Deep skins

Today on Phawker, an interview with Glenn Kotche, drummer for undeniably-great rock band Wilco and a creative, broad-minded percussionist and composer. He's coming to Philly for a performance with Bang on a Can All-Stars.

I didn't push him for details on the new Wilco album; I tried to keep our discussion centered on his work as a composer and his collaborations with BoaC and other new-music groups. I'm happy just knowing it's on its way. The big New Zealand-based project he described sounds intriguing as well and appears to be on its way even sooner.

Do you want more?!

The Vienna Philharmonic with Zubin Mehta and Lang Lang. Feb. 26, 2009, The Bulletin.

DPS didn't like this one as much as I did, but at least I left Lang Lang's hairstyle out of it.

Also, the latest Paperboy A couple nice cover stories undermined by a couple fact errors and dumb typos. Among the misspelled or misidentified: Washington, DC-based record label Dischord, aioli, and drummer John Hollenbeck. Also, I'm pretty sure Police Chief Charles Ramsey came to Philly from DC, but it's possible he went home to Chicago in the roughly year-long interim between positions.

The hits keep coming

Steve Lippia and the Philly Pops' Celebration of Ol' Blue Eyes, The Bulletin, Feb. 20, 2009.

Another week, another Paperboy for Phawker. In light of this, I join others in sounding the death knell for PW's commitment to journalism.

Plus, a preview of Benjy Ferree, who plays tomorrow night at the M Room.

From Rittenhouse to your house

A preview of Curtis on Tour, The Bulletin, Feb. 17, 2009.

The article includes some insights from composer David Ludwig on his "From the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam," which will be premiered Wednesday evening. I knew a little bit about the original Persian poetry going into writing the article, but I confess that the first thing that came to mind was an episode of the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. Wednesday's recital features wind and string students from Curtis, as well as mezzo-soprano Allison Sanders but, sadly, no flying squirrels.

Your revue of reviews

The Cleveland Orchestra at Verizon Hall, The Bulletin, Feb. 10, 2009.

Curtis Opera Theatre's Impressions of Pelleas, The Bulletin, Feb. 12, 2009.

Today's title is a shoddy reference to Sid Caesar. I'll try to make it up to him.

Friday follies

Peter Nero and the Philly Pops, "Visions of America," reviewed for the Bulletin. Jan. 30, 2009.

Tonight, I'm seeing The Inverse at Doc Watson's. I've never been to this club before, but a friend of mine from high school plays bass in this band. Funk has been much neglected in my music coverage of late; tonight should more than fulfill my RDA.

On Sunday, I make my triumphant return to church singing in the choir at St. Mark's Church (16th and Locust). This is my first venture into high-church music, complete with chanted psalm settings, and I'm filling in for both the 11 am High Choral Mass and the 4 pm Evensong. Leighton, Howells, Elgar and a variety of 16th century composers will be featured.

Oh, and I'll probably watch a little football after the 4 pm service. Teams from western Pennsylvania and the Phoenix suburbs will be featured.

Hermit-style

With rough weather the last couple days, I've only left the apartment to pick up the papers, all so I could bring you today's Paperboy. For the rest of the last week, I've just been huddled up, covers over my head.

Just kidding. I've been to a couple concerts (one review coming tomorrow), landed a prospective assignment from a widely-read and respected periodical, and interviewed soprano Ana Maria Martinez about performing with Plácido Domingo, whose Feb. 16 concert will be the subject of my next big feature. Not even snowy, icy nastiness will halt my ambitions.

Also, any experts on Dutch music (or Dutch music experts) out there? I'm looking for some insights for my next next big feature.

Valhalla, I am coming

Today on Phawker, the latest Paperboy. I linked to a video of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song," and fortunately I didn't have to resort to measures like those seen below.

My non-Paperboy output has dipped a bit, but I'm working on landing a few interviews for upcoming shows at the Kimmel Center. Stay tuned for some of this, and maybe even a little bit of this.

Inaugural follow-up

Some other thoughts on John Williams' piece for the inauguration here. Pretty much right on - shameless populism strikes again - but there were a few moments (some low rumbles in the piano, some criss-crossing lines that took the cello up high and the violin rather low) that were very nice. It could have been more, and it certainly wasn't Messiaen (I can wish), but the lineup of performers reflected the best of America.

What might have been

They got a cellist, a violinist, a pianist and a clarinetist together to play a John Williams piece for the inauguration. Top-flight musicians all: two legends, Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman, and two young performers poised for greatness, Gabriela Montero and Anthony McGill. How could they assemble this specific instrumentation and not do Quartet for the End of Time?

Oh, right, the apocalyptic overtones. Don't want to herald a new era with the sounding of the seventh trumpet. It's still awesome, though. The above recording by a chamber group from New Mexico is mislabeled (it's actually the sixth movement, the "dance of fury, for the seven trumpets") but pretty good. Dig this, from Messiaen's preface to the score:

"Music of stone, formidable granite sound; irresistible movement of steel, huge blocks of purple rage, icy drunkenness."

Stone and steel for the nation's new resolve; purple for a country that is neither blue nor red; icy drunkenness for all the revelers waiting in the cold today. It would have been perfect.

