well, IMO there are grounds for cautious optimism in regard to new lute
music:
first - quite a number of people have composed for lute intermittently,
and some are composing actively.
second - new lute music does get played, and even better: recorded.
third: Yours truly has two CD's on Amazon (and a lot of digital
outlets), recorded by Chris Wilke, and Massimo Marchese,
both are world-class players:
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=%22roman+turovsky%22&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3A%22roman+turovsky%22
RT
On 12/21/2017 5:12 PM, Christopher Stetson wrote:
Hello all.
An interesting question, Peter, thanks for bringing it up. To answer
honestly and personally, I'm not especially interested in new music,
per se, for any of the instruments I play (mainly lute, guitar,
mandolin, but some others too). I couldn't really say why, except
that the music I've looked at from the last 30 years tends, and I mean
tends, to be difficult and not especially tuneful to my ear. There
are exceptions, of course, and I play some of those, though mostly on
guitar. I'm not a professional, so I tend to be fairly conservstive
in the music I choose to spend time seeking out and playing. I also
don't play many of the old compositions that fit the above criteria.
I fully realize. however, that one person's difficult is another
person's interesting, and I'm really glad that people are writing new
music for lute.
Best to all, and keep playing,
Chris.
On Thu, Dec 21, 2017 at 2:34 PM, Peter Martin <[1][email protected]>
wrote:
Hello all,
I recently bought a Wigmore Hall Live CD of a 2013 concert by
countertenor Iestyn Davies and lutenist Thomas Dunford. It
included
the world premiere performance of a substantial piece by Nico
Muhly
called Old Bones. Up to now, I'd never heard of it, which
surprised
me because Muhly is a very successful young American composer.
His
new opera Marnie has just premiered at English National Opera,
and his
previous opera Two Boys was given at ENO and at the Met in New
York.
The score of Old Bones is available from Music Sales. Yet I
can't see
that the lute world has paid the slightest attention to it.
Which sets me wondering, not about Muhly as such, but about new
music
generally. With the honourable exception of Jacob Heringman,
scarcely
anyone plays it. Any thoughts on why this is? Are we simply
not
interested in new music?
Peter
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