Archive February 2005
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February 28, 2005
Soaring itch and the broken taboo
The glider season is about to start next week so all last minute preparations are being made to get underway. Therefore I had to attend the annual meeting for winch operators at the Dutch National Soaring center Terlet.
On the way back in the car I just heard the last bit of some extremely yucky music, but exceptionally well performed. I should have guessed of course that it was Ensemble InterContemporain with Domaines by Pierre Boulez, live from the Amsterdam Concertgebouw.
After the applause a forum discussion was aired with intellectual hotshots ehmming their way through the discussion. If the music contained drama?... Long intellectual blah. If the music was exciting?... Long intellectual blah. And all of a sudden Ton Hartsuiker said (to my relieve) without the slightest air of intellectualism: "This music is passé."
The other forum members muttered on for a while and one even got as close as trying to admit this music "might perhaps be a little bit passé".
A big hooray for Mr. Hartsuiker who broke a taboo.
Posted by Renske at 20:02 UTC | permanent link
February 26, 2005
Missed (with a chance for a rebound)
I missed the Hans Koolmees premiere tonight in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. Something I pity, because of the interview I read in Het Parool (Dutch, pay site) and the Volkskrant (Dutch, pay site). But Monday I will have a chance for a rebound.
He says, as a composer, he wants to reconnect again with society, after being marginalized by too abstract an attitude many composers display and shortsighted politicians cutting budgets.
His new work As time goes by is dedicated to his parents show both died within a week while he was writing this piece.
Posted by Renske at 22:10 UTC | permanent link
February 24, 2005
Till death parts us all
This morning I found out composer Jan Rokus van Roosendael died a week ago. Although I only knew him from a distance and an occasional "hi" in a corridor of some concert hall, his departure from this world hit me hard in the stomach.
His death ones again marks how important it is not to plan too much for the future. We have to make sure we live now and here with distinct choices of what has value to you and what not and also respect each other.
Jan Rokus was only 44 years old.
Posted by Renske at 15:07 UTC | permanent link
February 23, 2005
What do you do!?
The other day we had a craftsman in the house to fix something and he saw my portfolios containing my manuscripts. His logical question was: "Are you an artist?" When I told him I'm a composer, he stood thinking for a moment and replied: "Well, that's creative as well I suppose...".
His reaction is absolutely non standard. Most people ask what instrument I play and are stunned when I answer them (truth said) I don't play any.
They don't believe I am a really lousy pianist (I don't exaggerate). I am a nightmare to pet animals when I play my viola. To my (recent) astonishment I am able to play an eeny weenie tiny little bit of accordion, due to some dreaded lessons when I was a six year old.
All these awkward reactions from people, who think composers are grey old men at least a hundred years ago boxed up six feet under, learned me to tell what ever other profession I can come up with. So in recent history I have been a web designer (true), secretary (true), office manager (true) and editor (true) but hardly ever 'composer'.
I wonder if others (composers I mean) recognize this and how they deal with it. Reactions are welcome.
Posted by Renske at 18:20 UTC | permanent link
February 20, 2005
Credits for Jan Wolff
The new music scene in Amsterdam is in a state of change: some for the better and some for the worse. This one is about changes for the better (there is always time left for the worse).
The new music scene has to thank Jan Wolff for his not failing effort and energy a new concert hall is erected near Amsterdam Central Station. The Muziekgebouw (the Music building) houses the Bimhuis (jazz music), and a small and a large 750 seats concert hall for new music replacing the old public scaring Ysbreker.
The old Ysbreker (Icebreaker) could easily serve as an icebreaker since the small concert hall had extremely dry acoustics and the room would be unhealthy warm when filled with audience.
Last night was the opening night of the new Bimhuis. If it wasn't for my own premiere I would very much liked to have attended this happening.
Later in the year the other venues in the Muziekgebouw will get in to use as well, so there is opportunity for a rebound.
Posted by Renske at 16:39 UTC | permanent link
First performance
In a good filled concert hall in the Rotterdam theater Lantaren/Venster, German pianist Rainer Klaas and Dutch bass clarinetist Henri Bok last night premiered Boilerplate.
Although I am not much of a speecher, Henri asked me to give a brief introduction to the public. Somehow I missed Henry and Rainer had went backstage, so when I turned around to join them in my introduction the audience was amused with my surprise to see an empty stage. Behind my back I heard a roar of laughter.
I babbled about how my speech was getting a boilerplate of its own when Henri and Rainer came to the rescue. I said something about why I dedicated Boilerplate to Joop Nuyten and how he had played a role in my decision to take up music as a profession; not exactly boilerplate talk.
Posted by Renske at 15:52 UTC | permanent link
February 15, 2005
Hope
About a fortnight ago I lend my copy of Scott Johnson's CD Rock, Paper, Scissors to a colleague as prove contemporary or classical music isn't as scary as he might think. I stressed Scott's music has a firm link to rock music.
Yesterday my colleague came up to me, saying he found it weird music to listen to, especially the compositions containing sampled voices.
I expected him to return the CD in an instant then, but to my surprise he asked if he could keep the CD some longer...
