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Cortical Songs Album Release 21st July 2008

July 4th, 2008 • Miss Mussel • 3 comments • Related • Filed Under

Patty at OboeInsight has the tip of the iceberg on this newflash. Here’s some of the remaining 9/10ths.

The Guardian reports that, “[Thom] Yorke is one of 11 musicians - among them Simon Tong from Gorillaz, John Maclean of the Beta Band and Gabriel Prokofiev, grandson of the Russian composer - who have contributed to the classical remix album Cortical Songs, released this month on Nonclassical. Yorke et al have remixed an original work for string ensemble and solo violin by musician and physicist John Matthias and sound designer and producer Nick Ryan.

According to Prokofiev: ‘This is a way of searching for new sounds and direction in music. Yorke’s remix in particular - the first he has ever done of a classical work - is really adventurous and avant garde.’ ”

Here’s the track listing from the back of the album courtesy of Prokofiev the Younger’s mySpace page:

And, in case you were wondering, cortical is the adjectival form of cortex, which is the outer layer of your brain, coming from the Latin for bark. (think trees, not dogs) If you’ve got access to academic journals and the ability to wade through some pretty heavy medicalese, you may find [Ikegaya Y, Aaron G. "Synfire chains and cortical songs: temporal modules of cortical activity". Science. 2004 Apr 23;304(5670):523-4] to be useful. Since Miss Mussel has neither of those, she’s hoping for liner notes that explain everything with words containing three or less syllables.

According to Pitchfork Media, Cortical Songs the composition is, “a process-oriented piece in which players are prompted to play based on the firings of a small computer-simulated brain.”

It this the first truly intellectual music then?
Only one way to find out. Watch this space.

A Few Words On The Ondes Martenot

June 26th, 2008 • Miss Mussel • 0 comments • Related • Filed Under

Created in 1928 by Maurice Martenot, the ondes Martenot was the first practical electric instrument. On principle it works the same as the theremin but in practice, they are quite different, mostly because the ondes Martenot requires physical contact in order to be played. Except for the addition of a keyboard two or three years after its invention, the ondes Martenot design has not been changed in 80 years.

Martenot was a cellist and was keen to create an instrument that could reproduce vibrato. To accommodate this, Martenot created a keyboard that could move enough to allow a vibration of nearly a half tone on either side of the pitch being played. To modern ears, the large glisses and double-wide vibrato bring to mind sci-fi films from the 60s and 70s. In the hands of a skilled player, however, the machine is capable of startling degrees of sensitivity and delicacy. Volume and articulation are controlled with the left hand via glass push button. The further and more forcefully the button is depressed, the louder and sharper the sound.

Olivier Messiaen first wrote for the instrument in 1937 and quickly became one of its biggest proponents. Prominent parts were given to it in Trois petites liturgies de la présence divine (1943–4) as well as Turangalîla-Symphonie. In Turangalîla, Messiaen chose the ondes Martenot as a way to mimic a goddess figure without being restricted by the range and volume of the human voice.

The instrument has become popular in recent years with artpop musician such as Damon Albarn and Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead.


(How To Disappear Completely, Kid A 200)


More pop stars and unusual instruments

Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival 2008 Highlights

June 11th, 2008 • Miss Mussel • 0 comments • Related • Filed Under

Roughly five hours drive from the Southern Ontario conglomeration that is Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph, London, Toronto etc, Ottawa is a bit of a hike. Miss Mussel did consider using ad revenue to fund her trip but then discovered that the $10.42 she has earned since July 2007 would only get her as far as Milton….or 300 miles short of the goal.

Nevertheless, the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival has a load of great programs on offer. After looking through the entire season brochure, it seems the programming is a bit more random than the Elora Festival or The Festival of the Sound, but in a good way. The OICMF is put on by the Ottawa Chamber Music Society and the overall emphasis seems to be on friends getting together to play music they like. And really, what else is chamber music for?

With eight concerts a day from 25th July to 9th August, there should be plenty keep anyone interested, chamber music nerd or not.

