Thursday, June 30, 2011

Value of composers

"Just the way a composer notates music can be significant," Anne Schreffler, chair of Harvard's music department says. "So even if they don't make changes, just seeing how they beam notes — whether the beam goes up or down, whether the notes are connected or separated, those kinds of things can give you insight into the musical structure. And when these pieces are published and printed, publishers have their own guidelines and rules, just as with printing of books. So certain aspects of the notation are always standardized. But in a manuscript, you can see a composer's idiosyncratic notation." (from a story from NPR about the sale of a score collection.)

So imagine the worth of hearing a composer speaking about the works, their inspiration and process.

Monday, June 6, 2011

Composing Thoughts Peter Lieuwen

SOLI Chamber Ensemble is preparing a new work by Peter Lieuwen, so it was a perfect excuse to go up to College Station and see his studio.
Lieuwen talks about technology, Overland Dream and how he composes physically.



Filmed Saturday June 4th, 2011 in Lieuwen's studio in College Station, Texas. (c) 2011-