Letters
These letters were published in Vol. 17, #1.
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Composer index^
Composers mentioned in Vol. 17, #1.
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Bravi to …
Harold Rosenbaum, Faye-Ellen Silverman, Kurt Stallmann, Tania Leon, Gene Pritsker, Leonard Lehrman Continue reading ‘Bravi to …’
In This Issue (Vol.16#2)
Well, we sure are hearing quite a lot these days about those rotten apples turning our economy into a nightmare. One supposes that this is the news that sells; it certainly doesn’t help the economy to know all of that. We don’t hear nearly as much about real heroes, those among us whom we can claim as genuine national treasures regardless of the state of the national treasury. Continue reading ‘In This Issue (Vol.16#2)’
Bravi To …
Robert Sherman, Debra Kaye, Carlton Wilkinson, Leonard Lehrman and Helene Williams, Arlene Gottfried, Eve Beglarian Continue reading ‘Bravi To …’
CENTER STAGE: The Cambodian Aesthetics of a “Spiral Composer”
an Introduction to the Music of Chinary Ung
An on-going column by Edward Green
As I mentioned in my inaugural column, the purpose of these essays is to bring attention to composers who have created works of extraordinary merit, yet who have largely been placed on the periphery of the “New Music World.” The first column dealt with Robert Simpson of England; this, with a composer who contrasts with him in almost every regard: Chinary Ung.
Continue reading ‘CENTER STAGE: The Cambodian Aesthetics of a “Spiral Composer”’Musical Thoughts on the Lincoln Bicentennial (Feb. 12, 2009)
Copyright 2009 by Leonard J. Lehrman, Critic-at-Large
“There’s a brand-new wind a-blowin’ down that Lincoln road.” So wrote Langston Hughes, in 1940, words set to music by Elie Siegmeister (1909-1991) and published as the 181st and last song in his collection, A Treasury of American Song. And so sang The Metropolitan Philharmonic Chorus last month in Great Neck, Huntington, and Manhattan, at three of the 15 Elie Siegmeister Centennial concerts scheduled this year. As we welcome that “new wind” in Washington today, and commemorate the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth this month, a look back at the music inspired by our 16th president would seem to be in order. Continue reading ‘Musical Thoughts on the Lincoln Bicentennial (Feb. 12, 2009)’
I Was There
© Jan. 20, 2009 by Leonard Lehrman, Critic-at-Large, The New Music Connoisseur
I used to have a button, lost now these many years unfortunately, that said “I Was There, [at the] March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963.” (Many are wearing similar buttons today, referencing the historic inauguration of a president whose rise that march helped make possible.)
I was there, with my father - and heard Dr. King’s historic speech of the century, “I Have A Dream.” I was there when it was transformed into one of the great choral works of the century, Elie Siegmeister’s cantata of the same name Continue reading ‘I Was There’
Bravi to… for Spring/Summer 2008
Elliott Carter, American Composers Orchestra, American Music Center, American Composers Forum, Beth Anderson, Harold Rosenbaum, Rosalie Calabrese, F. Gerard Errante
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Composer Index for Vol. 16 No.1
All composers whose works are commented on in this issue are listed. Mere mentions are not cited.
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In This Issue
It may not encompass the focus of this issue of NMC, but we’re certain Leo Kraft won’t mind our using this space to talk about the topic of symphonic music as a political force, something all music-minded people should take interest in. That’s exactly what CNN has done with its hour-long TV documentary “Americans in Pyongyang.” And this piece by the “pastmistress” of TV reportage, Christiane Amanpour, was beautifully etched—balanced and yet moving.
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Masthead-Vol. 16, No. 1, Spring/Summer 2008
Contributors and Board Members
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Peter Jarvis Interview
Carlton Wilkinson interviews percussionist Peter Jarvis for New Music Connoisseur newsletter/website.
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Dotted Notes …
Joel Mandelbaum … Carine Gutlerner … John Lampkin … Stan Harrison … Richard Brooks … ACA Festival
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CENTER STAGE: The Cosmos and the String Quartet
— On the Chamber Music of Robert Simpson
An on-going column by Edward Green
This column is the first of a series bringing to “center stage” composers of great merit who, for whatever reason, have so far been only on the periphery of the “New Music World.” Sometimes the slight takes the form of misunderstanding. A composer may be “known” in the sense of public awareness, but “unknown” when it comes to a true appreciation of his or her work. More often, the work is so little-known, it hasn’t even had a chance to be misunderstood!
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CRITIC-AT-LARGE: Leonard Lehrman
Is The Rest Really Just Noise?
©2008
Alex Ross’s long-awaited book, The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2007, 624 pp., 21 photos, no musical examples), is the most ambitious overview of its kind since William Austin’s Music in the 20th Century (W.W. Norton, 1966, 708pp., 41 photos, many musical examples). Comparing the two may be instructive: Continue reading ‘CRITIC-AT-LARGE: Leonard Lehrman
Is The Rest Really Just Noise?’
ESSAY: So Why Are You Doing This?
By Allen Brings
Having arrived at a “certain age,” I have discovered to my surprise how much I’m learning from little children. A recent incident, for example, made it clear to me the real reason why I have always composed music and continue to do so. Continue reading ‘ESSAY: So Why Are You Doing This?’
Recently Departed
Karlheinz Stockhausen, Andrew Imbrie, Susan Blake, Gerhard Bronner, Martin M. Streicher, Ron Mazurek
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Letters
Regaining Skills
Dear BLC:
Bell’s is really a *&%$#@… Several friends of mine have had it. One, a trumpet player, had his work affected for some time, but he worked very hard to get his skills back and did. The good news is that it does get better. But it can put such a dramatic stop to normal communication when it first comes on, that that alone would be enough to get you down without all the other things on your list.
Here’s hoping the skies brighten soon … You’re doing something really valuable for this community!
Danielle Woerner, soprano
Saugerties, NY
In This Issue
Spring/Summer 2008 (Vol. 15, No. 2)
We bring to the fore two essential aspects of art music: education and creative freedom. Whenever we read or hear about the dropping of music and art from school curricula, we are reminded of the state of traditional human values in our society. It’s difficult to compete with the kinds of projected salaries outstanding professional football and basketball players can expect vs., say, the members of a symphony orchestra.
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