Steven Rosenhaus, Composer, etc.
[Recent Entries][Archive][Friends][User Info]
[Rosenhaus' Web Page]
Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in the "Steven Rosenhaus" journal:[<< Previous 20 entries]
|
11:45 pm
[Link] |
Updatelet
Sometimes the good news really is no news. That's the story (or lack thereof) today.
As a result I got a good chunk of rewriting done on The Etude Project. More to go on it, but still, today was productive.
I made some headway on another project today as well, which included sitting at the piano for almost two hours reading through things. Then I also did some more work an ongoing research project for a music publisher.
Through all of this I've begun thinking about writing something new, without it being tied to a commission. I've got a couple of concepts in mind, but I'm not ready yet to deal with them. I'll be less cryptic when I've figured things out more clearly.
Current Mood:  calm
|
|
10:33 pm
[Link] |
Birkat haChamah Online (Sort of)
If you go to my homepage, http://homepages.nyu.edu/~slr3, you see a new link just below the "This Just In" streamer and above the two photos. This takes to a video of the April performance by the Carson City Symphony. The second half of the concert includes the premiere of Birkat haChamah ("Blessing on the Sun"), which I was commissioned to write for the orchestra's 25th anniversary. I'm conducting my music; everything else is conducted by the orchestra's regular leader, David Bugli. (David is the conductor wearing tails; I'm wearing a regular tuxedo. I say this because depending on the lighting we have been mistaken for one another, which is weird because he's taller.)
Current Mood: good
|
|
11:21 pm
[Link] |
Doing My Civic Duty
Even if it was for only one day, I answered a summons for jury duty today. (I was on telephone standby since last Friday.) I was interviewed for one case--the last in my group in fact--and was rejected. Looks like I won't be called, at least by the Civil Court, for another 5 or 6 years.
In Queens the jury waiting areas provide wi-fi and the chairs are fairly comfortable (about the same as chairs in nice airports). And if nothing else, the guard/court cop/??? in charge of the room has honed his standup routine to a fine edge.
Current Mood: Done
|
|
05:07 pm
[Link] |
Father's Day and Danny Kaye
Got back a little while ago from visiting my father's grave. Dad died in 1980. As is the custom I said some prayers and left a small stone on the tombstone.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Reading other folks' LiveJournal entries I was reminded (thanks, Ellen!) how much I have always enjoyed the performer Danny Kaye. Sure, he was a red-head (so was I once) and from Brooklyn (I'll always be from Brooklyn), but he was a consummate entertainer. It got me thinking about "Tchaikowsky," the song from Lady in the Dark by Kurt Weill (and Oscar Hammerstein II, as I recall). The lyrics consist of almost nothing but the names of Russian composers, rattled off in about a minute.
( Here are the names, but I not sure if they are in song order: )
Now some of the names in there are well-known, others less so, and still others are head-scratchers to the average American. But "Dukelsky" caught my eye. If I'm right, that would be Vladimir Dukelsky, otherwise known as Vernon Duke, the composer of such songs as I Can't Get Started and April in Paris. I'm pretty sure it's in there with a wink and a nod.
Current Mood:  Just thinking
|
04:57 pm
[Link] |
Reminder: No Performance Today
Just in case you hadn't heard, I cancelled my performance at Castle Clinton that was supposed to take place this evening. There will be other performers there though, so at least you won't be bereft of music.
|
|
01:06 am
[Link] |
So, is anybody out there?
Just wondering: Does anybody actually, ya know, read this journal?
If you do, let me know.
Thanks.
Edited on Saturday evening to add:
Wow. Thanks, everyone. I will continue to post, publicly for music-related items, and privately for, well, the likes of you. (Big Grin)
And by the way: Cookies? You want cookies too?
Current Mood:  curious
|
|
07:43 am
[Link] |
League of Composers/ISCM concert last night
I've been on the Board of Directors of the League of Composers/ISCM for some years now. It's a quirky organization at times; there are no members to speak of, just Board members for example. It's also probably the only composer organization that (usually) does not program works by its own members. So why do we get involved with this group you may well ask?( Read the whole thing here. Warning: It's long. )
Current Mood: satisfied
|
|
11:45 pm
[Link] |
Updates
These are not personal updates (those are locked and "for friends only"). This, being a note of what I'm doing and what metaphorical irons are in what equally metaphorical fires, is far better.
Composing and Associated Activities:
1. Still working on Volume 1 of The Etude Project for the Navy School of Music, although at this point it's equal parts composing and editing. If I can get a real momentum going I will finish it before I go down to Florida next to visit family and music publisher.
