jwilzewske

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Perseids, Pärt and Intimate Public Goods

Sky & Telescope interactive chart, Orion rising, Perseids near zenith, 12-AUG-2007, 05:00 EDT

CMT: The Perseid meteors last night were beautiful.

DSM: Nice, too, to have the natural display accompanied by chamber music—Beethoven’s String Quartet Op. 18, No. 1; Dvorak’s ‘Bagatelles’ Op. 47; Handel’s Trio Sonata Op. 5; Arvo Pärt’s ‘Fraters’ and ‘Speigel im Spiegel.’ Anne Verticchio (violin), Ted Hoyle (cello), Katie Gallagher(violin), and Daniel Gladstone (viola) performed beautifully.

CMT: This sort of performance is, like so many others in chamber music, a labor of love. The dozens of attendees were appreciative, but the headcount was, you’ll admit, dozens not hundreds. Hard to cover expenses that way.

A national identity is a public good—a non-instrumental one. Avant-garde art has, even though the artists tend to deny this, an intrinsically enriching aspect, in particular an innovative meaning for people’s lives. As a public good it is therefore a proper state concern [even if there is not a private-sector economy to support it]. A minority culture may embody a form of life that is available nowhere else and is worth preserving—not only for its members but also for humankind. Is conserving classical music less important than conserving whales or other endangered species?”
— Govert den Hartogh, The Good Life as a Public Good, p. 23.

DSM: They get extra marks for novelty, though. ‘Spiegel im Spiegel’ is particularly atmospheric—compatible with star-gazing and meteor-looking. The instruments mirror one another (‘spiegel’ is German for mirror), with notes added to the scale with each repetition. The iterations evoke a mathematical or physical process rather than a human one. Impossible to describe in its loveliness, each voice is like a commentary on the cosmos, a narrative concerning the laws that govern it.

CMT: Ted Hoyle’s cello lent an extra mellowness. But the overall texture of the piece evokes a celestial mood, a meditation on the expanse of the sky, a reverie on the inconsequentiality of human beings.

DSM: Pärt’s minimalism is astonishing in juxtaposing simplicity with a relentless and mathematical complexity.

[Spiegel im Spiegel #1, 5MB MP3 clip]

[Spiegel im Spiegel #2, 4MB MP3 clip]

[Spiegel im Spiegel #3, 5MB MP3 clip]

CMT: Ted Hoyle holds a BM from Eastman, a MM from Yale University, and a DMA from the Manhattan School of Music. For 15 years he was cellist in the Kohon Quartet. His two solo recordings are published by Spectrum and Albany Records, and he has performed with the American Symphony Orchestra, the Princeton Chamber Orchestra, and the New York City Ballet Orchestra. Hoyle still teaches cello, theory and chamber music at Kean University, doesn’t he?

DSM: Hoyle has performed extensively as a solo recitalist, in chamber ensembles, and with orchestras, including the American Symphony under Leopold Stokowski, the Princeton Chamber Orchestra, and the New York City Ballet Orchestra. In 2006 he served on the faculty of the Southampton Festival of Strings. He’s currently on the Board of Trustees of the Greenport Music Festival. As a member of the Kohon Quartet, Mr. Hoyle made many recordings with the Vox, Desto, CRI, and Orion labels. His performances for the ‘Hear America First’ series at Carnegie Hall were recorded by Spectrum Records and the Musical Heritage Society. He also performed on recordings of such popular music performers as Barbara Streisand, Barry Gibb, Grace Slick, Dionne Warwick, Dianna Ross, and Tony Bennett. Hoyle was chair of the Music Department at Kean University from 1987 through 1996. Semi-retired or not, I hope Hoyle will continue to appear in venues like the one last night—art with nature as a back-drop. Perseids and chamber music on a cool clear night in August are a perfect combination.

CMT: A dark night sky can be so thought-provoking that it’s no wonder that such a sky is associated with so many facets of history, philosophy, religion, societal development, poetry, music, mathematics, and science. It follows that, to fully achieve an understanding of the past and to appreciate what’s at stake for the future, clear views of the night sky are an important conservation priority—an important public good, just as music itself is an important public good.

