Whichblog

Witold on the Podium

Lutoslawski conducting his Chain 1 with the London Sinfonietta. The whole performance is worth watching, but the moment at 8:49 stands out. When is the last time you saw a conductor communicate with a smile? No flailing, choreography, grunting, or dripping sweat; just a big grin and pure joy.

Hey Gus, where've you been?

Around. You know how it is. I lost all my sketches and pieces-in-progress in a hard drive crash so I had to start from scratch. I just finished two pieces for string trio; download them from my bio page. I hope to have my trio for oboe, bassoon, and piano finished by the end of the year. I suppose this is where I insert the phrase found on nearly every blog ever written, the one where I promise to make more regular updates. Consider it done. This is a relief, I'm sure, to the two of you out there who read this. You won't have to wait 5 months for new entries. I hope to cut it down to 3 or 4.

It takes two

Pass the word, the Whichpond Music Duet Sale continues through the end of July. Over 90 books are available at a discount price in the online store. Grab a friend and play some duets, or, if you're really good, play them by yourself.

500, give or take

Trying to pull my head out of the clouds - an update from the last month:

I reached a personal milestone; I finished my 500th publication in June. Back when I first started doing this getting to 500 was my goal, I'm not sure why. I guess the rationale was that at 500 everything would be OK: I would have enough pieces available for enough combinations that a lull in sales wouldn't have too much of an effect on my bottom line, or that there would be enough variety in the catalog to ensure a stream of new customers even if I couldn't crank out new stuff fast enough for the regulars. As every small goal or milestone approaches I find myself thinking that this is when I will finally turn the corner. I'm practically giddy with anticipation. As 500 approached I even made a frantic push to get there faster. This is it; this is when things get easier. When I finally snap back to reality I'm surprised by how long it has taken me to realize that this is not the case. It will always be a struggle, of course. 500 is just like 499, which will be just like 600, or 1000, or wherever I decide to stop. After all, how many folks out there play in chamber music groups? And how many of those play "classical" music? And how many of those are in the market for new music? And how many of those use the internet to find music? And how many of those will find something interesting in my catalog? And of those people how many will take a chance buying from someone they have probably never heard of? On and on. At that point it is way too easy to slip in to a stream of endless questioning. On the surface the questioning and self-examination appears useful, but then I realize that a couple of hours, or days, or weeks have gone by and I haven't gotten any work done. The guy I am when I work towards my silly goals is overly optimistic, quixotic, and probably delusional to a certain degree, but at least he is making something. I have to be content with that. Any questioning beyond "How can I be a better musician?" will lead to a complete stoppage; at that point trying to be a better musician or trying to make something worthwhile becomes impossible.

So, a thank you to everyone who has found (or will find) this odd little web site and decided (or will decide) to buy some music from me. And I send a big thank you to the regulars. That something I have a hand in making is useful or enjoyable to other musicians is a simple concept that I allow to sink in occasionally. Simply put, it's a nice feeling.

Champagne

The final segment from Jim Jarmusch's Coffee and Cigarettes:

To a Certain Civilian

I just completed a new piece, a 6 minute romp for double reed quintet - To a Certain Civilian.

The title was taken from Whitman, after the piece was written. It fits, somehow:

To a Certain Civilian

Did you ask dulcet rhymes from me?
Did you seek the civilian's peaceful and languishing rhymes?
Did you find what I sang erewhile so hard to follow?
Why I was not singing erewhile for you to follow, to understand--nor
am I now;
(I have been born of the same as the war was born,
The drum-corps' rattle is ever to me sweet music, I love well the
martial dirge,
With slow wail and convulsive throb leading the officer's funeral;)
What to such as you anyhow such a poet as I? therefore leave my works,
And go lull yourself with what you can understand, and with piano-tunes,
For I lull nobody, and you will never understand me.

Dig it.

