Dan Albertson has written for La Folia since 2004. His pursuits involve languages, lexicography, music, musicology, poetry, and translation, and tend to veer away from mainstream artists. He has worked on the Living Composers Project since 2000, has written articles for MusikTexte, has contributed entries to the encyclopedia Komponisten der Gegenwart, and has edited multiple volumes of the British journal Contemporary Music Review, on the composers Helmut Lachenmann, Earle Brown and Aldo Clementi, plus two volumes on modernism and the string quartet and a co-edited volume on Spanish music beyond Spanish borders. He has been a member of its editorial board since 2014. He translates notes for Cybele Records in Düsseldorf and has contributed his own notes to a variety of international labels. His poems are generally short and static in nature. American by birth, he is now based abroad.
Dan Albertson
Eight Beacons
My enthusiasm for the new in music has faded in recent years… I therefore take this opportunity to give some attention to eight composers 40 and under.
Eight Beacons
My enthusiasm for the new in music has faded in recent years… I therefore take this opportunity to give some attention to eight composers 40 and under.
Musica geriatrica
I call out these orchestras for their ineptitude. I call them out for pandering, for being complacent and for providing a disservice rather than enrichment to the cultural life of their respective cities.
Musica geriatrica
I call out these orchestras for their ineptitude. I call them out for pandering, for being complacent and for providing a disservice rather than enrichment to the cultural life of their respective cities.
Not an Encomium for Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez, the maître, will turn 90 next month. This occasion engenders a poem and a brief acknowledgment of conflicted thoughts.
Not an Encomium for Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez, the maître, will turn 90 next month. This occasion engenders a poem and a brief acknowledgment of conflicted thoughts.
Of Ephemera
Critics and the artists that they cover are allies in having an inflated estimation of their own worth. Perhaps the former have been deluded into thinking that the act of reviewing, reflexive instead of creative, is of inherent heft.
Of Ephemera
Critics and the artists that they cover are allies in having an inflated estimation of their own worth. Perhaps the former have been deluded into thinking that the act of reviewing, reflexive instead of creative, is of inherent heft.
Of Light through the Clouds
The Rands Concerto is, contrary to its title, much more a series of interactions between piano and different sections of the orchestra.
Of Light through the Clouds
The Rands Concerto is, contrary to its title, much more a series of interactions between piano and different sections of the orchestra.
Sweet Blandishment
In music, as in all aspects of life, one must take the good with the bad.
Sweet Blandishment
In music, as in all aspects of life, one must take the good with the bad.
Snapshots: Miroslav Srnka
Piano concertos are experiencing a surge – and not merely from populist corners of the musical spectrum.
Snapshots: Miroslav Srnka
Piano concertos are experiencing a surge – and not merely from populist corners of the musical spectrum.
Eastern Kingdom in the Midwest
Here was a concert of music from Vienna that, for once, ignored Beethoven, Mahler and Mozart.
Eastern Kingdom in the Midwest
Here was a concert of music from Vienna that, for once, ignored Beethoven, Mahler and Mozart.
Snapshots – Blur: Shulamit Ran
Shulamit Ran… is a composer of general tonality, or perhaps a general composer of tonality.
Snapshots – Blur: Shulamit Ran
Shulamit Ran… is a composer of general tonality, or perhaps a general composer of tonality.
Snapshots – Grace: Hans Abrahamsen
Having decried the bulk of contemporary music, I take a rare opportunity to indulge in advocacy.
Snapshots – Grace: Hans Abrahamsen
Having decried the bulk of contemporary music, I take a rare opportunity to indulge in advocacy.
Out with the New
For me, the most distressing element of new music is the self-satisfaction of its practitioners.
Out with the New
For me, the most distressing element of new music is the self-satisfaction of its practitioners.
Evolve or Perish
Classical music, if its foes are to be believed, should have been buried already.
Evolve or Perish
Classical music, if its foes are to be believed, should have been buried already.