Like many of music history’s traditional classical music composers, Lowell Liebermann doesn’t only compose, but he also performs. Not limiting himself to playing his own compositions, he also dedicates some of his time to the works of other composers. To my mind, this informs Liebermann’s attitude towards composing, and shows his deep connection to classical music in general. "I understand what pianists go through, so I am very sympathetic, and the exchange with the performer of my compositions becomes much easier and more meaningful. Due to the emphasis on specialization in America, we have unfortunately created the phenomena of composers who are not active performers themselves. I think that this often results in losing touch with the physical joy and the direct connection to the active process of performing," says Liebermann. "Most performers of my premieres have adhered to extremely high performance standards, but I don’t really write for a specific performer, otherwise it won’t fit anyone else. Ida Kavafian, renowned violinist and violist and member of the piano quartet Opus One, who also serves as Artistic Director of the Angel Fire Festival in New Mexico, says about Liebermann: "Mr. Liebermann is not only an extraordinary composer, but also an outstanding pianist. It has been wonderful playing his music in groups with him, and in our piano quartet, Opus One. This summer, we premiered his Quartet for Piano and Strings, op.114 (2010), at Angel Fire; my festival had commissioned him to write a work of his choice as part of his composer-in-residence participation" (notes thanks to Ilona Oltuski/Get Classical). Watch a performance of Lowell Liebermann's Quartet for Piano and Strings (2010) played by pianist Joyce Yang, violinist Giora Schmidt, violist Lily Francis, and cellist Felix Fan . . . one of this week's FEATURED NEW MUSIC VIDEOS.

R. Murray Schafer is Canada's pre-eminent composer and is known throughout the world. In an era of specialization, Schafer has shown himself to be a true renaissance man. He has won national and international acclaim not only for his achievement as a composer but also as an educator, environmentalist, literary scholar, visual artist and provocateur. A prolific composer, he has written works ranging from orchestral compositions to choral music as well as musical theatre and multi-media ritual. His diversity of interests is reflected by the enormous range and depth of such works as Loving (1965), Lustro (1972), Music for Wilderness Lake (1979), Flute Concerto (1984), and the World Soundscape Project, as well as his 12-part Patria music theatre cycle. His most important book, The Tuning of the World (1977), documents the findings of his World Soundscape Project, which united the social, scientific and artistic aspects of sound and introduced the concept of acoustic ecology. The concept of soundscape unifies most of his musical and dramatic work, as well as his educational and cultural theories. Schafer was the first winner of the Glenn Gould Prize for Music and Communication as well as the Molson Award for distinctive service to the arts. In 2005 he was awarded the Walter Carsen Prize, by the Canada Council for the Arts, one of the top honours for lifetime achievement by a Canadian artist. Listen to R. Murray Schafer talk about soundscapes and composing . . . it's our COMPOSER PORTRAIT for the week.

According to Francois Couture (All Music Guide), "No matter how you present it, composer/guitarist Gyan Riley's Food for the Bearded is one beautiful, heartwarming album. Gyan Riley comes through as a sensible instrumentalist and a composer as unclassifiable as his father, Terry Riley. Elements of Spanish classical, contemporary, French jazz, and Indian classical music all become part of [his] style. Gyan Riley emphasizes musicality over novelty without sacrificing creativity in the process." Listen to Quasitremelodo, from the Sonata Quasifantokastica (2001) - a selection from Gyan Riley's Food for the Bearded  . . . it's one of our PYTHEAS EARFULS for the week.

Alexandra Gardner is stirring up modern music circles with her innovative blend of instrumental and electronic music. Her mixed ensemble works have been championed by groups such as the SOLI Chamber Ensemble, Contemporary Music Forum, Percussions de Barcelona, Duo Levent and the Aspen Contemporary Players. Her music has been featured at festivals and performance spaces throughout the US, Europe and Japan, including the Akiyoshidae International Art Village, Centro de Cultua Contemporania de Barcelona, The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Joyce SOHO, CrossSound Music Festival, The Library of Congress and The Kennedy Center. She has worked extensively with modern dance choreographers, including collaborations with Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, Sharon Mansur, and Deborah Riley Dance Projects. In addition to her residency in Barcelona, Gardner has been a composer-in-residence at Harvestworks Digital Media Center, The Atlantic Center for the Arts, and The MacDowell Colony. Listen to Alexandra Gardner's Luminoso (2003) performed by guitarist Enrique Malo . . . this week's FROM THE PYTHEAS ARCHIVES.

