The Works of John Duffy on PSNY

by Ted Gordon on July 14, 2015, 11:42 a.m.

John Duffy is a towering figure in American composition, having composed over 300 works for symphony orchestra, chamber ensemble, film and television, opera, and theater. Born in 1926, Duffy is of a generation of American composers who helped define what it means to be a composer in the 21st century. Having studied with American greats, such as Copland, Cowell, but also European modernists such as Dallapiccola, Duffy pursued a compositional tack that melded direct, emotional writing with a unique sense of modernity.

In 1974, Duffy founded Meet the Composer, the pioneering organization that brought contemporary American composition into the homes of millions of Americans. Supporting programs that would engage composers with their audiences, Meet the Composer partnered with over 4,000 artistic and civic organizations to engage over 7,000 living composers with communities in all 50 states. Over its 37-year tenure as an independent organization, Meet the Composer had already fundamentally changed the face of American composition before merging with the American Music Center to become New Music USA, which continues its heritage. 

In addition to Meet the Composer, John Duffy founded the John Duffy Composers Institute at the Virginia Arts Festival in 2004. The Duffy Institute has supported the development of new operas by young composers, providing a platform for workshop performances of dozens of new works. Several PSNY composers have been involved with the Institute, including Christopher Cerrone and Gregory Spears.

Many of Duffy's works are available through Schott Music, including his recent opera, Black Water, as well as many orchestral and large-scale works. But here at PSNY, we're pleased to make available several of Duffy's chamber works for direct digital download. Beginning with a curated selection of five of his works from across the decades, we will be posting more works in the coming year. 

Duffy's 1971 Variations, for french horn, violin, viola, and cello, shows the composer exploring the possibilities of both rhythmic and melodic variations while still keeping the music full of humor, direct emotion, and a clarity of purpose. This playfulness is seen again in his 1975 Toccata and Fugue, for piccolo and percussion. Old forms are made new again in his 1990 Heritage Suite, which sees the composer evoking historical dances while making a thoroughly contemporary statement. Finally, Duffy's 2005/9 piece, We Want Mark Twain! is an evocative and dramatic piece for string quartet and narrator. 

We hope that you will have a chance to explore Duffy's works both on PSNY and through Schott Music, especially as we gear up to celebrate his 90th birthday in 2016! 

Gabriela Ortiz Featured at LA International New Music Festival

by Ted Gordon on June 18, 2015, 10:20 a.m.

Gabriela Ortiz, one of Mexico's most vibrant contemporary composers, will see her music featured in this year's LA International New Music Festival, presented by Southwest Chamber Music. An entire evening will be dedicated to string quartets by Ortiz, including Altar de Muertos, shown above, which was commissoned and premiered by the Kronos Quartet in 1997. On July 8th, this evocative quartet will be performed by the Eclipse Quartet, alongside two other works by Ortiz, in REDCAT, located inside the Walt Disney Concert Hall. 

In addition to Altar de Muertos, which explores the Día de los Muertos, the Mexican day of the dead, the Eclipse Quartet will perform Aroma Foliado, influenced by the American artist Suzanne Bocanegra. To explore issues of heritage, influence, and formal regeneration, this quartet builds on short passages from Mozart's String Quartet No. 21 in D Major (K. 575). Rounding out the program will be Baalkah— meaning "world" or "cosmos" in several Mayan languages— another deeply evocative and theatrical string quartet. 

On July 9th, the festival continues its exploration of composers from around the world with a performance of Toshio Hosokawa's The Raven, a monodrama for mezzo-soprano and 12 players, based on Edgar Allan Poe's story of the same name. 

Ann Cleare's "I should live in wires for leaving you behind" on PSNY and Yarn/Wire/Currents

by Leif Larson on June 11, 2015, 12:12 p.m.

We are thrilled to announce the addition of Ann Cleare's I should live in wires for leaving you behind to the PSNY catalogue. Scored for piano (two players) and two percussionists, the piece is full of intricate and beautiful notation. With extensive playing inside the piano along with a unique selection of percussion, this is arguably Cleare’s most percussive work yet. Cleare writes,

The piece simultaneously traces two processes: one of growth and one of evanescing, and aims to sonically and visually depict the energy and psychology between these transformative states.
 

Percussion is a fitting instrumentation for exploring sonic and dramatic elements. With percussion’s natural choreographic dimension, the visual energy is apparent. The use of a "prepared" salad spinner filled with loose marbles, coins, and nails surprisingly and brilliantly explores the growth and evanescing of timbre and visual/aural drama. There are moments of beauty and stillness throughout as well. Cleare imagines the colorful sounds of glass bowls placed on the strings of the piano during the beginning of her piece as “an organ made of crystal. 

I should live in wires for leaving you behind was commissioned by Issue Project Room and the ensemble Yarn/Wire who gave its premiere in October 2014 at Issue Project Room in Brooklyn, NY. In conjunction with the publication of the work on PSNY, Yarn/Wire has featured Cleare’s piece as part of the digital release of Yarn/Wire/Currents Volume 2. The series, inaugurated at Issue Project Room in 2013, serves as an incubator for new experimental music and explores the intersections of composition, technology, installation, live performance, music theater, and more. Visit Yarn/Wire's Currents Volume 2 album page and check out their recording of Ann Cleare's I should live in wires for leaving you behind: