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Aspen Duet for Eb Alto Sax and Piano This work is a 2024 arrangement of my Aspen Quartet. Support for the composition of Aspen Quartet was provided by the Institute for Advanced Compositional Studies at the Aspen Music Festival. This work was funded in part by the Composers Assistance Program of the American Music Center. Aspen Quartet won First Prize in the Lee Ettelson Composition Contest of Composers, Inc. Aspen Quartet is recorded by the Arditti Quartet on California Composers, Albany Records Troy 159
Aspen Septet for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, 2 percussionists MIDI realization by composer A short piece originally composed for the Aspen Music Festival, working under Jacob Druckman. Performed by Xtet at the Japan America Theater as part of the L.A. Olympic Arts Festival, Peter Sellars, director, and at the University of Judaism Gindi Auditorium as a Pacific Composers Forum winner and elsewhere. Revised 2024 to add a percussionist and edited.
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Sisyphus, for large ensemble (2024) Mvt. I winds, brass, strings, 3 pianos, 3 percussionists MIDI realization by composer In the time of Covid, let us reread the Greeks! They understood what it is to have a curse on the City-State! As covid wanes, the restrictions (imperfectly followed!) lift - prematurely. As the restrictions lift, covid waxes back! Other burdens America rolls up the mountain, only to dodge them falling back down on us: - After we elect the lst black President , we elect a President who praises Hitler and his generals. - As we elevate the lst black woman to the Supreme Court, SCOTUS reverses 50 years of precedent protecting women's freedom to choose. Sisyphus is tired of rolling the rock up the mountain! Civil War is being threatened to protect the 'freedom'...from the Health Department! Typhoid Mary walks among us - as a heroine!
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While Composer in Residence at the Copland House, Opus Dei announced a contest for which I wrote this piece. In Copland's house I found the Cambridge translation of the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus says: "When thou prayest enter into thy closet...pray to thy Father which is in secret". "Do not send a trumpet before thee...". Do not pray ostentatiously "with vain repetition". I was attempting to stick it to Jerry Falwell et al. The Catholics passed on it, but, in its original choral cersion, In the Cambridge translation of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says: "When thou prayest enter into thy closet...pray to thy Father which is in secret". "Do not send a trumpet before thee...". Do not pray ostentatiously "with vain repetition". I was trying to unostentatiously stick it to Falwell, et al. The Catholics passed on it. But it was sung by The Gregg Smith Singers, cond. Gregg Smith. Friday, April 25, 2008 as part of the American MasterPieces Choral Music Festival at St. Peter’s Church, NYC. Part of the NEA series American Masterpieces: Three Centuries of American Genius. (3 Cent. of Am Genius +..Burt Goldstein, it should have been called.) Thanks to Rob Voisey's Composer's Voice show on th Vox Novus channel (https://www.youtube.com/@Vox_Novus), Andrew White was called to deliver this excellent performance.
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Score revised and audio remastered in 2025. Commissioned with funds provided by the S. Mark Taper Foundation Premiere performance: Bing Theater of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art April 6, 1994 cond: Steven Stucky Finalist for The American Prize 2012
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Play at your own risk! This student piece lay unperformed in my files from 1979 to 2024, when I made a computer engraving and recording. It's not great, but odd: I don't remember writing it and I never wrote anything else like it. I remember writing it for a contest, losing, getting a bad review from them and shelving it. For over 45 years. I had copied score and parts with india ink on ozalid, score and parts, as well as I knew how in those pre-computer days. So I keep it, as part of an ongoing query about myself "What Was I Thinking?" Rag Marwas make an appearance as the "2nd theme" in a piece that starts off sounding like neo-classical Stravinky of the Octet. (Fun fact - Rag Marwa is 'about' two lovers. The rag was used by a Led Zeppelin piece) Wikipedia says: Marva or Marwa (IAST: Mārvā) portrays being with one's lover and is often portrayed in Ragamala paintings as two couples kissing. It is a hexatonic Indian raga; Pa (the fifth tone) is omitted. Keeping the key in C, in the Western scale this would roughly translate to: B D♭ E F♯ A B D♭ C "Friends" by Led Zeppelin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fk5lfjNH4cE
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Sisyphus, for large ensemble (2024) Mvt. 2
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Time for Every Body (2018)
for flute, clarinet, violin, cello,
piano & percussion (vibes, glock, xyl)
MIDI realization by composer
Two Pieces for Piano Quintet for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano Premiere: March 28, 2015 • Iowa Composers Forum New Music Festival Performed May 2, 2015 • Hear Now Music Festival, Venice, CA Amy Tatum - flute; Stuart Clark - clarinet; Maia Jasper - violin; Ira Glansbeck - cello; Todd Moellenberg - piano MIDI realization by composer
Click to play. Click 'fullscreen' icon to make it fullscreen.
