The Boys

As promised, below is a picture of the two cats my wife and I adopted last Saturday.  The orange tabby is named Stewie.  The brown tabby is named Jasper.  We do not know their exact age, but the shelter says that Stewie is two years old and Jasper is about a year and a half.  Though as I have watched then and gotten to know their personalities I think Stewie and Jasper are both close to a year and a half.  Stewie may be younger because he acts like a younger sibling.

Update to listening journal

I noticed this evening in my notes that I inadvertently omitted two pieces from the listening journal dated September 6-15, 2010.  Both pieces are listed below.  I am not surprised that I left a couple of piece off this journal.  This was from the week I was on vacation and I did a lot of listening.

Kaija Saariaho - Spins and Spells (1996) for cello
Krzystof Penderecki - Violin Sonata (1953) for violin and piano

Composing Session: September 28, 2010

Yesterday I spent some time working on the fourth movement of Trackings No. 2.  The main focus of this session was to complete the first twenty-eight measures.  For this section, the ground work was set, I mostly needed finish the ostinato in the piano.  I also had to rework the first half of the piano melody in measures twenty five to twenty eight.  I still need to compose the second half of the melody which picks up at measure twenty nine.

I like what I have done in this movement.  I eliminated a second layer of the accompaniment which starts at measure five.  It seemed to me that this did not add enough for me to keep it in.  The main thing that needs to be overhauled is the transition starting at measure thirty five.  This four measure transition will bring the piece back around to a recap of the beginning.

Kitty Decision

Things are going really well in the Bice household.  Both cats are adjusting well to their new home.  My wife and I have decided that the trial with the Brown tabby was a success.  We are going to keep both cats!  Tomorrow, I plan on posting a couple of pictures of the boys and introducing them to you.  I am extremely happy that this has worked out!

Goals for Composing: September 27-October 3, 2010

In a post last week I talked about getting back to basics.  So I decided to try something.  Long term goals just do not seem to work for me.  I often lose focus or the bigger picture makes me overwhelmed.  I find that for the most part the Listening Journal helps to keep me accountable for listening.  As a matter of fact I am listening to Xenakis's Palimpsest as I write this.  With this in mind, I thought I would make and post weekly goals for composing.

My goals this week are simple.  I want to finish the fourth movement of Trackings No. 2.  I will also sketch the "interlude" between the first two sound walls at the beginning of Time in Memoriam.

With things slowing down for me outside of work I believe that these goals are easily attainable.  The fourth movement of Trackings No. 2 is about fifty percent complete.  Most of the work that needs to be don is the transition before the return of the A section.  After that the rest will just easily flow together.

We shall see if this new approach will help to keep me on track and make me more accountable for composing.

Listening Journal: September 20-26, 2010

Pascal Dusapin - Galim (1998) for flute and orchestra
Kaija Saariaho - NoaNoa (1991) for flute and electronics

György Ligeti - The Ligeti Project I - CD
   Melodien (1971) for orchestra
   Chamber Concerto (1969-70) for thirteen instrumentalists
   Piano Concerto (1985-88)
   Mysteries of the Macabre (1991) for solo trumpet and chamber orchestra

Kaija Saariaho - Asteroid 4179 - Toutalis (2006) for orchestra


Click image to purchase The Ligeti Project I on CD from Amazon.com

Expanding the Family

On Saturday, September 25, 2010 my wife and I expanded our family.  We adopted two cats from the from the Stockton Animal Friends Shelter.  We adopted an Orange Tabby, creatively named Oragne by the shelter and a Brown Tabby named Ray.  We first met the pair on the previous Wednesday when we visited the shelter.  We went back on Saturday to adopt Orange since he really called to both Melissa and me.  We decided to adopt Ray as well since they were both in the same cage and seemed to get along.  We adopted Ray as a trail.  We wanted to see if the two cats would get along and see if he would be happy in our home.

So far things are going well.  We are still in a transition time as we are getting used to both cats and they are getting used to us.  Melissa and I do plan on renaming the cats to something more appropriate.  We are going to observe them for another day or so to really get to know their personalities before naming them.