You want the future of guitar? How about a guitarist in his twenties who is trained in composition (MM, SF Conservatory), who has received major commissions (Elaine Kaufman Cultural Center, NY), and who comes from a well-known lineage (son of famed minimalist composer Terry Riley). A guitarist trained by one of our formeost guitarists (David Tanenbaum) and one of the foremost guitarist composers (Dusan Bogdanovic). A guitarist who not only plays with but writes for other instruments and who accomplishes both tasks admirably. Isn't this what every teacher says the guitarist of the future should be? If it is, then Gyan Riley is the future of guitar, now [Andrew Hull, Guitarra Magazine]. Gyan Riley, born in northern California in 1977, has emerged as a prominent figure of guitar and contemporary music, both as a performer and composer. In 1999, he became the first graduate level guitarist ever to be awarded a full merit-based scholarship from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. His awards include First Prize in the Portland International Guitar Festival Competition, First Prize in the San Francisco Conservatory Guitar Concerto Competition, and First Prize in the Music in the Mountains Young Musicians Competition. Riley played in the American premiere of John Adams El Nino, with David Tanenbaum, soprano Dawn Upshaw, and the San Francisco Symphony. Concert tours have taken him to some of the world's most prestigious concert halls in the UK, Germany, Austria, Italy, France, Croatia, Turkey, Norway, and throughout the United States, and her has been commissioned to write various works, served as the artistic director for the San Francisco Classical Guitar Society from 2002-2004, and is currently engaged as professor of guitar at Humboldt State University. Watch Gyan Riley perform his Food for the Bearded (1999) . . . one of this week's FEATURED NEW MUSIC VIDEOS.

In Wayne McGregor's Chroma (with music by Joby Talbot), the bodies of 10 dancers are folded, a bit spindled, but not exactly mutilated, and you watch this process unfold for 25 minutes with a measure of fascination and considerable detachment. Which is, perhaps, what the choreographer wants. This much-lauded essay in kinetic architecture, prepared for London's Royal Ballet in 2006, arrived in the U.S. in 2011 via the San Francisco Ballet, and it is sure to provoke debate. Chroma revels in its unpredictability, and you are not sure it will look the same on your next encounter. This can be an exhilarating sensation, but it suggests that what's missing is an overall structure, a clearly conceived destination. The dancing stops when the music stops [Allan Ulrich, San Francisco Chronicle].  Watch an excerpt from Chroma (2006), choreographed by Wayne McGregor, with music by Joby Talbot   . . . it's our DANSES PYTHEUSES for the week.

Todd Goodman's Bass Clarinet Concerto (2008) was commissioned by Bruce Lauffer and the Beaver Valley Philharmonic to conclude their 2008-09 season. The work, in two movements, takes the orchestra and soloist through a passionate journey of the relationship between a child and a parent. The first movement, Promenade Comique, translated as funny walk, is an argument between the orchestra, acting as the parent and the soloist, representing the child. The second movement, A Berceuse et Reve (A Lullaby and Dream) reverses the roles of the two characters and tells the story of a parent, this time represented by the bass clarinet who is trying to put their child, the orchestra, to sleep. Goodman has been described as "one of America's promising young composers." Born in Bedford, Penn., he received his Bachelor of Music degree in composition at the University of Colorado at Boulder and his Masters of Music degree in composition at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Currently finishing a Ph.D. in theory and composition at Kent State University, he has also studied at the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris, France, with the European American Musical Alliance and at the Aspen Music Festival in Aspen, Colorado. His principal composition teachers have been pulitzer prize winning composer George Tsontakis, David Stock, Frank Wiley, and Richard Toensing. His work has been played by principle members of the Chicago, Pittsburgh, Boston, Singapore and Seattle Symphonies. Goodman has received commissions from a wide variety of players and ensembles across the United States. With many performances in the United States his works have also been performed in Canada, Mexico, Europe and Asia. Goodman is also the founder and artistic director of the innovative contemporary art ensemble, Ensemble Immersion. The group combines music, dance, literature, film, visual arts, drama, set design, and creative audience interaction to create artistic experiences unlike any other. Listen to a performance of Todd Goodman's Bass Clarinet Concerto [and continued here] . . . it's one of our PYTHEAS EARFULS for the week.

Francois Truffaut's film Fahrenheit 451 (1966) is based on Ray Bradbury's book, overtly from his science fiction genre, but in reality depicting something more akin to an Orwellian future. In this future all books are forbidden, and the film/book title represents the temperature at which paper burns, and the firemen of the story are employed not to put out fires but to find and destroy any discovered books. One of the firemen is tempted by the lure of books, and various characters including his wife and supervisor react to this in different ways. The movie has a surreal quality to it where the characters seem strangely detached from their predicament. It's difficult to pinpoint how this is accomplished exactly. In part it is due to some superb acting, where the characters behave quite normally in extraordinary circumstances, but the music, by Bernard Herrmann, is very much a part of this surreal experience. There are two sublime moments, both of which are enhanced by Herrmann's lustrous score. The first is the burning of Montag's books cruelly documented to the sound of the shimmering Flowers of Fire music. The second is the final shot of the Book People walking in the snow while reciting the texts they have learnt by heart - this scene, which was filmed outdoors at Pinewood Studios, was a happy accident with Truffaut taking advantage of a real snowstorm [thanks to The Classic Film Scores of Bernard Herrmann and mfiles]. Listen to two excerpts from the Fahrenheit 451 film score: The Road and Finale . . . it's this week's FROM THE PYTHEAS ARCHIVES.