The NewWorld/CRI Composers

[snyprrr]

http://www.newworldrecords.org/


Halsey Stevens

George Barati

Irwin Bazelon

William Bolcom

Otto Leuning

The New York School

Leslie Bassett

Barbara Kolb

Miriam Gideon

Gordon Mumma

Robert Ashley

There's just too many different types of Composers to go on. What can you tell me about the wackiest Composers you've encountered through these labels (Bridge & Albany should also be included)?

I've met Lejaren Hiller, Seymour Schifrin, Robert Hall Lewis, Ezra Sims, Bazelon, Francis Thorne, William Mayer,... I mean, the list just goes on and on. I'm very fond of Chinery Ung and Donald Erb. Who do you like?

[Karl Henning]

"Wackiest," eh?

[springrite]

There are quite a few that I like. I haven't checked what I have (maybe two dozen or more?) but Erb is a favorite, liked Zwilich and I liked Thorne's Piano Concerto. Since most of these composers I did not know a lot about, I bought them mostly from BRO when they were $1.99. At that price, I more or less got a copy of everything they had, from the conservative earlier American composers (Paine, for instance) to many living ones.

[snyprrr]

There are quite a few that I like. I haven't checked what I have (maybe two dozen or more?) but Erb is a favorite, liked Zwilich and I liked Thorne's Piano Concerto. Since most of these composers I did not know a lot about, I bought them mostly from BRO when they were $1.99. At that price, I more or less got a copy of everything they had, from the conservative earlier American composers (Paine, for instance) to many living ones.

You got so ripped off! Don't pay more than $.26, haha,... some on Amazon are a penny, and some are ridiculous,... and it's so random. I mean, aren't these cds funded with tax dollars, haha??? They are probably littered in every library in America!! I'm sure we have a lot of the same ones (surely, EVERYONE does).

$100 would probably nab you about 300 cds if you just got the cheapies. I certainly will try out a NewWorld/CRI Composer I've never heard of for the right price.

Right now, I'm considering $4 exorbitant.

"Wackiest," eh?

I mean, I'm way passed Eve Beglarian,... or,... who's the 'balloon lady'? The site has lots of samples, and, woo boy, there is some tired stuff out there, haha. The Gann 'Synclavier' disc, or Mumma's Piano Music?,... I don't know, they have so much... Ben Johnston's microtonal String Quartets...

NewWorld's one Composer that they seem wedded to is Harry Partch, so, perhaps one could say he is their 50 yard line? Of course, they have a lot of leftie-'60s political stuff that one can wade through. Just like wish cheezy movies from 1973, I'm a sucker for 'music snyprrr can't stand',... as long as it's engaging,... uh,... I guess??#@X(*&

SURELY KARL, you have a closet full of these things,... don't you dare deny it,... it can't possibly be true that you don't. BESIDES WUORININ!!!!! Though, that one old CRI with the concertos sounds interesting.

WACKIEST!!

Alvin Curran? Lucier? No... no...

[snyprrr]

Well, I found a lot of cheap New Composers lately. I have a thing for the '70s, the Guilty Pleasures, and I have not been disappointed.

Richard Wilson: gray, anonymous, University Serialism. Out of six works, I liked the solo flute piece the best.

Howard Boatwright: Hindemithian neo-classicism that did not rock my world. An SQ and Solo Violin Suite disappointed, but a Clarinet Sonata was nice.

Brian Fennelly: I got the two main CRI and NewWorld discs, and was quite impressed with his mid-'70s University Serialism. As a direct comparison to the Wilson SQ, I found Fennelly's imagination ineffably superior. Fennelly is the Big Recommendation here.

Martin Boykan: he has I think four cds on CRI, each with an SQ. I got the one with a Violin Sonata, Clarinet + Piano ("Flume"), a song set, and an early String Quartet No.1 from 1967. Boykan seems to fall squarely in the middle, not being overly angst-y, but not exhibiting a great deal of imagination.

