Henning's Headquarters

Started by BachQ, April 07, 2007, 12:21:26 PM

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Pohjolas Daughter

Way to go Karl!  Keep at it!  ;D

PD
Pohjolas Daughter

Karl Henning

#8521
Thank you all! Chipped away some more today. I've reached the 8-minute mark now. I shall see if tomorrow I figure out just where to take it hence. Or, I may work on conceptualizing the end, so I know where I'm going.
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Cato

Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on January 24, 2022, 08:38:07 PM
FWIW: Tonight I've done the first work on the Opus 175 since 4 October

Excellent news!!!

In a biography of Prokofiev, there is a story about Prokofiev's mother, who was looking for a teacher for the young boy genius, meeting with Nicolai Tcherepnin and asking him how much he composed per day.

"Sometimes only a single bar" was the response, which Prokofiev interpreted as an effort to impress them with his "meticulousness."

I thought the interpretation terribly unfair: all things artistic have their own idiosyncratic period of gestation. If only one satisfactory bar is composed - if only one proper note is decided upon! - then so be it!

Mrs. Cato and I watched The Agony and the Ecstasy last weekend: the movie has a running joke between Michelangelo (Charlton Heston) and Pope Julius II (Rex Harrison).

The pope (looking up at the scaffolding in the Sistine Chapel): "When will you make an end of it?!"

Michelangelo: "When it is finished!"
"Meet Miss Ruth Sherwood, from Columbus, Ohio, the Middle of the Universe!"

- Brian Aherne introducing Rosalind Russell in  My Sister Eileen (1942)

Karl Henning

Quote from: Cato on January 25, 2022, 12:28:43 PM
Excellent news!!!

In a biography of Prokofiev, there is a story about Prokofiev's mother, who was looking for a teacher for the young boy genius, meeting with Nicolai Tcherepnin and asking him how much he composed per day.

"Sometimes only a single bar" was the response, which Prokofiev interpreted as an effort to impress them with his "meticulousness."

I thought the interpretation terribly unfair: all things artistic have their own idiosyncratic period of gestation. If only one satisfactory bar is composed - if only one proper note is decided upon! - then so be it!

On Twitter I follow and kibbitz with a US-born composer who has moved to Ireland. The other day he tweeted: "Today I wrote two bars that I could keep. Yippee"
I replied: "Hey, it's two bars of Victory."
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

vandermolen

"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Karl Henning

Thanks, Jeffrey!

Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on January 25, 2022, 12:09:56 PM
Chipped away some more today. I've reached the 8-minute mark now. I shall see if tomorrow I figure out just where to take it hence. Or, I may work on conceptualizing the end, so I know where I'm going.

Inching along, which I like just fine. Back in October, when I let the score rest on the shelf, I had an idea for m. 165ff. but I could not then discover the execution I wanted (I think my thought was clouded in part by uncertainty that mm. 145-164 were quite what I wanted there. My doubts on that head were (I think now) simply unnecessary. Anyway, today I found just what I wanted for that conceptual passage, and now the piece runs 9 minutes.
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Karl Henning

Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on January 25, 2022, 12:09:56 PM
Thank you all! Chipped away some more today. I've reached the 8-minute mark now. I shall see if tomorrow I figure out just where to take it hence. Or, I may work on conceptualizing the end, so I know where I'm going.

I thought I would write out the very ending, since it was in my ear. A most productive day, really.
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

krummholz

Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on January 26, 2022, 06:11:25 PM
I thought I would write out the very ending, since it was in my ear. A most productive day, really.

Great to hear this! (and even better to hear it, when it's finished  ;))

Karl Henning

Quote from: krummholz on January 27, 2022, 03:34:00 AM
Great to hear this! (and even better to hear it, when it's finished  ;))

Thanks!
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Karl Henning

Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on January 26, 2022, 11:11:33 AM
Thanks, Jeffrey!