Pre-inaugural post

Singers and symphonies, preview of concerts by the Bay-Atlantic Symphony and Symphony in C. The Courier-Post, Jan. 18, 2009.

Eschenbach returns, a review of the Philadelphia Orchestra with their former conductor on the podium. The Bulletin, Jan. 19, 2009.

In brief

From today, Paperboy. From Monday, orchestra review. Doing another one tonight.

I was in a room with someone very famous today. Hint: his last name rhymes with "Flamingo."

Coming up: a preview of two orchestra concerts on the other side of the river, plus an article on that Flamingo guy.

Back to slinging mud

First issue of Paperboy in the New Year after a two-week break for Christmas and New Year's. During the interim, I was baffled to find myself on the Letters page of CP (third one down), bringing a typo to the their attention. I figured they'd run a "regret the error"-type notice, but they probably needed one more short letter to fill out the column.

On the horizon: several Orchestra reviews (Philly the next two weeks at least, plus a Cleveland appearance in early February), another orchestra preview for the Courier-Post, and a visit from my parents.

It is time

A review of the Crossing, an excellent, forward-thinking chamber choir based in Philly. The wait for their first concert of the year was worth it, and I believe that a second wait for their "Month of Moderns" in May and June will be similarly rewarded.

Wrapping up

Various year-end lists featuring my writing surfaced in the last few days. For Phawker's The Music We Loved in 2008, I wrote up TV on the Radio's "Dear Science" and Man Man's "Rabbit Habbits," as well as the "Punk Rock Moment of the Year," Amy Poehler's Sarah Palin rap on SNL.

For the Bulletin, I contributed notes on Charles Dutoit's arrival as chief conductor in Philly and on Jason Moran's stellar Art Museum concert. The Dutoit entry is more forward-looking than retrospective; his work with the Orchestra will likely only grow stronger in the New Year and for several more to come.

Once again, I have chosen new music over football. Better to support local arts than a non-local team. Look for the concert review on Monday. Go Vikes.

Don't let's start

On Phawker, an interview with They Might Be Giants. The maestros of off-kilter pop play two shows this evening, at 7:30 and 11:30, at the TLA. New Year's Eve shows have long been a TMBG tradition; the last Philly one happened about ten years ago.

During the interview, John Linnell frequently slipped into speaking in a kind of "Behind the Music" announcer-voice. This is indicated with italics perhaps once in the transcript; in reality, it occurred considerably more often.

See you in 2009.

A new wrinkle

A bit of non-music-related writing: for the Winter 2008-09 issue of MBA Jungle, I wrote a short piece on the etiquette of the "business kiss," and a longer feature on the pros and cons of MBA rotational programs. Different from my usual stuff, of course, but both were a lot of fun to research and report.

Off the wall

Can music and pictures coexist? A review of concerts by Network for New Music and Jason Moran for Broad Street Review, in which I examine the interaction between music and image during concerts held in art galleries.

Jason Moran's performance was one of the finest I heard this year, but I found the video art that accompanied his concert distracting. The Network concert was a nice exposure to the work of Sherif Habashi and Jennie Thwing, but also a mixed bag in terms of interaction with the artwork. Both featured pre-concert talks -- by the composers at the Network concert, and by David Adler with Moran and his concert -- that were tremendously revealing.

Let men their songs employ

From a few days ago, a review of the Philly Pops' holiday program for the Bulletin -- now with newly-revamped website. The Pops' show contained numerous jokes about lederhosen; I considered adding some of my own but thought better of it.

I also had to refrain from including an extended passage on Peter Nero's version of "White Christmas," the spacey feeling of which came from playing the opening passage with a whole-tone scale, long used to conjure images of aliens and other worlds. I wish I could remember which familiar tune Prof. Duckworth adapted in the same fashion during my first year of undergraduate music theory, but that memory seems to have been lost to the ages.

Hopefully forthcoming: an article for Broad Street Review reflecting on several concerts held among art exhibits. Image vs. sound, with various forms of abstraction: how do these kind of multimedia events play out? Stay tuned.

Top 10

Philadelphia Orchestra w/ Time for Three, Jennifer Higdon’s Concerto 4-3. Verizon Hall, Philadelphia, January 12.

Society for New Music, Marc Mellits’ Second String Quartet. Hendricks Chapel, Syracuse, January 27.

Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, The Rite of Spring. Mulroy Civic Center, Syracuse, March 14.

Stew and the cast of “Passing Strange,” “My Keys/It’s Alright.” Belasco Theatre, New York City, March 29.

Bucknell University Rooke Chapel Choir, Eleanor Daley’s “Do Not Stand By My Grave and Weep.” Weis Center, Lewisburg, PA, May 18.

Andrew Bird, “Armchairs.” Electric Factory, Philadelphia, August 9.

Nico Muhly w/ Sam Amidon, Nadia Sirota, et al, “The Only Tune.” First Unitarian Church, Philadelphia, August 22.

Philadelphia Orchestra w/ Martha Argerich, Prokofiev’s First Piano Concerto. Verizon Hall, Philadelphia, October 6.

American Composers Orchestra w/ Seth Josel, Keeril Makan’s Dream Lightly. International House, Philadelphia, November 18.

Jason Moran w/ the Bandwagon, Bill Frisell and Alicia Hall. Philadelphia Museum of Art, December 12.