Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Dockstader: Quatermass: Sound Clips

Here are some excerpts from Dockstader's Quatermass CD, now at iTunes, etc.

Water Music: Part Three

Quatermass: Song and Lament

Quatermass: Parade

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Tod Dockstader: Quatermass: now digital

For the first time, Tod Dockstader's classic "organized sound" tape music is now available in the digital realm. Starkland's first all-Dockstader CD appears at iTunes, Amazon, eMusic, etc. The release includes Dockstader's masterpiece, "Quatermass."

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Reviews have raved about this recording:

The Washington Post:
"Strong recommendation: the work of Tod Dockstader, a highly imaginative pioneer."

Stereophile:
"Tod Dockstader belongs in the select company of Varèse, Stockhausen, Luening, Schaeffer, Subotnick, and the other pioneers of electronic music or musique concrète. His achievement is on a par with the best in his field."

Option:
"In a sense, Dockstader is one of the godfathers of Nurse With Wound, and a distant cousin of rap and techno... Essential for anyone interested in electronic music."

Read more about Dockstader's Quatermass CD.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Klucevsek + Marclay + Whitney Museum

The ever-hip Guy Klucevsek will perform over a dozen times in September at New York's Whitney Museum, as part of the Christian Marclay Festival.

Marclay's art works double as scores, sometimes in the form of films, other times as found objects which contain musical symbols - everything from candy boxes to sheet music to record covers to car ads.

There are two wonderful pieces in the NY Times about the exhibit (here and here).

Guy's performance schedule:

Wednesday September 1, 1:00 pm – Ephemera (solo)

Thursday September 2, 12:30pm – Ephemera (solo)

Friday September 3, 2:00 pm – The Bell and the Glass: Open Rehearsal

Friday September 3,  4:00 pm – The Bell and the Glass (with Peter Evans, Okkyung Lee)

Saturday September 4, 12:30 pm – Screen Play: Open Rehearsal

Saturday September 4, 2:30 pm – Screen Play (with Peter Evans, Okkyung Lee)

Sunday September 5, 4:00 pm – Ephemera (solo)

Wednesday September 15, 1:00 pm – Ephemera (solo)

Thursday September 16, 1:00 pm – The Bell and the Glass: Open Rehearsal

Thursday September 16, 2:00 pm -  The Bell and the Glass (with Ned Rothenberg)

Friday September 17, 3:00 pm – Screen Play: Open Rehearsal

Friday September 17, 4:00 pm – Screen Play (with Ned Rothenberg and o.blatt)

Saturday September 18, 4:00 pm – The Bell and the Glass (with Ned Rothenberg)

Sunday September 19, 12:30pm – Screen Play (with Ned Rothenberg, o.blatt)

Wednesday September 22, 1:00pm – Ephemera (solo)

Thursday September 23, 1:00pm – Ephemera(solo)

Saturday September 25, 2:30pm – Ephemera (solo)

More about the Whitney Museum.

More about Guy Klucevsek.

Monday, August 9, 2010

Innovative Commissioning Effort

An innovative approach to commissioning a new orchestral work is now underway at Boulder’s Colorado Music Festival.

Anyone can vote (on-line) for one of four composers to create a work for the 2011 season. Each vote costs $10 and you can vote as many times as you want before the Aug. 15, 2010 deadline. All the income goes towards the $10,000 commission.

This approach seems unique, though of course it parallels micro-financed efforts at Kickstarter and Bang on a Can’s People’s Commissioning Fund.

Known for his commitment to new music, Music Director Michael Christie chose the four composers: Enrico Chapela, Jay Greenberg, Behzad Ranjbaran and Patrick Zimmerli. (These links have biographies and sound clips for the four composers.) In a Denver Post article, Christie remarks,
“It just occurred to me that in this era of micro-finance that we could create something where… anybody can participate, not just the most well-heeled or the people who are most used to giving. We’re all trying to engage people.”
Various perks include: all voters will have their name listed in the score; send in 10 votes to get invited a special pre-concert reception; and the highest voter over 100 votes will have the piece dedicated to them.

Read more at the Colorado Music Festival's website.