Inching along, which I like just fine. Back in October, when I let the score rest on the shelf, I had an idea for m. 165ff. but I could not then discover the execution I wanted (I think my thought was clouded in part by uncertainty that mm. 145-164 were quite what I wanted there. My doubts on that head were (I think now) simply unnecessary. Anyway, today I found just what I wanted for that conceptual passage, and now the piece runs 9 minutes.

I think I know where I want to go at this point, I have a little homework to do now.
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

relm1

Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on January 25, 2022, 12:09:56 PM
Thank you all! Chipped away some more today. I've reached the 8-minute mark now. I shall see if tomorrow I figure out just where to take it hence. Or, I may work on conceptualizing the end, so I know where I'm going.

Keep going, brother. 

Karl Henning

Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Pohjolas Daughter

Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on January 27, 2022, 03:17:47 PM
I think I know where I want to go at this point, I have a little homework to do now.
So, Karl and other composers here (perhaps I should start a new thread?  Or there might be an old one on it?  I've seen some comments around but I'm not certain where.) I'm wondering how you go about composing?  Some possibilities that occurred to me:

1)  A certain theme comes up to you...maybe when awake or when asleep?
2)  Something inspires you:  A work of art?  A person?  An event?  A place?????  Mother Nature/animals/space??  Something that you hear?  A book?  Or?

Someone commissions you to write a specific kind of work...and what do you do?

Also, how disciplined are you in terms of working say "X number of hours a day on it"?  Or "X number of days a week"?

Just curious!

PD
Pohjolas Daughter

Karl Henning

Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on January 28, 2022, 10:01:42 AM
So, Karl and other composers here (perhaps I should start a new thread?  Or there might be an old one on it?  I've seen some comments around but I'm not certain where.) I'm wondering how you go about composing?  Some possibilities that occurred to me:

1)  A certain theme comes up to you...maybe when awake or when asleep?
2)  Something inspires you:  A work of art?  A person?  An event?  A place? ??? ?  Mother Nature/animals/space??  Something that you hear?  A book?  Or?

Someone commissions you to write a specific kind of work...and what do you do?

Also, how disciplined are you in terms of working say "X number of hours a day on it"?  Or "X number of days a week"?

Just curious!

PD


First, my post-PT nap. Will answer later :)
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Karl Henning

Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on January 28, 2022, 10:01:42 AM
So, Karl and other composers here (perhaps I should start a new thread?  Or there might be an old one on it?  I've seen some comments around but I'm not certain where.) I'm wondering how you go about composing?  Some possibilities that occurred to me:

1)  A certain theme comes up to you...maybe when awake or when asleep?
2)  Something inspires you:  A work of art?  A person?  An event?  A place? ??? ?  Mother Nature/animals/space??  Something that you hear?  A book?  Or?

Someone commissions you to write a specific kind of work...and what do you do?

Also, how disciplined are you in terms of working say "X number of hours a day on it"?  Or "X number of days a week"?

Just curious!

PD


I rarely dream musical ideas, and it is rarer still when an idea that came to me in a dream (which felt great, in the dream) actually sounds decent when waking.

Inspiration really comes from everywhere. My mom-in-law once said, "you can get inspiration from a magazine ad for a toilet." Sometimes I am inspired by a piece I'm listening to, that I don't think much of ... I start thinking, are there elements in this tripe which I could turn to artistic account?

I have not been commissioned for many works, the Kerouac piece being the latest. I find a way to discover the music.

As to work habits ... well I essentially was not a composer from early October, but if we stipulate that what was once habitual can be habitual again, I find it pretty easy to fall into a habit of doing some work each day. And once my concept of the piece has well formed, the work comes pretty easy.

To explain the "homework" I mentioned: Some years ago, the cellist wife of a friend invited me to write pieces for four cellos. I sent her three pieces: one was an adaptation of a very old piano toccata of mine called Lutosławski's Lullaby, and I wrote two new companion pieces, a one-pager (that is, the four players would not have individual printed parts, but would all read from score ... called Marginalia, and a concluding piece I called Après-Lullaby. The three pieces together I denominated my Opus 96, collectively called It's all in your head (not that that's a bad place for everything to be.)