Here’s what Miss Mussel would be going to see if Adsense paid $1 per impression:

26th July
The Creaking Tree String Quartet
Venue: Royal Canadian Legion, Montgomery
Time: 10:30pm

27th July
Shanghai Quartet
* Beethoven String Quartet No. 6 in B-flat major, opus 18, no. 6, La Malinconia
* Chen Yi From the Path of Beauty
* Brahms String Quartet in A minor, opus 51, no. 2
Venue: Dominion Chalmers Church
Time: 8pm

28th July
New Zealand String Quartet
Ravel, Debussy and Schubert’s G major String Quartet, D. 887.
Venue: First Baptist Church
Time: 2pm

Messiaen
Prélude; Fantaisie Offrande au Saint Sacrement; Verset pour la fête de la dédicace; Quatuor pour la fin des temps
Venue: Dominion Chalmers Church
Time: 8pm

29th July
Keller Quartet, Douglas McNabney – viola, Denise Djokic – cello
* Bartók String Quartet No. 1 in A minor
* Ligeti Quartet No. 1, Metamorphoses nocturnes
* Tchaikovsky String Sextet in D minor, opus 70, Souvenir de Florence
Venue: Dominion Chalmers Church
Time: 8pm

31st July
Penderecki String Quartet
* Panufnik String Quartet No. 3, Wycinanki
* Szymanowski String Quartet No 2, opus 56
* Mendelssohn String Quartet in D major, opus 44, no.
Venue: St Andrew’s Presbyterian
Time: 8pm

Joseph Petric and friends
Venue: The Royal Canadian Legion, Montgomery
Time: 10:30pm

1st August
Gilles Apap – violin, Myriam Lafargue – accordion
Venue: Dominion Chalmers Church
Time: 8pm

2nd August
St. Lawrence String Quartet; James Sommerville – horn; Barry Shiffman – viola; Desmond Hoebig – cello
* Mozart Quintet in E-flat major for Horn and Strings, K. 407
* Schafer String Quartet No. 3
* Brahms String Sextet No. 2 in G major, opus 36
Venue: St Andrew’s Presbyterian
Time: 8pm

3rd August
Ensemble Caprice, Quator Bozzini
Reich - Different Trains
Venue: Dominion Chalmers Church
Time: 8pm

5th August
Leipzig String Quartet
* Stravinsky Three Pieces for String Quartet
* Lutoslawski String Quartet
* Shostakovich String Quartet No. 15 in E-flat major, opus 144
Venue: St Andrew’s Presbyterian
Time: 8pm

Nexus - percussion ensemble
Venue: Canadian Museum of Civilization
Time: 8pm

7th August
Lori Gemmell – harp; Jennifer Swartz – harp
Venue: Church of St John the Evangelist
Time: 12pm

Quartetto Gelato
Venue: Dominion Chalmers Church
Time: 8pm

8th August
Louise Bessette – piano; Estelle Lemire – ondes Martenot
A celebration of Messiaen that will include the world premiere of his work Four Pieces for Piano and Ondes Martenot
Venue: Church of St John the Evangelist
Time: 12pm

I Furiosi Baroque Ensemble
Venue: Christ Church Cathedral
Time: 5pm

9th August - Closing Gala
Larysa Kuzmenko’s Dreams and Christos Hatzis’s Wormwood
Venue: Dominion Chalmers Church
Time: 8pm

Elora Festival 2008 Highlights

June 10th, 2008 • Miss Mussel • 0 comments • Related • Filed Under

The Elora Festival is now in its 29th year and presents a widely varying program including classical choral and chamber music, jazz and folk over four weeks in July and August. Elora is about roughly an hour and a half northwest of Toronto, half an hour from Kitchener and an hour and a half north east of London.

Elora itself is quite lovely, so there is plenty of eating, shopping and general puttering around to do during the day. More adventurous concert goers may want to hike, swim or tube at the Elora Gorge.

The Festival takes place at several venues throughout the the town of Elora with the two main ones being St John’s Anglican Church and The Gambrel Barn. While St John’s functions as a church when the Festival is not on, The Gambrel Barn does double duty as a salt shed.

Have a look at the complete concert listings or scroll down for Miss Mussel’s picks.

11th July
Handel Solomon;
Karina Gauvin, Robin Blaze, Lawrence Wiliford, James Westman, Elora Festival Singers, Elora Festival Orchestra, Noel Edison, baton.
Venue: The Gambrel Barn
Time: 8pm

19th July
Paganini, Scarlatti, Beethoven, von Weber and others; Duo Affinité (bassoon and trumpet/piano)
Venue: St John’s Church, Elora
Time: 2pm

24th July
Music of Britten, Holst and Vaughan Williams; Elora Festival Orchestra; James Mason, baton.
Venue: Knox Presbyterian Church
Time: 7:30pm

25th July
Britten, Walton, Purcell, Parry, Ugis Praulins; Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge; Stephen Layton, director
Venue: The Gambrel Barn
Time: 8pm

27th July
Vaughan Williams Mass in G minor; Elora Festival Singers; Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge.
Venue: The Gambrel Barn
Time: 2pm

30th July
Organ Recital; Matthew Larkin
Venue: St John’s, Elora
Time: 2pm

Choral Evensong - a rare treat in this corner of the universe.
Thursday evenings throughout the Festival.
6pm at St John’s Church, Elora.

