Archive January 2005
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January 29, 2005
Composers canon
Last night I was attacked by a composer/music theorist (let's call him Artusi) about my choice to compose tonal music, aimed at an audience of noncomposers or nonmusicians.
I said I want to communicate with my audience. I want to communicate about social issues, human issues, like in Boilerplate where it is about corporate marketing, or in Voice Over about human (mis)understanding and also mourn the passing away of a great musician who lend his voice to this piece: not about music theory.
Artusi slammed the question in my face "You are aware of history, aren't you"?
Of course I don't know my history. I don't know anything about (take deep breath) ars antique, ars nova, ars subtilior, mensural notation, renaissance, chromatism in early baroque, symbolism in baroque music, rhetorical music, the Tristan chord, widened tonality, 12-tone music, serialism, aleatorism, minimalism, modernism and post-modernism and all stuff I forgot in this short list.
If Artusi wants to compose music with all knowledge about every music made, fine. If he can handle the weight carried within the obligation that each and one and only note he composes has to be historically and theoretically justifiable, fine. If he can compose good convincing music under these circumstances, great. I am the first to applaud and I will be his biggest fan.
The heart of the matter is I cannot compose music with history sticking a knife in my back. As an ordinary human being I am just too simple for that.
Posted by Renske at 17:03 UTC | permanent link
January 27, 2005
Adorno's ghost
In my thinking about what happened to European music it is clear WOII is a turning point. Before the war music was something to be enjoyed. Afterwards it became something to be dreaded.
This in-depth article by Alex Ross in the New Yorker explains a lot, at least to me. It sheds some light to the reason why someone like Jacob ter Veldhuis (as he told me over the phone today) got 'beaten down' by music critics after a radio special in Germany and why they kling on to the path of übermusic.
I wonder why they cherish the paradox of this development to übermusic: it actually is in line with Nazis eugenetic theories, instead of viably answering it.
Posted by Renske at 21:49 UTC | permanent link
January 26, 2005
The popularity of non-pop music
According today's news the Royal Concertgebouworchestra is going to raise its ticket prices with the introduction of seating categories tells us something about the state of contemporary non-pop music is in: All concert series are effected by the new seating prices except for the new music series.
I hope contemporary composers and the management of today's symphonic orchestras will do something to change this. IMHO orchestra managers need to change this if they want to escape their - in the end deadly - museum like status symphony orchestras have right now.
One suggestion to start with: Aim at 98% ticket sales with an annual programming consisting of 80% attractive new music (with half the music really contemporary) and only 20% music that is composed before 1900.
Then we prove again contemporary art music has a right to exist within the context of society as a whole.
Posted by Renske at 15:32 UTC | permanent link
January 24, 2005
Diaghilev truck drivers in the cold
The city of Groningen hosts the Diaghilev Festival this week. This festival is the reason for a couple of mayor orchestras to travel to this city in the North of the Netherlands that otherwise is left forgotten.
Among the mayor orchestras are the Royal Concertgebouworchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and last but not least the Kirov Orchestra including the ballet.
The Russians have such a bad reputation, by the way, the festival organization decreed a prohibition.
Eight trucks were needed to transport the scenery for the ballet performances from Sint Petersburg to Groningen. The organization housed all participants except the truck drivers. They have to sleep in their trucks without use of toilets.
The truckers weren't even allowed to eat and use the bathrooms in the artists foyer at first.
The festival management defends itself stating that the truckers are the responsibility of the Mariinsky Theatre.
It is freezing cold at night. It is a shame that these truckers aren't cared for during such a prestigious festival. They work for the festival and someone needs to take responsibility.
Posted by Renske at 15:02 UTC | permanent link
Take off
I am an aviation nut. I still can dream away hearing stories about Amelia Earhart and have fantasies being an aviation pioneer.
Off course, reality placed me a little later in time. So no chances for me here.
Turning right from rwy 30 (Photo RV)But I am learning to fly el cheapo as a member of a soaring club, anyway. I filmed the take off for an 'overland' training flight with a Touring Motor Glider. Our goal was to fly to Aero club Salland with a True Track of about 030 degrees and locate it. Then I had to navigate to the river IJssel and south to Zutphen and locate Terlet from there without using a map or GPS. Altitude had to be 600 meters (+20/-20) with an indicated airspeed of 150 km/hrs (+5/-5).
Posted by Renske at 00:01 UTC | permanent link
January 21, 2005
The future of classical music
One of my favorite blogs is Greg Sandow's 'on the future of classical music' on Artsjournal.com. As the title of his blog suggests, he writes writes frequently on the future of classical music.
Normally he writes short entries. But today he published a 15 paragraphs long article called The Crisis.
I suggest anyone interested in music (whether it be pop, classical, hip-hop, jazz or whatever) to read it.
Posted by Renske at 17:18 UTC | permanent link
January 08, 2005
Yippee, disaster month...
Well, it is hard escaping tsunami's these days. If you were on some beach in Thailand on December 26 you had a problem. If you stayed at home in Western Europe, North-America and Australia and want to be in a state of oblivion about this disaster you also have a problem.
Don't understand me wrong: I do care for all victims of this catastrophe.
But I have started becoming weary of all actions being taken to help Southeast Asia. It is over the top, since there are many more disasters not taken care for. Diseases like AIDS in Africa, hunger in Africa, Genocide victims like those in Rwanda 10 years ago or Darfur right now.
Although I feel sympathy for the benefit concert by the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw yesterday, I wonder where all those fine musicians were and are for all the other disasters in the world.
It seems that people and organizations are happily toppling over each other to prove how socially engaged they are and actually enjoy the current opportunity to show off.
Not that the victims care, by the way. Money is money, whatever the reason was to donate it.
Posted by Renske at 16:16 UTC | permanent link