While Composer in Residence at the Copland House, Opus Dei announced a contest for which I wrote this piece. In Copland's house I found the Cambridge translation of the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus says: "When thou prayest enter into thy closet...pray to thy Father which is in secret". "Do not send a trumpet before thee...". Do not pray ostentatiously "with vain repetition". I was attempting to stick it to Jerry Falwell et al. The Catholics passed on it, but, in its original choral cersion, In the Cambridge translation of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says: "When thou prayest enter into thy closet...pray to thy Father which is in secret". "Do not send a trumpet before thee...". Do not pray ostentatiously "with vain repetition". I was trying to unostentatiously stick it to Falwell, et al. The Catholics passed on it. But it was sung by The Gregg Smith Singers, cond. Gregg Smith. Friday, April 25, 2008 as part of the American MasterPieces Choral Music Festival at St. Peter’s Church, NYC. Part of the NEA series American Masterpieces: Three Centuries of American Genius. (3 Cent. of Am Genius +..Burt Goldstein, it should have been called.) Thanks to Rob Voisey's Composer's Voice show on th Vox Novus channel (https://www.youtube.com/@Vox_Novus), Andrew White was called to deliver this excellent performance.
Click to play. Click 'fullscreen' icon to make it fullscreen.
A student work. Winner 2004 Brandenburger Bienalle. Performances: May 24, 1977 Susanna Watling (fl), Allan Vogal (ob), Brenda Lu (va), John Fare (vc), Laurel Kenner (pf) UCLA Graduate Student Composers Schoenberg Hall, UCLA June 4, 2006 Kammermuikpreis-Gewinners der Brandenburger Bienalle 2006 Uraufführung de Quintetts des Kammermuikpreis-Gewinners der Brandenburger Bienalle Bärbel Bühler (ob), Gerrit Fröhlich (fl), Sabine Völker (va), Seiko Ishida (vc), Naomi Hayashi (pf) Brandenburger Theater im CulturCongressCentrum
Aspen Quartet was written while a fellow at the Aspen Institute for Advanced Compositional Studies under Jacob Druckman and Bernard Rands. It has been performed by the Arditti Quartet at the L.A. County Arts Museum, by XTET in Los Angeles and by the Chroma Quartet in Brussels The Arditti Quartet performs it on Albany Records. https://www.albanyrecords.com/catalog/troy0159/
Trouble playing back? If Chrome has issues fails, try Firefox.
THIS JUST IN!
Click to play fullscreen
Aspen Duet for Eb Alto Sax and Piano This work is a 2024 arrangement of my Aspen Quartet. Support for the composition of Aspen Quartet was provided by the Institute for Advanced Compositional Studies at the Aspen Music Festival. This work was funded in part by the Composers Assistance Program of the American Music Center. Aspen Quartet won First Prize in the Lee Ettelson Composition Contest of Composers, Inc. Aspen Quartet is recorded by the Arditti Quartet on California Composers, Albany Records Troy 159
Aspen Septet for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, 2 percussionists MIDI realization by composer A short piece originally composed for the Aspen Music Festival, working under Jacob Druckman. Performed by Xtet at the Japan America Theater as part of the L.A. Olympic Arts Festival, Peter Sellars, director, and at the University of Judaism Gindi Auditorium as a Pacific Composers Forum winner and elsewhere. Revised 2024 to add a percussionist and edited.
Double click to play fullscreen
Click to play. Click 'fullscreen' icon to make it bigger.
