Wainwright and the Met

Looks like NYC will have to miss out on Rufus Wainwright's new opera about opera. BTW, I love his music; it's like eating warm chocolate while taking a bubble bath. I don't smoke, but I think I get the idea.

It has begun

I have officially started to write my thesis. By official, I mean that I've moved from collections of notes, blogs, and recordings to a typed working draft of a chapter with complete thoughts, citations, and topic sentances. I'm simultansously excited and horrified. Excited b/c it's fun and interesting; horrified b/c I'm supposed to send parts of this thing to grad schools. Good lord.

Intro of the Proposal:

This thesis examines new classical music as a culture and centers around ethnographies of three ensembles, Alarm Will Sound, eighth blackbird , and Yarn/Wire. Each group is a registered non-profit performing arts organization focused on the presentation of new classical music, or “new music” as it is called by most of its practitioners. In addition to my participant observation of these groups, I incorporate interviews with performers and composers from outside the above ensembles and several weblogs, including my own, Sound Scenes in order provide a broader cultural context. Finally, I draw on my own experience performing and interacting in new music cultures. Through these various techniques I aim to demonstrate new music cultures as dynamic and complex entities in which aesthetics are constantly negotiated and contested.

Other scholars have studied new music as a cultural phenomenon from various perspectives, though few, if any, scholarly studies treat new music performance as a primary research topic. Ethnomusicologist Georgina Born (1995) has conducted an extensive ethnography of IRCAM in which she illustrated how social forces inform and shape the musical choices of that institution. Working from a more historical perspective, Susan McClary (1989)and Rose Rosengard Subotnik (1991) have each critically examined the trends of isolation and social abstraction in new music cultures. Both McClary and Subotnik criticize composers for their general neglect and disdain of popular music and popular culture at large. In his study of new music composer Steve Reich’s 1965 tape piece It’s Gonna Rain, Martin Scherzinger (2005) has combined a close textual analysis with historical and social research in order to examine resonances in local and global settings. With all of these studies scholars primarily examine composition and the self-presentation of composers and their work. In this thesis I expand upon the above studies by examining the performative and compositional aspects of new music cultures.

New music ensembles often engage two socially important concepts: innovation and legacy of European art music and modernism. Broadly speaking (?), Groups employ classical repertoire and performance rituals in order to establish a connection with the past, but individual ensembles manipulate both in order to create a unique identity. Subotnik has identified individualism as a primary modus operandi of contemporary classical composers, stating how, “…qualitative superiority is attributed to that conception of music which… gives ideological precedence to the composer’s individuality of expression…” (pg. 247, 1991). In seeking such individualism, new music ensembles use signifiers from popular culture to distinguish themselves as relevant in comparison to more traditional classical practices. Such signs include performance dress, various changes to the concert ritual, and, to a limited extant, the exhibition (word choice) of popular music. [should this kick off a long argument?]

There's more, but I don't like over posting. The next part is about establishing a historical context.

Song book

Matt Marks has combined Still the One and Peter Gabriel's Book of Love into a really cool cover called Still the One and Friends. Check it out here.

...And we're back!

Well I'm finally checking blogs again after an extended hiatus. I wentto Maryland to visit my grandparents. They don't have the internet (surprise!) so I seized the opportunity to unplug. My girlfriend and I visited the Antietam National Battlefield and the Monocacy Crossing Battlefield with my family, returning home in the evening to watch the Olympics. If you haven't seen Michael Phelps swim, btw, you should check it out. He is incredible. Though I was having a great time, it definitely took me a few days to relax and stop thinking about my thesis, the community orchestra, and the quickly approaching start of term. Abby, my gf, was a great coach, though and we ended up really enjoying ourselves.

Upon checking my blog subscriptions it has become totally clear that the blog world never rests; I had 146 unread blogposts, compared to a daily average of 15-30. I never read all the blogs for a day, as it takes too much time. It's like having in-depth conversations back to back in an endless cycle. Instead I try to focus on three to five that I really like, then skim the others. I've also learned not to get bogged down playing catchup.

School has started here at UT Knoxville. It's so weird to shift back into high gear after summer. I did a lot of stuff over the break, but it will probably take a few more days to get going again.

Complex

I've been checking out and commenting on a few blogs that discuss the idea of complexity. In new music communities, minimalism is generally considered not to be complex while other music, e.g. Elliot Carter's Piano Concerto, can be called complex. Here's a few links to the ensuing discussions.

Tim J's brings up several opinions, including my own.

Kyle G's lengthy post considers the issue from a composer's perspective.

And, of course, the ever diligent DJA makes sees it all.

It is interesting that people refer to this issue as the "complexity war." I suppose it does lead to heated discussion. In line with my ethnomusicology training, I don't care to call any music simple, though prior to my grad training, I definitely turned my nose up to different music at times. These days I tend to agree with anthropologist Victor Turner who states, "in matters of religion, as of art, there are no "simpler" peoples, only some peoples with simpler technologies than our own. Man's "imaginative" and "emotional" life is always and everywhere rich and complex" (The Ritual Process, 1969, p. 3).