Free Stuff!!, Stravinsky's Symphonies of Wind Instruments

Stravinsky: 'What's that?, free stuff?'

That's right, Stravinsky's finest piece (possibly, as if such a thing could exist) Symphonies of Wind Instruments was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 this evening.

Performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Ryan Wigglesworth you can listen to it on the BBC's site here, but if that isn't working for you (you are reading this after the 7 day period for instance) then by some strange coincidence some kind and thoughtful soul has uploaded it to the internets, you can get it here as an MP3 (let me know if the link goes dead and I'll try and find another copy of it, somewhere.)

While on the subject of Stravinsky's best piece (cough) don't forget about Frank Scheffer's excellent documentary 'Stravinsky: The Final Chorale' available on DVD from the complement.inversion store here (US 'customers' go here.)

It's a double bill with his documentary about Schoenberg's über Five Orchestral Pieces (now in its centenary year.)

Probably the 'best' DVD in Ideale Audience International's 'Juxtapositions' series (excluding the ones about Glass, Part and Dun, not seen those obviously, or, obviously)

Both documentaries feature the usual talking heads stuff about the pieces and end with performances (the Stravinsky by the Netherlands Wind Ensemble cond. Reinbert De Leeuw, the Schoenberg by the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic cond. Michael Gielen), very worth seeing.

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Quote Of The Last Few Months (normal service resumed)

Varèse: seemingly unaware of the piano next to him.

Suddenly, toward the end of his life, Kierkegaard began to worry what his answer might be if he were asked in Heaven: 'Did you make things clear?.' He realised that in order to make things clear, he must make it known that of all those serving the Church of Denmark, not one had any feelings for God.

And ourselves?, what if we were faced with the same question?, being that music is our life, in that it has given us life - did we make things clear?. That is do we love Music, and not the systems, the rituals, the symbols - the worldly, greedy gymnastics we substitute for it?. That is, do we give everything - a total commitment to our own uniqueness?.

Have we no examples of this?, is this not Varèse?. Do we only have models for scale tinkering and instrument clinking?. Do we think Varèse isnow something to dissect?. Are we making ready the test tubes?, remember, there was no funeral. He escaped.

Morton Feldman: Perspectives of New Music, Vol 4, No.2 (Spring - Summer 1966)

Berio Liner Notes; Poetic Injustice.

Dealing out criticism isn't really in this blog's remit (I prefer to feature things I like), however this is something worth covering, perhaps.

A while ago I started collecting Berio material, recordings, scores, documentaries, books and so on (previously I just had Sinfonia on cd, sad, I know.)

A primary resource is my local music library, thankfully they have quite a bit of stuff, however there was a gap in their catalogue. In stock were the scores for Chemins I and Chemins IIb/c but they didn't have any recordings of them, the only ones currently available were on a fairly recent Col Legno release (Chemins I and IIb, IIc is the same but includes an extra bass clarinet part, not sure a commercial recording of this exists.)

So I filled in a form on the library's site suggesting they buy this cd and that I would like to reserve it if they did. I heard nothing back about it for a few months and in the meantime I bought the album as an Mp3 from ClassicsOnline (link here), and very good it is too (you can watch the Chemins I performance on YouTube here, not a great quality recording but on the plus side, it's free. The cd also includes Formazioni and Concerto For Two Pianos and Orchestra.)

Then the other day I got an email saying the library had bought the cd and it was reserved for me (I had forgotten all about it), I thought I ought to go and borrow it even though I didn't really need it now (at least I could burn a copy of it and have an uncompressed audio version, I had paid for an mp3 of it remember.)

On the way home from the library I ran into a musician friend (Mark the tubist) who on hearing the story said 'at least you'll have the liner notes'. Yes I thought, good point, I walked the rest of the way home thinking about all the fine words the booklet would surely contain.

However, this was not to be. For some strange, unfathomable reason, poetry has replaced the usual and arguably more useful musicological/biographical material. I shall subject treat you to an example.

Formazioni -:

there's a draft (quake, quote)
that is building up
collectively and thereover
thunder
and above it the little birds
buzzing hissing
the sun rises
mounting darkness
below
a cloud of white birds in the white whey
i acknowledge
i know nothing
pinpricks
pricking pins (pastiche)
then the part
partitioned parts lend it
a sudden whole
nobody's
trump
trumpets fanfare briefly
strike without
knowledge
You, she says, or i, say she
expectation

Ferdinand Schmatz, September 2008

I'm no literary critic so I'm not going to comment on the relative merits of the work, but do think Col Legno should have included some normal liner notes, with or without the poetry.

To end on a positive note, if you like Berio's music this cd is a must-have and I commend Col Legno for releasing it, just don't expect to learn anything about the music from the booklet.

I've 'stocked' the cd in my shop/store, UK here, US here.

