Michael Gordon's Timber releases physically today; The Sad Park, performed by The Kronos Quartet, releases exclusively on iTunes

By -

After a startling 25 year career, it is no exaggeration to say that composer Michael Gordon has already profoundly changed the contemporary classical music scene. This fall, Gordon remains discontent to rest. His newest album, Timber, will be released physically today, August 30, on the Cantaloupe label. Also today, a live recording of his work "The Sad Park" will be available on iTunes until December 31. The Kronos Quartet will perform "The Sad Park" at the 2011 Next Wave Festival at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) September 21 through 24.

The rhythmically experimental "Timber" is scored for six wooden 2x4s. First used in classical music by composer Iannis Xenakis and inspired by instruments from the Greek Orthodox church called Simantras, these different sized 2x4s each have a slightly different pitch. By subtly shifting the accent of sound from one player to another, Gordon is able to create a complex meditation on sound and rhythm. An excerpt of "Timber" can be found here.

Mantra Percussion, one of the commissioners of the piece, will tour the piece nationally. On August 9, 2011, the group performed "Timber" at the Upper West Side Apple Store, and the same week played at the Lowe's Hardware store in Alexandria, VA. The disc has been available exclusively on iTunes since August 2, and physical copies will be available beginning today. The physical CD is housed in a one-pound wooden case, intricately designed to become a collector's item. The CD will not be released in a traditional casing or in cardboard, making owning the album almost as much an original experience as seeing the piece live. Timber was recently featured on NPR's "All Things Considered", reviewed by Time Out Chicago, and selected by WQXR's Q2 as Album of the Week this week.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Role of Music in Opera

By -
There are numerous books on the topic, and every composer, librettist, director, singer and audience member has their opinion as to what role the music should play in an opera. In a play without music, the words ought to support the meaning behind a character's actions. However, in the case of action movies, often times the action is what tells the story and there aren't words, just images to forward the plot. We might hear music to accompany action, build tension, but the action tells the story. Musicals tend to speak until the emotion of the moment just "has" to break out in song - unless it's something like "Mama Mia" where the dialog is the rails we travel on between songs; the songs themselves, written before the concept of the musical, are the focus of the production, while the story is secondary. Operas are a different beast. The music provides emotion to the words spoken, but it also plays the role of ambience when there is only action. In &quo
Read more

Episode 210b: Joyeuse le départ

By -
Image
Podcast:  Play in new window  |  Download Subscribe:  Apple Podcasts  |  Android  |  Google Play  |  Stitcher  |  TuneIn  |  RSS Provost Cunningham has Transmigrated, but to where! What is Dr Sage going to do with his body? And how can she bring home her friends, Abigail and Erasmus, without also bring home Cunningham? What are they going to say when they find the “skeleton” she’s hiding in her closet? Cast: Eddie Louise Clark  as Dr Sage Chip Clark  as Professor Savant Justin Bremer  as the Narrator Emily Riley Piatt  as Abigail Entwhistle, Calypso & Dean Stewart Written by  Eddie Louise Theme music by  Unwoman Sound Design by  Chip Michael
Read more

The Art of String Quartets by Brian Ferneyhough

By -
Image
When an artist sets paint to canvas, there are brush strokes used for different effects. Sometimes those strokes are subtle, imperceptible; they produce works of art like the Mona Lisa . Other times the very obvious nature of the stroke is the art, as in works by Van Gogh. With some composers of music, the notes on the page are their craft. How those notes translate into an aural experience is what defines some composers as great artists. Brian Ferneyhough has a masterful command of the techniques of putting notes on the page. These techniques are sometimes so subtle, even though written in black and white, they escape detection. Some of what he attempts with his music is just that, to escape detection, to bury the framework, diverting the ear away from the structure, so only the music is heard . The subtlety is so fine it is almost imperceptible. Even though he studied at several institutions, he is considered self-taught, studying scores from Boule
Read more