I'm sitting here looking out the window at clouds and some sky, lots of green plants, houses built in traditional Black Forest style and wondering, "How does new music relate to all of this?" I played Handel last night and I will be playing Bach tonight through Sunday night. It is a bigger stretch than I'd like it to be to get to 20th century music. However, let's get to it.
The first group I would like to present is Relâche, a new music group that has been playing together for around 30 years in Philadelphia. When I lived there, I attended a number of their concerts when I lived there because I knew some of the people involved. They commission a number of new works each year and have released 7 CDs one of which was nominated for a Grammy.
Then there is the San Francisco Composers Chamber Orchestra that is based in (can you guess?) San Francisco. They play a wide variety of music ranging from the early 20th century to current works. Many of the composers whose works they play perform in the orchestra. The information on their website stresses that they do not perform "museum music" and they like to do concerts that involve new music, the way in which the "museum music" was first performed.
John Adams first came to my attention when I heard Short Ride in a Fast Machine. I still love that piece with all of its energy and vitality. One of his most famous pieces is the opera, Nixon in China. He still writes pieces of imagination often based on real events. His website includes his blog on events past and present.
All of these websites are designed to promote the composers/performers and their works. If the web didn't exist, all information would have to be passed the way it was in the past - by word of mouth. I knew of Relâche because I worked with someone who was in it. I knew John Adams because I heard one of his pieces on the radio. I never would have known of the San Francisco Composers Chamber Orchestra unless they came to the place where I was living. It's great to be able to find out these things and to hear excerpts (without buying the record, tape, CD, etc) and to discover which ones we like and which ones not. Welcome to the 21st Century!
I liked the music of relache. It's very rhythmic, almost jazzy, yet not quite. I think it's amazing after ALL the music written through the centuries that we as human beings can come out with such fresh tunes and ideas. We are creative beings indeed! John Adams website was interesting, he present stuff in a different light and unusual angles.
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