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Contemporary Music At The Proms 2009

[Note: This is a duplicate/archive of an article I published on Sequenza 21 on 14/07/2009]

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Yes, it's Proms season again here in the UK/GB (see link for the differences.) The "worlds greatest music festival" kicks off on Friday and I thought I would put together a vaguely 'contemporary' programme for those so inclined.

Included are composers who are still alive regardless of 'style', and a few 20th century composers I thought relevant (excuse my subjective and rather fuzzy criteria; Stravinsky and Bartók are included for instance, Debussy, Ravel and Shostakovich are not; feel free to berate me in the comments section.)

All the concerts listed will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and will be archived a week or so later on their website (for seven days only). Also, the BBC normally broadcasts quite a few live on TV (usually on BBC 2); these will be archived on their 'iPlayer' but unfortunately this is not accessible by those outside the UK (if you are not a native get your British friends to set their VCRs or whatever newfangled device people are using these days).

If you fancy making a personal appearance, most of the concerts will be on at the Royal Albert Hall in London with those from the 'Proms Chamber Music' series occurring at Cadogan Hall in Chelsea (listed below with the prefix 'PCM', Chelsea is also in London if you didn't already know.) The festival runs from Friday the 17th of July to Saturday the 12th of September.

If you are visiting from outside the UK this might be a good year given how weak the pound is currently (against the US Dollar and the Euro at least.) To buy tickets and to check availability please visit the Royal Albert Hall's tickets page.

Rather than list each Prom I thought composers in alphabetical order might be more helpful (taken from this page on the BBC site where you can access the full list, including Debussy, Ravel and Shostakovich et al), please click on the links to each piece to get more information about the specific concert.

A couple I am looking forward to are Prom 63 featuring two Xenakis pieces (Aïs and Nomos Gamma) and Prom 65 featuring Ligeti's Atmospheres and Schoenberg's Five Orchestral Pieces (in it's 100th year) conducted by Jonathan Nott. Also it will interesting to see/hear some of the pieces by younger composers I have never heard anything from before such as Anna Meredith, whose piece Left Light is premiered at Prom 32 and Ben Foskett whose From Trumpet has its first outing at Prom 24.

Anyway, without further ado, here is the list... [EDIT: I've now added a link to a Google calendar with the dates and details of all the Proms in the list plus a few more I think, thanks very much to Jamie Bullock for putting it together.]



Link to a Google calendar version of the list, and an ical link.

Andriessen, Louis (born 1939)

The Hague Hacking (Concerto for 2 pianos & orchestra) - Prom 43

De Staat - Prom 58

Antheil, George (1900-1959)

Ballet mécanique (4 pianos and ensemble) - Prom 33

Arthurs, Tom (born 1980)

And Distant Shore (world premiere) - PCM 18

Bartók, Béla (1881-1945)

Dance Suite - Prom 15

Sonata for solo violin - PCM 8

Sonata for two pianos and percussion - Prom 33

Violin Concerto No.2 - Prom 44

Berg, Alban (1885-1935)

Chamber Concerto - Prom 49

Birtwistle, Harrison (born 1934)

Carmen Arcadiae Mechanicae Perpetuum - Prom 27

The Mask of Orpheus - Act 2 - Prom 39

Silbury Air - Prom 27

Verses for Ensembles - Prom 27

Bondt, Cornelis de (born 1953)

Doors Closed (London premiere) - Prom 58

Casken, John (born 1949)

Orion over Farne - Prom 16

Chin, Unsuk (born 1961)

Cello Concerto (world premiere) - Prom 38

Crumb, George (born 1929)

Ancient Voices of Children - Prom 66

Night of the Four Moons - Prom 66

Vox Balanae (Voice of the Whale) - Prom 66

Davies, Peter Maxwell (born 1934)

Roma, amor - Prom 29

Solstice of Light - Prom 71

Violin Concerto No.2 (UK premiere) - Prom 70

Westerlings - Prom 71

Foskett, Ben (born 1977)

From Trumpet (world premiere) - Prom 24

Glanert, Detlev (born 1960)

Shoreless River (UK premiere) - Prom 46

Glass, Philip (born 1937)

Symphony No.7 (A Toltec Symphony UK Premiere) - Prom 37

Violin Concerto - Prom 37

Goehr, Alexander (born 1932)

Since Brass nor Stone - PCM 7

Goldie (born 1965)

Sine Tempore - Without Time (world premiere) Prom 21, and Prom 23


Golijov, Osvaldo (born 1960)

She Was Here (after Schubert) (UK premiere) - Prom 59

Greenwood, Jonny (born 1971)

Popcorn Superhet Receiver - Prom 39

Harvey, Jonathan (born 1939)

Come, Holy Ghost - Prom 8

Holliger, Heinz (born 1939)