2. I have a violinist who is willing to stick his neck out, not to mention the rest of his violin, and perform my Violin Concerto here in the U.S. (and, possibly, Sweden, from whence he originally hails). Gregory Maytan is a fabulous performer who is gaining fans and a good reputation. We are working together to entice conductors around the country to program the work for the 2010-2011 season.
3. Just got word that the video and audio recordings of the Birkat haChamah ("Blessing on the Sun") premiere with the Carson City Symphony are finally ready and are being sent to me as I write this (or at least they'll be put into the mail tomorrow morning).
4. A solo performer I have had the pleasure of working with on several occasions wants to have me write something new. We will be talking. More details if/when things get finalized.
5. I've been thinking about another project entirely, taking me back to the stage. Whether it turns out to be an opera (my first in that case) or musical theater will depend on the subject matter I decide on. Right now I'm leaning in a "historical opera" direction, but I'm still searching for just the right combination of characters, story, setting, and inherent musicality. This will be a long-term project in any case, as I would like to do it all this time, music and lyrics (of course) and libretto.
Conducting: Nothing coming up at this time.
Performing: I am scheduled to perform at Castle Clinton on June 21st, but with the way things have been going personally of late I am seriously considering canceling. Maybe I will do something later in the year, but for now I don't have the energy to do it properly.
Teaching: It's rare enough to get a couple of composition students after the regular spring semester is over, but to get three asking specifically to study with me even more so. That they're all very good composers to begin with is icing on the cake.
Writing (on Musical Subjects): I have an iron in the fire with a magazine which featured me and my music a couple of years ago, but I'm not sure what form the results will take. I'll keep this cryptic until I know more.
Other stuff:
I was being considered to do the orchestrations for a symphonic orchestra backed puppet show (by no means like Avenue Q), but that has evolved. As of now I am to be brought in later in my "show doctor" (dramaturge for musicals) capacity. I'm a darn good orchestrator, but I think this will be a better use of the producers' money.
|
|
02:07 pm
[Link] |
DQYDJP 1999
A decade can seem so long ago and just yesterday simultaneously, and something you remember through both 20/20 hindsight and the fog of memory (which can filter out anything negative about an experience). That said, ten years ago this week I went with (the late) David Honigsberg (vocals, guitars, rabbi), Alexandra Honigsberg (vocals, violin, viola, priest) , Rik Cleary (bass), Keith DeCandido (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) kradical, and percussionist), and Tom Laubenthal (drums)--collectively known then as The Don't Quit Your Day Job Players--up to Connecticut to record what became the CD Blues Spoken Here. The CD, all done with none of the digital tricks that make something sound "perfect" (read: sterile), still holds up pretty well, IMHO. (Check it out for yourself if you don't already own it. You can still order it through CDBaby.Com.)
I miss David, and while I still make all sorts of music, I miss making that music with my friends.
Current Mood: contemplative
Current Music: "Blues Spoken Here" (CD)
|
|
07:20 pm
[Link] |
Sometimes the good stuff happens real fast
Like the subject head reads, sometimes the good stuff happens real fast. So fast that I forget to post it here. With further ado then:
1. Yesterday (Sunday), pianist Laura Leon performed the solo piano work Matilda Variations as part of her concert with flutists Amy Ziegelbaum and Lauren Ausubel, at Christ and St. Stephen's Church in Manhattan. Laura gave a reading that was full of energy and fun, which is just how I meant it. (For the uninitiated: The work is a set of variations on the unofficial Australian national anthem, Waltzing Matilda. Laura Commissioned Matilda for a 2002 concert at the Australian Consulate; she has since performed it several times and recorded it on the Musical Tapestries label.)
2. Violinist Gregory Maytan, whom I met during my visit with the Carson City Symphony—he was there to perform the Paganini First Violin Concerto—has "signed on" to do my own Violin Concerto, hopefully for a few performances with different orchestras during the 2010-2011 season. We're in touch with some conductors already.
3. I'm back at work on The Etude Project, slogging through getting things "just so." This will be done.
4. Last but not least: June 21st I will pull the guitar out of metaphorical mothballs, warm up my voice, and sashay on down to Castle Clinton in lowest Manhattan. Yep, originals and...interesting cover tunes from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM.
Current Mood: chipper
|
|
11:37 pm
[Link] |
Post-Nevada Debriefing
In a few words, it was all good.