Uninspired Critic

Putting aside everything regarding the purpose and value of critics, it seems to me that if you are going to write about a performance where the players "didn't play any of the works with too much inspiration" you should not write a review that shows absolutely no inspiration itself. You know, maybe you could show the object of your criticism what real inspiration is. Not so for Geraldine Freedman and her banal review of the Avanti Wind Quintet. Does she see the irony of writing "business as usual" in an article as useless as this? Or does she notice but not care? Maybe the performance was uninspired; that's beside the point. And even though it makes me feel a bit uneasy when those who don't or can't perform criticize those who do, that's not the point either. No, the point is that her response to this "uninspired" performance is something so pointless and devoid of insight that I'm forced to believe it's really a joke. Surely Geraldine Freedman wasn't compensated for writing this article. How could anyone who throws around "business as usual" take payment for such a piece of work? In my perfect world, people wouldn't be paid to write such garbage. The folks who read it might actually be fooled into thinking that this critic (and others like her) are qualified to do their job.

Brass Quintet Music

Lately I have been adding transcriptions to the Brass Quintet section of my catalog. Recent additions include:
Holst's Second Suite
Schubert's Marche Militaire
Rhapsody on Civil War Themes
Verdi's Waltz
Nielsen's Humoresque

And for those ensembles looking to give a boost to their library, the whole lot is available at 30% off.

YouTube Treasure Trove

From NPR's Miles Hoffman, a Classical Treasure Trove at YouTube, videos of vintage performances: Callas, Bjorling, Toscanini, and Pavarotti singing a duet with James Brown.

And another YouTube video, not on the list, Stephen Colbert & Paul Dinello performing The Devil Went Down to Georgia on bassoons.

Garden Etude

I recently found another new old piece (or an old new piece) hiding out in a long-forgotten corner of my computer - Garden Etude for oboe, violin, and piano. The piece was finished and engraved, but was untitled and unperformed. I'm not sure why I never made it available; I think it turned out well. It is available for download on my bio page. Enjoy!

How much is each piece worth?

From the AP:

David Garrett, a former model who has been called the David Beckham of the classical scene, said he tripped while carrying his 18th century violin as he was leaving London's Barbican Hall after a performance, smashing it to bits...When he studied at the Juilliard School in New York, he became a parttime model to help supplement his income.

Now, I'm basically out of the loop as far as fashion is concerned, and I have no idea what the current beauty standards are. Even so, I expected a parttime model to be better looking:

But what do I know?
Parttime model? Reminds me of the song by Flight of the Conchords: "you're so beautiful, you could be a part time model"

Oboe & The NFL

I'm late to the party, but as I didn't watch the Super Bowl, this is new to me - Mr. Oboe.
"He asked, 'How can I get a car like that?' I said, 'Not by playing the oboe.'" Ha!

Bulwer-Lytton

It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents--except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.

Wretched Writers Welcome - send in your entries for the 2008 Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest. And check out last year's winners.

Shopping Season

Posters for Messiah performances, a creeping chill in the air, the end of the fall semester, Tweedledee & Tweedledum's annual battle of wits over whether billion dollar corporations should use "holiday" or "Christmas" while trying to separate us from our money- all are sure signs that the holiday season is here. But there is one thing that really drives the point home for me, one thing that pulls me out of my funk and into the crowded malls and airports. When I see it on t.v. it speaks to me; Christmas is here. I am, of course, speaking about the Clapper commercial, that jewel that appears on television every December. I am always surprised at its first appearance. The ads are still on the air so people must be buying the little contraptions. But who? The new version even has a remote control. Bless us all!

And on a not completely unrelated note, sheet music makes a great gift....

trio that is called Trio

I just put the finishing touches on a new piece- a trio for 2 oboes & English horn imaginatively titled....Trio. Like the last few pieces I have written I'm not sure how pracitical it is. I am eager to get feedback from any groups that perform it. If you want to pass along any title suggestions for future pieces that would be great, too.