Constantly hoping for another dose of gorgeously disquieting sounds

June 13, 2018 6:23 AM

Music critic and composer Justin Davidson reflects on how the new music scene in New York has changed over the past decades - from inscrutable academic music to a thriving and diverse community of composers - along with his own life and career as a composer and critic. On 10 Years of the New New-Music Scene, and 30 Years of My Own
posted by fremen (2 comments total)

This was a heartening read: thanks, fremen, for posting it. For all the apparent steps in the right direction, I wonder to what extent the forces of gentrification, rising rents, etc., in New York as in other cities might tend to dampen and dull such creative activities. Or, might artsy 'highbrow' music suffer less from this than other types? I liked this quote:

For a few years, I attended three or four contemporary music concerts a week [...] They were always the same: a scattering of audience members listened to pieces that varied widely in instrumentation but stuck to the same squeak-fart earnestness.

Metafilter: the same squeak-fart earnestness!
posted by misteraitch at 12:44 AM on June 14, 2018 [2 favorites]

If you like this I strongly recommend the podcast Meet the Composer hosted by Nadia Sirota mentioned in the article above.

I love "new music" but find it very difficult to listen to recordings. I've Bang on a Can All Stars at Mass Moca play during one of their marathons. I've never told anyone but listening to David Lang's "Child" was a transformative experience. But recorded - without the context of the performers and other listeners - I find much of this music alienating.

The podcast solves that for me- it provides the sense of others present with the music that lets me get back in.

This is a podcast so good that:

a. I never delete an episode, and often go back and re-listen to episodes

b. I listen to it less than any other podcast. I have such fearful anticipation of depression and withdrawal upon reaching the last episode that I listen to about one new episode every two months
posted by sol at 9:05 AM on June 15, 2018 [1 favorite]