Mahler /albeit feel good piece/

I suppose David Mahler's Only Music Can Save Me Now is the minimal, albeit feel good piece from this weekend's listening. Music from Other Minds streams the Nurit Tilles recording, 40 minutes in.

March 27, 2011 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

In a Crowded Room with Nothing to Think About (). Ron Tucker

From ensemble, et al.:

ensemble, et al. is a Brooklyn-based pseudo-classical percussion ensemble that combines elements of classicism and modernism while taking a garage approach to its material. The group's repertoire, containing mostly original works composed by Ron Tucker and collaborations between the ensemble's players, springs from an almost punk-rock desire to chart unknown territories from musicians who have tired of inhabiting all-too familiar states. Atypical for some percussion groups, ensemble, et al. prefers a simple, intimate, dynamic and delicately beautiful aesthetic.

Also via YouTube:

March 26, 2011 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Essay (2003). James Tenney /with respect to the “concord sonata” by charles ives/

Out West Arts had the good fortune to see a piano recital by Emanuele Arciuli. Of note, along with a rendeition of Ives' Second Piano Sonata, a related work by James Tenney:

What preceded this was a concise summary of some of the music world spinning out form Ives' work. First on the program was James Tenney’s Essay which directly references the written essays Ives wrote to accompany the original publication of the “Concord” sonata. Tenney takes off from Ives by borrowing and then rearranging certain notes from the sonata which are then plucked by the player from the inside of the piano in this case.

March 26, 2011 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

aworks ordered list :: rdio new releases march 21, 2011 /beyond the i-5/

Cover of Sandy Denny

Soundgarden. Live on I-5. "There’s nothing too exceptional about Live on the I-5, but given that this is the first new release from the recent reincarnation of Soundgarden, it’s worth a listen." Karina Halle. Oakland isn't really on (the) I-5, by the way.
TV on the Radio. Will Do
The Rough Guide to African Guitar Legends. "This week I am compiling the forthcoming Rough Guide to African Guitar Legends - the perfect excuse to spend a few evenings trawling through my African LPs in search of that half-forgotten gem!" Phil Stanton
Gablé. CuTe HoRSe CuT. "French art-pop pioneers Gablé have caused a significant stir of late." midheaven
Fairport Convention with Sandy Denny. Ebbets Field 1974
Amy Schwartz Moretti. Kaleidoscope
Charlie Haden Quartet West. Sophisticated Ladies. "Listening to it from the beginning to the end is like being trapped in a dream with a twisty plot that draws you deeper and deeper into a period Hollywood fantasy of the bad and the beautiful." Stephen Holden
Duke Ellington. Duke in Live
John Renbourn. The Transatlantic Anthology
Duke Ellington. Satin Doll
Lou Donaldson. Say It Loud
Hungarian String Quartet. Haydn - String Quartets
Shinji Ishihara. Bach In Musical Box 92
Various. Gershwin
Charles Davis All Stars. Tribute to Kenny Dorham
Daniel Hope. The Romantic Violinist
Valerie Milot. Chamber Music for Harp
Frederica von Stade. Faure Melodies
Glen C. Campbell. Obama, The Journey

Nothing earth-shaking in this week's list.

I made it through 11 albums from last week, with Art Blakey and The Virtuoso Tuba being the most memorable. Now that Purdue has flamed out in the NCAA basketball tournament, I'll have more time for streaming and listening.

This week's favorites (so far):

March 21, 2011 in aworks :: rdio playlists | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Passages (1990). Philip Glass and Ravi Shankar

Image via Wikipedia

Paul Bailey reviews:

Last Saturday night I caught a trio of Philip Glass’s slightly more obscure music, performed by a well-rehearsed Pacific Symphony and Pacific Chorale (based in Orange County, California) as part of their annual American Composers Festival.

The opening piece, “Meetings Along the Edge” from Passages (1990), featured Glass’s collaboration with Ravi Shankar, in which both agreed to each compose a melody for each other and write a new composition around it. Usually I cringe at the results at these attempts at cultural exchange and creative collaboration, but in this rare instance I was very taken with the way Shankar’s Indian melody combined with Glass’s signature contrapuntal and harmonic elements. It created a fascinating juxtaposition, that gave me new insights on how Shankar’s Indian musical elements integrated into his very recognizable compositional language.

This is the work where Shankar arranges Glass' themes and vice versa. It's been awhile since I've heard it since I only have it on cassette tape but what I remember was attractive and interesting, if not necessarily coherent.

