This composer seems to lack his own thread, and a couple of recent events piqued my interest in him. So here goes.
I heard a string quartet play 3 rags he had adapted for that medium (apparently there are a lot more where they came from). Then I picked up a Nonesuch LP (never re-released) featuring his organ/percussion work Black Host. This is some weird, creepy music. It starts out in slow organ-horror movie mode, then comes a fast section blending some ragtime, manipulated electronic noises (people shouting, etc), and percussive bangs! Wild stuff here.
Other than these interesting examples, I've not heard anything from him. Thoughts?
THE BOLCOM-OVER!!
There's that old Argo disc and the NewWorld disc with the Symphonies that I haven't heard yet.
He's one of those prolific ones that has too much stuff so you don't know where to start (though I'd try those two albums above first). He's into 'rags' a lot; isn't he the one who re-discovered that stuff?
Mr. Americana?
Some Film Music too I believe...
Quote from: snyprrr on September 06, 2013, 07:18:32 AM
He's into 'rags' a lot; isn't he the one who re-discovered that stuff?
Yeah, I think so. I am interested in hearing more of his rags; the first impression was positive. I also have a record of him playing Gershwin on the piano. It's pretty good.
Black Host does sound like a very 60s-ish composition, with its electronics and bows to "let it all hang out" psychedelics.
It would be unfair to say that Bolcom "rediscovered" the rag. He would probably be the first to point you toward his late friend William Albright, who has his share of "revived" rags (and I like his a lot better, honestly). However, I do have a soft spot for Bolcom's Ghost Rags, especially The Poltergeist. Take a listen (and a watch) to this great performance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGov3KG1JCE (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGov3KG1JCE)
Quote from: lescamil on September 06, 2013, 10:03:15 AM
his late friend William Albright, who has his share of "revived" rags
Interesting to know. The flip side of
Black Host is some organ music by Albright. I'd never heard of him before. Will plan to give it a listen soon.
Bolcom is an interesting composer for sure. The eclectic nature nature of his music can be enjoyable but sometimes rather frustrating for me. My favorite works of his come from his serious (but no less eclectic) side: Symphonies 3-5, the VC and the vast Songs of Innocence and Inexperience.
Quote from: kyjo on September 06, 2013, 11:01:22 AM
Bolcom is an interesting composer for sure. The eclectic nature nature of his music can be enjoyable but sometimes rather frustrating for me. My favorite works of his come from his serious (but no less eclectic) side: Symphonies 3-5, the VC and the vast Songs of Innocence and Inexperience.
You have the Argo and NewWorld discs? Aaaand?...
Quote from: snyprrr on September 08, 2013, 12:08:55 PM
You have the Argo and NewWorld discs? Aaaand?...
......they're great discs which I recommend as introductions to Bolcom's sound-world:
[asin]B00000E4W3[/asin] [asin]B0043KFDWS[/asin]
I also recommend:
[asin]B0016CEOAI[/asin] [asin]B000QQR9DE[/asin]
I just discovered this composer - through his extraordinary Piano Concerto coupled with Bernstein's 'Age of Anxiety' on Hyperion. Its a mad hotch-potch of styles, at times showing the influence of Charles Ives, Gershwin, Copland and juxtaposing eloquent and poetic sections (such as the memorable opening) with jazz, dance music, popular American songs etc. Anyway, I really enjoyed it and would like to discover more of this composer:
[asin]B00004WMWR[/asin]
I like this CD very much, not least for the wonderful Edward Hopper painting on the front.
Quote from: vandermolen on May 16, 2018, 02:20:15 PM
I just discovered this composer - through his extraordinary Piano Concerto coupled with Bernstein's 'Age of Anxiety' on Hyperion. Its a mad hotch-potch of styles, at times showing the influence of Charles Ives, Gershwin, Copland and juxtaposing eloquent and poetic sections (such as the memorable opening) with jazz, dance music, popular American songs etc. Anyway, I really enjoyed it and would like to discover more of this composer:
Interesting. They're doing his 4th Symphony and part of the 5th on the same concert at Grant Park this summer. Haven't heard either one - anyone here know 'em?
QuoteI like this CD very much, not least for the wonderful Edward Hopper painting on the front.
Ah yes,
Nighthawks. I have a print of it hanging right here in my home office :)
Quote from: vandermolen on May 16, 2018, 02:20:15 PM
I just discovered this composer - through his extraordinary Piano Concerto coupled with Bernstein's 'Age of Anxiety' on Hyperion. Its a mad hotch-potch of styles, at times showing the influence of Charles Ives, Gershwin, Copland and juxtaposing eloquent and poetic sections (such as the memorable opening) with jazz, dance music, popular American songs etc. Anyway, I really enjoyed it and would like to discover more of this composer:
[asin]B00004WMWR[/asin]
I like this CD very much, not least for the wonderful Edward Hopper painting on the front.
