I have a confession to make: I didn’t care much for Rufus Wainwright’s last album “Release the Stars.” With some time between and some Rufus vacation, I returned to the music, able to listen again with fresh ears. Much of the RELEASE music is on the live album, “Milwaukee at Last” just released as a [...]
I struggle writing my book analyzing songs by Rufus Wainwright because I keep forgetting who I am writing the book for. I simplify the language so that regular music lovers can appreciate it, but then I address issues that are more appropriate to graduate music analysis seminars for composers or music theorists.
What is it [...]
Having finished my composition projects for the summer, I am finally returning to finishing my book on Rufus Wainwright. Having bought Robert O. Gderdingen’s terrific publication “Music in the Galant Style” I have found the book format that I’d like to have for my book: one with relatively large type, but most importantly, a hardback [...]
My Dear Rufus
I heard your preview aria from your new opera and am quite pleased at your new direction.
Might I remind you to please not be overly influenced by Philip Glass, and his habit of getting “stuck” in one register when composing for the keyboard. Look at the piano music I have written and especially [...]
Emma Lew Thomas came back from Germany aglow with Rufus Wainwright and Robert Willson’s collaboration on 25 Shakespeare Sonnets. Nothing has been released to date, so, sniffing around YouTube I found a collection of sonnets in progress, as well as a preview from a Berlin TV news show. I threw in the Bacharach collaboration for [...]
Dear Rufus
I am so proud and happy for you and your recent compositions. I heard your new Shakespeare Sonnets–they remind me of some of my own songs. You struggle with a desire for an old-time, folky sense of harmony fighting with being more harmonically adventurous. Meld the two my boy.
I have avoided sitting in on [...]
I called Martha Stewart a while back and told her that what she really needed to do was to invite Rufus Wainwright onto her show. In fact, why not the whole family. So I was thrilled to find that she followed through on it. Here’s what turned out, in two parts. (And don’t [...]
Looking for one of my favorite songs of all time, look what I found! Rufus singing it. He’s still learning it, but good to hear him sing anyway.
Here is Regina Crespin singing it. Mmmmm…
And here is Janet Baker:
And we must have Jesse Norman.
Sung by Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright, and Teddy Thompson (2001),
Richard Rodgers
We watched SOUTH PACIFIC last night — it having been filmed in Kauai, which is where I am right now. I have to admit to loving his music and began thinking about his compositional technique for writing songs.
Rodgers seems to start with the lyrics. His melodies always fit the lyrics perfectly. Afterall, his job [...]
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