Melissa and I are excited about adopting both cats.  The house has felt empty since Fozzie died and the whole situation feels right.  I am hopeful that both cats will be happy in their new home and right now it seem as if everything will work out.

Listening Journal: September 13-19, 2010

Toru Takemitsu - Sacrafice (1962) for alto flute, lute and percussion

Arvo Pärt - Fratres (1982) for eight cellos

György Ligeti - György Ligeti Edition, volume 7: Chamber Music - CD

   Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano (1982)

   Ten Pieces for Wind Quintet (1968)

   Six Bagatelles for Wind Quintet (1953)

   Sonata for Solo Viola (1991-94)

Back to Basics

I am going through a time where I feel unmotivated to compose.  It is not that I do now want to or I have nothing of value to work on; rather, I have been very busy and I cannot seem to make the time.  When I think about the piece I am working on and the time frame in which it needs to be done, I start to feel pressure.  It is pressure I am putting on myself.

Composing a wind ensemble piece is a daunting task.  I know it is something that I can do.  Lately I have been focused on the big picture.  I want to finish Time in Memoriam by the end of the year.  My goal is to send off the score and parts to Lee Morrison by December 15th.  This gives me a little less than three months.  It is a tight schedule considering that it will take about two to three weeks of editing to polish the score, extract the parts and polish the parts.  I am not going to bother creating a timeline for completion as I keep getting burned by the goals I set.

It is time for me to get back to basics.  This means that I need to set aside at least sixty minutes each day to compose.  I want to get back into to the habit of composing, even if it is only a little bit each day.  This will allow me to focus more on the task at hand and not get overwhelmed by the whole project.  My best work comes when I am focused on my craft.  I will set goals for myself for that day or that week, but I will not set long-range goals other than the deadline of December 15th.  The pressure I would put on myself would be unnecessary.

New Release: Hilary Hahn - Higdon and Tchaiskovsky Violin Concertos

On Tuesday, September 21, 2010 Deutsche Grammophon will release violinist Hilary Hahn's latest CD.  This recording will feature violin concertos composed by Jennifer Higdon and Peter Tchaikovsky.  Hilary will be backed by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Vasily Petrenko, conductor.

As many of my friends know, Hilary is my favorite violinist.  Simply put she is brilliant.  She brings a new level of lyricism to whatever piece she plays.  On one of her previous CDs she recorded Arnold Schoenberg's Violin Concerto.  The performance was nothing short of phenomenal.  She brought out nuance and subtlety that breathed new life into the atonal work.

I look forward to hearing Jennifer Higdon's Concerto which was commissioned by the Indianapolis, Toronto and Baltimore symphonies and the Curtis Institute of Music for Hilary Hahn.  Higdon and I are alumni of the same university, though we do not know each other, Bowling Green State University.  Higdon graduated with her master's degree from there long before I was a student.

This release is New Music Forum's Pick of the Month for September 2010.  For more information visit: www.newmusicforum.com.

To order the CD please click the picture below

Listening Overdrive

Last week I used up the last of my vacation days from work.  As evidenced by my last listening journal post I did a lot of listening.  I listened to a total of seven CDs.  The Rite of Spring recording is number seven as it is the only piece on the CD; however I did not list it as a CD, only a piece.

I really enjoyed the opportunity to listen to a lot of music this past week.  The musical styles were varied as I did not listen to only 20th and 21st Century music.  I will say that at times it seemed as if the music started to sound the same.  I guess my ears were not used to doing so much "concentrated" listening.  I do wish that I would be able to make time to listen to at least one CD each day.  Right now I will settle for fifteen to twenty minutes each day.

