When it snows, the wolves come.
…or at least, Derp Hound. As far as I know, this is the first time Maia’s seen snow. She seems to approve.
Meanwhile, my whole yard looks like a Joni Mitchell album cover.
Daily Archives: January 28, 2014
3 posts
Folk singer Pete Seeger died this week. He leaves behind a profound, if mixed, legacy. He was instrumental in the folk music revival of the 1940’s, and yes, he was a Communist.
That last point is something people will never let go, but does it even matter anymore? He was hardly the only artist of his time affiliated with the movement.
His father was Charles Seeger, a musicologist who worked with Alan Lomax to preserve traditional American folk music. Seeger was also a respected conductor and composer who taught Henry Cowell and influenced the writing of New Musical Resources.
His mother was Ruth Crawford Seeger, an imaginative composer who studied under Nadia Boulanger. While largely unknown in her lifetime, her String Quartet 1931 is now considered a landmark in modern music.
Both Ruth and Charles belonged to the Composers’ Collective, an organization whose mission was to unite an artistic proletariat. Continued...
As a matter of course, I don’t pay much attention to these. The whole nomination process reeks of high-school politics, and the most deserving artists are nearly always ignored in favor of radio-friendly unit shifters.
However, the classical awards can be surprising. Last year saw the ensemble Eighth Blackbird receive the attention they deserve, and there’s been a decided shift towards rewarding the work of living composers and independent labels. Maria Schneider’s Winter Morning Walks may be the biggest news. It took four awards, one of which went quite deservedly to Dawn Upshaw.
For a project commanding that level of talent, one would assume it was bankrolled and released by a major label, right? Nope. It was entirely crowd-funded. That’s no mean feat considering the logistics of hiring, rehearsal, and recording.
A quick look down this year’s list shows that the classical industry is much closer to the ground than most would think. Continued...