Martin Bresnick: I haven't yet got anything by him yet, but, he seems to fall into the pattern. I've heard a few samples, and he seems to have a flair others might be lacking. I look forward to checking him out further; I saw that I already have his wind quintet on another NewWorld disc.

James Willey: I noticed what seems like his Complete String Quartets on two or three CRI discs. I'd be curious if anyone has tried them out?


There's still much more fun stuff to unearth here. I can't afford too many disappointments, so I'm trying to be as discriminating as possible.

[snyprrr]

Well, I found a lot of cheap New Composers lately. I have a thing for the '70s, the Guilty Pleasures, and I have not been disappointed.

Richard Wilson: gray, anonymous, University Serialism. Out of six works, I liked the solo flute piece the best.

Howard Boatwright: Hindemithian neo-classicism that did not rock my world. An SQ and Solo Violin Suite disappointed, but a Clarinet Sonata was nice.

Brian Fennelly: I got the two main CRI and NewWorld discs, and was quite impressed with his mid-'70s University Serialism. As a direct comparison to the Wilson SQ, I found Fennelly's imagination ineffably superior. Fennelly is the Big Recommendation here.

Martin Boykan: he has I think four cds on CRI, each with an SQ. I got the one with a Violin Sonata, Clarinet + Piano ("Flume"), a song set, and an early String Quartet No.1 from 1967. Boykan seems to fall squarely in the middle, not being overly angst-y, but not exhibiting a great deal of imagination.

Martin Bresnick: I haven't yet got anything by him yet, but, he seems to fall into the pattern. I've heard a few samples, and he seems to have a flair others might be lacking. I look forward to checking him out further; I saw that I already have his wind quintet on another NewWorld disc.

James Willey: I noticed what seems like his Complete String Quartets on two or three CRI discs. I'd be curious if anyone has tried them out?


There's still much more fun stuff to unearth here. I can't afford too many disappointments, so I'm trying to be as discriminating as possible.

So, I had a blast working my way through that CRI/NewWorld Catalog. Here's some final thoughts (since we pushed that one through, haha):

Ned Rorem: the three NewWorld discs of Orchestral & Chamber Musics were nice, MOR Modern. Great production, nice driving music, verrry cheap (did I mention that part of the fun was one cent cds?). See the Thread for the interest.

Chinary Ung: I'm always saying a good word about Ung's music. In a way, it sounds like Crumb-meets-Yun, but Crumb was Ung's teacher, and Crumb's Asian interests get their logical working out in Ung's very special Cambodian Art Music. I'd probably recommend the Bridge disc 'Luminous Spirals' first, and then the NewWorld 'Seven Mirrors', though, his best piece, imo, is the original Spirals on the NewWorld disc 'Aequalis' (best cover of all time).

George Crumb: the NewWorld disc 'Vox Balaenae' is a good introduction, and his best Orchestral Work, Haunted Landscape, appears on one of the all time classic NewWorld discs.

Andrew Imbrie: meticulous craftsman, fairly academic, not as 'hard' (a rock term, ha!) as Sessions or Martino, but just as complex. The NewWorld disc 'Dream Sequence' is absolutely typical of this company's stylistic traditions. I especially like the piece for piano and harp, and the titular chamber work, though, the whole album has a certain high quality poise.

Barney Childs: a wild American Experimenter, Child's disc of Wind Music is a delight. Various winds are all played by the same dedicated player, overdubbed or solo, giving the whole disc a very distinct flavor. Lots of interesting, complex variety, a true original.

Stephen Dembski: a new name, I believe, whose disc was recommended by its seemingly obvious avant Titles (Alba, Alta, Altamira). And yes, I was pleased to find a genuinely new and interesting voice coming out of the '60s-'70s. Abstract, but with smoother corners, less angular and steep as most others, Dembski is one of my Highest Recommendations on this list. Surely this disc is still pennies, check it out!

