When I was a child, I had[1] a cassette player[2] of a type that would be immediately familiar to anyone over thirty, and possibly outside of the experience of anyone under 20. A flattish rectangular prism about half the size of a shoebox, it had a neat row of buttons that required some effort to depress: REC, REW, FF, PLAY, STOP, EJECT. For reasons I never questioned, the REC button would not … [Read more...]
Archives for May 2015
spain tour
I am over here this week: http://uncsaspaintour.uncsa.edu/ … [Read more...]
Sleeping with Strangers
A little down time after exploring beautiful Barcelona. Chance for me to vent on a pair of mild peeves with international travel. First: why do people feel the need to rush on board the plane the moment their seating zones are called? You will have nine hours or so to get intimate with your seat, a seat that will have no respect for you in the morning: as far as I’m concerned, the longer it … [Read more...]
día a día
I’m off to Spain tomorrow with the Giannini Quartet, back in a week. At some point I should thank whoever is funding this trip, but I’m unclear who that is right now, so I will wait until I know what I am talking about. In the meantime, here is the itinerary – 4 cities, 4 concerts, 2 classes: MONDAY 18 MAY Composition master class at Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya in … [Read more...]
Coming Down for Air
I’ve been in rehearsals with the Giannini String Quartet this past week preparing for their Spain tour, where they will be playing my String Quartet No. 3: Air (2004). Air is an eleven-minute homage to Italian aria, our fragile atmosphere, and our lifelong reliance on the peaceful undulation of our lungs. There is a wonderful recording of it by the Daedalus String Quartet online in all the usual … [Read more...]
Uncompromising positions
When composers stick to an artistic vision despite outside pressures to conform, we call them uncompromising. In this usage, uncompromising is a term of respect — even if we don’t particularly like what the composer is doing, we admire that level of determination and focus. There is a tradition of praising Americans for their uncompromising values. But there is also a strong tradition … [Read more...]