Archive for June, 2008

Glenn Gould’s chair

Friday, June 6th, 2008

Brad Wood just gave me a delightful DVD called “Glenn Gould The Alchemist” a must-see for all GG fans. At the top of the documentary, Glenn whisks into the room with a small chair. It turns out that this little tattered chair (”a member of the family”) is and always has been his piano seat/chair/bench. [...]

Fathers write about HOMER IN CYBERSPACE.

Friday, June 6th, 2008

For my scrapbook and so I can remember, here are miscellaneous comments about HOMER IN CYBERSPACE.
—-
[From my doctor who has a 13-year old daughter. I confessed I wasn't the right one to ask what was appropriate for a 13-year old girl. I told him that there were gay sirens, but EVERYONE loved them!]
Kudos again [...]

Getting your facts straight

Thursday, June 5th, 2008

For some cosmic reason, the Universe taught me a lesson this week: get your facts straight.
I chaired a meeting to discuss a departmental issue. I didn’t have the facts straight, and assembled the agenda that momentarily threw gasoline on the fire. Everything turned out ok but I learned my lesson.
The next day I got a [...]

Making melodies

Wednesday, June 4th, 2008

Melody can manifest itself in a variety of ways.
The composer takes a big breath and out comes a phrase that can, by default, be a lung-full of air. Human emotions and experiences infuse melodies: crying, shouting, talking, sighing, praying, scolding, questioning, calling… This is the emotional physicality behind a phrase of music. At least for [...]

Madeleine Peyroux: Don’t Cry Baby

Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008

Madeleine Peyroux performs “Don’t cry Baby” (by Bessie Smith), and “Don’t wait too long”, on Italian television.

Paul Chihara on “Homer in Cyberspace”

Monday, June 2nd, 2008

[A letter that Paul Chihara sent to faculty and student composers about Homer in Cyberspace. He asked me to put it on the blog which I'm happy to oblige.]
HOMER IN CYBERSPACE
The great Prussian general von Clausewitz once said: “At times the utmost audacity is the highest wisdom.” This applies, in my opinion, in composition [...]

The sensitive audience member

Sunday, June 1st, 2008

Yesterday I heard two more excellent performances of HOMER IN CYBERSPACE. The actors are growing into their roles with great artistry. Seeing the roles evolve through the nine performances is a thrilling opportunity for me. Premiering a role is an opportunity not all students get. Once they realize that THEY are really co-creating the role [...]