Rdio has it (well, except for one track):

March 19, 2011 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Kitten on the Keys (1922). Zez Confrey /friday cat blogging/

Friday cat blogging, even from this dog lover:

Note: Sparky the local long-haired dachshund doesn't approve of this post. For that matter, I'm not enamored of the music. And who is this "Menelssohn" they speak of?

1922 was a fun year, though:

Ulysses! Insulin! Readers Digest! The Lincoln Memorial! The Beeb! The USSR! "Sergei Diaghilev, James Joyce, Pablo Picasso, Marcel Proust and Igor Stravinsky dine together in Paris, at the Majestic hotel, their only joint meeting"! Carl Reiner! Ava Gardner! Doris Day! Elmer Bernstein! Iannis Xenakis! Judy Garland! My Dad! My Mom!

March 18, 2011 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

aworks unordered list :: rdio new releases 3/15/11

Cover of Erik Satie

Let's see what's notable in this week's new releases on rdio (sorted by my level of interest):

Lady Gaga. Born This Way Remixes Part 1
Cornershop. Cornershop and the Double 'O' Groove of
[Indian?] Classical Symphonies
Trio Mediaeval. A Worcester Ladymass
Thelonious Monk Septet. Monk's Music [Original Jazz Classics Remasters]
Mordecai Shehori Plays Zez Confrey
Gorillaz. Revolving Doors / Amarillo
Art Blakey. Ugetsu
The Virtuoso Tuba
Various. Bach - Brandenburg Concertos
Hindemith Conducts Bruckner
Stan Gezt, Cal Tjader Sextet
Jacques Fevrier. Piano Music of Erik Satie
The Essential Django Reinhardt
Gyorgy Sandor. Bela Bartok - Piano Concertos
Alexander Lonquich. Schumann / Holliger

Last week's favorite tracks here. This week's:

March 15, 2011 in aworks :: rdio playlists | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

You Are Listening to San Francisco (2011). Eric Eberhardt /because they are heard/

Wings of Desire (Special Edition)

You Are Listening to San Francisco is a mash-up of ambient music and the dispatch center of the San Francisco Bay Area Highway Patrol. Versions are also available for Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and Montreal.

Either stream alone is not all that interesting but I find the combination compelling.

HiLowBrow mentions a favorite film of mine in talking about You Are Listening:

It reminds me of the thought-voices in Wim Wenders’ Wings of Desire, of the constant stream of individual meanings heard by sad angels in overcoats, normalized out of sheer quantity, yet somehow retaining their individualism: because they are heard. This tone, this sonic landscape, is what the LA-based remake, City of Angels, sadly missed.

From a gentleforce interview of Eric Eberhardt:

GF: Ok firstly, your name, where you live and what are you up to at the moment?

Eric: Eric Eberhardt / San Francisco / Digital Product Manager for a entertainment & publishing company

...

GF: There seems to be a lot of unknown/underground artists streaming on the site. How did you go about finding/sourcing music for the site and how many artists are now streaming through it?

Eric: I originally got inspired by the SomaFM ambient streams as mentioned in the above link but since I didn’t want to just “hijack” their stream & bandwidth I started looking for other alternatives. A friend suggested SoundCloud which I had used a little bit before but was amazed to find out just how much great ambient music was available on the site with a “remix-friendly” Creative Commons license. Initially all the music came from searching the SoundCloud “ambient” tag and then hand-selecting tracks that I thought would work well and since launch I’ve been contacted by many artists who have enjoyed the project and asked to be included. If the music seems like it will work I’ve been adding everyone who asks!

I first heard about this on MeFi Projects.

I have subscribed for awhile to firedispatch.com which sends me an email for any fire department dispatch event in San Mateo County. But it never occurred to me to augment civic awareness with aesthetics.

Uh oh, some problem was just reported "south of The Cats" on Highway 17. Awaiting further report...

March 13, 2011 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

aworks ordered list :: youtube videos via atonality.net /perpetually occupied/

Wuorinen image via Wikipedia

Speculum Speculi. Charles Wuorinen
For Pianist. Christian Wolff
For Piano. Christian Wolff
Pianississimo. Donald Martino
Notturno. Donald Martino

This is generally sparse music...I'm not sure what the photos represent in the Wolff videos...For that matter, the giant robit and nude women giant robot and nude woman in the painting for the Wuorinen work is equally, uh, interesting...Just as I try to catalog what I listen to on rdio, I'm trying to do the same for relevant YouTube videos from Norwegian Thomas Bjørnseth's web site. Both have the potential to keep me perpetually occupied...

March 12, 2011 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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why listening to this music is interesting, important, and maybe even fun. /robert gable/