Jerry Bowles, the sage zookeeper of the ‘new music’ blog / community / website Sequenza 21, made himself a lightning rod this afternoon by asking a provocative question about composer Nico Muhly. Did he mean to start a discussion? Yes. Did he mean to be incendiary? Probably. Did he mean to be a jerk? I don’t think so. He asked a question to get the kiddies to talk. Add your 2 cents but don’t shoot the messenger.
Archive for the ‘New Music’ Category
As the ‘buzz’ last week in the classisphere about a ‘contentious’ issue demonstrated, trying to define things / oneself / your music / your ‘scene’ / your ‘bandsemble’ can get touchy. Maybe u like 2 talk about it. Maybe u want ppl to ‘shut the eff up’ and #stoptalkingandmakeshit.
Maybe there’s no reason to define this ‘movement.’ Maybe this music ‘defies categorization’ / is ‘genre-bending.’ Did anybody write music b4 now that broke ‘the rules’? Would Milton Babbitt have written different music if nobody called him a serialist? Sucks 2 b pigeonholed.
Do you need an iconic b&w photo to be an -ist? Maybe Philip Glass doesn’t mind being a minimalist because he was a ‘pioneer’ of that genre. If u founded a genre would u want a say in what that genre was named? Have we run out of new genres?
How many times can u add post- 2 a genre? Maybe we should have pre- genres like movie prequels. Even though u know the outcome, u imagine a new genre based on being ‘historically informed.’ Do u wish u could see the future so u would know what kind of music we r creating?
What do u call a genre ‘informed’ and ‘influenced’ by multiple genres? <— That wasn't a joke. What would be a good punchline if that was a joke? Oh, do u want to know what I think? There's no reason 2 define this 'movement.' ‘Shut the eff up.’ #stoptalkingandmakeshit.
My post from earlier this week that wondered whether a new generation of composition teachers would be more open to the use of popular music /styles / techniques / sounds in the music of their students than the ‘old guard’ created a ripple of chatter and ‘stirred the pot’ a little. Here’s a little recap of the action for Twitter resisters. First to chime in was Gabriel Kahane. Kahane (I’ll use Kahane since he used Sacawa) used his Tumblr to state his position. I made a funny picture. Then Matt Marks, whose comment on a separate post inspired the ‘pot stirring’ post, made a pretty definitive statement on the ‘issue’ / ‘debate’. Then Dennis had had enough.
Should we make more Charles Wuorinen cat picture memes?
Why is every1 talking about ‘alt-classical’?
Is it Anne Midgette‘s fault?
Is it Greg Sandow’s fault?
Is it 8bb‘s fault?
Is it bad to talk about ‘alt-classical’?
Last week’s post pondering whether the current ‘indie / alt-classical’ ‘movement’ was just a fad elicited some smart comments, including this one from composer / performer Matt Marks:
IMO most of the ‘compromise’ young composers make is in making sure their music sounds ‘uncompromising’. What’s unique about the ‘alt-classical’ scene is that these composers are no longer forcing their music to sound ‘challenging’ and are rather letting it sound like the music they (we) grew up with: pop. This seems to be the main difference between earlier generations and ours. They added (forced?) pop flavor into their pieces. We are simply allowing it to naturally come out.
Matt’s comment points to a generational difference between the way ‘classical’ composers handle and have handled encounters with pop music. Does this have anything to do with how composition is taught at institutions of ‘higher learning’? Is pop music taboo in academic composition departments?
By now everyone knows that one of the biggest trends to emerge in new music recently has been the synthesis of elements of pop, rock, hip-hop, electronica, and all gradations of popular music in between. Of course, using pop and rock influences in new music is nothing new; the origins of minimalism are rooted in the rock music of the 1960s, and post-minimalists, like the folks of Bang On A Can, have been at it for at least a couple decades now. But in the last 10 years, and especially the past 5 years, this practice has become undeniably mainstream. I think a lot of this has to do with generational shifts at institutions of higher learning; a literal ‘out with the old and in with the new’ changing of the guard.
Composers, correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems to me that in the past when a student went to college to study music composition, they were more or less required by those in charge of their compositional development to check their pop music influences at the door. Though you could be a pop music fan, there really wasn’t any place for that sort of trite, repetitive music in the realm of “serious” music composition so composers were passive-aggressively required to repress these lascivious musical tastes; a sort of elitist musical don’t ask, don’t tell (and certainly don’t you dare write music like that!) policy.
But now, times they are a changin’, and popular music influences in the ivory tower don’t seem to be quite as taboo as they once were. Far from repressing the coming-of-age music of their teenage years, a new generation of composers is embracing those influences with exceptional vigor and working to create a new musical hybrid. As you might expect, there have been various approaches to contributing to the zeitgeist.
Some composers and ensembles have taken the juxtaposition of classical meets pop very literally. For example, have you heard Metallica played by four cellos? How about Aphex Twin arranged for chamber ensemble?
