Peter Sculthorpe is Australia's best-known and most respected composer. His music may be heard on radio, recordings and in concert programs almost anywhere in the world. His life and work are inextricably linked to his surrounding world of artists, writers, composers and performers. Works such as Earth Cry (1986) and Kakadu (1988) reflect the breadth, vastness and loneliness of the Australian landscape and the sounds of its wildlife. Many of his works draw on Aboriginal history, language or melody. Watch a performance of Sculthorpe's Jabiru Dreaming (1989) performed by Grupo de percusión del CONSMUPA . . . one of this week's FEATURED NEW MUSIC VIDEOS.

Morton Subotnick is one of the United States' premier composers of electronic music and an innovator in works involving instruments and other media, including interactive computer music systems. Most of his music calls for a computer part or live electronic processing; his oeuvre utilizes many of the important technological breakthroughs in the history of the genre. The work which brought Subotnick celebrity was Silver Apples of the Moon (1967). Commissioned by Nonesuch Records and written in two parts to correspond to the two sides of an LP, Silver Apples marked the first time an original large-scale composition had been created specifically for the disc medium. The record was an American bestseller in the classical music category, an extremely unusual occurrence for any contemporary concert music at the time. In the late 1970s, Subotnick developed the "ghost" box, an electronic device consisting of a pitch and envelope follower for a live signal, an amplifier, a frequency shifter and a ring modulator, which allowed sophisticated control over real-time electronic processing of a live performance. His recent works utilize computerized sound generation, specially designed software Interactor and "intelligent" computer controls which allow the performers to interact with the computer technology. Hear Morton Subotnick talk about his life and his music . . . our COMPOSER PORTRAIT for the week.

Philip Glass is generally regarded as one of the most prominent composers associated with the minimalist school. His style is quite recognizable, owing to its seeming simplicity of repeated sounds, comprised of evolving patterns of rhythms, which are often quite complex, and rhythmic themes. In some of his early works, like Two Pages (1967), the whole of the piece evolves from a single unit or idea that expands as notes are added. In later works, expansion comes via the lengthening of note values or through other inventive processes. Many describe his music in the minimalist vein as mesmerizing; others hear it as numbingly repetitive and devoid of variety in its simplicity. The latter view of his style is itself simplistic and fails to take into account the many subtleties and complexities found in his methods. Glass' mature style embraces more than just minimalism and thus must be viewed being more eclectic and far less dogmatic. There is greater emphasis on melody, less on controlling rhythmic patterns. He is one of the most popular serious composers of the latter twentieth and early twenty-first centuries and must be regarded as among the most important composers of his time. Hear and watch Philip Glass describe the origins of his opera Satyagraha in April of 2008 at the Garrison Institute . . . it's our FEATURED THOUGHT this week.

Composer Robert Gans received his B.A. from the State University of New York at Oswego. After one semester of post graduate study he returned home to New York City to pursue his musical studies and interests for the next seven years. Since moving to Maine he has continued to compose and perform his own works, and the works of others on piano in a variety of styles and settings. On the faculty of the Portland Conservatory of Music since 2005, he teaches piano, music theory and composition. As Gans describes his artistic philosophy, "I believe that art is part of life and that music is enriched and informed by life experience. Therefore for me it is desirable to live as fully as possible, to be grounded in craftsmanship, and to follow my heart in achieving the realization of my concepts. In my compositions the materials and form I employ are determined by the expressive intent of the work and the process is a mixture of planning and living spontaneity. In the marketplace, the supply of talent so far exceeds the demand, that an exclusive focus on popular acclaim is self defeating to the qualities of inspiration and originality. Art paradoxically lifts us above the trivial while acknowledging it's existence in our lives." Hear the 4th movement of his Blue Ballet (2004) . . . this week's FROM THE PYTHEAS ARCHIVES.

Explore, Listen and Enjoy!
Vinny Fuerst
Pytheas Center for Contemporary Music