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New Music I Like (No. 11): John Pickard

7/21/2013

Composer John Pickard

My last few blog postings have, admittedly, been a tad on the dour side. So let’s strike a happier tone, with a return to my irregular yet ongoing series of posts about new music I like.

I’d never heard of John Pickard, until I stumbled upon his music the other day. It turns out this 50-year-old English composer is quite a going concern. He’s composed a substantial number of orchestral and choral scores, lots of chamber music (including four string quartets), and seems to have a fondness for brass band music. He currently teaches at the University of Bristol. (For more information on John Pickard, see here.)

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Another Fine Speech About Classical Music

7/11/2013

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Alan Fletcher, of the Aspen Festival.

Alan Fletcher, who runs the Aspen Festival and School, recently made a stirring speech about the state of America’s orchestras. (It’s been making the rounds on the internet, and you can read it here.)

In it, he decries the ongoing struggles of orchestras – especially in Minnesota, where the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra endured a six-month lockout, and the Minnesota Orchestra has been bogged down in a labour dispute since October.

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Is There a Great Canadian Symphony?

7/5/2013

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Is there room for Canada here?

South of the border, America’s National Public Radio has initiated a bold discussion. It’s called “In Search of the Great American Symphony.”

The folks at NPR hasten to add that they aren’t out to “crown” any particular work. Rather, they want to instigate a broader conversation about the heritage, evolution and current state of the American symphony. (For more information, see here.)

Ordinarily, I tend to be skeptical about exercises that attempt to focus on what is “great,” “important” or “essential.” And in this particular case, the issue seems a little forced, because 98 percent of the U.S. population couldn’t care less about whether there are any great American symphonies or not.

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What Do Orchestras Want?

7/4/2013

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What do these people really want?

It was Sigmund Freud who famously asked, “What does a woman want?”

He failed to provide an answer – yet the way he framed the question was insightful. In order to understand why people behave they way they do, you need to know what they’re trying to achieve.

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New Music I Like (No. 11): John Pickard

Another Fine Speech About Classical Music

Is There a Great Canadian Symphony?

What Do Orchestras Want?

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