Monotonous Forest

X (not Malcolm)

In conjunction with three concerts of music by Iannis Xenakis, the International Contemporary Ensemble has created a blog dedicated to impressions of the composer and his music.  I was flattered to be asked to contribute, here, and they added a link to the Arditti String Quartet in a riveting reading of Tetras (1983) from the 2008 Venice Biennale.

[Photo: painted metal letter from Suffolk Scrap Store Online]

Oliveros snapshot

Congratulations to Pauline Oliveros, winner of the William Schuman Award from the Columbia University School of the Arts.  I first heard her Theatre Piece (1965) shortly after it was written with trombonist Stuart Dempster (its dedicatee) on a new music series called Gamut hosted by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.  With an arsenal of props including funnels, candles and other items, the musician crawls over and under a grand piano, with breaks for humming into a length of rubber hose, and the occasional actual trombone sounds. 

Thanks to the Other Minds Archive, you can listen to it here.

[Photo: "Self Portrait" (paint swatches and acrylic panels, 2002) by Nathan Gibbs, with Pauline Oliveros reading the paint swatch descriptions]

I have seen the future, and it has keys

On Tuesday, Keys to the Future begins three nights of recent solo piano music, with nine of the city's best musicians playing works by contemporary masters like John Adams and William Bolcom, along with younger talents like Ryan Brown and Bruce Stark.  Assembled and curated by Joseph Rubenstein, the programs are always an astutely chosen stylistic mix, and presented in the intimate Greenwich House concert hall that seats just 80 people.  

[Photo: grand piano by Yves Plattard, via Yanko Design] 

Photo of the day

 

[Leopold Stokowski leading the American premiere of Mahler's Symphony No. 8, March 2, 1916, with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Chorus, Philadelphia Choral Society, Mendelssohn Society, The Fortnightly Club, children's chorus and soloists.  Total performers onstage: 1,069.  From Leopold Stokowski: Making Music Matter, curated by Marjorie Hassen, Otto E. Albrecht Music Library, University of Pennsylvania]

Margarita break

Amid the Mahler onslaught, a friend who plays double bass in the Toledo Symphony reminded me that the cocktail recipes on this blog have been considerably less than "occasional."  So with outdoor weather beckoning, and since tequila is my favorite spirit, here are some pointers on how to make a great margarita.

As one of the country’s most ubiquitous drinks, the margarita is also one of the most abused.  A good one has just three ingredients: tequila, triple sec, and fresh lime and/or lemon juice.  That’s it.  Period.  No Rose’s Lime Juice (too much sugar), no margarita mix (ditto), no frozen limeade (fine, but not for this drink).  Usually the fresh juice gets somehow demoted to second-class citizenship, and it’s a shame since it’s not difficult to make.  Forget a hard-to-clean electric juicer (unless you already have one); sturdy glass juicers are inexpensive and get the job done quickly.

The basic recipe for one drink:

2 oz. tequila - Try Chinaco, El Tesoro, Don Julio, El Corazón, Herradura, Patrón, or others distilled from 100% blue agave. Recently I have discovered Tezón and El Diamante del Cielo, both delicious.  If you have any Cuervo Gold in the house, do yourself a favor and send it to needy spring break partiers in Cancún.

1 oz. triple sec – Bols or De Kuyper are good.  Patrón makes Citronge, an 80-proof liqueur (slightly fiery) that makes a punchy cocktail if you are not rehearsing a Brian Ferneyhough score the next morning.  If you want to use Grand Marnier or Cointreau, just a splash is fine (c. 1/2 teaspoon), replacing a small part of the triple sec.  Otherwise the luxury casting is wasted since the result is too sweet.  Replace part of the triple sec with 1/2 oz. of blue curaçao if you want to show people your tongue later.

1 oz. fresh lime (or lemon) juice – You’ll need about ½ of a lime for one drink.  Maria’s New Mexican Kitchen in Santa Fe makes margaritas with fresh lemon juice, for more "year-round consistency."  I’ve tried it and the result is just as delicious, so if you prefer one over the other or a blend of the two, run wild.  Save the peels.

