"Of course, criteria for what constitutes an 'idea' in the first place have shifted and changed in this century, especially since the advent of radical modernism. So much so, in fact, that, for some composers, texture, color, layered sounds - none of which are particularly memorable or indelible to the ear because they are over-generalized sound-complexes, too diffuse and non-specific - take the place of 'idea' in the sense I mean it." George Rochberg I had always assumed, and written, that Rochberg had never quite had his ear bent out of … [Read more...]

I'm running behind due to a confluence of recent deadlines, but I'm happy to announce Peter Garland as Postclassic Radio's Last-Two-Thirds-of-October-Through-First Third-of-November Composer-of-the-Month. Maybe I'll go on a five-week cycle and get back in phase. But this will coincide with my profile of Peter in Chamber Music magazine this month, and I'll play at least a couple of pieces from every CD he's got. So far, Jornada del Muerto, Bright Angel/Hermetic Bird, The Fall of Quang Tri, and Nostalgia of the Southern Cross, all for piano, plus … [Read more...]

Because I just never seem to have enough to do to fill up my time, I guess, I sometimes serve as a "reader" for publishers who want a professional opinion on whether a manuscript should be published. Right now I'm reading a personal memoir by the late George Rochberg - possibly because I was one of the few to express public sympathy for his music and aesthetics after he died. I must say I'm amazed, considering what a different type of composer he was from me, how simpatico I find his opinions. One gratifying thing I've learned is that Rochberg … [Read more...]

I love teaching with my external hard drive, which now contains 6844 mp3s, perhaps something like ten percent of my record/CD collection. Today we were analyzing Ives's Concord Sonata. I wanted to make the point that Ives didn't invent the tone cluster (or at least wasn't the first to invent it), and so I plugged in my hard drive, pressed a couple of keys, and played the Combat Naval for harpsichord by Michel Corrette (1707-1795), which uses forearm clusters to simulate cannonfire. The students expressed surprise that something so wild could … [Read more...]

"Music nowadays is merely the art of executing difficulties, and in the end that which is only difficult ceases to please." Voltaire, Candide … [Read more...]

I had a meeting with an editor from a major publisher today, as happens frequently. They want to know what textbooks I'm looking for, and are polite enough to ask what books I'm planning to write. My esoteric plans don't generally thrill them. But this one asked what kind of textbook I'd like to see. I told her that I'd love a beginning music theory text that isn't so exclusively classically oriented, one that would have examples from Broadway tunes, folk music, and pop music, like maybe some musical examples from the Beatles, so that I can … [Read more...]

Joseph Horowitz's article on Gershwin in today's Times reiterates the usual historical positions on him. One one side are the musicians (Copland and Thomson are quoted) who considered Gershwin's music lowbrow and never took it seriously. On the other side are those who find in longevity irrefutable evidence of artistic success, and therefore consider Rhapsody in Blue and An American in Paris among the great classics of American music. As usual, allow me to distance myself from both sides. I have always taken Gershwin completely seriously as a … [Read more...]

Alaskan composer John Luther Adams and I were out grouse-hunting the other day, and got into a conversation about our generation of composers. We had flushed out a couple of coveys we weren't expecting, peppered the air with some 7 1/2 shot, and my spaniel Nellie had done a noble job of scouring the bracken for anything we might have hit - but came up empty. Finally, dropping my gun, I suggested that maybe the reason composers our age hadn't gotten enough attention was that we showed too much respect for our elders, and hadn't presented … [Read more...]