ALBUM REVIEW: John Cage’s Music for Speaking Percussionist by Bonnie Whiting

by Michael Schell One of the more esoteric musical subgenres that emerged in the 1970s is the “talking instrumentalist” piece. Frederic Rzewski composed and performed many piano works where the performer recites a text while playing, and thanks to the contrabass … Continue reading

György Ligeti’s Musical Odyssey

by Michael Schell When Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey hit theaters in 1968, it caused quite a stir. Here was a major Hollywood feature film that had no famous actors and very little dialog (indeed none at all during … Continue reading

Harry Partch: Celebrating a Musical Maverick

by Michael Schell No composer better fits the “American maverick” moniker than Harry Partch (1901–1974). A genuine U.S. hobo during the Depression era, he invented his own tuning system, built his own instruments, and during the second half of his … Continue reading

Women in (New) Music: Remembering Pauline Oliveros

Tribute event added: Deep Listening: Stuart Dempster on Sunday, December 11 at Henry Art Gallery, 12:30pm-1:3pm Introduction by Maggie Molloy with subsequent contributions from staff and community members “Listen to everything all the time and remind yourself when you are not listening,” … Continue reading

CONCERT PREVIEW: The John Cage Musicircus

by Maggie Molloy This Saturday, the circus is coming to town—the Musicircus, that is. Come one, come all for a most unusual evening of art, dance, music, and chaos. Created by the avant-garde and always-iconoclastic composer John Cage in 1967, … Continue reading