Saturday, February 12, 2011

Martian Gardens for 02/13/2011

WMUA FM 91.1
Amherst, Mass. 01003
wmua.org
live webcast

MARTIAN GARDENS
Sundays 21:00--24:00 EST
Host: Max Shea
online playlists: Martian Gardens blog
email: maxtshea@gmail.com

Program for February 13, 2011

SINGLE PLAY
Philip Glass/Robert Wilson: Knee 5
Einstein on the Beach
Nonesuch Records/1993
violin: Gregory Fulkerson; keyboard: Michael Riesman; women's chorus; voice: Jasper McGruder; text: Samuel M. Johnson, "Two Lovers"; recorded 1993

SINGLE PLAY
George Crumb: The Ghosts of Alhambra (Spanish Songbook I)
I. Alba (Dawn)
II. Las Seis Cuerdas (The Six Strings)
III. Danza (Dance)
IV. Paisaje (Landscape)
V. ¡AY!
VI. Malagueña
VII. Memento

Complete Crumb Edition, Vol. 15
Bridge Records/2011
baritone: Patrick Mason; guitar: David Starobin; percussion: Daniel Druckman; texts: Federico Garcia Lorca;
recorded at the Academy of Arts and Letters, NYC, June, 2010


SET ONE
J.K. Randall: through Lapland
Intermediate Masterworks for Marimba #
Bridge Records/2010
marimba: Jean Geoffroy; recorded at Lawrence Conservatory of Music, Appleton, Wisconsin, Zeltsman Marimba Festival 2009, July 3, 2009

J.K. Randall:
a. Quartets in Paris
b. Quartersines

Computer Music #
Nonesuch/1974
realized at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center

Paul Lansky: The Joy of F# Minor
Music Box
Bridge Records/2007

Steve Mackey: Wish It Were
Lost & Found
Bridge Records/2007

SET TWO
Ursula Mamok: Sonar Trajectory
Music of Ursula Mamlok Volume 2
Bridge Records/2010
realized at the Columba-Princeton Electronic Music Center, 1966

Daria Semegen: Electronic Composition No. 1
Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center 1961-1973 #
New World Records/1998
realized at the C-PEMC, 1971

Brad Garton: Dan's Toys
Go Go Go - Music from the Computer Music Center, Columbia University #
Columbia University Computer Music Center/2000

SET THREE
So Percussion ~ Trollstilt: Martin's Garden
Five (and-a-half) Gardens
Shhh Productions/2007

Bernadette Speach: Chosen Voices
Reflections
Mode Records/2002
prepared guitar: Jeffrey Schanzer; toy piano: B. Speach; recorded at LRP Studios, New York City, 2000-2001

Christian Wolff: For Morty
I Like to Think of Harriet Tubman (Chamber Works Vol. 2)
Mode Records/1998
The Barton Workshop; recorded at the Hilversum Conservatorium, Hilversum, The Netherlands, 1994-1998

Morton Feldman: For Violin, Cello, and Vibraphone (from Durations)
Intermediate Music
Mode Records/2002
The Turfan Ensemble, recorded at HR-Sendesaal, Frankfurt, 1996-1997

SINGLE PLAY
Morton Feldman: Ixion
Music for Merce boxed-set
New World Records/2010
pianos: John Cage, David Tudor; recorded in rehearsal for the dance "Summerspace" (1958)

SINGLE PLAY
Francis Dhomont: Brief an den Vater
Études pour Kafka
empreintes DIGITALes/2009
vocalizations: Hans Tutschku; narration: Martin Engler; text: Franz Kafka; realized in 2006 at Dhomont's studio, Avignon

SINGLE PLAY
Alvin Lucier: Almost New York
Almost New York
Pogus Productions/2010
flutes: Robert Dick; recorded at Systems Two, Brooklyn

--FIN--

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Martian Gardens for 02/06/2010

WMUA FM 91.1
Amherst, Mass. 01003
wmua.org
live webcast

MARTIAN GARDENS
Sundays 21:00--24:00 EST
Host: Max Shea
online playlists: Martian Gardens blog
email: maxtshea@gmail.com

Program for February 6, 2010

HOMAGE TO MILTON BABBITT
May 10, 1916 -- January 29, 2011

SINGLE PLAY
David Starobin: Danci (M. Babbitt)
Newdance
Bridge Records/1998
guitar: D. Starobin; recorded at Mastersound, Astoria, NY