DSM: Last night, just standing in the quietness, watching the slow revolution of a sky sprayed with stars—more than I’d ever seen before—conferred the privilege of wilderness, of wildness, on us. Even close to home, away from city lights, there are still plenty of places to be immersed in stars and darkness. Countless possibilities, boundless inspirations. Thank you, Ted, Anne, Katie, and Daniel.

Friday, August 10, 2007

22 July 07

Kat (4)

Kat agreed to talk about prison sex.
“Xena said most prisoners do sexual things with each other,” I said.
“Well, Xena would know 'cause she’s been down longer than I have,” Kat said.
“How can a prisoner get a blow job and still consider himself straight?”
“’Cause of where we are. They need the sexual gratification, so they go to a gay person and that’s acceptable in here.”
“In the book Freakonomics, Levitt and Dubner claim that when a man is sent to prison, the cost of sex with women rises so high it makes sex with men more attractive. Do you think that’s true?”
“I agree with that. There’s a lot of inmates who turn gay while in prison.”
“What percent of prisoners do you estimate are doing gay acts?”
“Seventy-five percent. A lot of 'em say, ‘You know what, Kat? I’ve never considered having sex with another guy, but there’s something about you that brings that on.’ Guys who say they’re straight are always hitting on me.”
My door swung open. Outcast charged in, shook his behind near Kat’s lap, put his face to mine and said, “I see what you’re up to. You Brits come over here and steal our women like Madonna and Gwen and now you think you can steal our men. I’ve got this, Jon. I’ll show you how to do it gay style 'cause I’m queerer than a three-dollar bill and today is Pleasure Yourself Day. Kat has tight buns. Wouldja like to come by and watch sometime?”
“Whatever!” Kat said, scowling at Outcast.
“I’ll pass,” I said.
Outcast ran out of the cell.
“What’s the freakiest sex stuff that goes on in here?”

Email comments to writeinside@hotmail.com or post them below

Copyright © 2006-2007 Shaun P. Attwood

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

20 July 07

The Royo Romance (12)

Click here for Part 11.

Letter from Royo Girl:

I can’t believe that it has taken me this long to write you back. It is a seriously ridiculous amount of time. I would make excuses, but at the end of the day, I have been sorely lacking in my mail correspondence with you. My humble apologies, Jon.

In relation to your most recent letter, YOU’RE WELCOME. It was an inconvenience to drive all the way to Gandhi’s and then to prison, but that’s OK because you are a good friend. I am just glad that you really enjoyed the food.

You are the second person to tell me I’m sharp in the last couple of weeks. Ironically, I know that you and this other person both fancy me. I don’t think many others pick up on my dry humour or little comments here and there. At least a few of you enjoy them.

I really don’t hold back from you. I am baffled as to why you think that, given that I tell you more than I tell anyone else. True, I give considered answers, but it is not to conceal the truth. It is merely to articulate my rough thoughts into a communicable sentence.

You are not making a fool of yourself. I take everything you say in the right spirit, so don’t worry about it. I enjoy reading your compliments, and moments of excitedness. And stop viewing your openness with me as weakness. Jeez-o-pete, you are such a man sometimes!

I hope everything is good with you and that your parents and sister are good too. Keep that bald head gleaming. Bye, Jon

Royo Girl

p.s. I sprayed this letter with Ralph by Ralph Lauren.

Email comments to writeinside@hotmail.com or post them below

Copyright © 2006-2007 Shaun P. Attwood

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Guardian Weekly

Jon has had an article published online on the Guardian Weekly Global Network. Click here to
read it.

Many thanks to Mark King, editor.

