Managing Editor Grant Chu Covell works in the Boston area. He once worked for a global technology company that made hardware which Xenakis and Babbitt used to good effect. He was the publisher of the brilliant but forgotten The Periodic Journal of Bibliography (1990-95), and his music reviews have appeared in EAR Magazine and InMusic. His instrumental and electroacoustic music has been performed in the U.S. and abroad, and he has shared many CDs of his music with family and friends (one piece was recorded in a refrigerator). A short article about a composition he wrote for piano and tape can be found in the Csound Magazine. Two electroacoustic works have appeared in commercial compilations: Presence III and The Door Project. A recent CD can be found here, and another is in preparation. A long departed family dog’s name was taken from a character in Wagner’s Ring.
Grant Chu Covell
Composer haunts in Stuttgart, Berlin, Prague
A recent trip allowed for some exploring in Stuttgart, Berlin and Prague.
Composer haunts in Stuttgart, Berlin, Prague
A recent trip allowed for some exploring in Stuttgart, Berlin and Prague.
Piano Factory 15: Micro and Macro
Here are nine renditions of ten Holt’s most famous opus. Built from multi-measure cells which can be repeated ad lib, this may be the longest work constructed on an unbroken stream of quintuplets. It is also a potent dose of B-flat minor.
Piano Factory 15: Micro and Macro
Here are nine renditions of ten Holt’s most famous opus. Built from multi-measure cells which can be repeated ad lib, this may be the longest work constructed on an unbroken stream of quintuplets. It is also a potent dose of B-flat minor.
(Dis)Arrangements 6. / Piano Factory 14.
Bach and Scarlatti on piano are intrinsically arrangements, music relocated to an instrument unanticipated by their composers. Some 19th and 20th-century composer-pianists found Bach and Scarlatti too spindly for the ivories. They added notes and fleshed out chords, and took other liberties such as composing new voices or adjusting harmonies.
(Dis)Arrangements 6. / Piano Factory 14.
Bach and Scarlatti on piano are intrinsically arrangements, music relocated to an instrument unanticipated by their composers. Some 19th and 20th-century composer-pianists found Bach and Scarlatti too spindly for the ivories. They added notes and fleshed out chords, and took other liberties such as composing new voices or adjusting harmonies.
Mostly Symphonies 27.
I’ve previously expressed impatience with Mahler’s First, however, this release bucks the trend doubly. First, this 2004 live performance is bright and energetic. Second, perhaps because this is a Hungarian effort and the symphony’s five-movement incarnation originally premiered in Budapest, Kocsis restores the Blumine movement.
Mostly Symphonies 27.
I’ve previously expressed impatience with Mahler’s First, however, this release bucks the trend doubly. First, this 2004 live performance is bright and energetic. Second, perhaps because this is a Hungarian effort and the symphony’s five-movement incarnation originally premiered in Budapest, Kocsis restores the Blumine movement.
EA Bucket 21.
The best ea defies explanation and labeling. We find ourselves in a world where the familiar takes on varying expressions.
EA Bucket 21.
The best ea defies explanation and labeling. We find ourselves in a world where the familiar takes on varying expressions.
Percussion with Pianos
There are old and new friends to be found in Edwardes’ excellent recital.
Percussion with Pianos
There are old and new friends to be found in Edwardes’ excellent recital.
Mostly Symphonies 26.
Babbitt’s All Set is a snazzy twelve-tone piece for jazz ensemble. Were it scored for a Pierrot ensemble it might seem bone dry, and if a jazz combo were provided atonal charts, this wouldn’t be the result. Regardless, I can’t help but listen and grin throughout.
Mostly Symphonies 26.
Babbitt’s All Set is a snazzy twelve-tone piece for jazz ensemble. Were it scored for a Pierrot ensemble it might seem bone dry, and if a jazz combo were provided atonal charts, this wouldn’t be the result. Regardless, I can’t help but listen and grin throughout.
(Dis)Arrangements 5.
In a mood to recycle, Sciarrino generally prefers to rummage through his own material. However, this disc presents a few pieces which adapt and twist others.
(Dis)Arrangements 5.
In a mood to recycle, Sciarrino generally prefers to rummage through his own material. However, this disc presents a few pieces which adapt and twist others.
Atopos Survey 3.
We come to a third and final installment in a survey of Atopos recordings. It’s not that I’ve saved the best for last, but rarities, yes. Any recordings of Vinko Globokar and Jean-Pierre Drouet, whether together or separate, are a reason to celebrate.
Atopos Survey 3.
We come to a third and final installment in a survey of Atopos recordings. It’s not that I’ve saved the best for last, but rarities, yes. Any recordings of Vinko Globokar and Jean-Pierre Drouet, whether together or separate, are a reason to celebrate.
Concerto Concentrations 3.
City Noir’s three connected panels satisfy Adams’ need to extend and revive his impressions of old movie cues. The gestures are immediately familiar, yet they’re Adams’ own.
Concerto Concentrations 3.
City Noir’s three connected panels satisfy Adams’ need to extend and revive his impressions of old movie cues. The gestures are immediately familiar, yet they’re Adams’ own.
Pièces de Clavecin 8.
Hardly noble, Royer’s Allemande is a heavy-footed ogre. Rockets launch in Vertigo. Le Marche des Scythes is among the most extroverted and virtuosic keyboard pieces of the age.
Pièces de Clavecin 8.
Hardly noble, Royer’s Allemande is a heavy-footed ogre. Rockets launch in Vertigo. Le Marche des Scythes is among the most extroverted and virtuosic keyboard pieces of the age.
String Theory 11: Cellos Mostly
Monteverdi and Scelsi are well paired. Both could infuse a line, vocal or otherwise, with mysticism or elemental passion and create impetuous and visceral statements.
String Theory 11: Cellos Mostly
Monteverdi and Scelsi are well paired. Both could infuse a line, vocal or otherwise, with mysticism or elemental passion and create impetuous and visceral statements.