A couple of weeks back I started wondering about the number of monthly listeners on Spotify that Aaron Copland gets. It was a short hop to comparing this number with that of his modernist peers (Roy Harris, Walter Piston, Virgil Thomson and Roger Sessions). Then I started looking at my favourite composers of the current age (Missy Mazzoli, Caroline Shaw, Julia Wolfe) and that took me on to other great women pioneers whose shoulders they stand on (Joan Tower, Meredith Monk). By...
I really like contemporary dance and I love modern classical music. It’s not often I see them combined as it’s hard to keep one’s eyes peeled on all the listings and besides many events...
Throughout Aaron Copland’s life there were very important women who played a major role in inspiring his creativity towards producing his unique sound and some of his most iconic works. His career choices and...
Over the last few days I have had this idea in my head. If there was a new Mount Rushmore exclusively set aside for contemporary American composers, which four heads would be carved in...
Once in a while a book is published that completely fills a void. That is certainly the case with Appalachian Spring Original Ballet Version produced by Music of the United States of America (MUSA)...
I bet you if I asked 100 people the question “Who has recorded the most pieces by Aaron Copland?” the most common answer by a very long way would be the New York Philharmonic...
I’ve been pretty busy over the last couple of weeks so this is a rather belated review of the second Sound World concert in the Crypt at the Mount Without (read my review of...
Bristol seemed to be like the centre of the classical musical world these last few days! We’ve had several features on BBC Radio 3 in the prominent Breakfast and In Tune slots and the...
At the end of yesterday’s concert at Wigmore Hall pianist Lorenzo Nguyen said that as the concert had been “very tough” that their encore piece would be a movement from Haydn trio. This did...
I don’t normally blog about something that is a current worldwide talking point. So where does one begin and what does one say, that hasn’t been said or written already about Bradley Cooper’s Maestro?...