Monday, August 6, 2007

18 July 07

Xena’s Woes

“Don’t ya wish your girlfriend was hot like Xena?” they were singing on Yard 4.
“How’s it going, Xeen?” I asked.
“I’ve had a bad year so far,” Xena said. “First they took my man away from me. They said he was fightin’, which is bullshit. He never got in no fight. He can’t help it if someone jumps in front of his fist.”
“When’s he getting out of the hole?”
“It doesn’t look like he is. That’s OK. I’ll follow him anyway. He’s the only one I ever will. Otherwise they follow me. And once I’m gone, no one will know what to do on the yard anymore. I guess it’s back to the Thorazine line.”
“What else is bothering you?”
“My sister died.”
“That’s terrible. I’m really sorry, you have my condolences.”
“Thank you.”
“How did she die?”
“In a car accident. She was forty-five-years old.”
“That’s rough.”
“She just had a birthday.”
“Are you trying to stay positive?”
“Yes.”
“How.”
“Readin’. D&D. If I cut my nuts off do you think that will send inspiration to the rest of me? Do you know anyone who knows the best methods to remove the testicles?”
“Have you talked to Gina about it?”
“I really don’t want anybody else seein’ me do this. I really must do it on my own.”
“You’re not gonna cut the wasp off are you?”
“Definitely. I’m gonna make a small lampshade out of it by puttin’ a small pin light up inside my penis. I’ll attach the batteries to where my balls used to be, so if I make it to any dark holes I can see where I’m going.”
"You're not going to do it in here are you?"
“No. But I’d like to get some info on it, so I can learn about it, 'cause when I get out I wanna do it legally. There’s no way I’d do it in here. I’m too damn scared. I don’t think I have the balls for it. I have the nipples though!”

Any advice on this for Xena?

Email comments to writeinside@hotmail.com or post them below

Copyright © 2006-2007 Shaun P. Attwood

Sunday, August 5, 2007

‘Nonclassical’ Record Label: Gabriel Prokofiev and Elysian Quartet

CMT: Founded by composer Gabriel Prokofiev (grandson of Sergei Prokofiev) in 2004, Nonclassical is an ‘alternative’ classical record label. Its business premise is that releasing music that is both classical and ‘non-classical’ will be financially viable, able to attract enough yoof to make it sustainable and profitable.

DSM: If it’s to succeed in being sustainable and profitable, then won’t it inherently have to demolish the conventional notion of what classical music is?

CMT: Well, yes. Despite the growth in the volume of classical CD sales and the popularity of classical MP3 sales, the necessary ‘critical mass’ will be difficult to come by. Nonclassical aims to take ‘composed’/’classical’ music to more diverse audiences than existing classical labels cater to. They aim to do this by fusing different genres, innovating new ones. Some of Gabriel Prokofiev’s own writing explicitly cultivates ‘re-mixes’ by hip-hop and other artists, to create versions that will appeal to new markets—markets who otherwise would never attend classical performances or buy classical recordings. But it isn’t mass-market stuff by any means.

I ’m always looking for originality and trying to develop whatever genre I’m composing in.”
— Gabriel Prokofiev.

DSM: When he was still in his teens, Gabriel put on gigs at the Blackheath Concert Halls. Then, at Birmingham University he specialized in Electroacoustic Compostion and Ethnomusicology, after which he took his Masters at York University. He did a residency in Seattle at the Bourges International Electroacoustic Music Academy. Gabriel has enjoyed working on his commission from the Elysian Quartet even though string quartet wasn’t his first choice. He says he’s inspired by the Elysian’s creativity and craving for category-busting music.

[30-sec clip, Elysian Quartet, Prokofiev Quartet No.1, Movement 1, 0.4MB MP3]

[30-sec clip, Elysian Quartet, Prokofiev Quartet No.1, Movement 2, 0.4MB MP3]

[30-sec clip, Elysian Quartet, Prokofiev Quartet No.1, Movement 3, 0.4MB MP3]

[30-sec clip, Elysian Quartet, Prokofiev Quartet No.1, Movement 4, 0.4MB MP3]

[30-sec clip, Elysian Quartet, Prokofiev Quartet No.1, Movement 4, Laliq Remix, 0.4MB MP3]

[30-sec clip, Elysian Quartet, Prokofiev Quartet No.1, Movement 4, Schweitzer Remix, 0.4MB MP3]

CMT: These movements exhibit digital time-stretching techniques—‘windowing’ the sound into short segments. Within these segments, Prokofiev can change the timescale of the sound without varying its frequency spectrum or timbre. By changing the timescale of a particular sound he changes our perception of it. Slowing down a phrase, for instance, draws attention to the patterns of inflection as melodies, or, alternately, suppresses our attention to certain patterns. Extreme stretching—where we hear a nearly steady sound, changing almost imperceptibly slowly—makes the passage more like an environmental sound and draws the ear’s attention to the timbre of it. Given an arbitrarily long time to perceive a sound, we can abandon our wholistic perceptual tendencies and revert to more analytical, inquisitive ones—we listen ‘inside’ the sound to its spectral evolution. And we notice ourselves doing this. And notice ourselves noticing. In other words, these compositional and recording production techniques drive a kind of listening—a kind of interiority—that Prokofiev and his collaborators think is valuable and interesting and exciting for us. Cool.