The premiere and second performance of Birkat haChamah went well. The Carson City Symphony, well-prepared by its conductor David Bugli, played its collective heart out on the piece, and the audiences were very receptive. There were the inevitable "hairy" moments of course, like---
--- Finding out at 4:30 AM that my mother had been sent to the hospital because of chest pains. I'm glad there was nothing specific wrong (she was released in a couple of days), but I didn't find that out until after the dress rehearsal. I was quite prepared to have Maestro Bugli conduct while I would get on a plane to Florida, but I'm glad I didn't have to do it.
--- Missing players: Nothing like having a musician (or two, or three) tell you at the dress rehearsal that he or she wouldn't be there for the concert that night (the premiere!) but would be there for the 2nd performance, and that someone else was coming in to play who had never seen the music. I'm all for sightreading skills, but...
--- And other stuff, minor really, that I won't bother mentioning.
The important thing (after the fact that my mother is doing better) is that music was made, heard, and appreciated by most if not all.
Other good stuff:
--- A couple of new "irons" are in the metaphorical fire as a direct result of this. If any or all of them work out, it means I will get to go back to the Reno/Carson City area in the next year or so. More details if/when something comes of this.
--- Now I have every reason (and no excuses) to get back to finishing Volume 1 of The Etude Project for the U.S. Navy School of Music. It's really a matter of tweaking about 75% of what I have, rewriting the other 25%, and adding one or two more things to the mix; then I have to edit it all, properly, for print. I'm looking forward to getting to work.
--- On the educational front, yet another one of my (musical theater) composition students has won the Alan Mencken scholarship at NYU. First, a few years ago, was Joe Iconis, who has since won the Larsen award for musical theater. Next came Dylan Glatthorn, whose musical Republic is thisclose to trod the Broadway boards, in my opinion at least. And now Michael Bennett has won the Mencken as well. I'm proud of all of my students, but I think it's all right for me to, ahem, shep nachas a little.
--- And before I forget, Maestro and Mrs. Bugli were fantastic and gracious hosts (MBW and I stayed with them), and I consider them friends as well as colleagues. Besides, David and I look eerily alike, except he's slightly older, and much taller. Also to remember: I am amazed at the flora and fauna there is to see in the area. To name some: quail, rabbits (both outside the house, just hanging out at various times of day), hawks (black and red), wild horses (no packs, but they were being trained at the State Penn a mile down the road--no kidding); at least 4 different types of sage, real honest-to-goodness tumbleweeds, etc. The weathers were extraordinary too: Weather reports were given in altitudes. During the 7 days I was there we went from 80 degrees for a couple of days to snow and temps in the 30s--and that was just in Carson City, in the valley. The higher up the mountains, the colder/wetter/etc. Fascinating.
Current Mood:  energized
|
|
11:57 pm
[Link] |
More about the Nevada Appeal article
Go to http://www.nevadaappeal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/search?Category=search&SearchCategory=%25 and click on "Sunday, April 19"; then look for the article called "Symphony celebrates 25th season with ‘Blessing on the Sun’" and click on it.
Also: The lecture at the Carson City Library went well this evening. As we drove up to the Library I noticed the electric sign flashing the following:
Carson City Symphony
Presents Composer
Steven Rosenhaus
along with the day and time.
Very cool.
Current Mood: calm
|
02:29 pm
[Link] |
Talking at the Library & Front page news
Tonight I'm to give a talk at the Carson City Library on Birkat haChamah, the piece I've written for the Carson City Symphony. (I'll be conducting the premiere of the work on Saturday evening and a second performance on Sunday). The talk--the Library is calling it a lecture, but that sounds too formal for me--is free and open to the public. It starts at 6:00 PM.
I say this in case you, or someone you know, will be in the northeastern part of Nevada this week.
And the front page news?
Me.
No, really.
In Sunday's issue of the Carson City newspaper, Nevada Appeal, there is a most-of-the-page spread on the Saturday concert, my talk at the Library, and the Carson City Symphony in general. (The article spills over to another page inside.) No picture of me, but the photo on page 1 of the orchestra's conductor/music director David Bugli will make you do a double-take. Lots of quotes from me though, most of them entirely accurately recorded (and the rest harmless).
This is the first time I have been on the front page of any newspaper, and I didn't even have to do the "perp walk."
Now all I have to do is rehearse with the orchestra and do the concerts....
Current Location: Carson City, NV
Current Mood: pleased
|
|
11:13 pm
[Link] |
Here's a surprise...
It seems there is a Wikipedia entry for me, and a rather detailed one at that. That's a surprise enough, but the page happens to be on the Netherlands Wikipedia.
