andrew_jordan

To quote Leonard Meyer from his book Emotion and Meaning in Music, "...for emotional states a far more subtle and varied than the few crude words that we use to denote them." I couldn't agree more, and I feel that new art music explores the subtleties of emotion and the schizophrenic nature with which the human soul experiences them in a much more appealing way than composers of other times. That's not to say that the music of Mozart or Beethoven aren't absolutely sublime. (Could any other single composers say they've change the entire face and direction of music? Bach, who wrote preludes and fugues that sound modern even by today's standards, wasn't fully appreciated until a considerable amount of time had passed following his death) The importance here is the exploration of the 'cutting edge' and the creation of music that truly expresses the musical and emotional ideas of the composers who create it. I have yet to be challenged emotionally in the (re)creation of works that I feel truly express my inner musical personality, and that's been a great stumbling block for me. It's something I look forward to greatly in graduate studies (hopefully with Ed Carroll at CalArts next year. Even in just the short time I visited CalArts this April, my musical outlook changed completely. Imagine what two years could do for me!

I'm an undergrad in New Mexico living in a Contemporary Music Black Hole almost entirely devoid of anything I find remotely interesting. I'm really into new trumpet lit. and have acquired a bunch (which I've been thoroughly discouraged by teachers/peers to prepare) but I just don't have access to some of the stuff some of you guys might. I didn't even know about contemporary lit until my undergrad, and what a damn shame! some of you are working on crazy stuff I'm learning about NOW as a senior in my BA and you're in high school! Talk about missing some sort of link... my tastes have been out of phase with my playing, and the rift has been stifling/discouraging to my approach to the horn. It's extremely frustrating to think that the most contemporary pieces played at my school are the Kennan and Stevens Sonatas or Tomasi's Concerto. To date, I've played both, the Tamberg Concerto (Mvt. I - what's the point of learning a Concerto I'll never play here?), Ketting's Intrada, Tomasi's Triptyque and a few others that I'll refrain from listing as a preventative measure to avoid mockery by those of you who really do know contemporary literature- and people think I'm some kind of George-Antheil-bad-boy-of-music wannabe. As if anything I've played is remotely post-tonal!

How do you learn about and get ahold of some of the more obscure pieces? I've been looking for Neuwirth's Laki for a while and haven't found much. Boosey says it's not in print. Also, any place you find this stuff cheaper than most? I want a copy of the Kagel Morceau and Berio's Sequenza X but can't find them for less than around 50 bucks. Lame!

To all of you playing "standard" lit, I offer my greatest encouragements. Maurice Andre made most of his money playing the Haydn and Hummel, along with a few other incredible classical pieces, and there will always be plenty of opportunities to play them. You'll hear and possibly perform Haydn many MANY more times than you will Turnage or Desenclos (or things entirely more modern... Eotvos's "Snatches of a Conversation, anyone?)

I look forward to many interesting discussions and enlightening infomation!
Drew

Solar Bell

Andrew,

Welcome to the TM.

Perhaps Ed Carrol or Wilmer will steer you in the direction you're looking for.

Enjoy,


-cw-

__________________
Chuck Willard
The Willard of Oz

"Don't be afraid to see what you see."
Ronald Reagan