However (and, as often happens) the piece was never played. Not even when I later adapted it for a standard string quartet.

So, now I'm writing a piece for string orchestra ... at one point, I decided to incorporate the Marginalia from my Op. 96. I thought then, too, that I would bring the piece to a point where I might incorporate the Après-Lullaby. The thought naturally crossed my mind, "What about Lutosławski's Lullaby?"At the time, I dismissed that thought, but now I have decided to go ahead and allow the string symphony completely to cannabalize the Op. 96. I'll let Op. 96 stand, too (you never know, someone may see light and perform it) and there is ample new material unique to the Symphony, that it is "more than the sum of its parts." So my homework is, that I want to make an entirely fresh rhythmic adaptation of Lutosławski's Lullaby, so I'm going back to the source and making a harmonic reduction of it to work from. It just takes a little juggling, which I may do this afternoon.
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Karl Henning

Just had a nice chat with Peter H Bloom ... Soon Ensemble Aubade will begin working on Swiss Skis and Feel the Burn.
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Pohjolas Daughter

Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on January 30, 2022, 10:58:31 AM
I rarely dream musical ideas, and it is rarer still when an idea that came to me in a dream (which felt great, in the dream) actually sounds decent when waking.

Inspiration really comes from everywhere. My mom-in-law once said, "you can get inspiration from a magazine ad for a toilet." Sometimes I am inspired by a piece I'm listening to, that I don't think much of ... I start thinking, are there elements in this tripe which I could turn to artistic account?

I have not been commissioned for many works, the Kerouac piece being the latest. I find a way to discover the music.

As to work habits ... well I essentially was not a composer from early October, but if we stipulate that what was once habitual can be habitual again, I find it pretty easy to fall into a habit of doing some work each day. And once my concept of the piece has well formed, the work comes pretty easy.

To explain the "homework" I mentioned: Some years ago, the cellist wife of a friend invited me to write pieces for four cellos. I sent her three pieces: one was an adaptation of a very old piano toccata of mine called Lutosławski's Lullaby, and I wrote two new companion pieces, a one-pager (that is, the four players would not have individual printed parts, but would all read from score ... called Marginalia, and a concluding piece I called Après-Lullaby. The three pieces together I denominated my Opus 96, collectively called It's all in your head (not that that's a bad place for everything to be.)

However (and, as often happens) the piece was never played. Not even when I later adapted it for a standard string quartet.

So, now I'm writing a piece for string orchestra ... at one point, I decided to incorporate the Marginalia from my Op. 96. I thought then, too, that I would bring the piece to a point where I might incorporate the Après-Lullaby. The thought naturally crossed my mind, "What about Lutosławski's Lullaby?"At the time, I dismissed that thought, but now I have decided to go ahead and allow the string symphony completely to cannabalize the Op. 96. I'll let Op. 96 stand, too (you never know, someone may see light and perform it) and there is ample new material unique to the Symphony, that it is "more than the sum of its parts." So my homework is, that I want to make an entirely fresh rhythmic adaptation of Lutosławski's Lullaby, so I'm going back to the source and making a harmonic reduction of it to work from. It just takes a little juggling, which I may do this afternoon.
Thank you for sharing how your thought processes have been like--particularly as of late.

Good luck with that Karl!  I'm sure that you're creating some true gems!

PD
Pohjolas Daughter

Karl Henning

Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Karl Henning

Good Triad rehearsal tonight, prep for which rather kept me from composing. A full day, and I am beat!
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

vandermolen

Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on January 31, 2022, 06:42:47 PM
Good Triad rehearsal tonight, prep for which rather kept me from composing. A full day, and I am beat!
Glad that it went well.  :)
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).