Click here to see it.
Life is wonderfully strange sometimes. I love it.
Many thanks to the person(s) who put the page up.
Current Mood: pleased
|
|
05:09 pm
[Link] |
Conducting/Woodshedding
Composing and conducting use different skills, and while I enjoy both, each present its own challenges. Composing requires, first and foremost, getting past the first blank page (or computer screen--ymmv). Once you get to the point of having a usable idea, your imagination and training work cooperatively (in the best of all possible worlds, anyway) to allow the music to go where it needs to go. Conducting is a whole other story, even if when it's something you know intimately--like a piece you composed.
And to answer your question, no, I don't know the piece as a conductor just because I wrote it.
I've been studying the score for Birkat haChamah, which I will conduct next weekend with the Carson City Symphony. In an unusual move for me, this piece plays with tempos. Overall it's one big accelerando but it's more complicated (if not subtler) in the details. The musical language changes across the piece as well, going from being full of crunchy dissonances to a more traditionally tonal/modal sound. All that, and counterpoint, tricky entrances, and much more, gives me a good work out. Mind you, I'm having fun and I can't wait to work with the orchestra (which has been rehearsing with the regular conductor, so I know that's going well).
Basically, I'm just keeping my nose to the metaphorical grindstone.
Current Mood: working
|
|
12:33 am
[Link] |
New Musicals in the Works
Just my opinion:
The Good:
Monday night we saw a staged reading/backer's audition for "Republic," a musical by Dylan Glatthorn and Paul Alexander. The story is of the Easter uprising in Ireland in the early 20th century. Dylan is currently a student of mine at NYU (he graduates in May) but I still must say: This is one hell of a good musical and it deserves to be on Broadway. Mind you, I never say such things unequivocally.
It's Just Wrong Somehow:
"Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark," as a musical.
Possible, I guess, depending on how it's treated. Previous hero- or superhero-based musical have had fair-to-middling success for a variety of reasons ("It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's Superman!"; Two musicals based on Sherlock Holmes, one which opened in New York, one in London; "Tarzan," a few others I don't recall at the moment).
Possible?:
"Groundhog Day," as a musical.
Again, if it's handled right, it could work. I said this about the movie "Big" when it came out, and even tried to get the rights to do it myself. Couldn't (the lawyers at 20th Century Fox said, essentially, "No way, no how, will a musical be made of this movie." Unfortunately they were sort of correct, even with Maltby and Shire writing the music and lyrics.)
Current Mood: contemplative
|
|
12:39 am
[Link] |
Pre-Passover Best Wishes
Spent the day getting almost everything ready for Passover, as I will be teaching all day Tuesday. And so, let me take this opportunity to wish all who read this a very happy Passover.
Current Mood: calm
|
|
01:51 am
[Link] |
My Thursday (not in order)
1. Got several packages of CDs and biographical materials out into the mail. Two were for the leaders of military ensembles, while the third was for the editor of a music magazine.
2. Received a response to my promotional suggestion for LudwigMasters (in my capacity as consultant). Rewrote the proposal and submitted it. I expect to hear the result by Monday.
3. Worked a bit on The Etude Project, with more to do.
4. Did a little writing on "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Pigeon."
Current Mood:  exhausted
|
|
09:19 am
[Link] |
You know that trick I used to clear up the computer problem?
(Short version:) Didn't work.
(Full story:)
On Mac computers you can do what is called a "safe start" (hold the shift key down while booting, until the Apple logo appears). Somehow this enabled me to start my home computer without the screen going all wonky when the desktop comes up as it has been. But the wonkiness problem wouldn't go away. After trying everything in the books (trust me, I mean everything possible that one can do from home without negating the warranty), I brought the machine in for repair. To shorten this part of the story, the repairperson took one look and basically said "Oh those older MacPros? Yeah, the video cards tend to "go" on them." Excuse me? Older Macs? I bought this January of 2008! Ah, never mind...Feh.... Anyway, I should have my gentle giant back in a week. Meanwhile I've got my laptop on my desk. With all the wires connected (which are usually hidden when the big rig is hooked up), it looks like something out of a 1950s science-fiction film, but it works. And AppleCare is the first and only extended warranty worth getting as far as I'm concerned. Extended warranties are, usually, a waste of money otherwise.
Current Mood: busy
|
|
12:09 am
[Link] |
Link to NewMusicBox article
Here is the promised link to my essay on the late composer/theorist George Perle, which was published on March 4, 2009.
Click here.
|
[<< Previous 20 entries] |
|
|
| |
