Music Downtown: Writings from the Village Voice"This is an indispensable piece of living history, documenting an absolutely crucial moment in the development of 21st century music. For many of these pieces and composers, Gann's discussion is the only record we have. The criticism is at the highest level: careful yet uncompromising, historically informed, erudite, and well-expressed."—Robert Fink, University of California, Los Angeles "A highly intelligent and vividly engaged depiction of the new music scene over the last several years. The music Gann discusses is some of the most important being produced today, as well as the least attended to by scholars and the media. The 'you are there' feel of these articles conveys the intellectual and artistic rigor behind the music, as well as the passion and commitment of its makers. The writing is polemical, emotional, advocatory; Gann is often provocative, and always honest and forceful."—Evan Ziporyn , Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Clarinetist and Composer, Bang On A Can All-stars "The late 1980s and the 1990s were probably the most contentious years in the history of American music, especially in New York. The Soho News had folded. The New York Times had opted out. During this time, Kyle Gann was consistently the most interesting, reliable and honest reviewer in all of New York. Everybody read him. Probably every composer mentioned in this book would want to "correct" what has been said about her or his music. But you can't argue with Kyle. His opinions are too deeply felt. He is too well-studied. He writes too well. And he is too smart."—Robert Ashley, Composer "No one else could have written this marvelous book. No one else has been so completely immersed in "new music" as has Gann for some twenty years—and moreover likes it. No other music critic is so courageous, communicative, compelling, and candid (if now and then contentious)—or writes such consummately crystalline, convincing prose. Hurrah! Huzzah!!"—H. Wiley Hitchcock, Distinguished Professor of Music emeritus, CUNY, and founding director, Institute for Studies in American Music at Brooklyn College |
Contents
the importance of being downtown | 1 |
interviews | 13 |
Glenn Branca Reemerges from the Thick of Theory | 42 |
Mikel Rouse | 50 |
Leroy Jenkins Brings the African Burial Ground to Life | 59 |
music andversus society | 73 |
Repealing the Suppression of Creativity | 86 |
79 | 100 |
The Pulitzer Prize | 123 |
John Cage | 130 |
Uptown Composers Are Stuck in the Past | 136 |
aesthetics | 147 |
reflections on books figures and events | 182 |
passings | 286 |
John Cage 19121992 Quietly Started a Spiritual Revolution | 293 |
| 299 | |
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Common terms and phrases
12-tone music 20th century academic aesthetic American artists Ashley audience avant-garde Babbitt become Beglarian Boulez Branca Cage's called chords classical music complex concert Cowell creativity critics culture dance Downtown composers Downtown music drone Elliott Carter ensemble European feel festival Glass going harmony hear heard Henry Cowell idea images improvisation jazz John Cage John Zorn Julius Eastman La Monte Young language Laurie Anderson Lerdahl Lincoln Center listening live melody Meredith Monk Milton Babbitt minimalism minimalist Monte Young Morton Feldman Mozart musicians Nancarrow never new-music notated notes opera orchestra Partch Pauline Oliveros performance Philip Glass piano piece pitch played postminimalism Pulitzer Quartet Recontextualization record Reich rhythm rhythmic rock Rzewski Scelsi scene Schoenberg scores serial songs sound Steve Reich Stockhausen Stravinsky structure style Symphony tape technique tempo there’s thing tion tonal tradition Trimpin tuning Uptown violin write wrote York young composers