SET ONE
Milton Babbitt: String Quartet No. 2
Occasional Variations
Tzadik/2004
The Composer's Quartet -- violin: Matthew Raimondi, violin: Anahid Ajemian, viola: Jean Dupouy, cello: Michael Rudiakov

Milton Babbitt: All Set, for Jazz Ensemble
Spectrum -- New American Music, Volume V
Nonesuch Records/1974
The Contemporary Chamber Ensemble, conductor: Arthur Weisberg

SINGLE PLAY
Milton Babbitt: Vision and Prayer
Music of Milton Babbitt
CRI/1988
Mark II RCA Synthesizer: M. Babbitt; soprano: Bethany Beardslee; text: Dylan Thomas; created at the Columbia Princeton Electronic Music Center, 1961

SINGLE PLAY
Milton Babbitt: Philomel
Philomel
New World Records/1995
Mark II RCA Synthesizer, tapes: M. Babbitt; soprano: Bethany Beardslee; text: John Hollander (based on Ovid's "Philomena"), created at the Columbia Princeton Electronic Music Center, 1964

SET TWO
Milton Babbitt: Ensembles for Synthesizer
New Electronic Music from Leaders of the Avant-Garde
Columbia/1968
Mark II RCA Synthesizer, tapes: M. Babbitt, created at the Columbia Princeton Electronic Music Center, 1964

Milton Babbitt: Occasional Variations
Occasional Variations
Tzadik/2004
Mark II RCA Synthesizer, tapes: M. Babbitt, created at the Columbia Princeton Electronic Music Center, 1968-1971

SINGLE PLAY
Milton Babbitt: An Elizabethan Sextette
I. When I Was Fair and Young
II. Out of Sight, Out of Mind
III. Your Face, Your Tongue, Your Wit
IV. Can Doleful Notes to Measured Accents Set
V. First Love
VI. Neopolitan

Music of Milton Babbitt
CRI/1988
voices: Susan Jacquemot, Janet Steele, Johanna Arnold, Nancy Bergman, Barbara Ann Martin, Martha Rafferty-Page, conductor: Harvey Sollberger; texts: I. attributed to Elizabeth I; II. Barnabe Googe; III. attributed to Sir Walter Raleigh; IV. Samuel Daniel; V. Thomas Campion; VI. Michael East; recorded at Vanguard Studios, New York, 12/19/84

SINGLE PLAY
Milton Babbitt: Groupwise
ibid.
The Group for Contemporary Music, conductor: Daniel Shulman; recorded at Vanguard Studios, New York, 12/23/84

SET THREE
William Anderson: Sheer Pluck (M. Babbitt)
Diary of a Seducer
CRI/2000
guitar: W. Anderson

Dorothy Stone: None But the Lonely Flute (M. Babbitt)
None But the Lonely Flute
New World Records/2000
flute: D. Stone

SINGLE PLAY
Milton Babbitt: Swan Song No.1
The Music of Milton Babbitt
Bridge Records/2003
Cygnus Ensemble; conductor: Jeffrey Millarsky; recorded at Eonta Sound, Bronxville, 2003

--FIN--

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Milton Babbitt -- May 10, 1916 -- January 29, 2011

The total serialist composer and electronic music pioneer Milton Babbitt died Saturday at the age of 94.

Milton Babbitt: Portrait of a Serial Composer
A film by Robert Hilferty and Laura Karpman on NPR Music. The filmmaker Robert Hilferty passed away before he could complete this documentary. Emmy Award-winning composer Laura Karpman, one of Babbitt's students at the Julliard School, completed the film. It provides a wonderful introduction to the composer, his music, and his life -- and no mention of "Who Cares If You Listen"!

Sylvia Babbitt predeceased Milton in 2005. They are survived by their daughter Betty Ann Duggan and two grandchildren.

