Coming in under four minutes, these two contemporary string quartets by Maciej Żołnowski may serve as a moment of beauty in your day, or as John Stewart used to say at the end of The Daily Show, "your moment of zen."
MUSIC COPYRIGHTS: Creative Commons Attribution License
IMAGE: "Mount Fuji" by Mya Told
CLASSIFICATIONS: Contemporary Composition; Instrumental; String Quartet; Chamber Music
COMPOSERS: Maciej Żołnowski
FILED UNDER: Digital: Art: Recent (Post-Romantic)
In The United States America, we pride ourselves in protecting citizens' rights. We tell ourselves all citizens not incarcerated for crimes have the right
1. to fair housing practices
2. to fair hiring practices
3. to love those they love
4. to representation in government
5. to need-based assistance with food, shelter, and medical attention
6. to personal safety protected by military and police forces
7. to equal rights despite age, race, or beliefs
One has but to walk in any US city or impoverished rural area to learn that we are failing on those counts. Is our empathy declining?
In 1991, the then governor of California opted not to pass legislation that would potentially protect some of our citizens from housing discrimination. This led to a protest in one California city that led to a riot in which a state building was vandalized.
Bob Ostertag composed a work, All The Rage, inspired by and incorporating recordings of that riot. It was performed by Kronos Quartet and is available to you at Ostertag's website. Libretto by Sara Miles. [Originally Elektra-Nonesuch 79332-2]
There was a lot of despair ultimately that we weren't saving our friends lives, that we weren't bringing about the change that we expected to bring about, that 70% of the country still thought it was okay that we should be denied our jobs and denied places to live and treated to hate crimes and generally excluded and ignored as our community was dieing.
The Veto Riot emerged out of that long period of cultural ferment.
-- Gerard Koskovich, co-organizer of the protest that led to the riot heard in All The Rage
The United States Army Band has been the premier musical organization of the U.S. Army since 1922 when Army Chief of Staff General John J. “Black Jack” Pershing directed that it be formed to emulate the premier European military bands he had heard during the First World War. The Band has been known as “Pershing’s Own” ever since.
The Band provides musical support for US leadership, including all branches of government and for a spectrum of national and international events in support of public diplomacy, community and international relations, recruiting initiatives, soldiers and their families, and music education programs. The U.S. Army Band was also widely known during its early years for radio broadcasts featured on several national networks.
The U.S. Army Band and it's smaller ensembles periodically offer selected recordings on their websites. Here are some of the releases and collections currently available.
The U.S. Army Strings, a premier ensemble of the U.S. Armed Forces, provide a musical backdrop for many of the country's most notable events. Their mission is to serve as musical ambassadors for high level military and government events at home and abroad, as well as in concert for public audiences. The elite musicians that comprise this ensemble have been trained at the most prestigious music conservatories and universities in the country. This versatile ensemble performs as The U.S. Army Strolling Strings, mixed chamber ensembles, and The U.S. Army Orchestra.
US Army Blues - Live At Blues Alley
(at online jukebox) Jazz, Blues, Swing, Big Band, Brass, Percussion | 11-song album + PDF booklet
The U.S. Army Blues is the premier jazz ensemble of the United States Army. After informal beginnings in 1970, this 18-piece ensemble became an official element of the Army Band in 1972. Comprised of exceptional jazz musicians from across the nation, the Army Blues strive to fulfill their mission through public concerts, educational outreach, and the preservation of the tradition of America's unique art form: jazz.
Headquartered in Washington, DC, The U.S. Army Concert Band has performed in concert venues such as Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and Hollywood Bowl. The ensemble participates in ongoing, educational outreach and often appears at national and international music events.
"Introducing "Blues + YOU": play-along tracks available online--free of charge--so musicians can practice with mp3 downloads in a variety of configurations! Tailored to intermediate and advanced players, this unique product will become an invaluable resource for both college and high school jazz programs. The newest recording from The U.S. Army Blues, Something Old, Something New: Yours to Borrow From the Blues has tools to use and tunes to enjoy!"
Materials include:
Complete arrangements with score and individual parts as PDF files
Separate full-band mp3 files minus lead trumpet, lead alto saxophone, lead trombone, and each rhythm instrument
Mp3 files of rhythm section only for solo or full horn section practice
In 1956 The U.S. Army Chorus was established as the vocal counterpart of The United States Army Band and is one of the nation's only professional men's choruses. From its inception, The U.S. Army Chorus has established and maintained a reputation of excellence in the performance of male choral literature. Beyond the traditional military music and patriotic standards, the repertoire of the Army Chorus covers a broad spectrum which includes pop, Broadway, folk, and classical music.
Since 2008, classical violinist Tasmin Little has offered her gorgeous The Naked Violin CD featuring works by J.S.Bach, Paul Patterson and Eugène Ysaÿe to listeners for free online. It is a long loved work at Oddio Overplay.
Little's friendly spoken introduction shares technical and musical insights and encourages listeners to think differently about classical music. Tasmin Little's aim is to remove the elitism associated with classical music forms.
"Classical music, for some reason or another, has this reputation that you need a certain kind of education to listen to it, you need to be a certain colour or live in a certain place and I'm a bit fed up with that. I wanted to take away any possible barrier and see if it makes a difference."
Tasmin's Three Step Challenge
1. Listen to my spoken introduction and download my CD.
2. Take some time to listen and get to know these pieces. Then write to me and tell me what you like (or don’t like) about each piece.
3.Go to a concert, buy a CD or write and tell me what barriers still remain to prevent you from wanting to do either!
"Since their explosive debut in 1989, the critically acclaimed Borromeo String Quartet have become one of the most sought after strings quartets in the world, performing over 100 concerts of classical and contemporary music across three continents every season. Audiences and critics alike champion their ability to bring back the contemporary fire to often heard works from the classic repertoire while making even the most challenging new music approachable. As one of today's most adventurous quartets, they continue to push musical, intellectual, and technical boundaries to a level achieved by only a very few." -- official website
The Borromeo Quartet have received many prestigious awards throughout their illustrious 22 year career and have been ensemble-in-residence for the New England Conservatory of Music, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the Taos School of Music, and NPR's Performance Today.
Enjoy one of their performances as ensemble-in-residence at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum of Boston, Massachusetts.