Awards competition for young composers

This just in from BMI:


The opening of the 58th annual BMI Student Composer Awards competition was announced today by BMI President and CEO Del Bryant and BMI Foundation President Ralph N. Jackson. The competition, which is co-sponsored by BMI and the BMI Foundation, will award $20,000 in prizes. Student composers under the age of 28 who are citizens of the Western Hemisphere (North, South and Central America, the Caribbean Island Nations and the Hawaiian Islands) may apply. All entries must be postmarked no later than February 5, 2010.

The Student Composer Awards were established in 1951 to encourage young composers in the creation of serious music, and, through cash prizes, to aid in continuing their musical education. Celebrated composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich serves as the Awards Chair; Milton Babbitt is the Chair Emeritus. Composer luminaries such as William Bolcom, George Crumb, Mario Davidovsky, Philip Glass, John Harbison, Aaron Jay Kernis, Donald Martino, Steven Mackey, Christopher Rouse, Joseph Schwantner, Michael Torke and Charles Wuorinen received their earliest recognition through this program.

There are no limitations as to instrumentation, style or length of work submitted. The prizes, which range from $500 to $5,000, are awarded at the discretion of the final judging panel and compositions are judged completely under pseudonyms. Official rules and entry forms are available at www.bmifoundation.org

Saving Honolulu

Efforts are underway to salvage the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra.

Christopher O'Riley will be giving a benefit concert for the musicians on Sunday.

Officially--according to the orchestra's web site--some concerts will take place after the first of the year.

The orchestra's web site is: www. honolulusymphony.com

The musicians have a separate web site at: www.honolulusymphonymusicians.org

A most unusual disk

Let's just say this is the most--for lack of a better word--unusual disk I've run across lately.

Cecilia Bartoli is certainly a major talent, but her most recent CD is a tribute to the castrati--men who were surgically altered so as to maintain a high voice, largely due to prohibitions against women performing publicly. The prohibition was at first in place in the church, and later extended to the secular performing stage as well--at least in portions of Europe.

At any rate, the disk is entitled Sacrificium. The cover has a photograph of Cecilia's head on the body of a male marble statue. Included with the disk is a 100 page illustrated castrato dictionary, telling you more that you probably ever wanted to know (it was more than I wanted to know, at least). There's also a bonus CD of "3 legendary castrato arias", in addition to the 12 on the primary disk. The arias on the title disk are all premiere recordings.

The music is enjoyable. And if you have an interest in the castrati, this disk is absolutely for you.

BTW, the copy I have--with the dictionary and bonus CD--is billed as being a "limited edition" set. I don't know if that means a different version will be on record store shelves.

A multicultural piano?

In today's Guardian, Mark Brown reports that a composer has reinvented the piano so it can be multicutural...

"Geoff Smith believes he has come up with the first multicultural acoustic piano – what he has trademarked as a fluid piano – which allows players to alter the tuning of notes either before or during a performance. Instead of a pianist having a fixed sound, 88 notes from 88 keys, Smith's piano has sliders allowing them access to the different scales that you get in, for example, Indian and Iranian music. For good measure, Smith has included a horizontal harp.

"It will be formally unveiled at the University of Surrey on Saturday and receive a London premiere at the Purcell Room in March."

You can read Brown's article and see video of the piano at:

www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/nov/23/composer-fluid-piano-geoff-smith

A critic speaks

NPR producer Tom Huizenga interviewed Anne Midgette of the Washington Post on the future of classical music. The interview is posted in both text and audio versions:

www.npr.org/blogs/monitormix/2009/11/ten_questions_for_a_critic_the.html

Digital Composer winner

BTW, the winner of Dilettante Music's Digital composer-in-residence competition is David T. Little. David is working on his doctorate at Princeton.

You can hear the winning piece at www.dilettantemusic.com

Slatkin still ill, cancels events

The Detroit Free Press (at freep.com) is reporting that conductor Leonard Slatkin has cancelled scheduled appearances with the DSO for the next two weeks in the wake of his recent heart attack.

His next scheduled appearances on the podium are December 10-13.

Honolulu Symphony Orchestra closes shop

The Honolulu Symphony Orchestra announced Friday that it is filing for bankruptcy, and cancelling the remainder of its scheduled concerts for the season. The orchestra has $1 million in debt, and has been in difficulty financially for a couple of years.

Officially, they say that they hope they'll be able to come back in some form. It remains unclear as to when or whether they will be able to do so.