Ursula Mamlok: her Piano Trio ('Panta Rhei'/ 'Time in Flux') was the best thing on an old Music&Arts cd of PTs. Her two discs of Chamber Music on CRI reveal a quite Webernesque way of organizing materials. She may be the most pointallistic(sic?) Composer on this list, and I haven't quite made up my mind yet if I like it all that much or not.

The CRI recording of her Piano Trio is really much more strongly characterized than the Music&Arts. The players include the ubiquitous Fred Sherry, who lends his talents to many of the discs here under review (along with the very great Harvey Sollberger). Sometimes I can't tell if the music he's playing is great, but he sure does always make a convincing case.

I'd still recommend you try these two CRI discs (806 and 891). They should be quite cheap, and I'd recommend getting both, as it gives the fuller picture. Bridge has embarked on quite a cycle of her works. I still think her PT is tops!

William Kraft: here's a name I'm familiar with, but not. The CRI disc, with Gallery '83, is interesting, but it leaves me wanting to try more of Kraft's very interesting '60s Moderism. The titular piece is vaguely interesting, but I don't think this is the place to start exploring Kraft.

Nicolas Roussakis: his cd of Chamber Works on CRI is quite a funky mixed bag. On the one hand we have my new favorite work for speech chorus and percussion, Night Speech (1968). All the people who like this kind of stuff should probably agree. Also, the Sonata for Harpsichord (1967) is now my new favorite for a Modern HS. The duet for two flutes (by the Sollbergers) is also wonderfully detailed, but I was disappointed in the newer piano, and violin and piano pieces. One piece for trombone and two percussions did have a little hint of Xenakis to it. In all, a wonderful two-cent cd! Quite a Modernist, very firm in the good pieces. Recommended

He also has another disc on CRI with a String Quartet (it was NOT two-cents!).

Paul Cooper: I finally got to hear the two String Quartets from the '70s, Nos. 5-6, and I was really pleased. I remember getting into with someguy over that Richard Wilson disc, and here is a contemporaneous work with which I could compare to make my original point. Where Wilson's SQ was 'academic' in all the senses that I would characterize as 'negative', with Cooper we have a freedom from angst, without sacrificing abstraction, that I found missing in the earlier work. For anyone wishing to hear a very individual voice from the same echelons of academia, I do recommend this disc. Cooper's two SQs inhabit a shaded and almost cosmic quality (don't over-read here) that I may equal to a lesser Dutilleux. All I can say is, that, for two SQs from the dreaded '70s Academia, Cooper stands out as having flesh and blood. I might also compare them to the equally individual and nocturnal SQ No.1 by Fred Lerdahl (also on CRI, with Martino, a great disc!). I wasn't as taken with the two pieces for Violin&Cello, but, they too betrayed a serious and devoted craftsman with an intimate knowledge of string timbre.

Highly Recommended

Martin Boykan: again, I place Boykan squarely between Wilson and Cooper. The perfect CRI/NewWorld Composer!

Barbara Kolb: her NewWorld disc 'Millefoglie' has been on my radar forever. It's like the stereotypical Library CD. Well, she too falls sort of in the middle of the pack. I'd compare this disc to the Imbrie disc (both released around the same time). I don't know what it's saying to say that her piece for narrator and orchestra was the most memorable thing, though, the titular piece is IRCAM, from the '80s, so, it is of high quality (it does have a charming, early IRCAM quality to it... ah nostalgia!). I think there is also a piano and marimba number, a combination that seems to pop up in this quarter quite often.

Donald Erb: finally, one of my favorites here, and he's got cds on practically all of the labels under consideration here (CRI, NewWorld, Bridge, Albany (Arabesque, Delos)). I have a friend who studied under him, but we apparently don't see eye to eye on Erb's legacy (we were chatting with a non-classical, who said something about Modernism, which prompted my friend to characterize Erb as a bloop-and-bleeper, or worse).

