In another sign of the ever-finer nichification of cultural options and modern life in general, a new radio show devoted to contemporary classical composers launches Saturday evening. Modern Masters will premiere on SIRIUS’ Symphony Hall channel 80 and "will explore the works of living composers," according to the satellite radio network.
Of course, this raises all sorts of questions. SIRIUS says the show will highlight "today’s leading composers." But who are they? How does one define "leading" - and will record sales, fan letters and tax returns be considered as evidence?
The playlist for the first week includes Blue Cathedral of Jennifer Higdon (pictured), as well as Gorilla in a Cage by Stewart Wallace, Fanfares to Music by John Corligliano, Derive 1 by Pierre Boulez and Shadows, Op. 25 by Aulis Sallinen, a spokesman says.
SIRIUS stock, responding to the news with what can only be called irrational exuberance, soared 3 cents today to close at $2.07.
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Channeling Living Composers
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The Author
Peter Dobrin has been writing about classical music and the arts for The Inquirer since 1989. He earned an undergraduate degree in performance from the University of Miami, and received a master's degree in music criticism from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University.
He’s grateful for news tips, willing to engage in a certain amount of back and forth with readers, but is unfortunately unable to remove old LPs from your basement or post photographs of your cat.
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This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on July 16, 2008 1:08 PM.
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Comments (1)
Mark Swed weighs in on contemporary music here, including discussion of Jennifer Higdon and the so-called "Atlanta School" of composers where the article pigeonholes her.
Posted by Geo. | July 17, 2008 9:54 PM
Posted on July 17, 2008 21:54