Posted by Renske at 20:02 UTC | permanent link
February 12, 2005
Storm
While Amsterdam is being hit by a storm today, the Escher Ensemble gave a concert in the Amstel Church this morning. Taking into account for the awkward timing for this concert on a Saturday morning and the bad weather condition, the church was half filled mainly with audience before their thirties.
The oldest music on the program was composed in 1986 by Micheal Nyman. The concert concluded with a work that recently has become one of my favorites: Far away, till midnight by Bronius Kutavicius.
Posted by Renske at 23:17 UTC | permanent link
February 11, 2005
Future of canned music
Orchestra's are expensive groups and it can be hard to get your music played. As an alternative some composers use sample libraries like Vienna Symphonic Library. These libraries are expensive as well (5.000+ dollars) a set.
In many Hollywood films and computer games you can hear sampled music, mixed with live recorded instruments. These libraries have a good return on investments in these settings.
With the new development of Synful's Reconstructive Phrase Modeling (RPM), libraries like these will become extinct in the not too far future. It isn't technically perfect, yet (and it is not available for Mac), but some of the user demos on the Synful website are yaw dropping (although not everyone is gifted with the same amount of compositional talent).
Considering the affordable price and the version 1.0 stage this software is in, it won't be long for pro and amateur music aficionados will be toying around and start creating stunning mock-ups.
Last but not least: don't forget to take a look at the credentials of the guy behind this all...
Posted by Renske at 16:46 UTC | permanent link
February 09, 2005
Broadcasters' minds
What's going on with broadcasting organizations? I recently read some news about American radio stations taking classical music off their schedules. But whoever thinks this is just an American phenomena, please, read on.
The German Hessische Rundfunk plans to shut down its classical station HR-Klassik. The Frankfurt based organization says it is forced to do so because of budget cuts. The HR orchestras are lucky to survive this round of cutbacks, but it is easy to predict the HR Radio Symphony Orchestra will be next when there is no station it has to play for. Their colleagues of the Munich Radio Symphony Orchestra weren't that 'lucky'.
Similar things are going on in the Netherlands where two public funded Christian broadcasters (I am not going to explain the unexplainable structure of Dutch broadcasting politics), EO (Evangelic) and NCRV (Protestant), decided last year classical music wasn't their concern anymore. Three out of four orchestra's who owe their existence to Dutch radio and television have to merge into two orchestra's. The other one, the big band like Metropole Orchestra, lost half its budget and is forced to go commercial.
A quick survey during a meeting with young broadcasting employees I attended the other day showed a majority in favor of recycling radio time or internet presence of classical and contemporary art music. Some of these people, I estimate, are in about 10 to 15 years decision makers...
Posted by Renske at 13:44 UTC | permanent link
February 08, 2005
The free and the brave
If I ever thought it was ages ago humming La Marseillaise was enough to get your head chopped off, I thought wrong. Although Russian pianist Olga Skiba didn't lose her head she was, according to the BBC, suspended for three weeks by the Russian Duma for playing the wrong melody.
Skiba was hired by the Duma to play Mozart and Chopin during lunch, but she was frequently asked to play popular tunes as well. The Godfather tune wasn't a problem, but the 1920 prison-chanson Murka was.
The in Russia well-known song tells the story of a gangster who discovers his girlfriend is a Bolshevist undercover agent and kills her for that.
Posted by Renske at 15:29 UTC | permanent link
February 06, 2005
Doing nothing
After having started this blog I am getting addicted reading other blogs. In my little roundtrip today I came around the anonymous poster from Paris Never Been Home and the somewhat freaky site of Trrill (special recommendation for opera lovers). Quite a bit of fun on a day I literally didn't do anything except watching some movie (K-19, too much music on the soundtrack) on DVD and doing the laundry.
In my doing nothing I also discovered the Concertzender broadcasted gROUND last Tuesday.
The coming week I am looking forward to start working on a new solo piece for accordion and going to the premiere of Mozart's Don Giovanni in a version by Rob Zuidam. The opera is performed by Het Nationale Ballet and not by De Nederlandse Opera as one might expect.
Posted by Renske at 20:32 UTC | permanent link
February 02, 2005
It feels great
The rehearsal I had with Rainer Klaas and Henri Bok for the upcoming premiere of Boilerplate on February 19 was a great experience. The piece is going to even work better than I imagined.
I really look forward to this performance in Rotterdam and I can't wait to see the public's reaction.
It really feels great to work in such a direct relationship with gifted musicians.
Posted by Renske at 14:03 UTC | permanent link
February 01, 2005
Root of truth
My colleague I so gentle labeled Artusi, after his Friday night rage when my answers were too personal and contained not enough theoretical references to his taste, make me think of the endless dualism where people either seem to be conservatives or liberals, uptown or downtown, fundis or realos.
To reach the bottom-line to clarify my position I ask myself: "Is music theory a mere guideline or my root of truth?" Since composing music isn't exactly rocket science, music theory can never be more than some help within the creative process. By this I label myself as a downtown composer, for what it's worth.
In 1998 American composer, music critic and musicologist Kyle Gann wrote an article that pretty good defines "downtown".
Posted by Renske at 13:30 UTC | permanent link