Music of the Days: 1/21/12 - 1/22/12

George Crumb (b. 1929)

• Mundus Canis, "A Dog's World" (1998, gtr. and perc.)
• Quest*** (1994, gtr., soprano sax., harp, double bass, and perc. [2 players])
• Federico's Little Songs for Children (1986, fl./picc./alto fl./bass fl., harp)
• Night Music I  (1963, rev. 1976; soprano, piano/celeste, and 2 perc.)

The original performance of Mundus Canis was by guitarist David Starobin with George Crumb himself playing percussion.  Each "humoresque" is named after one of the Crumb family dogs.  My favorite movement is probably the last, Yoda, in which Crumb called out "Yoda" throughout the piece.  It ended with the scolding, "Bad dog!"


David Liptak (b. 1949)

• Forlane (1998, gtr.)

Melinda Wagner (b. 1957)

• Arabesque (1998, gtr.)

Richard Wernick (b. 1934)

• Trochaic Trot (2000, gtr.)

Paul Lansky (b. 1944)

• Shameless Sarabande (1997, gtr.)

 
Elliot Carter (b. 1908)

• Luimen (1997)

Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976)

• Nocturnal, Op. 70*** (1963, gtr.)

Gyorgy Ligeti (1923 - 2006)

• San Francisco Polyphony

Frederic Rzewski (b. 1938)

• Les Moutons de Panurge (1972, open instrumentation)

Giacinto Scelsi (1905 - 1988)

• Kho Lo (fl. and cl.)    

Frank Ticheli (b. 1958)

• Radiant Voices (orch.)
• Angels in the Architecture (wind ens.)
• Nitro (wind ens.)

 
Arvo Part (b. 1935)

• Magnificat (1989, chorus) 

Music of the Day: 1/18/12

Soon I'll be beginning to work on a chamber opera for three vocalists, alto flute, bass clarinet, viola, cello, guitar, harp, and piano.  I haven't written anything for guitar before, so to begin my studies I've been multi-tasking - listening up on some guitar works while handwriting a horn part for a graduate assistantship application.  The pieces I've starred are ones I hope to study closer in the near future, if I can get my hands on some scores!

Leo Brouwer (b. 1939)
Some solo guitar works:

• El Decameron negro
• Preludios Epigramaticos
• Canticum
• La Espiral eterna
• Parabola
• Tarantos
• Paisaje cubano con tristeza ** 

Joan Tower (b. 1938)

• Snow Dreams (1983, fl. and gtr.)

 Toru Takemitsu (1930 - 1996)

•  Umi e (Toward the Sea) (1981, fl. and gtr.) ** [has some interesting flute extended techniques]
• Hiroshima to iu na no shonen (A Boy named Hiroshima), from the movie Himiko (1987, gtr. duo)
• Folios (1974, gtr.)
• Yume no heri e (To the Edge of Dream) (1983, gtr. and orchestra)

Kohachiro Miyata

• Kusabue no Koro (Time of the Grass Flute) (fl. and gtr.)

Malcolm Arnold (1921 - 2006)

• Guitar Concerto, Op. 67 (1959, gtr. and orchestra)