source file: mills2.txt Date: Mon, 14 Apr 1997 02:13:36 -0700 Subject: Lou Harrison Concerts in Minneapolis From: Daniel Wolf Harold Fortuin wrote: ''European list members: for those of you with an interest in freely atonal music, please seek out the music of Ruggles. It's some of the best of its kind, and I think it's not well-known across the Atlantic.'' I think that many list members might be surprised to learn that twentieth century American music is probably better represented in European concert/radio programs than in programs in America. What is most interesting, however, is that it is works of the American experimental tradition that get played, not of the ''Academic'' varieties. I would guess that both Ruggles and Crawford-Seeger are better known (i.e. included in High School-level music courses; concert programs; broadcasts) here than in the U.S.. In Germany, at least, the rehearsal system is advantageous in that the performers are usually paid for adequate preparation time and the ensembles usually have a core membership that guarantees some continuity not found in American freelance groups. The musical highlights of my time in Frankfurt have all been performances of American music: two different performances of Ives Fourth Symphony (Peter Eo''tvo''s is a brilliant Ives conductor), all of the orchestral works of Morton Feldman, the Cage _Europeras_, and the festival intended for Cage's eightieth birthday. Curiously, I have heard more live music here by La Monte Young (two premieres) and Alvin Lucier (solo concert, premier of his (microtonal) string quartet, installations) than I managed to hear while studying with both in five years living near NYC. Curiously, when the U.S. Information Agency sponsors concert tours, they are usually limited to the academic set (Carter, Babbitt, Harbison et al); the performances are typically under-rehearsed and have made little impact on the musical life here. A look at a standard reference work in German, Ulrich Dibelius's _Moderne Musik II_, will show that the following Americans receive more than passing mention: Brown, Cage, Feldman, Glass, Nancarrow, Reich, Riley, Chr. Wolff, Young. It is interesting to see that Arnold Dreyblatt and Harry Partch receive as much attention as Carter or Babbit. I have often said that I had to come to Europe to become an American composer - and this is mostly because I had to come to Europe to hear American music! Received: from ns.ezh.nl [137.174.112.59] by vbv40.ezh.nl with SMTP-OpenVMS via TCP/IP; Mon, 14 Apr 1997 13:00 +0200 Received: by ns.ezh.nl; (5.65v3.2/1.3/10May95) id AA01388; Mon, 14 Apr 1997 13:00:01 +0200 Received: from ella.mills.edu by ns (smtpxd); id XA01386 Received: from by ella.mills.edu via SMTP (940816.SGI.8.6.9/930416.SGI) id DAA16300; Mon, 14 Apr 1997 03:57:25 -0700 Date: Mon, 14 Apr 1997 03:57:25 -0700 Message-Id: Errors-To: madole@mills.edu Reply-To: tuning@ella.mills.edu Originator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Sender: tuning@ella.mills.edu