In the good ol' days
William Bolcom was pretty big! He had several works for his wife, an opera singer named
Joan Morris:
https://www.youtube.com/v/kYfU1t5YwoY
Quote from: vandermolen on May 16, 2018, 02:20:15 PM
I just discovered this composer - through his extraordinary Piano Concerto coupled with Bernstein's 'Age of Anxiety' on Hyperion. Its a mad hotch-potch of styles, at times showing the influence of Charles Ives, Gershwin, Copland and juxtaposing eloquent and poetic sections (such as the memorable opening) with jazz, dance music, popular American songs etc. Anyway, I really enjoyed it and would like to discover more of this composer:
[asin]B00004WMWR[/asin]
I like this CD very much, not least for the wonderful Edward Hopper painting on the front.
Sounds quite interesting, Jeffrey! I know Bolcom's Symphony no. 8 for chorus and orchestra, which also contains a "garden variety" of styles. There are some passages which are overly dissonant for my tastes, but overall it's a really enjoyable, exciting, and unique work. It's available on this CD:
(https://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_500/MI0001/193/MI0001193491.jpg?partner=allrovi.com)
Thanks guys for the responses and Leo for the musical extract. I found a second hand copy on the Violin Concerto (which sounded really rather good on You Tube) and Symphony 5 ( seen above in an earlier post by Kyle) remarkably on an inexpensive Argo CD. I agree Kyle that rather forbidding moments are juxtaposed with poetic music and yes I love that 'Nighthawks' painting by Hopper.
Rags? I am thinking more cabaret.
Also, the performance of 'The Age of Anxiety' is very good on the Hyperion CD. The Bolcom Piano Concerto has, however, been a major discovery for me. I love the way that it opens up, after the Bernstein work - as the jazzy/bluesy ostinato insinuates its way into one's consciousness.
Quote from: vandermolen on May 16, 2018, 02:20:15 PM
I just discovered this composer - through his extraordinary Piano Concerto coupled with Bernstein's 'Age of Anxiety' on Hyperion. Its a mad hotch-potch of styles, at times showing the influence of Charles Ives, Gershwin, Copland and juxtaposing eloquent and poetic sections (such as the memorable opening) with jazz, dance music, popular American songs etc. Anyway, I really enjoyed it and would like to discover more of this composer:
[asin]B00004WMWR[/asin]
I like this CD very much, not least for the wonderful Edward Hopper painting on the front.
Behold the glory of Classical Music: American composers, a pianist from Quebec, an Irish orchestra, and a conductor from Azerbaijan! 8) How cool is that?! 8)
Quote from: Cato on May 17, 2018, 02:19:03 PM
Behold the glory of Classical Music: American composers, a pianist from Quebec, an Irish orchestra, and a conductor from Azerbaijan! 8) How cool is that?! 8)
Very cool indeed Leo! Thanks for pointing that out.
:)
Quote from: Cato on May 17, 2018, 02:19:03 PM
Behold the glory of Classical Music: American composers, a pianist from Quebec, an Irish orchestra, and a conductor from Azerbaijan! 8) How cool is that?! 8)
Also a British CD label., 8)
Quote from: vandermolen on May 17, 2018, 09:18:52 PM
Also a British CD label., 8)
Just part of the special relationship! 8)
And thanks to YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/v/dZxoAIlXiq0
I have seen this name floating around and I have wondered a bit about this composer. It seems quite well and good for the fans to discuss recordings, but I would be interested to know what the fans can tell us (the unenlightened 8) ) about Bolcom.
Quote from: jessop on May 19, 2018, 04:20:05 AM
I have seen this name floating around and I have wondered a bit about this composer. It seems quite well and good for the fans to discuss recordings, but I would be interested to know what the fans can tell us (the unenlightened 8) ) about Bolcom.
If you have some time, check this out: the player for the c. one-hour program is under the picture.
https://www.classicalmpr.org/story/2018/05/18/composer-william-bolcom-at-80-a-celebration (https://www.classicalmpr.org/story/2018/05/18/composer-william-bolcom-at-80-a-celebration)
I really like the Violin Concerto. Bartok, Walton and Shostakovich came to mind although he is his own person.
Quote from: vandermolen on May 19, 2018, 02:40:07 PM
I really like the Violin Concerto. Bartok, Walton and Shostakovich came to mind although he is his own person.
Such is
Bolcom's eclectic style!
Quote from: vandermolen on May 19, 2018, 02:40:07 PM
I really like the Violin Concerto. Bartok, Walton and Shostakovich came to mind although he is his own person.
Good to know, Jeffrey. I recently listened to the Fifth Symphony from the same album and found it rather tough going for the most part, though I enjoyed the rhythmically charged energy of the last movement (
Machine).
Quote from: kyjo on May 20, 2018, 06:56:22 AM
Good to know, Jeffrey. I recently listened to the Fifth Symphony from the same album and found it rather tough going for the most part, though I enjoyed the rhythmically charged energy of the last movement (Machine).
Yes Kyle, on first hearing I thought that the Fifth Symphony was a bit too crash, bang, wallop for my taste but I really like the often lyrical Violin Concerto. This and the Piano Concerto have been great discoveries for me.