Listening Journal: September 6-12, 2010

Gloria Cheng-Cochran - Piano Music of John Adams and Terry Riley - CD

  Gloria Cheng-Cochran, piano

   Terry Riley - The Walrus in Memorium (1993)

   John Adams - China Gates (1977)

   Terry Riley - The Heaven Ladder, Book 7 (1994)

   John Adams - Phrygian Gates (1978)

Igor Stravinsky - Rite of Spring (1913) for orchestra - San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Michael Tilson Thomas

Astor Piazzolla - Hommage à Piazzolla - CD

  Chamber Music

   Milonga en re

   Vardarito

   Oblivion

   Escualo

   Café 1930 (from Histoire du tango)

   Concierto para quintetto

   Soledad

   Buenos Aires hora coro

   Celos

   El Sol sueño (Hommage à Astor Piazzolla) by Jerzy Peterburshky

   Le grand tango

Samuel Adler - String Quartet No. 6: A Whitman Serenade (1975) for mezzo-soprano and string quartet

Feliz Mendelssohn - Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in E minor, op. 64 (1844) Hilary Hahn, violin and Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Hugh Wolff, conductor

Florencio Asenjo - Sinfonia Concertante, Three Images - CD

   A Thousand and One Nights: Impressions for Clarinet and Orchestra (2007)

   Sinfonia Concertante (2008) for orchestra

   Three Images from Don Quijote (2008) for orchestra

György Ligeti - Live at Carnegie Hall: January 31, 2009 - CD

   Melodien (1971) for orchestra

   Cello Concerto (1966)

   Sippal, dobbal nadihegeduvel (2000)

Felix Mendelssohn - Symphony No. 3 "Scottish" - CD

   Symphony No. 3 in A minor, op. 56 "Scottish" (1842)

   The Hebrides Overture (Fingal's Cave), op. 26 (1832) for orchestra

György Ligeti - György Ligeti Edition, volume 6: Keyboard Works - CD

   Induló (1942) for piano four-hands

   Polifón etüd (1943) for piano four-hands

   Három lakodalmi tánc (1950) for piano four-hands

   Sonatina (1950) for piano four-hands

   Allegro (1943) for piano four-hands

   Capriccio No. 1 (1947) for piano

   Invention (1948) for piano

   Capriccio No. 2 (1947) for piano

   Three Piece for Two Pianos (1976)

   Passacaglia Ungherese (1978) for harpsichord

   Hungarian Rock (1978) for harpsichord

   Continuum (1968) for harpsichord

   Ricercare (1951) for organ

   Two Studies for Organ (1967-69)

   Volumina (1961-62) for organ

Minor Changes

As I have been composing Time in Memoriam I have realized that one of my goals for this piece is unreasonable.  My intent was for the majority of the melodic and thematic material to be derived from the Dies Irae sequence.  While the sequence is distinct and familiar to most, it is not varied enough for me to draw out a wide variety of "interesting" melodic material.

In addition the musical material I am taking from Fate of the Future was not derived from the Dies Irae sequence.  The primary similarity between the music and the sequence is the mode.  Both are composed in the minor mode.

I am not abandoning the idea of using the Dies Irae sequence to derive primary and supporting music.  I still think that the sequence will lend itself well to the concept of the piece.  Based on the sketches that I have been working on, the sequence yields limited material.  This is why I have changed my plan and will not be basing all of the music in Time and Memoriam on the Dies Irae.

Is it stealing?

I have noticed a trend recently in the music I have been composing.  I have been taking themes or in some cases whole movements from one piece of mine and using them in a completely different piece (i.e. Trackings No. 2 taken from Birches).  I am not recomposing the same piece when I do this.  In fact the pieces that I take themes or movements from are "dead" pieces.  This means that I have no intention on continuing these pieces.  Of ten there are some interesting melodic or thematic ideas that I was either unable to develop to develop at the time or never got the chance to because of other projects.

To answer the question posed in the title, no it is not stealing.  Can someone really steal from themselves?  I think there are instances in which someone can.  However, what I am doing is taking from pieces that will otherwise go unfinished.

This is the case with Fate of the Future.  This is a wind ensemble piece I began sketching in 2001.  There are a couple of melodies and themes that I have always liked in the piece.  However I was unable to develop those ideas at the time and complete the piece.  I have decided to adapt those melodies and themes into Time in Memoriam since I feel that they would work well for this piece.