(S)Irato (UK premiere) - Prom 26


Hosokawa, Toshio (born 1955)

Cloud and Light (UK premiere) - Prom 10


Jarrell, Michael (born 1958)

Sillages (world premiere) - Prom 25

Knussen, Oliver (born 1952)

Horn Concerto - Prom 30
Flourish with Fireworks - Prom 76

Ligeti, György (1923-2006)

Atmosphères - Prom 65

Lutoslawski, Witold (1913-1994)

Concerto for Orchestra - Prom 31

Variations on a Theme by Paganini for two pianos - Prom 32


Macmillan, James (born 1959)

Seven Last Words from the Cross - Prom 6

Martland, Steve (born 1959)

Beat the Retreat - Prom 58

McCabe, John (born 1939)

Horn Concerto 'Rainforest IV' (London premiere) - Prom 67

Study No.12 (Sonata) (world premiere) - PCM 16

Meredith, Anna (born 1978)

Left Light (world premiere) - Prom 32

Nyman, Michael (born 1944)

Six Celan Songs - Blume; Psalm - Prom 54

The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover - Memorial - Prom 54

The Draughtsman's Contract - selection - Prom 54

The Musicologist Scores (world premiere) - Prom 54


Pärt, Arvo (born 1935)

If Bach Had Been a Beekeeper - Prom 21 and Prom 23

Saunders, Rebecca (born 1967)

traces (UK premiere) - Prom 56


Schnittke, Alfred (1934-1998)

Nagasaki (UK premiere) - Prom 52


Schoenberg, Arnold (1874-1951)

Five Orchestral Pieces, Op.16 - Prom 65

Simcock, Gwilym (born 1981)

Contours - PCM 18

Stravinsky, Igor (1882-1971)

Agon - Prom 57

Apollo - Prom 39

Concerto in D major - PCM 4

The Fairy's Kiss - Prom 34

The Firebird - Prom 16

Fireworks - Prom 1

Jeu de Cartes - Prom 30

Les noces - Prom 33

Orpheus - Prom 40

Petrushka (1947 version) - Prom 15

Pulcinella (complete) - Prom 20

The Rite of Spring (two piano version) - Prom 38

Scènes de ballet - Prom 28

The Soldier's Tale - Suite - PCM 18

Takemitsu, Tŏru (1930-1996)

Ceremonial - An autumn ode - Prom 10

Green - Prom 10

Thomas, Augusta Read (born 1964)

Violin Concerto No.3 'Juggler in Paradise' (UK premiere) - Prom 72

Tracey, Stan (born 1926)

Genesis Suite - Prom 3

Vivier, Claude (1948-1983)

Orion (UK premiere) - Prom 60

Weir, Judith (born 1954)

Ascending into Heaven - Prom 8

Widmann, Jörg (born 1973)

Con brio (UK premiere) - Prom 18

Wigglesworth, Ryan (born 1979)

The Genesis of Secrecy (world premiere) - Prom 8

Williams, John (born 1932)

Music from 'Jurassic Park' " 'Star Wars' - Prom 21 and Prom 23

Woolrich, John (born 1954)

Capriccio (World premiere) - PCM 4

Xenakis, Iannis (1922-2001)

Aïs - Prom 63

Nomos gamma - Prom 63

Zimmerman, Bernd Alois (1918-1970)

Dialoge - Prom 64

Contemporary Music at the Proms, on S21

Just uploaded a list of more or less 'contemporary' music on at this year's Proms at Sequenza 21, I'll archive it here in a week or so.

EDIT: The list now includes a Google calendar version of the list (and an ical file too.) Thanks to Jamie Bullock for putting it together.

A Quotation For Nearly The Middle of July

Berio: Cigar, mackintosh, strange heart shaped pendant (???)

'I get the impression that behind the far-from-desperate musical folly of a Morton Feldman who writes everything pianissimo, lies the fear of taking even a step out of the "avant-garde", lest he should end up in those regions which in old maps used to carry the inscription "hic sunt leones", where music opens out with all its volcanoes, its seas and its hills. Maybe he is afraid of being eaten alive.'

Luciano Berio, an interview with Rossana Dalmonte (1981), from Luciano Berio, Two Interviews, available in the UK here, US here.

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Quotation For Early July

Ferneyhough, Cage, and Reynolds (image courtesy of The Library of Congress.)

'What I have against the term "serial" is certainly partially dictated by the cliche which the word has become. In a sense, it means all and nothing. Music is in every case a more or less ordered object; whether the methods employed call for some form of pre-ordering or emerge only in the course of actual composition by so-called intuitive processes is scarcely very interesting.'

Brian Ferneyhough, Interview with Andrew Clements, taken from Brian Ferneyhough: Collected Writings, edited by James Boros and Richard Toop. Available in the UK here, US here.

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