Grant Chu Covell

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.

Maestro di Suoni e Silenzi: Necessary Nono 3.

A fresh NEOS sparks this roundup and forces an overdue confrontation with col legno’s Prometeo.

Maestro di Suoni e Silenzi: Necessary Nono 3.

A fresh NEOS sparks this roundup and forces an overdue confrontation with col legno’s Prometeo.

Armchair Operas 8.

A week spent in Stockholm put me near the Raoul Wallenberg memorial, sited within view of the capitol’s water and synagogue. Easy to miss at first, the granite sphere soon becomes a landmark.

Armchair Operas 8.

A week spent in Stockholm put me near the Raoul Wallenberg memorial, sited within view of the capitol’s water and synagogue. Easy to miss at first, the granite sphere soon becomes a landmark.

EA Bucket 15.

The zeitkratzer troupe gathered in Slovenia and Croatia to execute structured improvisations motivated by Stockhausen’s baffling instructions.

EA Bucket 15.

The zeitkratzer troupe gathered in Slovenia and Croatia to execute structured improvisations motivated by Stockhausen’s baffling instructions.

Four,
Four Tom,
Four Tom John,
Four Tom Johnsons

In a rough sense, mathematical minimalism governs Johnson’s structures in that they are frequently plotted by the application of numerical rules.

Four,
Four Tom,
Four Tom John,
Four Tom Johnsons

In a rough sense, mathematical minimalism governs Johnson’s structures in that they are frequently plotted by the application of numerical rules.

Looking for Pettersson, Stumbling across Locatelli

Here’s another installment in what’s becoming a series on composers’ haunts and memorials.

Looking for Pettersson, Stumbling across Locatelli

Here’s another installment in what’s becoming a series on composers’ haunts and memorials.

Thierry Pécou

Like Messiaen and Vivier, Pécou employs Western instruments and structures yet reflects other music. This Parisian with Caribbean ancestry (b. 1965) also perpetuates the crystal palette of Ravel, Dutilleux and Boulez in orchestral and chamber works.

Thierry Pécou

Like Messiaen and Vivier, Pécou employs Western instruments and structures yet reflects other music. This Parisian with Caribbean ancestry (b. 1965) also perpetuates the crystal palette of Ravel, Dutilleux and Boulez in orchestral and chamber works.

String Theory 10: 23 Quartets, etc.

Schnittke’s four make a mismatched family.

String Theory 10: 23 Quartets, etc.

Schnittke’s four make a mismatched family.

Graceful Illusionist: Gérard Pesson

It would be cruel to call Gérard Pesson the Französisch Lachenmann (or the francese Sciarrino).

Graceful Illusionist: Gérard Pesson

It would be cruel to call Gérard Pesson the Französisch Lachenmann (or the francese Sciarrino).

Mostly Symphonies 20.

Exuberant performances propel charming, uncomplicated music. Look beyond the Ruslan and Lyudmila Overture and hear why later compatriots heralded Glinka as Russian music’s father.

Mostly Symphonies 20.

Exuberant performances propel charming, uncomplicated music. Look beyond the Ruslan and Lyudmila Overture and hear why later compatriots heralded Glinka as Russian music’s father.

String Theory 9: 30 Quartets, etc.

As we’d expect from a seasoned musician, Ramsay’s quartets reveal a deep understanding of and admiration for the genre’s giants.

String Theory 9: 30 Quartets, etc.

As we’d expect from a seasoned musician, Ramsay’s quartets reveal a deep understanding of and admiration for the genre’s giants.

Piano Factory 9.

Shepherding the work’s first if not best-documented performance, Cage took Satie’s ludicrous directions seriously and stabled a team of pianists to crank out Vexations’ 840 required repetitions.

Piano Factory 9.

Shepherding the work’s first if not best-documented performance, Cage took Satie’s ludicrous directions seriously and stabled a team of pianists to crank out Vexations’ 840 required repetitions.

String Theory 8 / EA Bucket 14: 29 Quartets, etc.

Prokofiev’s awkward First provides fodder for insipid remixes.

String Theory 8 / EA Bucket 14: 29 Quartets, etc.

Prokofiev’s awkward First provides fodder for insipid remixes.