Varia

Okay, I admit it: hosting the Olympics was not such a bad idea after all. As I’ve watched I have found myself whooping, shouting, crying with joy and often turning the television off because I can’t take the stress. This is strange, since I’ve not much more than a passing interest in sport. Granted, I enjoyed seeing Andy Murray avenge his defeat at the hands of Roger Federer, and it’s been thrilling to see the cyclists and rowers perform so brilliantly. Maybe, however, it’s because the spirit of the Olympics, especially in the journey athletes have to make in order to achieve mastery, is something with which musicians can connect. Music, like sport, demands sacrifice.

New CD Releases

The Olympics continue to be a source of inspiration this month for composers taking part in the 20×12 project. There are three new tracks  available on NMC: Aidan O’Rourke’s jauntily minimalist TAT-1, inspired by the first transatlantic telephone cable; the astringent and powerful mini-opera Our Day by Conor Mitchell, set against the backdrop of events in Northern Ireland in 1972; and Oliver Searle’s mercurial Technophobia, which brings together conventional and unconventional instruments played by young disabled musicians and their peers.

Elsewhere, as musicians concentrate their efforts on the concert hall, there are only a few new recordings. The music of Catalan composer Xavier Montsalvatge (1912-2002) features in two releases. There is a collection of his music for two pianos –  Barcelona Blues, Tres Divertimentos, Sum Vermis and 5 Invocations al Crucificado – on Naxos; and Partita 1958, Cinco Canciones Negras, the premiere recording of Calidoscopi Simfonic and Sinfonia de Requiem on Chandos. Described by Aaron Copland as ‘The Messiaen Monster’, the Turangalila-Symphonie, now acknowledged as one of the great works of the twentieth century, receives a new recording with Juanjo Mena and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra on Hyperion. Warner Classics, finally, have released a very enticing 6 CD collection featuring pianist Pierre-Laurent  Aimard playing music by Debussy, Ives, Messiaen, Ravel, Carter, Boulez, Beethoven and Liszt.

BBC iPlayer 

If you missed the BBC Proms over the last week, I thoroughly recommend picking up the world premieres of James MacMillan’s Credo and Charlotte Bray’s At the Speed of Stillness on BBC iPlayer (follow my links). Some may find the MacMillan difuse, but there is no doubting his ability to make the familiar – both in terms of raw musical language and established forms – seem excitingly new. The Bray, in contrast, showed commendable focus. Other works still available on iPlayer as I write include Knussen’s Symphony No. 2 with the BBC Philharmonic under Noseda and the UK premieres of Langgaard’s Symphony No. 11 Ixion and Gudmundsen-Holmgreen’s Incontri played by BBC Symphony Orchestra under Dausgaard.  

Embedded 

A quick reminder to finish. For those interested in Sound and Music’s excellent Embedded programme, there are still a few days left to apply. There are three calls: no.w.here, an organisation based in Tower Hamlets that combines film production alongside critical dialogue about contemporary image making; Music Hackspace, a platform that supports the development of innovative new projects using new technologies; and BBSO, which offers a year-long partnership to write new works of up to 12 minutes for symphony orchestra. The deadline for these calls is August 13th. More details are available on the Sound and Music website.

Originally posted at Composition:Today ©Red Balloon Technology