Music history is replete with stories of artists meeting an early demise: Chopin, Django, Dinu Lipatti, William Kapell, and even Scriabin all passed on young. Perhaps Lipatti and Kapell are less well known, but they are very important musicians in my estimation. Lipatti (1917-1950) was a fantastic composer and pianist who thankfully left us some recordings, though precious few, and […]
Conditions of the Tournament Read More »
I will soon record a piece I worked on during my two month stay in Naples. It is called Persnickety. I proceeded from the title which means: “Placing emphasis on minor details, fussy. Requiring a particularly precise or careful approach.” This meant writing somewhat detailed music that also makes a lot of use of space as well as intricate patterns.
Sidney Joseph Perelman is and likely will remain my favorite writer. Aside from the fact that he makes me laugh out loud his economy impresses me. I have a sort of mania about elegance, concision and brevity. Perelman was a brilliant miniaturist. I don’t judge art by quantity but by quality which is why some of the more long-winded Teutonic
S.J. Perelman (1904-1979) Read More »
I am a fan of two late Southern writers who, as it turns out, were lifelong friends: Shelby Foote and Walker Percy. Actually, I had a correspondence with Shelby Foote about 30 years ago when I was young and seeking a mentor. We exchanged letters and spoke on the phone mostly about his writing and my music. We never met
Shelby Foote and Walker Percy Read More »
I have been thinking a lot lately about why some music attracts my interest and other music does not. Then I thought about the music of two of my contemporaries who for reasons that will soon become obvious will remain nameless. Both of these contemporaries are solid technical musicians and prolific composers. They are also both very well known. Musician
On the Attraction of Music Read More »
Django By reynold d. philipsek I was busy whispering a detailed explanation of Schopenhauer’s Philosophy of the “Will” into the eager ear of a young lady in the backseat of my 56′ Ford when it happened. Believe me, it took quite a jolt to disengage my attention at that exact moment. After all, I was only 18 years old and