Here the late Dr. Babbitt discusses his work for which he is most famous, his time at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center. Video courtesy of Dr. Eric Chasalow of Brandeis University:



Saturday, January 29, 2011

Martian Gardens for 01/30/2009

WMUA FM 91.1
Amherst, Mass. 01003
wmua.org
live webcast

MARTIAN GARDENS
Sundays 21:00--24:00 EST
Host: Max Shea
online playlists: Martian Gardens blog
email: maxtshea@gmail.com

Program for January 30, 2011

SINGLE PLAY
David Starobin: Solo e Duettini (M. Babbitt)
New Music With Guitar, Vol. 5
Bridge Records/1993
In memory of Milton Babbitt who died January 29th, 2011, at age 94

SINGLE PLAY
Ted Hearne:
a. Bridge to Gretna
b. Anderson Cooper and Mary Landrieu
c. Brownie, You're doing a Heck of a Job

Katrina Ballads
New Amsterdam Records/2010
b. soprano: Allison Semmes; c. baritone: Anthony Turner; c. tenor: T. Hearne; recorded with large ensemble at Avatar Studios, Manhattan March, 2008

Phil Kline: Three Rumsfeld Songs
a. As We Know
b. That Many Vases
c. Near-Perfect Clarity

Zippo Songs
Cantaloupe Music/2004
The Zippo Band--vocals: Theo Bleckmann; violin: Todd Reynolds; guitars: Phil Kline; percussion: David Cossin; texts: Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld from Pentagon briefings; recorded at Ft/Lb Studio, Brooklyn, 2003

SET TWO
Ben Johnston: String Quartet No. 5
String Quartets Nos. 1,5, & 10
New World Records/2011
The Kepler Quartet; recorded at the Wauwatosa Presbyterian Church, Milwaukee, 7/21/2010

Arlene Zallman: Se La Terra Che Aspetta
Se La Terra Che Aspetta
Bridge Records/2010
cello: Hekun Wu; piano: Elise Yun; recorded at The Sonic Temple, Roslindale, Mass., July, 2001

SET THREE
Arvo Pärt: Affannoso (mvt. II Symphony No. 4 "Los Angeles")
Symphony No. 4
ECM Records/2010
Los Angeles Philharmonic; conductor: Esa-Pekka Salonen; recorded at Walt Disney Concert Hall, January, 2009

Ingram Marshall: Rave, Parts I & II
Dark Waters
New Albion Records/2002
oboe d'amore: Libby Van Cleve

SET FOUR
Pauline Oliveros: In Memoriam: Nikola Tesla, Cosmic Engineer (excerpt)
Music for Merce boxed set
New World Records/2010
voices, live electronics, acoustical-space sound activators: John Cage, Gordon Mumma, Jean Rigg, David Tudor; dance: Canfield (1969); recorded on tour, 1972, Merce Cunningham Dance Company

Henry Brant: Revenge Before Breakfast
The Henry Brant Collection Volume 8
Innova Recordings/2007
piccolo: Paul Taub; clarinet: Gregg Miller; violin: Ella Marie Gray; cello: Walter Gray; percussion: Matthew Kocmieroski, Thomas Eckert; accordion: Laurie Andres, conductor: Henry Brant; recorded in Poncho Hall, Cornish College of the Arts, Seattle, 2/12/85

SINGLE PLAY
New Band: Daphne of the Dunes (H. Partch)
Microtonal Works
Mode Records/1994
New Band performed on original PARTCH INSTRUMENTS; recorded at Mastersound, Astoria, Queens, 1991-1993

SET FIVE
Danielle Palardy Roger: Qui connaît (La Pinta)
a. Tout le monde en place
b. Nuit sombre
c. Réveil brutal
d. Ah l'aventure
e. Gloire, fortune, renommée et chance
f. Tous les biens de ce monde

Pinta, Niña, & Maria
Actuellecd/2010
performed by the ensemble GGRIL; recorded 8/12/2007

Tim Hodgkinson: Fragor
Sketch of Now
Mode Records/2006

SINGLE PLAY
Takehisa Kosugi: Spacings
Music for Merce boxed-set
New World Records/2010
live electronics: T. Kosugi; dance: Doubles (1984), recorded in New York City, 3/20/1988, The Merce Cunningham Dance Company

--FIN--

Monday, January 24, 2011

About Merce Cunningham

A little video about the modern dance choreographer Merce Cunningham (April 16, 1919 – July 26, 2009):



New World Records released Music for Merce, a 10-CD boxed-set dedicated to the music accompanying Cunningham's work over his five-decade career as director of The Merce Cunningham Dance Company.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Martian Gardens for 01/23/2009

WMUA FM 91.1
Amherst, Mass. 01003
wmua.org
live webcast

MARTIAN GARDENS
Sundays 21:00--24:00 EST
Host: Max Shea
online playlists: Martian Gardens blog
email: maxtshea@gmail.com

