ComposersInc-ing

Tonight was another Composers Inc concert. And while it was not a complete bust, it didn't really have me jumping for joy either. Except maybe when the second piece ended, but I'll get to that in a minute. Normally when I go to these concerts, there is one song I really like, one that sticks in my mind and my ears. Tonight, not so much. I'm not counting the Hdez piece, I've heard that before, it wasn't brand new to me (although, knowing his music better, it makes more sense than it did the first time around). The Bates was the one new piece that kept my attention the longest (ok, so maybe the bass piece kept my attention all the way through, but I really payed more attention to the narration than the music anyhow). I guess I'm a little disappointed. Not necessarily at the programming, maybe the lack of newness in new music? I'm not sure.

Anyhow, about the pieces: The first work, piano work, I was rather indifferent towards. Granted, I'd just run several blocks from the BART station, I was mostly concentrating on catching my breath, so maybe I didn't listen as closely as I could have. I'm also not entirely convinced I really wanted to. The composer was there, I think she said something about it being about anger (or maybe it was in the notes) anyhow, didn't sound angry to me so much. Maybe disjunct chromaticky lines doesn't cut it for me, I don't know (furthermore, I've not been able to find music that really sounded angry to me. Ominous, sure, but not anger, rage. Oftentimes, if I feel an emotion particularly strongly, I like to find music I associate with that emotion to listen to, helps take that edge off. Consequently, I have loads of sad, depressing, meloncholy music, but not so much angry. Once started to write a two-piano piece called "Rage," which was abandoned midway through and used in a stop-time lego animated film for class. But I digress). I was intrigued for five seconds when the piece started, then kind of bored. Didn't sound so new to me.

The second work, I absolutely hated. I don't think I've ever come out of a concert with such a strong negative feeling about a particular work (obviously, this excludes Oklahoma!, except I hate the totality of that, so maybe it doesn't even count). I've hated performances, sure (awful performance of Carmina Burana once that made me so angry that I'd spent money on it I bitched about it for a week. at least.) and there are performers I can't stand as well (coughRichardStolzmancough. I think it's a toss between him and Oklahoma as thing I hate most ever. Stupid double lipped embouchure sounds like crap, and no one with any level of understanding, respect, or taste uses vibrato on the freaking Mozart, but this is an entirely different discussion) but I think this is a first for me hating a piece. If you are going to use electronics, make them cool. Not lame ass synth drum sounds from the 80s. At least, don't try to play that off as somehow equal to a really good viola player. PLAYING THE SAME THING.

I actually had to stop listening, because otherwise I don't think I could have sat there quietly like a good audience member, it was making me so angry, but I did start looking around at the audience. And what I saw was disappointing. Most sitting quietly, blank faces, probably thinking about other things going on in life. Some were reading program notes, at least they were learning something, and some were looking like they were trying to get it...not because they really wanted to, but because this is the Bay Area and we liberal open-minded foward thinking people are suppose to like shit like that, because most people don't. I didn't see anyone with a similar expression as I'm sure was on my face when I was actually listening: disgust, anger, disbelief that this actually got programmed (although, judging from the fact that El Roca was one of the program-notes-readers, I'll guess he wasn't too thrilled about programming it).

The third piece (the Chinese one) was...ok. At first I thought it was going to be one of those transplanted pieces (what I mean by transplanted? take music from another place. crudely adapt for western instruments. tada!) instead of inspired. It kind of fell halfway between. When the piano came in in the first movement, that was what saved it from being completely boring(And completely like that which the second of the Cariactures was commenting on, if from a different country). It's not that the piece was godawful (like say, the viola/"electronics" one). It just wasn't memorable.

I don't know. I'm not inspired by this one. And I could use some inspiration.