Volume 24 Issue 4 - December 2018 / January 2019
When is a trumpet like a motorcycle in a dressage event? How many Brunhilde's does it take to change an Elektra? Just two of the many questions you've been dying to ask, to which you will find answers in a 24th annual combined December/January issue – in which our 11 beat columnists sift through what's on offer in the upcoming holiday month, and what they're already circling in their calendars for 2019. Oh, and features too: a klezmer violinist breathing new life into a very old film; two New Music festivals in January, 200 metres apart; a Music & Health story on the restorative powers of a grassroots exercise in collective music-making; even a good reason to go to Winnipeg in the dead of winter. All this and more in Vol 24 No 4, now available in flipthrough format here.
When is a trumpet like a motorcycle in a dressage event? How many Brunhilde's does it take to change an Elektra? Just two of the many questions you've been dying to ask, to which you will find answers in a 24th annual combined December/January issue – in which our 11 beat columnists sift through what's on offer in the upcoming holiday month, and what they're already circling in their calendars for 2019. Oh, and features too: a klezmer violinist breathing new life into a very old film; two New Music festivals in January, 200 metres apart; a Music & Health story on the restorative powers of a grassroots exercise in collective music-making; even a good reason to go to Winnipeg in the dead of winter. All this and more in Vol 24 No 4, now available in flipthrough format here.
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IN WITH THE NEW<br />
Gyan and Terry Riley<br />
SCOTT CROWLEY<br />
Timeless<br />
TERRY<br />
RILEY<br />
Sea Change<br />
at 21C<br />
WENDALYN BARTLEY<br />
Change is not the only measure of a new music<br />
festival’s success, as witnessed by the eagerly<br />
anticipated visit to this year’s 21C of Terry Riley<br />
(now 85 years of age), an individual who for more than<br />
60 years has helped define the course of new music.<br />
The 21C Festival, produced by the Royal Conservatory of Music, is<br />
now in its sixth year and is, by definition, committed to presenting<br />
new sounds and ideas. That being said, opening up the flyer for this<br />
year’s 21C Music Festival was like a breath of fresh air. I couldn’t help<br />
but compare it to last year’s experience – a gasp of disbelief, even<br />
despair, when I realized that there was barely a female face to be<br />
seen or name to be read. Not so this year. The gasp this time round<br />
was more of delight, surprise and yes, relief. Finally! There is definitely<br />
a huge sea change occurring this year and for that reason alone,<br />
all the more incentive to attend and listen to what is percolating with<br />
creative innovators in music. Not only are there a significant number<br />
of works and premieres by women, but also by culturally diverse<br />
composers as well.<br />
Another key change is the move to a <strong>January</strong> timeslot from the<br />
previous one in May, with this year’s festival happening <strong>January</strong> 16 to<br />
20, dovetailing with the U of T New Music Festival, a short stroll away,<br />
which runs from <strong>January</strong> 16 to 27.<br />
Change is, however, not the only measure of a new music festival’s<br />
success, as witnessed by the eagerly anticipated visit to this year’s<br />
festival of Terry Riley (now 85 years of age), an individual who for<br />
more than 60 years has helped define the course of new music.<br />
Riley’s music has had a significant influence not only on contemporary<br />
classical composers but also on rock composers such as Lou<br />
Reed and Peter Townsend. His attitudes and approaches to music<br />
making have contributed to the radical sea change in compositional<br />
ideas and practices that began in the 1960s. He was a key player in<br />
18 | <strong>December</strong> <strong>2018</strong> - <strong>January</strong> <strong>2019</strong> thewholenote.com
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