DSM: At the level of musical time beyond rhythm, there is musical structure and form—where repetition and variation take on a different role. It’s here that electroacoustic music seems to offer a very wide range of possibilities. By having an expanded repertoire of timbral and textural resources, electroacoustic music can shape its structures extensively. I like to think of each piece as creating its own form based on the interactions of the different sonic layers.

CMT: In other words, ‘form’ is an emergent or immanent feature, rather than a predetermined shape. If that’s true, then each piece generates its own sense of time, surely different from elapsed wall-clock time. That’s surely true if you listen to the Prokofiev Quartet No. 1—the Elysians alone, and then the various re-mixes. The percussion totally changes the rhythmic sense of the movements. There are hypermeter pulses in the re-mixes that are, I believe, absent in the original ‘quartet-only’ versions.

DSM: When I’m caught up in the temporal experience of a piece, I always underestimate its length and ‘lose track’ of time, whereas when I’m unengaged by a piece, I overestimate its length because of my lack of cognitive and emotional involvement. You have only to think of the different experiences of time—in the work of post-conceptualists David Behrman, Alvin Curran, and Frederic Rzewski or of postmodernists William Bolcom and John Corigliano—to realize how varied temporal experience of music can be. I actually like the Laliq and Schweitzer re-mixes of Prokofiev’s Quartet No. 1.

CMT: You, maybe. But who else? This is just total lunacy, the idea of this being commercially successful! This is missionary work by Prokofiev. Nonclassical.co.uk is a lifestyle company, not a Company! Musical pioneers of whatever genre will always be a fringe element of the market. The ‘classical music must become part of pop culture or become extinct’ meme is the monster that refuses to die. No way does classical music ‘have to’ become relevant to young mass-market audiences. It’s total bullshit. You need to identify your genre and whatever demographics accurately. You need to serve that genre and its natural audience ferociously. Period. If it’s a small market, fine. Accept it.

DSM: But I don’t think Prokofiev has ever said that classical music ‘has to’ become pop. I don’t think he has any delusions at all about the mass-market potential for what he’s writing and producing. I think that the media are spinning this, using the ‘classical music is dying’ meme. It’s the only thing members of the media know—or the only thing their editors will buy anyhow. It’s the media, not Prokofiev. Prokofiev’s not dreaming that this will become the next hip-hop, say.

CMT: Well, then, why would you create an indie label today, when the risks of financial failure are so great? What could’ve compelled Gabriel to do this? What would make anyone do such a thing these days?

DSM: Several possibilities include: (1) Self-publishing your own work, which may not fit into an existing genre or market niche that existing record labels understand and support. In other words, innovating without depending on getting signed by a regular label. Innovating against the odds, when there’s no chance that your product and your aesthetics would be supported by an existing label. Artistic freedom. Control. That’s what Gabriel’s doing. Honest innovation of new stuff, seeking a market that doesn’t exist yet—at least doesn’t yet exist in numbers sufficient for commercial viability. (2) Producing your own product to sell at your ensemble’s performances or, if you’re a composer, to use to pitch your capabilities for film and TV. In other words, light-weight promotion. This is very easy and relatively cheap to do these days with inexpensive studio gear and digital recording and editing software and CD replicating equipment. You need a decent engineer (or a member of your ensemble who has or acquires adequate recording engineering skills), but very doable. And if you do this for others for a fee as an indie label, then you can recover the investment that you made for what was initially motivated by the need for light-weight promotion of your own work.

CMT: And you have (3) using your indie label as a vehicle for discovering and developing new artists who otherwise might not readily find a label willing to produce them. In other words, business development and arts advocacy—this is incidentally a big part of Gabriel’s motivation: an unmet need; filling an unmet need.

