Monday, June 29, 2015

Pride Quiz: Test Your Knowledge of Gay Composers

Aaron Copland with Samuel Barber and Gian-Carlo Menotti in Bernardsville, NJ, 1945 Aaron Copland with Samuel Barber and Gian-Carlo Menotti in Bernardsville, NJ, 1945 (Victor Kraft/Library of Congress)
Twenty years ago, RCA caused a minor stir with "Out Classics," a CD of music by Schubert, Saint-Saens, Barber, Copland and Britten, among other composers who happened to be gay.The compilation topped the Billboard Classical Chart – aided by a racy cover and some criticism over its dubious choice of pieces. But even if smacked of a marketing ploy, it also highlighted a facet of composers that was historically repressed by the classical music establishment.  More
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Friday, June 12, 2015

Ornette Coleman, Composer and Saxophonist Who Rewrote the Language of Jazz, Dies at 85

By 
Ornette Coleman performing at the Village Vanguard in 1961. Sam Falk/The New York Times
Ornette Coleman, the alto saxophonist and composer who was one of the most powerful and contentious innovators in the history of jazz, died on Thursday in Manhattan. He was 85.
The cause was cardiac arrest, a family representative said.
Mr. Coleman widened the options in jazz and helped change its course. Partly through his example in the late 1950s and early ’60s, jazz became less beholden to the rules of harmony and rhythm while gaining more distance from the American songbook repertoire. more

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Wednesday, June 10, 2015

New York Philharmonic Selects Anna Thorvaldsdottir for Emerging Composer Post

Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir is become the New York Philharmonic's Marie-Josee Kravis Emerging Composer, a one-year appointment that comes with a $50,000 stipend.
The Icelandic composer, 37, is the second recipient of the award, following Sean Shepherdwho was appointed in June 2012. Along with the stipend, Thorvaldsdottir will be commissioned to write a piece for the Philharmonic. She won the Nordic Council prize for her orchestral composition, Dreaming, a quiet piece that "embodies a flowing world of sound," according to a program note.  More
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Apple Music Brings Change to Streaming, but Is It Enough?

 When Apple launches its Apple Music streaming service at the end of June, it will affect things big and small in the music industry.
Hundreds of millions of iPhone and iPad users in more than 100 countries will get to try the $10-per-month service for free for the next three months when it is pushed to their devices with a free upgrade.
They'll get unlimited access to tens of millions of songs during the trial, and afterward be required to pay a monthly fee for access, instead of paying for each album or song download.
"It'll change the way you experience music forever," CEO Tim Cook promised Monday at Apple's annual conference for software developers, held in San Francisco. Read more
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Tony Award Winners 2015: Full List

“Fun Home” was one of the biggest winners of Broadway’s biggest night at the 69th annual Tony Awards, taking home four awards including best musical and best performance by an actor in a leading role in a musical for Michael Cerveris.
As for plays, “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” came out on top, winning best play, best performance by an actor in a leading role in a play for Alex Sharp, best direction of a play and best scenic design of a play.  More
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