tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post8303144210017916502..comments2024-03-27T21:41:50.122-07:00Comments on Iron Tongue of Midnight: Compare and Contrast 20Lisa Hirschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014924958428072675noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-21323655804886050312011-02-05T21:30:00.026-08:002011-02-05T21:30:00.026-08:00So? Janacek didn't get going for real until hi...So? Janacek didn't get going for real until his 50s!Lisa Hirschhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14014924958428072675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-87884974544063281412011-02-05T17:33:35.486-08:002011-02-05T17:33:35.486-08:00Britten would take walks, compose the music in his...Britten would take walks, compose the music in his head and then come home and put it down on paper in one sitting, he very rarely used a piano to work things out.<br /><br />Strauss at a certain point (i.e. after <i>Salome</i> made him a wealthy man) would rather have played cards than composed, Pauline would allegedly lock him in a room with his score paper and pencils if he was under a deadline.<br /><br />*sigh* I wanted to be a composer so badly in my 20's, I just didn't have IT, that spark of talent that often seems to manifest itself at a young age.Henry Hollandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15871451112170286316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-37646404221582857162011-02-05T11:26:11.851-08:002011-02-05T11:26:11.851-08:00Composers have different compositional processes, ...Composers have different compositional processes, to put it mildly. Some do extensive sketching on paper; some compose at the keyboard (Saariho does this). Contrast what we know about Mozart (comparatively few sketches) and Beethoven (extensive sketcher). Irving Berlin had a weird transposing piano because to the extent that he could play piano, he could only play in C major.<br /><br />Some of this must depend on how visual/spatial a composer is, too. Even among composers, I assume there is variability in how well they can look at a page and know how it will sound.<br /><br />It's an individual thing, and I can't think of any reason to criticize how a composer gets the notes down on paper.Lisa Hirschhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14014924958428072675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-781696527561090072011-02-05T10:26:54.098-08:002011-02-05T10:26:54.098-08:00I wonder too. A lot of composers use notational s...I wonder too. A lot of composers use notational software, the days of slaving over a full score with a pencil and eraser are gone if you want them to be. My score of Birtwistle's <i>Second Mrs. Kong</i> is the full score done in the hand of a copyist and yikes! what a chore that must be. <br /><br />He could also use it to test out orchestrations, a valuable tool that potentially saves a lot of time and rehearsal money. However, if he uses it to actually compose music, then that might make Alex Ross cry.Henry Hollandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15871451112170286316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-16416857847790130452011-02-05T08:54:23.382-08:002011-02-05T08:54:23.382-08:00I was wondering exactly what Steve is wondering, a...I was wondering exactly what Steve is wondering, also about wondering what you mean about the "great variability of its performance." There's always a ton of variation in opera performance.Lisa Hirschhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14014924958428072675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-3594620527981567482011-02-05T06:57:03.364-08:002011-02-05T06:57:03.364-08:00What do you mean about dependence on notation soft...What do you mean about dependence on notation software?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12939881701345686354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-682204850091115892011-02-04T21:39:13.638-08:002011-02-04T21:39:13.638-08:00Yeah, well, then again, while Mr. Adams is a fine ...Yeah, well, then again, while Mr. Adams is a fine (extraordinary?) musician, he is totally dependent upon some technology (i.e. Finale, Sibelius or something) to aid his composition. Dynamics, via microphones, just don't translate very well to live musicians and the concert hall, when the conception is tied directly to the computer that does it for you.<br /><br />I love NIC as much as anyone, but there are things in it, like the amplification, that impede its sustainability as a performance piece. That is, the great variability of its performance doesn't help its cause.Kevinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09452882121752598896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-57913705132502913492011-02-04T16:17:33.873-08:002011-02-04T16:17:33.873-08:00Henahan was amazingly dismissive. Rockwell's r...Henahan was amazingly dismissive. Rockwell's review of the Brooklyn performances is both more positive and fairer. I do note that just about every reviewer comments on the extended-recitative vocal-writing style.Lisa Hirschhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14014924958428072675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-27961283532317315362011-02-04T16:00:33.902-08:002011-02-04T16:00:33.902-08:00On the NYT page there area also links to the first...On the NYT page there area also links to the first reviews from the Houston and Brooklyn performances in 1987. From Houston Donal Henahan wrote "worth a few giggles but hardly a strong candidate for the standard repertory."John Marcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17616296400880495672noreply@blogger.com