I have wanted to make him listen to the NewWorld discs of wind and solo.chamber works. We have a wonderful Sonata for Solo Harp played by Yolanda K., a cool Solo Violin Sonata, a Clarinet Trio of some depth, and a couple of wind ensemble pieces that will really prick up your ears. My friend probably remembers the Erb from the '60s more (available on CRI's 'The Devil's Quickstep'), a period of Erb's that I'm not as fond of as his later work.

There's a Concerto for Cello with Lynn Harrell, and a great disc on Koch conducted by James Sedares (I think). Erb is someone I think more people should give a listen to.

Lukas Foss: if you want to know what the Minimalist Grosse Fuge sounds like, well, he ya go! Also included is one groovy accordion number! It not for everybody.

Lejaren Hiller: his NewWorld disc 'A Total Matrix of Possibilities' is only for James, someguy, Petrarch, Edward, and the rest of the Lovers of the Extreme. Best proponent of Stochastic Music after Xenaks. String Quartet No.6 IS Da Bomb!

Fred Lerdahl: the author of a wonderful String Quartet Cycle, a true Cycle of 3 SQs, all on Albany. The wonderful First is on another CRI disc.

I'm leaving Wuorinen off the list just to make it less complicated, but, that NewWorld disc of the Third String Quartet is very impressive.

So, that's it for now. I left off wondering about David Rakowski, David Rosenbloom, and other names which are new to me, but I have satisfied my new to explore for the time being. Perhaps you will pick up where I left off? Happy hunting!

[Cato]

Here is another vote for Donald Erb and not just because he was a fellow Buckeye: if you can find The Seventh Trumpet buy it!  I recall hearing it on the radio c. 45 - 50 years ago or so (probably a Cleveland Orchestra broadcast ?) and thought it was great!

Lukas Foss!  He was big 40-50 years ago, the next Aaron Copland, maybe even the next Charles Ives. 

[snyprrr]

Here is another vote for Donald Erb and not just because he was a fellow Buckeye: if you can find The Seventh Trumpet buy it!  I recall hearing it on the radio c. 45 - 50 years ago or so (probably a Cleveland Orchestra broadcast ?) and thought it was great!

Lukas Foss!  He was big 40-50 years ago, the next Aaron Copland, maybe even the next Charles Ives.

Yes, apparently there ARE Composers in the second tier... maybe there's not too many adventurists around here? I'm glad I explored.

[ibanezmonster]

You got so ripped off! Don't pay more than $.26, haha,... some on Amazon are a penny, and some are ridiculous,... and it's so random. I mean, aren't these cds funded with tax dollars, haha??? They are probably littered in every library in America!! I'm sure we have a lot of the same ones (surely, EVERYONE does).

Not New World Records, but you mentioned Bolcom, and I listened to this years ago from the library:

[Karl Henning]

What did you think of it, Greg?

[Daverz]

I can recommend Robert Helps muscular first symphony.  Not wacky, though.

[asin]B000005TXW[/asin]

[Karl Henning]

. . . Not wacky, though.

Sans batterie, you mean? ; )

[Cato]

I can recommend Robert Helps muscular first symphony.  Not wacky, though.

[asin]B000005TXW[/asin]

Does it have that picture of Helps sporting a beatnik goatee, wearing a ripped sweatshirt, and standing in front of a brownstone apartment building?   

[ibanezmonster]

What did you think of it, Greg?

Very long and varied. Don't know if I liked it or not; probably kinda liked it. This was at least 6-7 years ago.

[snyprrr]

I can recommend Robert Helps muscular first symphony.  Not wacky, though.

[asin]B000005TXW[/asin]

I'm addicted to those cd covers!!!

Does it have that picture of Helps sporting a beatnik goatee, wearing a ripped sweatshirt, and standing in front of a brownstone apartment building?   

http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?_adv_prop=image&fr=yfp-t-900&va=robert+helps

More like Michael McDonald with aids.

[Daverz]

Does it have that picture of Helps sporting a beatnik goatee, wearing a ripped sweatshirt, and standing in front of a brownstone apartment building?   

Beatnik?!  That's Willie Nelson!