Repertoire analysis -- how the sausage gets made (or conducted, rather)

One of the great things about the Internet, in my opinion, is that it's very easy to publish online -- especially in blogs. Take this one, for instance. There's no money in our budget for a hard copy newsletter, but online? It's free to us (and to you) and we can embed videos!

Kenneth Woods is a conductor and cellist who has recently completed an interesting self-study of the works he's conducted during the 2009-2010 season, entitled "Which Composers Are Getting Played?" I find it an interesting read for a a number of reasons:

1) It's an interesting balance of basic repertoire, unusual works, and modern composers -- which goes against my perception that conductors only want to do works by dead white Europeans.

2) Woods talks about the process of working with orchestra and orchestra boards, which explains in part why certain works get done infrequently, or not at all.

3) It's thought-provoking. If you had to learn 75-125 works to conduct in a season, which ones would you choose? How many would you be willing to learn that you might not like very much, but orchestras expect you to perform? How much new music would you program, and how new is new?

That last question's not irrelevant. As Woods says as he goes through his list,

Other composers dear to me, however, have not been lucky. Bartók has been completely absent. This makes me crazy, but I get tremendous (and completely incomprehensible) resistance when trying to program his music. 

Incomprehensible is right! Bartók is an acknowledged master, whose works are mainstays of the repertoire (at least among musicians). Modern? Well, maybe for 1948 -- but that was over a half century ago. Could we please move him to the dead white European male category so we can get his music performed more often? (if that's what it takes)

Just asking...

Indie classical - sonic spice

A very interesting article appeared in Capital New York. Entitled Indie classical goes uptown: Judd Greenstein on new music, it presents some concepts about contemporary classical music that I (in my own modest way) am trying to accomplish with "Gamut."

Judd Greenstein is a young composer who's equally comfortable in the classical and pop music worlds, and one of many new talents looking for ways to use current popular music gestures to create classical works of substance. Sound like a retrogression? That was what many thought when Brahms wrote waltzes, using the popular music form of the day to create classical works of substance. And some religious leaders were very uneasy about late medieval church composers using popular chansons (songs) as the basis for their masses -- especially when the original tunes had NSFW lyrics!

The indie classical philosophy, while in line with what composers have traditionally done (like Mozart's German Dances, or Mahler's use of landler), is at odds with the overall aesthetic of contemporary music, which has tried to make a clean break with the past. Unfortunately, in doing so, it seems to have made a break with the audience.

As Greenstein says about building an audience for new music, "“You don’t do it by shocking people. You do it by adding spice to their food gradually, by introducing new flavors, by broadening their palette in a way that feels simultaneously comfortable and exciting because it’s both new and familiar.”

It's how music evolved in the past, and it's also part of the philosophy behind "Gamut." Sure, I program plenty of prickly contemporary music -- but only if I think it's worth your while to hear (at least once). I also play a lot of newly-composed music that's tuneful, appealing, and sometimes just plain fun to listen to. Consider it a little sonic spice.

As I like to say, the two things I don't like are bland music and bland food. Don't worry -- on my show we're not talking Thai hot, just a dose of Tabasco every now and again. And yes, when I get some recordings of Judd Greenstein's music in, "Gamut" listeners will be the first to know it!

Trafficking in sound: Stephen Montague's Horn Concerto for Klaxon Horn and 20 Automobiles

What's the definition of noise? For me, noise is unorganized sound. Which makes music organized sound. If you can't hear the organization, you might think it's noise. But it's not.

I thought about that again while listening and viewing the following work. Stephen Montague is an American composer active in Europe. I first ran across him on an album by rhe Relache Ensemble, where they performed his chamber work Paramell VI. It's an attractive post-minimalist work, and one that's very easy to hear the organization of (which makes it music).

Montague's also created several interesting multimedia works, including the one below. The Horn Concerto for klaxon horn and 20 automobiles was premiered in 1998 as part of the European Music Day festivities. Some might dismiss this work as "noise," or perhaps even something too silly to be worthy of their attention.

But I think that's wrong. While there's a certain amount of whimsy about the work, if you pay attention you'll hear a carefully organized sonic work Montague works imaginatively with his material. The soloist uses several horns, and they're not just tooted willy-nilly. While the pitches of the horns are relative, it's clear that the composer has specified which horns are to be played, and in what rhythm.

The cars, which form the orchestra, are also used creatively. The different pitches of the horns are used to form chords, and not every horn plays at the same time. Plus, Montague uses the revving of the engines (also at different pitches and durations) to further expand his musical resources.

I recommend playing the video without watching it. By removing the visuals, it's easier to hear what's going on musically -- and there's more going on than just a silly joke. But then make sure you also watch the video. Montague understands that the sight of 20 Mini Coopers is an unusual one, and he orchestrates some visual elements to further articulate the musical structure.

While I don't think anyone would argue that the Horn Concerto is a great piece of music, it certainly is one of the more imaginative multimedia works I've encountered. And -- what the heck -- it's a lot of fun, too. Enjoy!