Pluralism is the defining feature of music at the end of the 20th century – from the minimalist film music of Michael Nyman to the lush sounds of Toru Takemitsu to the spectralist works that explored sound itself, writes Gillian Moore
"We live in a time not of mainstream but of many streams," John Cage mused as he surveyed the musical scene shortly before his death in 1992, "or even, if you insist upon a river of time, then we have come to the delta, maybe even beyond a delta to an ocean which is going back to the skies … "
The 12th and final episode of The Rest Is Noise festival is called New World Order. It may still be too early to have the historical distance to tell what really mattered in classical music at the end of the 20th century. What is clear, however, is that in the closing decades...
"We live in a time not of mainstream but of many streams," John Cage mused as he surveyed the musical scene shortly before his death in 1992, "or even, if you insist upon a river of time, then we have come to the delta, maybe even beyond a delta to an ocean which is going back to the skies … "
The 12th and final episode of The Rest Is Noise festival is called New World Order. It may still be too early to have the historical distance to tell what really mattered in classical music at the end of the 20th century. What is clear, however, is that in the closing decades...
- 12/4/2013
- by Gillian Moore
- The Guardian - Film News
Iconoclastic composer who crossed musical boundaries to create a distinctive, edgy sound
Steve Martland, who has died of a heart attack aged 53, was one of the most vibrant, unconventional and dynamic forces in British music. He first came to prominence in 1983 with Babi Yar, for large orchestra in three groups, championed by the Society for the Promotion of New Music (Spnm) and premiered separately on the same day by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Nicholas Cleobury, and the St Louis Symphony Orchestra under Leonard Slatkin. It was later recorded to critical acclaim.
After that, though, he avoided the orchestra, preferring, from American Invention and Re-Mix (1985) onwards, to compose for smaller ensembles, not usually exceeding 13 players, such as those scored for his Steve Martland Band (formed 1992), which toured internationally like a rock group; string quartets, as with his Patrol (1992) or arrangement of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D...
Steve Martland, who has died of a heart attack aged 53, was one of the most vibrant, unconventional and dynamic forces in British music. He first came to prominence in 1983 with Babi Yar, for large orchestra in three groups, championed by the Society for the Promotion of New Music (Spnm) and premiered separately on the same day by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Nicholas Cleobury, and the St Louis Symphony Orchestra under Leonard Slatkin. It was later recorded to critical acclaim.
After that, though, he avoided the orchestra, preferring, from American Invention and Re-Mix (1985) onwards, to compose for smaller ensembles, not usually exceeding 13 players, such as those scored for his Steve Martland Band (formed 1992), which toured internationally like a rock group; string quartets, as with his Patrol (1992) or arrangement of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D...
- 5/8/2013
- by Guy Rickards
- The Guardian - Film News
Writers, film-makers, artists and academics 'dismayed' at suspension of four musicians, and urge the London Philharmonic Orchestra to reconsider
A letter to the Telegraph (scroll down) expresses what so many people in the audience at the London Philharmonic Orchestra's excellent opening concert were saying privately last night: that the measures against the four musicians who signed a letter to the Independent protesting against the Israel Phil's appearance at the BBC Proms were absurdly draconian.
Those who signed today's Telegraph letter include filmmakers Mike Leigh and Ken Loach; actors Sam West, Simon McBurney and Miriam Margolyes; writers Al Kennedy, Philip Hensher, Kamila Shamshie and Ahdaf Soueif; artists Cornelia Parker and Mark Wallinger; composer Steve Martland; playwright Lee Hall and others, including many academics and scholars.
The Lpo has certainly made a crisis out of a drama. I'm not sure it could have stoked the flames of this episode more effectively if it had tried.
A letter to the Telegraph (scroll down) expresses what so many people in the audience at the London Philharmonic Orchestra's excellent opening concert were saying privately last night: that the measures against the four musicians who signed a letter to the Independent protesting against the Israel Phil's appearance at the BBC Proms were absurdly draconian.
Those who signed today's Telegraph letter include filmmakers Mike Leigh and Ken Loach; actors Sam West, Simon McBurney and Miriam Margolyes; writers Al Kennedy, Philip Hensher, Kamila Shamshie and Ahdaf Soueif; artists Cornelia Parker and Mark Wallinger; composer Steve Martland; playwright Lee Hall and others, including many academics and scholars.
The Lpo has certainly made a crisis out of a drama. I'm not sure it could have stoked the flames of this episode more effectively if it had tried.
- 9/22/2011
- by Charlotte Higgins
- The Guardian - Film News
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