Program for January 23, 2011

SINGLE PLAY
Otto Luening: Moonflight
Pioneers of Electronic Music
New World Records/2006
created at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center, 1968

Henry Cowell: The Tides of Manaunaun
Piano Music
Smithsonian-Folkways/1993 (orig. 1963)
piano: H. Cowell

Philip Corner:
a. Short Piano Piece IV
b. Short Piano Piece IX
c. Short Piano Piece XIII

40 Years and One -- Philip Corner Plays the Piano
XI Records/2001
piano: P. Corner; recorded at IIWII studios, Weehawken, NJ, January, 1998

Gamelan Son Of Lion: Sad/Happy (D. Goode)
Sonogram
Innova Recordings/2009
clarinet: Daniel Goode

SET TWO
John Cage: Music Walk
The Works for Piano I
Mode Records/1995
piano, short radio, objects: Stephen Drury; recorded at Jordan Hall, Boston, Mass., March 1993

John Cage: Inlets (excerpt)
Music for Merce boxed-set
New World Records/2010
conch shells with water: Paeder Mercier, Mel Mercier, J. Cage
recorded at Roubaix, France, 10/27/1983; dance: Inlets (1977), Merce Cunningham Dance Company


SET THREE
Christian Wolff: Or 4 People (excerpt)
Music for Merce boxed-set
New World Records/2010
piano, melodica: C. Wolff; live electronics, violin, harmonica: Takehisa Kosugi; laptop: Jim O'Rourke; trombone: Stuart Dempster; recorded in New York, 7/23/1999; dance: Rune (1959), Merce Cunningham Dance Company

Christian Wolff: Snowdrop
Tilbury Pieces/Snowdrop
Mode Records/1999
violin, viola: Dimitrios Polisoidis; piano: Hildegard Kleeb; trombone: Roland Dahinden; recorded at Sender Freies, Berlin, May, 1996

SET FOUR
So Percussion & Matmos: Swamp
Treasure State
Cantaloupe Music/2010

So Percussion & Trollstilt: Matisse's Garden Lesson
Five (and-a-half)Gardens
Shhh Productions/2007
recorded at Princeton University

Chen Yi: Jing Marimba
Intermediate Masterworks for Marimba -- 24 New Concert Pieces
Bridge Records/2009
marimba: Gordon Stout; recorded at the Zeltsman Marimba Festival 2009, Lawrence University Conservatory of Music, Appleton, Wisconsin, 7/05/09

SET FIVE
Neil Rolnick: MONO Prelude
Extended Family
Innova Recordings/2011
laptop, voice: N. Rolnick; recorded at EMPAC, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, February, 2010

Madelyn Byrne: Arrival
Sounding Out! (DVD extracts)
Everglade Records/2010

SINGLE PLAY
Joane Hétu: La Neige
a. Neige 1-2
b. Neige 5-3
c. Neige 4-2
d. Regarder la neige tomber

Récits de neige
Actuellecd/2010
performed by Ensemble SuperMusique, recorded at Théâtre La Chapelle, Montreal, 2008; texts: a: Dyane Raymond, b: Lise Hétu, c: Luc Proulx; d: Miranda Nienson

SINGLE PLAY
Larry Austin: Caritas
Source--Music of the Avant Garde (Source Records 1-6, 1968-1971)
Pogus Productions/2009
PDP-10 computer, Buchla Electronic Music System: L. Austin, realized 1969 for the Artificial Intelligence Project, Stanford University

SINGLE PLAY
Terry Riley: Negro Hall
Lisbon Concert
New Albion Records/1996
piano: T. Riley; recorded at the Festival dos Capuchos, Teatro São Luís, Lisbon, Portugal, 7/16/95

--FIN--

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Hearne, Small, Rolnick

Another selection from Katrina Ballads by Ted Hearne. This one is called "Anderson Cooper." Like the rest of the texts from "Katrina Ballads," Hearne uses words straight from the media at the time of Hurricane Katrina in August, 2005.



This is another performance of Washington D.C. pianist Haskell Small of "Lullaby of War."



ETHEL performs Neil Rolnick's "Gene Pool" featured on his latest CD "Extended Family" (Innova Recordings)



Click on videos to watch directly from YouTube.