One day I do plan on composing a piece titled Fate of the Future.  I like this title and I am going to keep it in mind.  Right now I am just not sure what this piece will be.  All I know is that I will not be using the music from the original sketch.  It will be an all-new piece.

Composing Session: September 9, 2010

On Thursday I began the sketch score for Time in Memoriam.  Earlier in the week I completed the diagrammatic sketch which I am using as a guide for the music.  I started with composing the first sound wall which comprises the first eight measures.  Before I continued I revisited another wind ensemble sketch, Fate of the Future, which I began in 2001.  I have already decided to take the opening melody from this sketch and use it as a primary theme in the second half of the A section.  As I flipped through the score I came across a brass theme that was to start another, faster section of Fate of the Future.  I played through it, as best as I can, on my keyboard.  I think will be a great fit for the beginning of the B section for Time in Memoriam.


I began to work on the B section.  Currently it is slated to be a seven-part rondo form.  However, that could easily change as I continue to work on this section.  I stopped after sketching the first twenty-four measures of the B section.  In part because it was time to stop and do other things.  Also, I wanted to think about how I want this section to develop.  It is likely that the seven-part rondo form is not the right choice for this section.  Making this change will not really affect the music I have sketched, but it will affect the music I will sketch.

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Diagrammatic Sketch Done

Yesterday I finished the sketch portion of the diagrammatic sketch for Time in Memoriam.  This sketch consists of colors and shapes that represent the contours and groupings for the music in this piece.  The spatial relationships of the shapes represent the approximate placement and duration that will occur in the piece.

Today I was able to finish the other portion of the sketch: the labeling.  To facilitate this I placed overhead transparencies over the color sketch and used wet-erase markers to label and describe the various shapes.  I use the transparencies because I may decide to change my mind about what I label.  I can easily erase the markings and rewrite them.  Also, this allows me to not ruin the full-color sketch with these markings.

The advantage of a sketch like this is that I now have a good idea of the scope and shape of Time in Memoriam.  The sketch is to be used as a reference.  If I feel that sections need to be cut or added then I can choose to do so.  It is not necessary to revise the diagrammatic sketch if I make changes.  The point of this sketch is to be used as a pre-compositional device.  It does not need to reflect the final version of the piece.

Listening Journal: August 30-September 5, 2010

Claude Debussy - Sonata for Cello and Piano (1915)
Krzysztof Penderecki - De Natura Sonoris II (1971) for orchestra

György Ligeti - György Ligeti Edition, Volume 5: Mechanical Works - CD
   Adaptations for Barrel Organ
    Continuum (1970)
    Hungarian Rock (1978)
    Capriccio No. 1 (1947)
    Invention (1948)
    Capriccio No. 2 (1947)
   Poème Symphonique (1962) for 100 metronomes
   Adaptation for Barrel Organ
    Musica Ricercata (1951-53)
   Adaptations for Player Piano
    Études pour Piano
     X. Der Zauberlehring (1994)
     IX. Vertige (1990)
     XI. En Suspens (1994)
     XIII. L'escalre du diable (1993)
     VII. Galamb borong (1988)
    Continuum (1970)

Michael Daugherty - Metropolis Symphony - CD
   Metropolis Symphony (1993) for orchestra
   Bizarro (1993) for symphonic winds and percussion

Here's to a better September

August 2010 was, for all intents and purposes, a horrible month.  My wife and I had probably the worst couple of weeks financially we have seen.  My wife's car was repossessed and this was probably the least dramatic of our struggles.  The car was going to breakdown anyways and was not worth the repair bill.  My wife is still unemployed.  The saddest and most depressing thing that happened was that our cat, Fozzie, passed away.  This is by far the worst thing that has happened to us in a long time.  Usually when I am stressed out or depressed, I could go find Fozzie and pet him or play with him and I would feel better.  However, that part of my support system is gone.  At the same time Fozzie was suffering from FIP and while he lost that battle, he is no longer suffering.  Fozzie was only two years old, but he made my and Melissa's life a thousand times better just for being apart of it.

It is my hope that the new month brings a change in luck for me and my wife.  We have struggled long enough.  I know that it will take more than luck to turn things around for us.