Theme for August: "Quiet Music"
This month in Classical and Experimental Music (as well as related genres and subgenres), I would like to focus on “quiet music.” William Cosgreve wrote the oft-misquoted line “music has charms to...
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On Performing: Part 3
I’m still learning to play the piano… Around five years ago I suddenly realized why I appeared to be having so many problems creating a good playing tone on the piano. I had thought that I had merely...
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On Performing: Part 4
In memoriam: with the death of Alicia de Larrocha, a bright star has been added to the constellation. A wonderful pianist, and one of the greatest of the 20th Century-she was an inspiration for me. I...
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Media Exhibit: Door Number Two
Who is to say what prize hides behind this door—envelope, please!These are websites I follow on a regular basis (I chose not to hyperlink!):Said the...
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In Brief: What to Read When Awake
Notes on music, by Alex Ross (link)Books and a dormant blog by the music critic of The New Yorker (link)I’ll be honest: I worship the ground that Mr. Ross walks on. I can only aspire to be anywhere...
View ArticleArchives: Petrucci Music Library
There are many places on the web where you can download free pdf's of sheet music, but The Petrucci Music Library, formerly known as the International Music Score Library Project, is one of the most...
View ArticleIn Brief: Nine Beet Stretch
Nine Beet Stretch is a piece by sound artist Leif Inge, which takes a recording of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and stretches it from its normal length of one hour to a length of 24 hours. There is no...
View ArticleOn Performing: How to be Real
Yesterday I found this column by composer/writer Greg Sandow, from 2002. It reflects many of my own feelings on the performance of classical music. Here is a link to the original, but I am reposting it...
View ArticleComposer Dilemmas: Revision
In this series titled "Composer Dilemmas," I would like to relfect on issues in the process of composition. How deterministic will this piece be, performance-wise? Once 'finished,' does it remain so?...
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