Archives for 2009

Drew McManus over at Adapistration is teasing a new feature: What’s Bothering Jeff? That’s Philadelphia Orchestra associate principal trumpet Jeff Curnow to you and me, he of previous internet commentary such as:

Now, Jeff isn’t selling orchestra subscriptions here, but after watching that video, I’d be interested in buying a ticket to hear him play with Philly if I was in town–somewhat peculiarly, even to hear him play The Swinging Pendulum of Death Drenched in the Tears of the Afflicted.

So anyway, will be looking forward to his new videos. As Drew points out, “you might think that a professional trumpet player in one of the greatest orchestras in the world lives such an idyllic life that nothing could possibly bother him. Then again…” Indeed. First episode is slated to drop 9/28/09. A teaser for the new series is here.

Here’s one for your Thursday morning from the “Aww, shucks” department: Baby Elliott Carter.

No relation. In fact, there’s a proud new grandpa here doing some digging into the man who accidentally gained a little namesake, so if you’re a friend or fan of Elliott the elder, drop by and leave some record recommendations.

In the brief history of rock-to-classical ventures Joe Queenan penned for the NYT last week, he points out something that I think has hit quite a few artists attempting to cross the aisle, no mater which side they’re originally coming from. He identifies as a central problem the fact that often it’s “music that acts as if the 20th century never happened.” Maybe for those going classical-to-rock, the problem is only clocking in at 15 years behind the times, but still, the naiveté seems only to irk fans and alienate new ears no matter which new audience it’s making a grab for. I’m not sure if a reading room stocked with back issues of Rolling Stone and Gramophone would help alleviate the problem or not.

In this most recent case, a crash course tutorial seems not to have been necessary. Queenan was preempting a performance of “Time Turns Elastic” by Trey Anastasio (yes, of Phish) with the New York Phil at Carnegie Hall, and after sampling some previous versions of the piece, he offers Anastasio props for skirting the usual pitfalls of this equation: “Unlike other rock stars dabbling in the classical realm, Mr. Anastasio has composed something that sounds like it was actually written by Mr. Anastasio. It might be vapid. It might be meandering. It might even be ridiculous. But at least it won’t sound like the soundtrack from ‘Gladiator.’ ” As things turned out, it sounds like it was a great deal more than that indeed.

I’ve been thinking about this mix a lot lately, both because of the “indie rock band with orchestra” trend and events like the Chris Thile Mandolin Concerto coming down the pike this season. If this is the future of the orchestra, can it be wholeheartedly celebrated as both an interesting and profitable way of resuscitating the museum-like institutions quite a few of these ensembles have become? Still, will this road lead to serious symphonic innovation or merely a permanent demotion to backing band for the orchestra?

With these concepts on my mind, I was excited to hear what Ty Braxton did with the orchestra on his new album (Central Market on Warp, Sept. 15), mostly because if he gave up something boring after this…

…and after bringing this much energy to the stage over and over again…

…well, that would just be depressing. Here’s a sample of what he came up with. NewMusicBox has the back story on his approach.

“Reading a newspaper, I saw a picture of birds on the electric wires. I cut out the photo and decided to make a song, using the exact location of the birds as notes (no Photoshop edit). I knew it wasn’t the most original idea in the universe. I was just curious to hear what melody the birds were creating,” writes Jarbas Agnelli, creator of this video:

And for those worried the internet, with its remixing and YouTubing, has crushed out the creative musical souls of Our Youngest Generation, further signs of quiet inspiration. Remember auto-tune the news? Well, while Apple and T-Pain continue to walk toward the technology, this guy takes it back a step.

I have to admit this kind of thing fascinates me because it represents much smaller steps in our culture’s musical development. I can’t take this as a negative. Rather than crashing through endless strings of “new,” a little more time is taken along the way to muck about inside ideas (musical and otherwise) before we all move on. Is there a need to rush? That’s not to say that the above needs performed at Lincoln Center, but thanks to the internet, it’s as if my roommate invited me to check out this neat transcription he made while I sip my morning coffee, and then I can call up a few of my pals and share it with you guys after he goes to work.

Of course, this whole “the internet helps us share the work load of distributing and developing ideas” can be scaled as needed.

Not so much, apparently.

