- The Death of Klinghoffer. John Adams
- "an important statement". Classical Iconoclast
- "not a cogent whole worth seeing". Seen and Heard International
- "outdated". Slipped Disc
- "Alice Goodman’s intelligent, harrowing and nuanced libretto got under my skin" 300 Words
- Opening. Philip Glass
- Recording of John Lenehan playing Glass piano music. disinfextavaxhome
- On Sony Music but not streamable on rdio.
- War Horse. John Williams
- Vertigo. Bernard Herrmann
- Herrmann deserves as Oscar even if the nominees don't. Alex Ross
- Concerto for Prepared Piano. John Cage
- Upcoming concert in LA with Gloria Cheng and John Adams. LA Weekly
- James Joyce, Marcel Duchamp, Erik Satie: An Alphabet. John Cage
- Cage is number nine on the list of most recorded composers born in the 20th century. Bernstein is (unfortunately) third. Chamber Musician Today
- Cello Concerto. Nico Muhly
- Upcoming new music concerts in March. Composition:Today
- Third Symphony. Charles Ives
- Premiere of Lou Harrison: A World of Music at the Castro Theatre in SF next week; Harrison conducted the premeire of this work. SFCV
« January 2012 | Main | March 2012 »
February 26, 2012
February 25, 2012
Roots of an Unfocus (1944). John Cage /would be great in a movie/
Image via Wikipedia
Mark Swed quotes Robbie Robertson on the Shutter Island soundtrack:
As for “Shutter Island,” Robertson said, “the opportunity to show off these brilliant composers really makes me feel good.” It has been something he’s wanted to do for a long time. “I’d always thought Cage’s ‘Root of an Unfocus’ ” – which is for prepared piano – “would be great in a movie. And when Marty sent me the script, this is just where it went.”
I would say the same for Cage's A Room.
By the way, I'm listening to the original Dinah Washington song, This Bitter Earth, rather than the Max Richter mashup. Less bitter and melancholy and more charming than I might have expected.
February 23, 2012
North by Northwest (1959). Bernard Herrmann /proto-minimalism?/
Cover of North by Northwest
Arguably one could say that Philip Glass is copying a style pioneered by Bernard Herrmann in the 1950s.
This occurred to me the first time I saw North by Northwest. And I've been listening to Herrmann (and continue to listen to Glass) ever since.
Suite for Symphonic Strings (1961). Lou Harrison /back to shutter island/
I again watched Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island, an interesting if not fully successful film. Still it grabbed my attention enough that I didn't notice some of the heavily contemporary soundtrack, including Brian Eno's Lizard Point, Lou Harrison's Suite for Symphonic Strings, and John Adams' My Father Knew Charles Ives.
The recording is not fully streamable on rdio although thebigfunk has rolled his own: http://www.rdio.com/#/people/thebigfunk/playlists/133401/Bootleg_Shutter_Island_Sdtk/
February 20, 2012
Don't Think Twice, It's All Right (1963). Bob Dylan /quirky/
Cover of Kronos Quartet
On Chimes of Freedom - The Songs of Bob Dylan, Philip Glass arranges an old Dylan song for the Kronos Quartet. The quartet is also credited for additional arrangements. This is a quirky verson and I assume Glass isn't the source of quirkiness.
Next up, My Chemical Romance doing Desolation Row.
February 19, 2012
Porgy and Bess (1935). George Gershwin et al /downight ugly tone/
Image by Getty Images via @daylife
Sedgwick Clark on the new Porgy and Bess:
My problem with McDonald—who may be my favorite singer in the world—is that she is playing neo-realism, complete with a nasty scar on her left cheek and a downright ugly tone of her alluring voice. Alright, I get it: Bess is a drug-addicted ho, and the rest of the cast could be right out of Gone with the Wind. Crown (Phillip Boykin) could take a lesson from Wagner’s Hunding, and David Alan Grier’s drug-dealing Sportin’ Life is no more reptilian than a garter snake. Norm Lewis portrays a noble Porgy but can’t compete vocally with the aggressive Audra, whose show this clearly is.
February 17, 2012
Maple Leaf Rag (1899). Scott Joplin /maple leaf doesn't necessarily mean canadian/
Image via Wikipedia
In honor of the US President's Day Weekend (!), I'm going to blog about my latest enthusiasm -- Scott Joplin!
Of course, the only link between our beloved presidential office holders and the composer, that I know about, is that they are all USians. But I'll work on refining the connection.
And frankly, I've lost touch with Joshua Rifkin's recent activity but his Joplin album from the Seventies remains a delight...
http://www.rdio.com/#/artist/Joshua_Rifkin/album/Scott_Joplin_Piano_Rags/
February 12, 2012
Vocalise (1995). André Previn /give me "shelter"/
I'm always interested in what's new on the American classical scene. One of my habits is to flip through all 3000+ new recordings of the week on rdio (although only maybe 5% of those are classical, on a good week). I then feel compelled to listen to those of interest in my queue even if it's unlikely to be something I really like.
I had that sense of dread when it came time to listen an album "Shelter" - Songs for Soprano and Cello with Piano Accompaniment. It turns out to be much better than expected. The recording by Mela Dailey, Scott Kluksdashl, and Rick Rowley has some interesting works by Andre Previn, John Tavener, Jake Heggie and others and overall is quite pleasing.
It's on the Pierian Recording Society label but I don't yet know what to make of the assortment in it's catalog. I did find The Roaring 20's! Original Popular Recordings for Dancing & Singing, played and arranged by Ferde Grofé as well as a Benjamin Lees Piano Concerto.
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