A Quote Just Before February 2011

Xenakis and Messiaen: Because I couldn't find a picture of Messiaen and Varèse (it was always going to be a long shot). Taken from a 'Q & A' with James Dillon on The Arts Desk.

Varèse, whom I heard him [Messiaen] describe as 'my brother, who does for the urban landscape what I try to do with nature'.

Alexander Goehr: Finding The Key ('The Messiaen Class').

Also do check out this Varèse documentary extract on YouTube. Best thing I've seen on him so far but I can't find out where to get the full length film. Don't think it's the new Frank Schaeffer film Varese: The One All Alone (which I haven't seen, yet). Looks too dated but it's hard to tell with all the stock footage and YouTube compression etc.

Guess The Score No.2

Click on the image to enlarge.

Yes, here is the second entry in my already highly regarded 'Guess The Score' series.

This one's not as easy as the previous Varèse extract so I'm not expecting anyone to get it but you never know.

Some clues, the composer is male, still alive, and hasn't composed many pieces for orchestra. This is the beginning of the third movement (as you can see) and features some rather natty quintuplets at different speeds. One of my favourite pieces as it happens.

As before, don't all rush in at once.

EDIT: Congrats to Dan who got the right answer. It's Kurtag's Stele, the first page of the third movement. Have a listen below (turn your speakers up as the introduction is rather quiet).


Tinyurl for this post: http://tinyurl.com/38m5p55

Quote for Mid February

Wolff, Brown, Cage, Feldman....More info here from the University at Buffalo

Earle Brown: But is there not enough of what you might call reasonable music in the world that might be changing the insights of people? In other words, I always used to agree with Varese, Varese would never join polemical sides you know, ...

Morton Feldman: Not in public.

Brown: ... he said, if you've got a different idea then write the music, and that music will have its effect and it will change things. Don't stand around and holler I have been offended, help! The best thing that you can do is to not put yourself in a polemical position verbally, but just write a better piece of music, if you have got a better idea. Because it is the examples of things, that are better that change people, not forcing them to change.

From a Feldman, Brown and Metzger discussion in 1972, featured here.

Musical 'Modernism' - The Movie

Composer Casting Couch, click for larger image.

A while ago some friends and I (at least two, honest) were discussing the possibility of a movie about the Second Viennese School, who should we cast in the major roles?.

Well, I've expanded the concept somewhat to include a few more composers, some 'modernists' more or less. (or perhaps a 'post-modernist' where Cage is concerned and Debussy and Mahler are more like pre-modernists or something).

I would have included more but after searching around some composers didn't seem easy to cast (Xenakis, Boulez, Feldman, Ligeti and others).

Some 'levity' for those long winter nights anyway, 'enjoy' (if you can name all the composers and their actor 'doubles' in the picture you win a special prize, click on the image above, here is a hint, match the images to the names in the tag list).

Oh and thanks to Ross's The Rest Is Noise blog for reminding me about the Second Viennese School 'movie' concept (via his post about Susan Sarandon's slip of the tongue at the recent Golden Globes).

Bird Talk, It`s not Cheep

Ok ok, it`s a terrible title, but the content is worthwhile, a link to Mel Martin`s webpage featuring audio interviews with quite a few major jazz 'cats', Charlie Parker being top of the list.

Interesting (to me) that in the Paul Desmond interview Parker talks about wanting to study with Varese (Parker didn`t live long enough however). This is something most current post-bop jazzers wouldn`t expect perhaps, don`t just study the omnibook guys, listen to Varese, and Bartok and Stravinsky, other Parker favourites.

A Couple of YouTube Playlists

A couple of YouTube playlists worth mentioning, both from 'Iamnogaucha.'

Playlist: Contemporary Classical Music I
Description: Here are some fine performances for your pleasure. I have included several late 19th century works that influenced subsequent musical developments. Composers are organized alphabetically by last name. Individual works are arranged in like manner. Duplicated works are organized by performer(s). This playlist will be updated and expanded from time to time. Enjoy. All credit goes to the original posters of these videos. Thanx.

Playlist: Contemporary Classical Music II
Description: Here are some composer interviews and documentaries for your pleasure. This playlist will be updated and expanded from time to time. Enjoy. All credit goes to the original posters of these videos. Thanx.

Some (of my) highlights from playlist one...

Charles Ives (Quarter-Tone pieces)
Pablo Sáinz Villegas - 1 Sequenza XI - Berio (Classical Guitar)
Messiaen - Oiseaux Exotiques - Robertson, Huebner, part 1
Varèse - Ionisation - Boulez, Ensemble InterContemporain
Eonta (part 1 of 3) [1963 - 64] by Iannis Xenakis [1922-01]

From playlist two..

A documentary on Berio from the NY Phil`s YouTube channel, here is part 1.

Don`t forget that these clips can be taken down/removed without warning, if you want to keep any of them try downloading them to your PC with a free service like Vixy.net

Quote of The Day (20/03/08)

'Anyone who does not make his own rules is an ass'

Edgard Varèse (in interview 1926)
Varèse: Astronomer in Sound, Malcolm Macdonald.

New Arrivals

Varese: Astronomer in Sound; Malcom Macdonald (cheesy title, arrived this morning)

Also recently arrived..

The Music of Morton Feldman: Thomas DeLio

Waiting for..

Give my Regards To Eighth Street: Morton Feldman
Thesaurus of Scales and Patterns: Nicholas Slonimsky
The Jazz Theory Book: Mark Levine (about time, should have bought this years ago, missed the boat really but still worth having for reference)

Discovering Electronic Music

Good radio documentary on electronic music by the BBC here.. (part of their excellent Discovering Music archive)

Alwynne Pritchard takes us on a journey through the rich and colourful landscape of electronic music with composer Jonathan Harvey discussing his Mortuos Plango, Vivos Voco and pioneering works by Varese and Stockhausen.

The BBC is grateful to Professor Michael Clarke Director of the Electroacoustic Music Studio at the University of Huddersfield for his assistance in making this programme, and in particular for his permission to use his innovative software analysis of Jonathan Harvey's piece which features in chapter 6 of the book Analytical Methods of Electroacoustic Music, edited by Mary Simoni.


Stockhausen score image from the blog 3282