Colin Eatock, composer
  • Home
  • About Colin Eatock
  • Composing
  • Catalogue of works
  • Media
  • Writing about music
  • Eatock Daily (blog)
  • New and upcoming
  • Contact me

New Music I Like (No. 14): Nico Muhly

12/13/2015

0 Comments

 
PictureComposer Nico Muhly.
These days, Nico Muhly is a big star, and he hardly needs a bump from me. The 34-year old American composer is prolific – and in many different styles and genres. He is the very model of a post-modern New York composer, involved with classical music, electronics, and the alt/indie pop scene.

He studied with John Corigliano and Christopher Rouse, and his music bears their stamp.  I also hear the influences of Steve Reich, Arvo Pärt and even Michael Nyman. As with all of these composers, there’s a direct, heart-on-sleeve quality to Muhly’s music, and a willingness to engage with his audience’s received musical culture. He seeks fresh new pathways to follow – but he’s no iconoclast, out to overthrow anyone or anything.


I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I like everything Muhly creates. Electronic music generally leaves me cold – and his is no exception. And I guess I’m a bit too old to entirely set aside my hierarchical attitudes about classical vs. pop music. But some of his more classical-sounding pieces can be quite enchanting,  full of clever invention and unpretentious charm.

One such piece is How About Now, composed for New York’s Now Ensemble in 2006. Scored for flute, clarinet, piano, electric guitar and bass, How About Now is upbeat and (seemingly) informal, with a pleasant, quasi-minimalist flow.

Muhly writes: “I wanted the piece to feel like it comes from their pre-existing pantry of musical devices – a sort of thrown-together meal with close friends: a can of chick peas here, this mysterious dried mushroom, that jar of cocktail onions, and somehow, dinner happens.”

Here’s a YouTube video, with the Now Ensemble performing.


© Colin Eatock 2015
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Eatock Daily

    I'm a composer based in Toronto – and this is my classical music blog, Eatock Daily.

    When I first started blogging, Eatock Daily was a place to re-post the articles I wrote for Toronto’s Globe and Mail and National Post newspapers, the Houston Chronicle, the Kansas City Star and other publications.

    But now I have stepped back from professional music journalism, and I'm spending more time composing.

    These days, my blog posts are infrequent, and are mostly concerned with my own music. However, I do still occasionally post comments on musical topics, including works I've discovered, enjoyed, and wish to share with others.


    – CE

    Archives

    April 2025
    August 2024
    May 2024
    March 2024
    October 2023
    March 2022
    July 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    June 2020
    September 2019
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011

    Index

    Click here for an alphabetical list of blog entries.

    RSS Feed

    Follow colineatock on Twitter
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.