New Music Mondays: Morton Subotnick, Mario Diaz de Leon, & Scott Wollschleger

by Ted Gordon on Dec. 9, 2013, 12:03 p.m.

With snow piling up across America, it's a great opportunity to spend some time indoors practicing... new music! This week we're excited to feature three newly-pubilshed works: Morton Subotnick's "Trembling", Mario Diaz de Leon's "Luciform", and Scott Wollschleger's "America".

Morton Subotnick's "Trembling" is scored for violin, piano and "ghost score" technology, Subotnick's interactive electro-acoustic software which autonomously spatializes and reacts to acoustic phenomena. Taking a recording of Joan La Barbara speaking the word "trembling," Subotnick "recorded, synthesized, and transformed" this utterance and used it as the basis for his composition. Check out a sample of the recording below: 

Mario Diaz de Leon's "Luciform", for solo flute and electronics, also plays with the interaction between performer and software, but in a different way; the work is a "journey inward, a movement through a series of vision states. A difficult path, a rite of passage, hovering between diabolical intensity and lucid wakefulness." Recently recorded by Claire Chase for her fantastic album "Density," "Luciform" is a complex, intensely virtuosic work with a profound depth of both acoustic and electronic textures. 

Though Scott Wollschleger's "America", for solo cello, does not include electronics, it remains connected to Subotnick's and Diaz de Leon's works through its exploration of "timbre, virtuosity, and differential repetition." Not bound to pitch-space or harmonic structures, Wollschleger's work explores the timbral possibilities of the cello with extended technique with both instrumentation and sonic organization. 

Springtime for New Music

by Ted Gordon on March 13, 2012, 2:25 p.m.

A lot has happened at PSNY since we last brought you news of the first ever digital publication of Morton Subotnick's chamber music: we've added almost 20 new works by several of our composers, including Adrian Knight, Timothy Andres, Alex Mincek, Tobias Picker, Pierre Jalbert, and Fred Lerdahl. Here are some highlights from this recent round of additions:

Adrian Knight's "Daedaldualism," for electric guitar, synthesizer, and live electronics:

Like Subotnick, Knight writes much of his chamber music to include electronics, both fixed and live. We're especially exited to be able to publish his music through PSNY since it seems a perfect fit for music with electronics-- all patches and programs are downloadable, and we're more than happy to answer any questions about the technical requirements. 

Alex Mincek's "Karate", for two saxophones:

"Karate" is just one of several pieces Mincek has written for saxophone, an instrument with which he is intimately familiar. "Karate," in particular, bursts with virtuosic, competitive tension, as two saxophones are seemingly pitted against each other in battle. Strongly reminiscent of John Zorn's early "game pieces" in structure, as well as the wildly frenetic aesthetic of "For Alto"-era Anthony Braxton.

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Morton Subotnick on PSNY

by Ted Gordon on Feb. 2, 2012, 11:27 a.m.

For the first time ever, the music of Morton Subotnick – complete digital editions, with scores, parts, software, and samples – are available for immediate download. Subotnick, widely considered one of the first and most eloquent voices of electronic music, has made six of his works available through Project Schott New York. Though these works have been available from Schott in the past, the PSNY edition allows for immediate download of all materials, including standalone software applications, and patches for Max/MSP and Ableton Live.

The works include Axolotl, A Fluttering of Wings, In Two Worlds, The Key to Songs, Passages of the Beast, and Then and Now and Forever. More information and excerpts after the jump...

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