Quotes on the premiere of Ned Rorem's Aftermath:
In most, the melodies are constricted by Mr. Rorem's standards. Allan Kozinn
These lines, coming at the end of John Hollander's "The Park," should chill the listener, but Rorem's setting did nothing for me. Lisa Hirsch
Even if it seemed obvious, I loved the fighter-plane swooping of the strings in Rorem's setting of Richard Eberhart's "The Fury of the Aerial Bombardment," and I thought the swift, oblique strokes that accompanied Jorge Luis Borges's "Remorse for Any Death" rather suited this enigmatic poet. Steve Smith
aworks quotes:
Studies for Player Piano. Conlon Nancarrow: Jessica Gaynor Dance presents “Rhythm Studies,” a collection of short dance pieces set to four of Conlon Nancarrow’s “Studies for Player Piano” that examine the gestural relationship between musical and dance physicality. Gay City News
Sonata. Charles Tomlinson Griffes: The Sonata is very exciting, gripping music. David Zajic
American Concerto. Ellen Taaffe Zwilich: Generally brash and jaunty, occasionally lyrical, it was written in 1994 for the jazz-and-pop specialist Doc Severinsen. Martin Bernheimer
miscellany...
This time around, I'd allowed my perception of diminishing returns from recent Terry Riley pieces -- as well as low expectations of new works from Glenn Branca (whose best music comes in other settings) and JG Thirlwell (err, umm... ditto) -- to preclude my hearing what might have been, and reportedly were, outstanding new pieces by Michael Gordon and Alexandra du Bois, among others. Steve Smith
Always a controversal and "othermindly" figure, MFOM wishes him [Milton Babbitt] a happy birthday. Richard Friedman
The LA Times' always solid Charles Duhigg has found the opposite is happening: radio programmers are less likely to play new artists for fear of drawing regulatory scrutiny. Coolfer
Fargo’s public radio station has switched its daytime programming from classical music to a mix of American roots, jazz, folk and rock. The Forum
Ultimately, the greatest challenge to the concert hall and to orchestras may be the fragmentation and segmentation of populations that no longer even aspire to a shared community life. Mike Greenberg
I've been thinking about this quote. I was going to suggest pop concerts as a counter-example of how large numbers of people still come together for a shared experience. But thinking of my experience as I regularly walk by the local arena in San Jose on my way to the train, every concert has its own, unique demographic fan profile -- Avril Lavigne's is as different from Paul McCartney's as it is from Slipknot's etc. Not exactly "united we stand."
The hardest of all the arts to speak of is music, because music has no meaning to speak of. Ned Rorem
It's "Hirsch," not "Hersch." :-)
Posted by: Lisa Hirsch | April 10, 2006 at 04:42 PM