Classically Speaking

It feels sometimes that we live under a Glass dome. That is to say, Philip Glass is everywhere and influencing everything. He still has his ardent detractors who call him a "fraud" and other unpleasant things, but no one can deny him his global success. He's the "go to" film composer of our time. In short, he is the man.

When I saw the latest Apple iPhone commercial, I thought that it was Philip Glass' music once again. Apple has always been about innovation and the cutting-edge of technology, so Glass' music, being revolutionary in nature, was the perfect fit.

But I was wrong. This rarely happens (humor intended), but indeed the composer is Keith Kenniff. The piece is called Goldengrove v. 2. The Glass influence is so apparent, even down to the chords and their resolutions.

If you are a fan, then this DVD is essential: Glass - A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts. Even the pizza making part of the film is fun and insightful.

Some albums just speak to you and so it was with Capricho Latino - a collection of pieces for solo violin performed by Rachel Barton Pine. As Pine admits in the liner notes, the violin "doesn't lend itself naturally to polyphonic self-sufficiency."

Ms. Pine is an enthusiastic and articulate champion of her beloved violin. I interviewed her in December of 2011.

Trio Settecento's "A French Soiree"

Praised by American Record Guide as "the gold standard of academic choirs in America," the Westminster Choir will present an engaging concert focused on the theme of memory and music's ability to connect individuals and communities. The program, entitled “Light of a Clear Blue Morning,” will include works by Eriks Esenvalds, Cyrillus Kreek, Bo Hansson, Sergei Rachmaninov, Paul Crabtree, Craig Hella Johnson and Moses Hogan.

WHEN? January 14, 2012 - 7pm 

WHERE? Kanawha United Presbyterian Church
1009 Virginia Street, East
Charleston, WV
www.kanawhachurch.org
304-342-6558

I submit for your approval a story by John Cage:

At  the  New  School  once I  was  substituting

for  Henry  Cowell, teaching  a  class

 in  Oriental  music. I  had  told him  I  didn’t  know  anything  about  the  subject.

He  said, “That’s  all

right. Just  go  where  the  records  are.                    

Take  one  out. Play  it  and  then  discuss  it

with  the  class.”

Well, I  took out  the  first  record.                   

It  was an  LP  of  a  Buddhist  service.

It  began  with  a  short  microtonal  chant  with

 sliding  tones, then  soon  settled into a  single loud  reiterated  percussive  beat.

This  noise  continued  relentlessly  for  about  fifteen  minutes       

with  no  perceptible  variation.

A  lady  got  up  and  screamed, and then  yelled,                 

“Take  it  off. I  can’t  bear  it  any   longer.”

 I   took   it   off. A   man in the class then said  angrily,

“Why’d   you   take   it   off?

I   was   just   getting    interested.”