Who is Betsy Jolas?
If you are an ageing composer whose heart was warmed by the news that Simon Rattle has ‘discovered’ nonagenarian Betsy Jolas, you should probably moderate your enthusiasm. Whilst Rattle knew very little…
Samuel Adler at 90
A belated ‘happy birthday’ to Samuel Adler, who celebrated his 90th birthday on 4th March. Some composers will know him best from his widely used treatise The Study of Orchestration, but…
Geraldine Mucha (1917–2012)
Geraldine Mucha in the 1980s. Image: geraldinemucha.org Whilst last year marked the centenary of the birth of Scottish composer Geraldine Mucha, 2018 will see further celebrations of her life and work. Mucha…
Hermann Meier
Hermann Meier, 1945 The IMS conference ended a few days ago. I meant to mention a few of the final papers at the time, but got tied up with other…
The Importance of a Failure CV
Do you have a composition website? Ah, the tedious art of self-promotion. If you’re anything like me, you try to put in every positive thing that you’ve done, that one…
Steve Reich at 80
A happy birthday to Steve Reich, who turned 80 yesterday. For those wishing to get to know or revisit some of his key works, take a look at this article, which…
Composers and Computers
'He fiddles with the keyboard, commanding the computer to play an aria for mezzo-soprano and orchestra...In meekly peeping tones, the computer sings a sinuous, long-breathed melody, twisting and turning over…