“We have so few great public spaces in our sprawling metropolis. And Ken Brecher has, in one quick stroke, changed the library from a sacred site of learning to a battleground, threatening its support from the literary, intellectual and civic-minded community here in Los Angeles.”
Tag: 10.25.18
Unsold on ‘The Price of Everything’: HBO’s Art-Market Epic
I recently sat disconsolately through a screener of director Nathaniel Kahn’s new artworld documentary, The Price of Everything. Its dyspeptic take on the art world turned my stomach
Rachael Worby and MUSE/IQUE
Over the years I’ve attended several musical events put on by Rachael Worby, a human dynamo who has operated several series in and around Pasadena. Worby — who was once, I think, the First Lady of West Virginia — seems interested in something both populist and unorthodox.
Recent Listening In Brief: Annie Chen, Woody Shaw And Dexter Gordon
Annie Chen Octet, Secret Treetop (Shanghai Audio&Video Ltd)
Woody Shaw, Tokyo 1981 (Elemental Music)
Dexter Gordon Quartet, Tokyo 1975 (Elemental Music)
What’s Killing Classical Music? Music-As-Church
“As a person whose primary beat is writing about religion, I can’t help but notice the parallels between classical music and religion in America today. As an aging Christian population watches its congregations shrink, younger seekers who don’t feel welcomed give up on church. Americans still discover classical music in their youth, but even those who play enthusiastically in school often can’t afford to go to the symphony, or if they do, they’re asked to treat it like a religious space, which it isn’t. Classical music isn’t dying, but our ways of experiencing it are becoming ossified.”
Nico Muhly Explains How He Goes About Composing A Piece Of Music
“For me, every project has three clearly defined phases: the scheming and planning; the writing of actual notes; the editing. The planning process almost entirely excludes, by design, notes and rhythms. … I don’t want to play [the audience] a movie with a clear exposition, obvious climax and poignant conclusion, nor do I want to drop them blind into a bat cave of aggressively perplexing musical jabs … [and] mapping the piece’s route helps me avoid the temptation of the romantic journey or the provocateur’s dungeon.”