DSM: Or (4) using the corporation you create for your label operating company for the tax and legal / liability advantages afforded by incorporating, compared to just operating as a ‘sole proprietor’. Do it as an LLC instead of as an individual.

CMT: Then there’s (5) objecting to the terms and conditions of contracts used by conventional record labels, in terms of financials, digital rights, or other aspects. In other words, intellectual property activism. (6) Angling to develop a new market that you think is large enough to be attractive to an existing large label. Merger & Acquisition exit.

DSM: And, in Gabriel Prokofiev’s case, you might add (7) because you can. He has his grandfather’s name and connections and is therefore a lower-risk proposition. He’s maybe more likely to succeed than others, on account of his famous surname.

W hen you look at market share, collectively the independently distributed labels are a huge segment of the business. After Universal, they’re the second biggest segment. They’re bigger in the U.S. than the next four majors.”
— Michael Ellis, Billboard.

CMT: And you don’t need a Label Manager, an A&R (Artist & Repertoire) Director, Publicity, Marketing, Sales—you don’t need a big headcount to do this. In fact, it’s simply not financially feasible to support a staff of full-time people. If you’ve got the right skillset and a good business head, one person can do it. One or two people, part-time.

DSM: It depends, too, on how many CDs you intend to produce per year, and what your financial objectives are, based on your investment and overhang. The number of person-hours will depend on what the nature of your productions is and what your production volume is each year. Prokofiev’s operation seems to be very nimble and lean. How many people does Newport Classic have? Two?

Saturday, August 4, 2007

16 July 07

Midnight Needs a Home

“How short are you?” I asked Midnight.
“Jan 19 2008 is my TR [a 90-day-early temporary release]. April 5 is my ERC [early release credit date, usually calculated at 85 percent of the prisoner’s sentence]. But to get my TR, I’ve gotta have a residence approved and I don’t have one. I have no family or friends on the streets.”
“Can you go to a shelter for the homeless?”
“You can’t go to a homeless persons’ shelter on a TR. I’d hafta wait till April for my ERC.”
“Hopefully this time when you get out, the cops won’t steal your fifty-dollar gate money.”
“What’s fifty bucks gonna get me? You can’t make it on fifty dollars. I hafta buy socks and underwear as soon as I get out. Then I’ll hafta go to McDonalds or Burger King. And then I’ll be broke.”
“And then what?”
“I dunno. My social security disability will start, but it’ll be a month or two before I can receive a check, and I can’t get a check unless I have an address, and I can’t afford to pay rent until I get a check.”
“Catch-22.”
“Yeah. I can get a P.O. Box with my check, but that’ll cost almost half of my fifty-dollar gate fee.”
“What if someone had a place for you to stay at on the basis you would pay them rent when your checks come in?”
“That would work for my TR, but I won’t get a check till March.”
“Where would the residence need to be?”
“I’d like to try and stay here in Tucson if possible. I’d like to give it a fresh start. But I can go anywhere that’ll have me within the State of Arizona as long as the person whose house it is isn’t a felon. They would hafta agree that there would be no alcohols, drugs, or firearms in the residence.”
“So if someone reading this offers you a place in Arizona - ”
“I’d get out in January instead of April. They’d hafta send a letter sayin’ I could stay there, and I’d give it to CO3 Rose, and he’d give it to the parole people, and they would verify it with the person. Then they’d go to the residence, make sure there’s a room I could sleep in, and that they agree to the conditions of parole.”
“So any person in Arizona could do this?”
“Yes.”
“How much rent could you afford?”
“I’ll pay five or six hundred monthly out of my disability check. I’ll be gettin’ nine-hundred-and-seventeen dollars a month. But I’ll need some for clothes, food, and eventually a car 'cause I wanna be able to return to work. That’s my goal. If I have a phone number to be contacted at, I’ll be able to find a job. If I leave in April, I’ll be homeless. The parole officer will give me a listing of shelters, but it won’t be easy gettin’ my life together from a homeless shelter.”

Is anyone in Arizona willing to house Midnight?”

Email comments to writeinside@hotmail.com or post them below

Copyright © 2006-2007 Shaun P. Attwood