On new music
So I totally skipped out on jazz band yesterday (but I was responsible enough to get a sub, so that much is going for me) to go to the symphony with a fellow composer and one of our professors. It was way cool. The program was Debussy, Ades, Bizet, and this really amusing piece called Frankenstein!! by Gruber. This program caught my interest because Ades was programmed, and I knew he is a young (in his thirties) British composer who is pretty darn well known, but I didn't really know much of his music. Hdez (our prof) and Noah (the other comp) were both really interested in the Gruber piece. So we went out to Cupertino to catch the symphony at Flint. We had a great time, talking about music, Hdez telling stories of Indiana and such. It was so refreshing to hang out with a prof like that, and the discussions were rather interesting.
As for the concert, it was pretty freaking cool. the Ades had amazing orchestration, the use of different colors were just amazing, but I felt like the piece needed something more, like a melody or some harmonic motion that I could follow. But the orchestration was definately way cool.
The Frankenstein piece was funny. He used a lot of toys and unconventional instruments, or instruments in unconventional ways (he had this way nifty kazoo shaped like a saxophone. brings a whole new meaning to calling a saxophone a "kazoo with keys") like blowing up and popping brown lunch bags, and using slide whistles to play actual pitches (that was amazing, that he had the entire brass section playing this melody on slide whistle. It had this very eerie timbre to it, but way cool). The composer performed parts of it, it was for vocal (sprechstimme, which the composer did along with some toys) and orchestra, and he was very entertaining.
Afterwards, we went backstage and got his autograph, as well as a picture with him. He was really nice, and it's just so cool when an established composer is interested in meeting student composers, even though he had a thick viennese accent and we didn't talk very much at all, just his expression when Hdez introduced us was one of interest, as well as a sort of surprise and flattered that we wanted to meet him.
Then we went and talked about the concert, music, and gossip. It was tons of fun.
I came home and tried to work on some more music, having listened to the concert and talked about music all day with those two really got me thinking about my style (or lack of a defining style) and what I really want to sound like, what I want to accomplish as a composer. I am stuck in this minimalist place and want to get out. Not that I don't want any minimalist features, just that I want to be able to write something without having it turn into something minimalist when I don't want it to. And it's frustrating.
So I stayed up. til five. in the morning. trying to come up with something for lesson for today. I finally ended up showing him a Gloria movement, which is a rather unconventional setting of the text, as most Glorias tend to be happy and...well...glorious, mine was rather dissonant, dark, forboding, and really my way of mocking what the text stands for. I was not sure how my prof responded...he wanted to know why I set it that way...and I think he might have been a little disconcerted, or frightened, or something. I dunno.
Anyhow, after three caffinated beverages, I am still tired and will go pack and go home. Have a good weekend, all.
As for the concert, it was pretty freaking cool. the Ades had amazing orchestration, the use of different colors were just amazing, but I felt like the piece needed something more, like a melody or some harmonic motion that I could follow. But the orchestration was definately way cool.
The Frankenstein piece was funny. He used a lot of toys and unconventional instruments, or instruments in unconventional ways (he had this way nifty kazoo shaped like a saxophone. brings a whole new meaning to calling a saxophone a "kazoo with keys") like blowing up and popping brown lunch bags, and using slide whistles to play actual pitches (that was amazing, that he had the entire brass section playing this melody on slide whistle. It had this very eerie timbre to it, but way cool). The composer performed parts of it, it was for vocal (sprechstimme, which the composer did along with some toys) and orchestra, and he was very entertaining.
Afterwards, we went backstage and got his autograph, as well as a picture with him. He was really nice, and it's just so cool when an established composer is interested in meeting student composers, even though he had a thick viennese accent and we didn't talk very much at all, just his expression when Hdez introduced us was one of interest, as well as a sort of surprise and flattered that we wanted to meet him.
Then we went and talked about the concert, music, and gossip. It was tons of fun.
I came home and tried to work on some more music, having listened to the concert and talked about music all day with those two really got me thinking about my style (or lack of a defining style) and what I really want to sound like, what I want to accomplish as a composer. I am stuck in this minimalist place and want to get out. Not that I don't want any minimalist features, just that I want to be able to write something without having it turn into something minimalist when I don't want it to. And it's frustrating.
So I stayed up. til five. in the morning. trying to come up with something for lesson for today. I finally ended up showing him a Gloria movement, which is a rather unconventional setting of the text, as most Glorias tend to be happy and...well...glorious, mine was rather dissonant, dark, forboding, and really my way of mocking what the text stands for. I was not sure how my prof responded...he wanted to know why I set it that way...and I think he might have been a little disconcerted, or frightened, or something. I dunno.
Anyhow, after three caffinated beverages, I am still tired and will go pack and go home. Have a good weekend, all.