Recently, I've been thinking about performance practice and public attitudes toward "art music" more generally. A couple of specific things have influenced me, that I'll talk more about, but I wanted to mention them quickly. One is Emily Howell, a computer program developed by UCSC professor David Cope. (JFGI and read all about it).
The other is improvisation, especially by Gabriela Montero, of whom I was just made aware three days ago, and have not stopped watching obsessively since. My favorites here and here. I've never seen anything like it. The most shocking part for me is that I had never heard of her before! This kind of thing just isn't really encouraged much in the conservatory world that I inhabit, which is a real shame.
More generally, though my friend and I have our disagreements about what music is all about, I think we agree that something is off about the modern concert hall experience. More to follow soon!
I wanted to send you the most recent Alex Ross column from the New Yorker (it's about Le Poisson Rouge, a jazz-club-style classical music performance space in New York, and expands a lot on the whole concert-hall "scene" and its problems), but it's subscription only. You should figure out some way to read it though!
ReplyDeleteAlso: did you know that Sydney performed in the Gonzales Cantata earlier this year? It was REALLY GREAT.
good thing i have a subcription!!! ill read it soon
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