Notenspur Music Trail opens fall 2008. It’s a 4.7 km signposted walking trail through musical wonderland. Sort of a pilgrimage to experience the homes and churches of an exceptional musical city. Leipzig was home to so many greats, poets as well as musicians and artists. But the city excels in nurturing music.

This relatively small area–the centrum being only a few dozen blocks or so, is lush with memories and memorabilia of J.S. Bach, Felix Mendelssohn-Bartoldy, Clara Schumann, Richard Wagner, Edvard Grieg, Gustav Mahler, et al. In amongst the plazas are the Leipzig Opera House, the ultra-modern Gewandhaus, and other cultural buildings.

Here are some photographs from Leipzig for your visual pleasure. Sample the music of the composers, educators, and performers who bloomed in Leipzig. All photos by The Good Musician.

Thomaskirche–Bach’s final posting. He is buried in the kirche.

A statue of the man himself, courtyard at thomaskirche.

One of these days I’ll learn how to mess with sizing images…

Post from: The Good Musician

Some universities have refused to forward letters from RIAA to students, and others cite the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) in not revealing which students received letters.

Austin City Limits releases the lineup for this year’s ACL Festival in just a few hours. Held the last weekend in September, the 26th-28th, this event brings the seasoned pros and the latest new sounds to tens of thousands of music lovers. It also totally clogs up my neighborhood, so car pool or take the shuttles, please–lots of kids and pets in the streets.

A tip of the hat to whomever produced the tiny, black bird trilling technicolor notes on their Web site. Precious little jewel. Just fits.

The Good Musician Great Idea: Invest in the definitive edition when you purchase your music. If you plan to make a career of music, you’ll need to build a repertoire for auditions and performances. Store your sheet music in air-tight, stackable bins, flat or supported upright to avoid slumping. These are your tools, and they will have notes and markings that you will want to preserve.

Post from: The Good Musician

New works included Call up a Storm, with composer Jenn McLachlan on flute and John Dye augmenting on a laptop computer. McLachlan used contemporary flute techniques such as bending tones, flutter-tongueing, over-blowing to produce harmonics, and humming while playing to extraordinary effect. At no time did the techniques or electronic augmentation overwhelm the integrity of the composition. The subtle interplay between the natural and digital media illustrated McLachlan’s sense of place, suggesting loons calling over water in vast, lonely landscapes.

Based on a poem written by her father, Stephanie Phillips envisioned My Gratitude as an improvisational collaboration with Nowhere But Here, a trio of dancers directed by Pat Stone. Phillips on viola, Ria Hodgson on violin, and McLachlan on flute formed a triangle within which the dancers flowed, maintaining constant contact in a style reminiscent of Pilobolus. Nowhere But Here is Matt Cumbie, Darryl Pilate, and Nicola Helwig.

The poetry of Yehuda Amichai inspired Katherine E. Shupe to create near the wall of a house as part of an ongoing song cycle. Soprano Elizabeth Schwab-Fike and pianist Rebecca Royer performed the piece with ease and sophistication.

Composer and soprano Flicka Rahn was in attendance to hear mezzo Ashley L. Stone and pianist Jody Bagley perform Rahn’s settings of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Sonnets From the Portuguese VI, XXIX, XLIII. Look for more of Rahn’s work in an upcoming compact disc–Art Songs by American Women Composers, with pianist and author Ruth Friedberg.

Internationally recognized Latin American singer/songwriter Juanita Martin Ulloa enthralled the audience with her Cuando canto (When I Sing), a joyous paean to music. Ulloa was backed by a typical mariachi band, which includes the guitarrón—a large, deep-bodied, 6-string acoustical bass.

Lamenting on the dearth of women Latin American composers, Ulloa performed the poignant Verdad Amarga (Bitter Truth) by Consuelo Velázquez as an exemplar of the impassioned style.

Dr. Mary Thornton performed Look Low Little Heavens for solo trumpet by Hilary Tann, which premiered at one of the first International Women’s Brass Conferences in the mid-90’s.

In an evening filled with outstanding works and performances, the White Oak Trio, comprised of Meryl Ettelson (piano), Martha Lisle (cello), and Steven McMillan (violin) served up a special treat—the Trio for Piano, Violin, and Cello by Rebecca Clarke. Passionate and powerful, Clarke’s writing calls to mind the chamber works of Debussy, Shostakovich, and Respighi, spanning a wide range of styles–from Impressionism to Neo-Classical. The three movement piece was underscored by a rhythmic insistence, richly textured with soaring solo and unison lines, bold harmonies layered in double stops, pizzicato strings dancing above piano arpeggios, demonstrating the composer’s intimate knowledge of each instrument.

The exquisitely balanced White Oak Trio interpreted each nuance of the remarkable work with elegance and sensitivity. Watch for more on these performers and composers.

Yay ’cause cool chamber music! And ’cause groovy links!

Post from: The Good Musician