Any composer’s work can be appreciated both for its connections to historical antecedents and for the way it reflects a distinct artistic voice. Some music leans more heavily to the former, some to the latter. In talking about my music, I tend to focus on connections to my forebears. I could just as easily emphasize things that are specific to our time, but I don’t for a number of reasons, … [Read more...]
Archives for October 2015
I.D.
Art serves many purposes. I want to write about two today: life-enhancement and identity. I’m not going to define life-enhancement. We all have an idea of what that can mean, for ourselves and for others. In some cases it may be a simple appeal to our pleasure receptors – sounds, sights, ideas that we respond to favorably. And by “favorably” I don’t necessarily mean that we like them: sometimes … [Read more...]
What Happened
If you find yourself in the middle of Virginia this Saturday night, check out the Garth Newel Piano Quartet concert: they are playing a piece of mine from 2004 called What Happened. What Happened was premiered in Paris by the Atlantic Ensemble; it is in three movements: Gathering, Congregation and Scattering. The second movement carries a delicious Daniel DeFoe quote from 1703: Wherever God … [Read more...]