composer's notebook
essays & criticism on musical matters
commentary
Friday, September 29, 2006
Season Preview
My newspaper's annual Fall Arts Preview section came out a couple weeks ago—a tradition which consistently stirs up mixed feelings: interest, disgust, surprise, intrigue, excitement ... and agita, Since then I've been meaning to do my own self-congratulatory all-Newman version, seeing as I'm hearing about some terrific performances shaping up for this season. So not counting any projected Spring performances of the chamber winds concertino, which are all, as far as I know, mostly unscheduled (as well they should be at this point seeing as the thing doesn't exist yet), here are some of this season's upcoming Newman Highlights:
This month
Chunk at Southern Methodist University, The Meadows Wind Ensemble, Jack Delaney, conductor. Happening in a couple of hours, actually!*
October
*
November
starting with the chamber group version in Springfield MO with Ensemble 21
then the wind orchestra version at University of Kansas's "neXt Festival", John Lynch conductor, less than 24 hours later.
(You can probably guess that logistically, this trip was, um, complicated to plan.)
followed quickly by...
the wind orchestra flavor again with Georgia State University's Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Bob Ambrose, conductor.
(I need to reiterate ... that's 2 OK wind symphony performances in one month, and 3 OKs within 2 weeks. Rains...pours...)
*
December
*
January
As the scent of spring rain..., with the Levine School of Music's Metropolitan Wind Symphony, John Kilkenny, conductor. A chance to hang out in Alexandria ... my in-laws will be thrilled!
*
February
*
March (my new favorite month)
As the scent of spring rain... at the 2007 CBDNA National Conference final concert in Ann Arbor, Florida State University Wind Ensemble, Richard Clary, conductor
*
For more details on any of these, see the nifty database (nifty database courtesy of SB's mad PHP skillz). I add performances to that database as soon as they are confirmed (or really quite close to being confirmed), so it's not close to a full picture of the year just yet. If you know of a performance, be proactive and add one yourself. Go ahead. It's pretty sweet. The technology behind this is awfully cool.Sunday, September 10, 2006
Spontaneous Combustion
Two blowups, in fact. The first: Greenwich Village gallery/performace space Tenri exploding on Friday night as pianist Blair McMillen burned down the place with his mad skillz. It's always a treat to hear Blair play, but this time, the pianist commenced the show by walking out, smiling and bowing, sitting down on the bench, and slamming both his forearms down on the keyboard with the force of Zeus. Oooh, I thought. This is gonna be good...
Avian Music produced this improv-themed solo-recital for Blair, and it was a great show—fun and meaty and brilliantly performed. The standout bits were a set of biting Ives studies, a really terrific new concertino by composer Peter Flint (a piano quintet titled Microconcerto: Spontaneous Combustion), a two-ton monster of a new piece by Annie Gosfield (I'm quickly becoming her #1 fan), a set of absolutely charming miniatures by Kyle Gann, and McMillen's own loving arrangement of King Crimson's 21st Century Schizoid Man, with Oren Fader on joining him guitar, and Marc Schmied on bass. Which, y'know, set the place ablaze with Nobrow.
The other blowup? ... my Good Sense, when I decided I'll be doing this bike tour today.