Whenever I pass posters promoting the remakes of both 90210 and Melrose Place, I wonder who green-lit these nostalgia projects. Who brought the idea of updating these particular bits of nighttime TV soap to the table in the first place, and now that they’ve been made, who is watching them? And I wonder if much of this all hinged on the “imagine what stirring some Twitter and Facebook into the plot pot would do!” If only Heather Locklear had had a Blackberry. For those of us who grew up and moved out while the original shows were on air, it
seems like a chance to peek in on the class reunion to see that we haven’t
aged a day.

This thought line was iced over with a second one this week when I saw that Slate (okay), and then the New York Times (yeah), but then also the New Yorker (wha?) had all spilled ink over the recast of this trashy TV show from the ’90s.

And there’s plenty more, um, analysis, but Matthew Gilbert, writing for the Boston Globe, may have summed up the state of things best: “And so I “like” the new “Melrose Place,” in that I think it has the potential to be as addictive, and phony, as a can of Pringles potato crisps. The trashy CW series, tonight at 9 on Channel 56, has none of the hokey moral quandaries of the show that precedes it, “90210,” no lesson-learning unless you’re a student of chicanery and double-dealing. The new “Melrose Place” is just a mess of gossipy plotlines about adultery, murder, and secrets. If it has a moral compass, the arrow is stuck pointing down, to hell.”

Okay, yes, it’s a commercial for notebooks. The paper kind. But in my high school world, the day after Labor Day was the “back to school, hope you practiced some, orchestra auditions were coming to get you” signal. For as horribly nerve-wracking as it all was, I get all nostalgic for the work and pressure of that time around this time even to this day.

For those out there getting or giving out the education, best wishes for a great year.

More than any new string quartet or opera premiere, I confess that often it’s this kind of art that more deeply affects me. I don’t think I have any kind of ADD (I also love novels of the 2000-page, tissue-paper print variety) but expressions of the sort below, these kind of quiet, very personal, “glimpse and then it’s gone” peeks behind some very heavy curtains, have always worked their way much deeper into my psyche than more grand gestures seem to penetrate. In this case, a used and abused time-lapse video concept done absolutely brilliantly has me sending those “you have to see this!” emails and hitting replay.

Christoph Rehage, I hope you find your true home.

[via BoingBoing]

A t-shirt created for students in Sedalia, Missouri, to promote the Smith-Cotton High School Tiger Pride Marching Band and “portray how brass instruments have evolved in music from the 1960s to modern day” has devolved into controversy due to the shirt’s allusion to evolution. Students were asked to turn the shirts back in after parents complained.

Choice quotes from the story published in the Sedalia Democrat:

• “I was disappointed with the image on the shirt.” [Band parent Sherry] Melby said. “I don’t think evolution should be associated with our school”
• High School junior Adam Tilley said he understood why the shirts were repossessed. “I can see where the parents are coming from,” he said. “Evolution has always been controversial.”

The issue has now attracted international attention and, as you might expect, some colorful reader comments.

In the follow up, the Sedalia Democrat reports that “not only has the public outcry over the T-shirts been a distraction to the students who are working so hard on their marching and music, but the school district has to eat the cost of the shirts, a total of $700.”

As a proud former member of a high school music ensemble myself, I feel for the kid victims in this story. But not to worry, the world now wants these shirts. Biggest band fund raiser ever?

(h/t Darcy James Argue for the link)

[If you have time for a second pass, watch the crawler for extra fun.]

This is not precisely arts related, but as particular students of human experience in our lives and work, I found it important. So if you haven’t read “Strained by Katrina, a Hospital Faced Deadly Choices” yet (which cost an estimated $400K to report, if reports can be believed [and which leads to a whole other line of discussion]), you might want to set aside your lunch hour today.

Even some 13,000 words later, I still felt that I couldn’t fully wrap my mind around what had happened at Memorial Medical Center. At the end of the article, of course, there is no grand right/wrong resolution to the choices faced and made by the people in this story, so I found myself skimming on through the reader comments, as if I might find something there. I didn’t. However, some of the comments included additional anecdotes from that time, making it clear that even after reading $400K worth of reporting, there’s always going to be more information you don’t have. And so unless you were there, and perhaps even if you were, you never really could understand a situation so complex as this.

Maybe this is the point at which we rely on art and ritual to take our hand in such matters.