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Arvo Pärt once remarked that with his tintinnabuli technique one could set the entirety of Mann's Joseph and His Brothers to music. That seems incredibly daunting, but if I ever get the opportunity of a lifetime, I'd like to try. I'll succeed if I do.
Robert W. Rust retweeted
The only topic that ever gets any sort of hearty discussion within what remains of classical music Twitter is tonality vs. atonality. The discourse repeats word-for-word every few months. It’s fascinating to watch. Repetition compulsion.
One last thing about musical modernism. The choice of a musical language is an intensely personal thing. One could ask "why do you play clarinet? Violin is so much better." There's no answer more honest than that ones instrument is tied to who they are and how they speak.
Another thing about young composers is that they tend to chase fads. From my perspective, the RETVRN to tonality is one of the major fads in university composition programs today. There are others, but this is relevant to those who take issue more modern and experimental musics.
Something else that I think performers don't understand is how how hard it is to grow as a composer. If you're a performer, you can record yourself playing, listen back and watch yourself, and make self corrections. You cant do this so easily as a composer...
At the same time, one shouldn’t confuse abandoning technique with lacking it. Students are students after all.
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In my experience, composing tonal music takes a great deal of practice, patience, and humility to move past imitation towards creation.
Robert W. Rust retweeted
To the Microsoft employees desperately trying to bring Outlook back online, please don’t push yourselves too hard. Your health matters more than any deadline. Take a long weekend, relax, and come back Monday feeling refreshed. You’ve worked hard enough this week, and I promise those 400 unread emails aren’t going anywhere.
Robert W. Rust retweeted
Listening now to Domenico Scarlatti's exquisite piano sonata Adagio in A minor K.109 wonderfully played by Alexis Weissenberg in his 1985 Lp recording 'Scarlatti Sonatas'. Enjoy!