Shake all well with plenty of ice, and strain into a chilled, salt-rimmed cocktail glass.  Or, strain into a salt-rimmed old-fashioned glass and drop 2-3 ice cubes into it.  Garnish with one or two slices of lime or lemon.

How to salt a glass

The salt in a margarita is an integral part of the drink's balance of flavors, adapted from the custom of licking a small amount of salt off your hand with a shot of tequila.  But the right way to prepare a glass ensures that the flavors remain distinct. 

Use Kosher salt, available at most grocery stores, and shake about a tablespoon onto a small plate.  Rub the rim of the glass thoroughly with a piece of the lime or lemon peel to coat it with the citrus oil.  Now, rather than holding the glass completely upside down, hold it at an angle, rotating gently, so that only the outer edge of the glass gets coated.  Any salt on the inside edge then falls inside the glass, making an overly salty liquid hit your taste buds first.  (Think high-sodium Gatorade.)  Even worse, as the level of liquid decreases, the remaining drink continues to get saltier, and those last few sips will be miserable.

[Photo: agave plant by David Ziser (2008)]

Halftime report

Carnegie Hall's Mahler extravaganza is turning into one big party, attracting a sizeable number of listeners, many of whom are hearing not just one or two, but all of the concerts.  One friend, ensconced in the balcony with another, had never heard a note of Mahler until this series.  It's been interesting to hear her effusive comments over the last few days, as she becomes more acquainted with the composer's language.

Most impressive have been the three three vocal soloists: Thomas Quasthoff (in the Kindertotenlieder and Rückert Lieder), Dorothea Röschmann (Symphonies 2 and 4, plus some of Des Knaben Wunderhorn), and Michelle DeYoung (Symphonies 2 and 3), all superb.  

The Staatskapelle Berlin, which sounded a bit rough here and there in the first three nights, seems to be playing better as the cycle is progressing.  On Friday, Pierre Boulez led a coolly elegant version of the Fourth Symphony, and this afternoon, Daniel Barenboim created feverish magic in the Fifth, helped by some heroic playing.  It bodes well for the rest of the week, starting Tuesday when they will tackle the strenuous demands of the Sixth.

Spotted in the audience: Alec Baldwin, who will host the New York Philharmonic's radio program starting in the fall, and Barbara Barrie, nominated for a Tony Award in 1970 for her role in Stephen Sondheim's Company.

His time has come

Tonight begins Carnegie Hall's Mahler cycle, with the Staatskapelle Berlin playing all the symphonies in order (plus some of the songs) over a ten-concert span.  Daniel Barenboim and Pierre Boulez share conducting honors.

And yes, it's perhaps a little nutty, but I'm going to all of them.

[Photo: graffiti near Trinity Mews, Toronto, Ontario, documented by Dave Till, on Flickr]

Recent additions to all the monotony

Although I signed up with Twitter in January, I haven't had much time to ponder how to use it.  (Never mind that it seems to duplicate Facebook's "status updates," reportedly that site's most popular feature.)  But after a significant observation period, not to mention skeptical questions to friends, I've decided to test it out here. 

And some notable new bloggers (at least, new to me) have surfaced and are on the blogroll.  Karl Henning, a Boston-based clarinetist and composer, shares his thoughts on henningmusick.  A friend in Warsaw wins the Title of the Day with Fantastical melancholy of the musical wren.  And finally, Hauptwerk has reviews of contemporary music (mostly in the Netherlands) by José Pedro Magalhães, reporting from Utrecht.

New music + art galleries

Tonight the 2009 Look & Listen Festival gets underway at OK Harris, with art by Marc Aronson and Robert Rohm, and continues Saturday and Sunday at Gary Snyder/Project Space, showing paintings by Leon Berkowitz.  This year's array includes the Bang on a Can All-Stars, the Chamber Players of the League of Composers/ISCM, AM/PM Saxophone Quartet, violinist Todd Reynolds, So Percussion, pianist Jade Simmons, Split Second, percussionist Svet Stoyanov, and Marc Peloquin (of Split Second) joining David Del Tredici in some of Tredici's own work. 

[Photo: "Weather Report" (2008, oil on canvas) by Marc Aronson, at OK Harris]