Is there value in this sort of literal translation?
Will these ‘experiments’ create anything lasting?
R they PR ‘stunts’?
Who will be the next ‘relevant’ electronica artist 4 ‘indie / alt-classicists’ to ‘transcribe’?
If ur a composer and u ‘remix’ yourself is that ‘meta’ or resourceful?
What r some other ways ‘indie-classicists’ r ‘synthesizing’ pop music with ‘classical rigor’?
R u more ‘free’ as a composer now because the ‘old guard’ is leaving academia?
If u went 2 a college / university / conservatory that discouraged u from ‘synthesizing’ pop music in ur songs r u mad?
Did u ‘butt heads’ with ur comp teacher?
Had a day off in Bloomington, MN today.
Went to the Mall of America.
Wish I hadn’t.
Saw this in the window of the Crocs store.
I h8 Crocs.
Lots of people h8 Crocs.
Lots of people <3 Crocs.
Do u <3 or h8 Crocs?
Would u join the Crocs band?
Is there a brand of 'new music' that is as divisive as Crocs?
What/who is the Crocs of 'new music'?
Is Milton Babbitt the Crocs?
Is Elliott Carter the Crocs?
Probably not because he is universally ‘celebrated‘ these days.
Is Nico Muhly the Crocs?
Allan Kozinn wrote the following as the first sentence of a recent review:
Trendy ensembles that play accessible, eclectic new music get most of the attention (and listeners) these days, but you have to admire groups like the New York New Music Ensemble for continuing to champion the more rigorous end of the contemporary repertory.
One assumes by “trendy ensembles” he’s talking about any number of ‘bandsembles’ in the indie / alt-classisphere. I’m pretty sure the word “trend” has been used to describe the current new music ‘movement,’ but I think it’s usually been utilized in the ‘this-is-the-way-music-is-moving-in-the-future’ kind of sense and not in the ‘fad’ kind of sense. That’s interesting. Is this whole thing we talk about so much these days just a fad? Will anything relevant, meaningful, and lasting emerge from this ‘trend’ or will the next generation of composers come up with something new to overthrow the ‘relevancy’ many are working overtime to achieve? Will music by composers who are deemed ‘uncompromising’ be the transcendent new music?
R u an ensemble that ‘champions’ music by ‘uncompromising’ and ‘thorny’ composers?
Is it trendy 2 play ‘accessible’ music?
Are new music ‘bandsembles’ that play ‘uncompromising’ music more authentic?
Since trends come and go, when will this ‘accessible’ trend end?
Should ‘alt-classical’ b referred 2 as fad-classical?
Will it ever b trendy 2 play ‘rigorous’ ‘uncompromising’ music?
Who is creating relevant ‘alt-classical’ music?
Can you be ‘uncompromising’ and still play at ‘LPR’?
Would ‘uncompromising’ composers prefer their music be played in ‘uncompromising’ venues instead of ‘mixed use’ ‘spaces’ that serve beer and wine and ‘tapas’?
What is an ‘uncompromising’ venue?
A dungeon?
An operating room?
A dominatrix basement?
Merkin Concert Hall?
Could Charles Wuorinen write an ‘alt-classical’ piece?
If u ‘remixed’ some Wuorinen would he ‘sue ur ass’?
Pierre Boulez wasn’t the only one whose travel plans got canceled because of the lingering cloud of volcanic ash, but this headline from an article in the Los Angeles Times is one of my favorites to come out of the whole situation. It’s not the type of headline one expects to see in this day and age.
N.B. Faithful readers will have noticed my absence for the past couple of weeks after a solid month and a half of nearly daily postings. I’m currently in the midst of a 32-day concert tour through the Midwest and time has been at a premium with traveling and concerts every night. The normal posting schedule will resume in a couple weeks and until then I’ll try not to stray too far afield.
That was interesting.
Fresh off the discussion going on here a few days ago, Flavorwire came out with a list of “Indie Rock’s 5 Favorite Classical Composers.” And the winners are:
1. Karlheinz Stockhausen
2. John Adams
3. Claudio Monteverdi
4. Steve Reich
5. Arvo Pärt
These composers are supposedly big influences on the music of Dirty Projectors, Negativland, Owen Pallett, Clogs, Nico Muhly, Basic Channel, Simon Bookish, A Sunny Day in Glasgow, and Radiohead. I think we need to make a definitive list of Classical Music’s 5 Favorite Indie Rockers. Okay, so who are Classical Music’s 5 Favorite Indie Rockers?
Which indie rockers are most ‘relevant’ to Big Indie Classical Music?
Who are your 5 fav indie rockers for your classical music compositions?
Will there be a spike in Monteverdi album sales because of that Flavorwire post?
Are indie rockers gonna start playing the viol?
Is Nico Muhly an indie rocker or an indie-classicist?
