Quick update
I’m on the road this summer, but have a pretty big composition to-do list: a few commissions (looking at setting some W. H. Auden texts for John Warren), then recital things, starting with the string quartet. I need to give it its own distinct sound; in the recital it will follow directly after the double bass sonata, which is lyrical and dramatic but still a bit thorny. I’m listening to lots of pieces in the genre, including works by such diverse composers as Beethoven, Glass, Tan Dun, Aaron Jay Kernis, Jonathan Harvey, Ives, Marc Mellits, and Ravel. In other words, there’s no telling how the piece will end up sounding! I’ve got a few ideas rolling around in my head, so we’ll see which ones eventually make it onto paper.
I’ll be posting my recent (live) recording of ‘nuit d’Etoiles’ to instantencore.com soon; check it out. Also, I may post a Garritan synth version (not too bad, actually; if Adams posted MIDI bits of Doctor Atomic before the premiere, I shouldn’t feel too badly about posting a Garritan version!) of the 5-song cycle Iris, on texts by Rukeyser. Unfortunately, because of copyright issues, I won’t be able to post any version with words. Oh well…
More on the cycle later. In the meantime, the work continues!