I'd like to resurrect this thread by echoing Vandermolen's admiration for this excellent disc:
Quote from: vandermolen on May 16, 2018, 02:20:15 PM
I just discovered this composer - through his extraordinary Piano Concerto coupled with Bernstein's 'Age of Anxiety' on Hyperion. Its a mad hotch-potch of styles, at times showing the influence of Charles Ives, Gershwin, Copland and juxtaposing eloquent and poetic sections (such as the memorable opening) with jazz, dance music, popular American songs etc. Anyway, I really enjoyed it and would like to discover more of this composer:
[asin]B00004WMWR[/asin]
I like this CD very much, not least for the wonderful Edward Hopper painting on the front.
Well said.
Where to from here, with Bolcom? I know nothing about this composer. Seems like he was somewhat of an eclectic... like an American Alfred Schnittke? Or am I way off...?
Edit: Thoughts on his Blake settings? This is a very extensive work at over three hours:
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71FnWs1TzRL._SL500_.jpg)
Quote from: vers la flamme on July 04, 2021, 05:19:30 AM
I'd like to resurrect this thread by echoing Vandermolen's admiration for this excellent disc:
Well said.
Where to from here, with Bolcom? I know nothing about this composer. Seems like he was somewhat of an eclectic... like an American Alfred Schnittke? Or am I way off...?
Edit: Thoughts on his Blake settings? This is a very extensive work at over three hours:
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71FnWs1TzRL._SL500_.jpg)
I wouldn't compare him to Schnittke who is more of a collage technique. He's definitely eclectic but more like in a Leonard Bernstein way. There are clearly musical theater allusions, quite traditional (tonal), jazzy, art song. His Symphony No. 9 is taught, around 20 minutes, dramatic but not excessive. I don't think Songs of Innocence and of Experience is the best place to start because it's 3 hour scale is so massive, but it is a very fine work. Sort of like Bernstein's Mass as a hybrid between oratorio and musical theater. The symphonies and concertos are more traditional and economical in scale.
Quote from: relm1 on July 04, 2021, 05:58:34 AM
I wouldn't compare him to Schnittke who is more of a collage technique. He's definitely eclectic but more like in a Leonard Bernstein way. There are clearly musical theater allusions, quite traditional (tonal), jazzy, art song. His Symphony No. 9 is taught, around 20 minutes, dramatic but not excessive. I don't think Songs of Innocence and of Experience is the best place to start because it's 3 hour scale is so massive, but it is a very fine work. Sort of like Bernstein's Mass as a hybrid between oratorio and musical theater. The symphonies and concertos are more traditional and economical in scale.
Thanks for your perspective. I love Bernstein's Mass, so you've only piqued my interest further about the Songs of Innocence & Experience, but I would be willing to try on some of the symphonies first. Is the 9th available on CD anywhere?
I haven't listened to Songs of Innocence & Experience for years, but it was the first work I ever came across that incorporated all these different styles in one piece. Rock band, madrigal group and so on.
Surprised and a bit tickled to see my old composition teacher from Michigan getting a thread of his own! That was back in the '70s, when there were very few recordings of his music, and he was of course still rather young. So regretfully, I have never heard any of his works in performance... now, some 45 years later, I see the situation has changed and I must start to explore his work!
I will say that Mr. Bolcom was the most open-minded of all the teachers I had back at Michigan, in that he never dissuaded me from writing in a tonal idiom. Again, this was back in the '70s, when if you didn't follow the trends of the avant-garde you would be told "this sort of thing doesn't belong in a contemporary composition class". Bolcom was very different, and I have to say that he was one of only two composition teachers I had (the other was Albright) who didn't try to steer me toward what was considered acceptable for a contemporary composer in those days.
Quote from: krummholz on July 04, 2021, 09:00:02 AM
Surprised and a bit tickled to see my old composition teacher from Michigan getting a thread of his own! That was back in the '70s, when there were very few recordings of his music, and he was of course still rather young. So regretfully, I have never heard any of his works in performance... now, some 45 years later, I see the situation has changed and I must start to explore his work!
I will say that Mr. Bolcom was the most open-minded of all the teachers I had back at Michigan, in that he never dissuaded me from writing in a tonal idiom. Again, this was back in the '70s, when if you didn't follow the trends of the avant-garde you would be told "this sort of thing doesn't belong in a contemporary composition class". Bolcom was very different, and I have to say that he was one of only two composition teachers I had (the other was Albright) who didn't try to steer me toward what was considered acceptable for a contemporary composer in those days.
That's very nice to hear. He sounds like the best kind of teacher.
Quote from: vers la flamme on July 04, 2021, 06:03:01 AM
Thanks for your perspective. I love Bernstein's Mass, so you've only piqued my interest further about the Songs of Innocence & Experience, but I would be willing to try on some of the symphonies first. Is the 9th available on CD anywhere?
Not yet. It was available only as part of a masterclass with the composer as it's a very new work.
I've enjoyed listening to his Piano Concerto today (Hyperion CD).