I was working on a video editing project this past week, and after pulling a couple of samples from a Vijay Iyer solo show at The Stone in New York City, I kept replaying the last few seconds of the tape. Something looked...amiss. Still, come on, there was no way a fan would actually come for the set and then stay to steal Vijay's timepiece right off the piano (even though that certainly looked like what the guy was up to). Apparently, sad but true! What is up with the music consumer these days? … [Read more...]

I had not already heard of the Toronto-based Art of Time Ensemble when I read about them today over on The Collaborative Piano blog, but--this being Mind the Gap--when Chris Foley pointed out that the ensemble "seeks to bring classical and non-classical genres closer together in new and untried ways" I certainly couldn't pass it by. And I got pretty hooked on the video (well, not as hooked as I am on this video. But close!). I like it. Melodramatically poetic, beautiful camera work, includes … [Read more...]

Awww, damn. One of my favorite composers breaks into major motion pictures, and it's a movie I am quite frankly too terrified to go and see. Ingram Marshall and Shutter Island were not things I expected to see linked when I first saw the trailer for this little tale of horrors--though there is clearly fog--but it doesn't even stop there. The soundtrack also includes music by John Cage, John Adams, Max Richter, Brian Eno, Giacinto Scelsi, Krzysztof Penderecki, György Ligeti, and...it just keeps … [Read more...]

Two strategies for meeting butts-in-seats goals: 1) Hold it out of reach: NC-17 "could shock an unprepared spectator" This reeks a bit of the bait and switch, so I can't quite get behind the idea of trying to titillate patrons into purchasing tickets when the final product offers anything but. That said, some of this stuff is pretty raunchy. [via Proper Discord] 2) Put it in easy reach: Thank You for Being a Friend On the other side of the coin--or cookie, as the case may be--there's something … [Read more...]

Not doomed! Or perhaps only just more doomed than we could ever have thought possible? Wait, wait: nope, seriously doomed.Okay, clearly I overplay my hand. But I wanted to point these pieces out. I got a lot out of considering the myriad perspectives proffered, including some of the comments. … [Read more...]

Since getting all excited yesterday about my experience at a Baltimore Symphony concert, I've been thinking a bit more about some of the related issues. When does an orchestral performance connect with me? It seems to be happening more and more these days (because, when I thought about it, I remembered what a great time I had visiting the LA Phil in December--What an ensemble! What a program! What a hall!). Am I just getting older, are the orchestras changing, or have I been lucking into great … [Read more...]

"Welcome! We're so glad you could join us this evening." Normally this much enthusiasm from a concert hall ticket collector would have hit me as false, but seeing as we had all trekked through several feet of snow to attend this Baltimore Symphony Orchestra concert, I (on behalf of my frozen ears) was also a little more excited than usual to now be inside the hall. It was a good feeling to share that with someone else as I defrosted. Maybe it also hit me so strongly because earlier in the day I … [Read more...]

If you have ever written or performed a piece of music that someone has said something unkind about or if you have ever said something unkind about a piece, well, I guess this is pretty much for all of us. [via BoingBoing] … [Read more...]

Jay-Z and the voice of Rihanna opened Super Bowl XLIV with a remix of "Run This Town" featuring The Rutgers Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Kynan Johns (read up on that here). The tweet lines immediately lit up with reviews of "dope" and "sick." So seriously, kind of America's truest orchestral music in 2010 if we're going to get all genre merged and democratic about it, right? All the way down to the high drama, fireworks spectacle, and pulse-manipulating production values...you know, … [Read more...]

Well, we survived Snowpocalypse 2010 here in Charm City, and maybe the most striking thing about the weekend--aside from the 26" of snow, at least--is how silent it's been compared to our normal urban life. I mean that in the most literal acoustic sense. No traffic except for the snow plows, no going out aside from short trips to admire the views or excavate the car. In those bursts of activity, though, the scrape of the shovel or the drip of the melting ice actually seems amped up to 11. We … [Read more...]