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Muad'Dib

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  • 2 weeks later...

All three of Rorem’s youthful piano sonatas are wondrous and bright and vivacious.  But this third movement of his first is especially so.

 

This was written in the 1940s and much of it to my ears sounds like it could have been written in the 1970s or 80s by someone like John Adams or Ryuichi Sakamoto.  It’s incredible.

 

 

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3 hours ago, Disco Stu said:

All three of Rorem’s youthful piano sonatas are wondrous and bright and vivacious.  But this third movement of his first is especially so.

 

This was written in the 1940s and much of it to my ears sounds like it could have been written in the 1970s or 80s by someone like John Adams or Ryuichi Sakamoto.  It’s incredible.

 

 

 

Breath of the Wild! Oh damn, this is hella slick.

 

 

Meanwhile, getting more acquainted with my boy Lieberson.

 

 

His horn concerto. I love how spontaneous his language is, in this sense he reminds me of Williams. The harmonies here have that edge and depth that really evoke the feelings of adventure I got from listening to scores such as Star Wars as a kid.

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10 hours ago, Nick Parker said:

 

Breath of the Wild! Oh damn, this is hella slick.

 

Yes, definitely reminds of the horse riding music.

 

 

 

This is the specific Sakamoto piece it made me think of.  Although the Sakamoto is more rigidly insistent with its ostinatos in that 80s minimalist way.

 

 

10 hours ago, Nick Parker said:

Meanwhile, getting more acquainted with my boy Lieberson.

 

I will eventually get around to exploring his work more in depth, I promise!  Let's not forget this exchange between us in 2018.  I made him my 2019 project and now his music is so important to me.

 

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1 hour ago, Disco Stu said:

 

Yes, definitely reminds of the horse riding music.

 

 

 

This is the specific Sakamoto piece it made me think of.  Although the Sakamoto is more rigidly insistent with its ostinatos in that 80s minimalist way.

 

 

 

I will eventually get around to exploring his work more in depth, I promise!  Let's not forget this exchange between us in 2018.  I made him my 2019 project and now his music is so important to me.

 

image.png

 

I've listened to that album (1996), but I had no memory of that one, thanks!

 

Oh snap, I forgot all about that conversation! You're pulling a Jay!

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Some of you might enjoy this funny story of the time Aaron Copland went to jail as a cow murderer.  It was the Tanglewood season of 1949, when Copland was sharing a house with composers Lukas Foss and Irving Fine.
 

45EB9A25-4906-4F58-842F-3B4AB1B72E50.jpeg

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@Nick Parker I have a bit of a mea culpa follow-up to something we were gently making fun of the other day: how so many of the recent Pulitzer music winners have some social justice angle to them.  Well I actually listened to the most recent winner, Ellen Reid's opera about surviving sexual assault Prism (stylized p r i s m).

 

It's actually pretty fucking great and interesting music, I have to say.  Really, seriously worth listening to.

 

Please check out these two highlight tracks at least:

 

 

 

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The Pulitzer prize has historically gone to more "academic" work. But in the last decade or so, it's been about the best "conceptual" or "topical" work, if that means anything. It's about rewarding relevance, I guess.

 

With that said, what you've linked is gorgeous.

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3 minutes ago, KK said:

The Pulitzer prize has historically gone to more "academic" work. But in the last decade or so, it's been about the best "conceptual" or "topical" work, if that means anything. It's about rewarding relevance, I guess.

 

With that said, what you've linked is gorgeous.

 

Oh yeah, I was totally dismissive of them seeming to grasp for social relevance of late (they've also awarded an opera about human trafficking and an oratorio about the labor movement), but at the end of the day the music speaks for itself, and I'd say Ellen Reid was very deserving of her win.  I'm so impressed with Prism.

 

At least Andrew Norman's "Sustain" didn't win *barfs*

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7 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

 

Oh yeah, I was totally dismissive of them seeming to grasp for social relevance of late (they've also awarded an opera about human trafficking and an oratorio about the labor movement), but at the end of the day the music speaks for itself, and I'd say Ellen Reid was very deserving of her win.  I'm so impressed with Prism.

 

Hey, to be fair, Julia Wolfe's Anthracite Fields (the labour movement oratorio) is actually quite excellent. Though I prefer the similar Steel Hammer, which was one of the front-runners for the Pulitzer in 2010.

 

 

 

 

Funny enough, it looks like pandering relevance is one of the requirements of the prize:

 

Quote

Please be mindful of the current eligibility restrictions: Entered works should reflect current creative activity. The Music Secretary has determined that this corresponds to the two-year recording/performance window but also stands alone as a distinct requirement. Accordingly, works that do not reflect current creative activity but otherwise satisfy the eligibility criteria (to enumerate two common examples, works premiered internationally more than two years before a U.S. premiere date in the eligibility cycle and works published on digital platforms more than two years in advance of an album release) are ineligible. A work may not be entered again on the basis of the other eligibility criterion in ensuing Prize cycles.

 

https://www.pulitzer.org/page/music-submission-guidelines-and-requirements

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Just now, KK said:

 

Hey, to be fair, Julia Wolfe's Anthracite Fields is actually quite excellent. Though I prefer her similar oratorio, Steel Hammer, which was one of the front-runners for the Pulitzer in 2010.

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, I'm really only gently poking fun at the Pulitzer committees.  A lot of good music gets recognized through both the prize itself and listed "runner-ups."  Great young composers like Caroline Shaw, Michael Gilbertson, and Timo Andres have all gotten recognition from the Pulitzers in the last 5 or so years, which is only good thing.

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At the end, much like the Oscars, it's about rewarding how much clout you have in the industry. People like Julia Wolfe, David Lang, Jennifer Higdon all have a lot of pull in New York contemporary music circles, whatever you think of them. Even Shaw, as much as I really like her, is also the new pan-genre "shiny toy" of the sector.

 

You hang out with the right people long enough, and you're bound to get the Pulitzer eventually.

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A wonderful symphony on a Mahlerian scale, Josef Suk's Asrael Symphony.  In Islam and Judaism traditions, Asrael is said to hold a scroll concerning the fate of the mortals so this is a gloomy work but not as overtly dark as Mahler, Shostakovitch, or Tchaikovsky.  It's more philosophical and questioning.  Regardless, its a very fine work.

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Can anyone tell me what is going on with this upcoming album?

 

It's a German orchestra performing 3 of Copland's most well-worn, most recorded pieces.  Why is it called "Father" Copland???  What is that flag??? What is this supposed to represent????

 

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