Score revised and audio remastered in 2025. Commissioned with funds provided by the S. Mark Taper Foundation Premiere performance: Bing Theater of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art April 6, 1994 cond: Steven Stucky Finalist for The American Prize 2012
Play at your own risk! This student piece lay unperformed in my files from 1979 to 2024, when I made a computer engraving and recording. It's not great, but odd: I don't remember writing it and I never wrote anything else like it. I remember writing it for a contest, losing, getting a bad review from them and shelving it. For over 45 years. I had copied score and parts with india ink on ozalid, score and parts, as well as I knew how in those pre-computer days. So I keep it, as part of an ongoing query about myself "What Was I Thinking?" Rag Marwas make an appearance as the "2nd theme" in a piece that starts off sounding like neo-classical Stravinky of the Octet. (Fun fact - Rag Marwa is 'about' two lovers. The rag was used by a Led Zeppelin piece) Wikipedia says: Marva or Marwa (IAST: Mārvā) portrays being with one's lover and is often portrayed in Ragamala paintings as two couples kissing. It is a hexatonic Indian raga; Pa (the fifth tone) is omitted. Keeping the key in C, in the Western scale this would roughly translate to: B D♭ E F♯ A B D♭ C "Friends" by Led Zeppelin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fk5lfjNH4cE
Click to play. Click 'fullscreen' icon to make it bigger.
Sisyphus, for large ensemble (2024) Mvt. I winds, brass, strings, 3 pianos, 3 percussionists MIDI realization by composer In the time of Covid, let us reread the Greeks! They understood what it is to have a curse on the City-State! As covid wanes, the restrictions (imperfectly followed!) lift - prematurely. As the restrictions lift, covid waxes back! Other burdens America rolls up the mountain, only to dodge them falling back down on us: - After we elect the lst black President , we elect a President who praises Hitler and his generals. - As we elevate the lst black woman to the Supreme Court, SCOTUS reverses 50 years of precedent protecting women's freedom to choose. Sisyphus is tired of rolling the rock up the mountain! Civil War is being threatened to protect the 'freedom'...from the Health Department! Typhoid Mary walks among us - as a heroine!
Sisyphus, for large ensemble (2024) Mvt. 2
While staying at Copland's house as a winnder of the Copland Award, Opus Dei announced a contest for which I wrote this piece. In Copland's house I found the Cambridge translation of the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus says: "When thou prayest enter into thy closet...pray to thy Father which is in secret". "Do not send a trumpet before thee...". Do not pray ostentatiously "with vain repetition". I was attempting to stick it to Jerry Falwell et al. The Catholics passed on it, but, in its original choral cersion, In the Cambridge translation of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says: "When thou prayest enter into thy closet...pray to thy Father which is in secret". "Do not send a trumpet before thee...". Do not pray ostentatiously "with vain repetition". I was trying to unostentatiously stick it to Falwell, et al. The Catholics passed on it. But it was sung by The Gregg Smith Singers, cond. Gregg Smith. Friday, April 25, 2008 as part of the American MasterPieces Choral Music Festival at St. Peter’s Church, NYC. Part of the NEA series American Masterpieces: Three Centuries of American Genius. (3 Cent. of Am Genius +..Burt Goldstein, it should have been called.) Thanks to Rob Voisey's Composer's Voice show on th Vox Novus channel (https://www.youtube.com/@Vox_Novus), Andrew White was called to deliver this excellent performance.
Two Pieces for Piano Quintet (2015 rev. 2018) for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano 1. Time Again 2. Time's Up MIDI realization by composer Premiere: March 28, 2015 • Iowa Composers Forum New Music Festival Perfomed May 2, 2015 • Hear Now Music Festival, Venice, CA Amy Tatum - flute; Stuart Clark - clarinet; Maia Jasper - violin; Ira Glansbeck - cello; Todd Moellenberg - piano
Click to play.
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Time for Every Body (2018)
for flute, clarinet, violin, cello,
piano & percussion (vibes, glock, xyl)
MIDI realization by composer
Aspen Quartet was written while a fellow at the Aspen Institute for Advanced Compositional Studies under Jacob Druckman and Bernard Rands. It has been performed by the Arditti Quartet at the L.A. County Arts Museum, by XTET in Los Angeles and by the Chroma Quartet in Brussels The Arditti Quartet performs it on Albany Records. https://www.albanyrecords.com/catalog/troy0159/