July 17, 2008 (Michael Bloss, organ)
July 24, 2008 (Michael Bloss, organ)
July 31, 2008 (Matthew Larkin, organ)

Festival Of The Sound 2008 Season Highlights

June 9th, 2008 • Miss Mussel • 0 comments • Related • Filed Under

Founded by Canadian pianist Anton Kuerti in 1980, the Festival Of The Sound has become one of Canada’s best known summer music festivals. The venue is the beautiful northern Ontario town of Parry Sound, located on Georgian Bay, roughly 150 miles north of Toronto. That’s 241 km for lives not lived under the Union Jack or Stars and Stripes.

(Credit: Rolf Hicker)

The 2008 Festival runs from 18th July to 10th August. Browse the full calender, download the brochure or keep reading to see what Miss Mussel is dying to hear this season. There is nothing overly adventurous about the programming but after a season of boundary pushing and redefining at every turn, it’s nice to tuck into some meat and potatoes.

21st July
2:30pm: Beethoven Trio in C minor Op 1 No.3, Trio in Eb major Op 1 No.1; The Gryphon Trio

22nd July
Noon: Gary Kulesha Piano Trio No.2, Beethoven Trio in G major Op 1 No. 2; The Gryphon Trio.
2:30pm: Kelly-Marie Murphy Memory, Distance and No Time for Dances, Beethoven Trio in Eb major Op 7 No.2; The Gryphon Trio.

23rd July
2:30pm: Valentin Silvestrov Fugitive Visions of Mozart, Beethoven Trio in D major Op 70 No.1 ‘Ghost’; The Gryphon Trio.
7:30pm: Beethoven Trio in Bb major Op 97 ‘Archduke’, Brahms String Sextet in Bb major Op 18; The Gryphon Trio and others.

29th July
6pm: Stephen Layton chats with Keith Horner about the five centuries of choral singing in Cambrige
7:30 pm: Purcell Hear my prayer, Gibbons O Clap Your Hands, Hebert Howells Requiem; Trinity College Choir, Cambridge; Stephen Layton, director.

1st August
7:30pm: Schubert Trout Quintet, Brahms Variations on a Theme by Hadyn (piano duo version), Mahler Songs of a Wayfarer; Kevin McMillan, baritone.

5th August - Dinner Concert
5:30pm: Beethoven SQ No.10 Op 74, Mendelssohn SQ No. 3 Op 44 No.1; Penderecki SQ

6th August
Noon: Beethoven Bagatelles Op 126, Janacek SQ No.1 ‘Kreutzer Sonata’; Penderecki SQ; Paul Stewart, piano; Colin Fox , narrator.

7th August
2:30pm: Antheil, Arban, Sarasate, Hubeau, Ellington; Guy Few, trumpet; Mark Fewer, violin and Stephanie Mara, piano.
7:30pm: Strauss Serenade in Eb major Op 7; Mozart Divertimento No.2 for flute, oboe, bassoon, 4 horns & strings K131; Schubert Cello Quintet in C major D956, Penderecki SQ; Festival Winds

KW Symphony 2008/09 Season Highlights

June 7th, 2008 • Miss Mussel • 0 comments • Related • Filed Under

Kitchener-Waterloo is about an hour west of Toronto, an hour east of London, and an hour and half from Niagara Falls. If you live somewhere between here and there, take a drive over some night and take in a concert with the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony.

  • 12th & 13th September John Corigliano Promenade Overture, Dvorak Cello Concerto , Mussorgsky arr. Ravel Pictures At An Exhibition; Alban Gerhardt, cello; Edwin Outwater, baton
  • 25th & 26th September Mason Bates Omnivorous Furniture, Jonny Greenwood Popcorn Superhet Receiver; Mason Bates, DJ/composer; Edwin Outwater, baton.

  • 3rd & 4th October Nico Muhly So To Speak (Canadian premiere), Mozart Piano Concerto No. 27 K595, Chopin Variations on ‘La ci darem la mano’ Op 2, Debussy La mer; Orion Weiss, piano; Edwin Outwater, baton.

  • 12th, 14th & 15th November CPE Bach Sinfonia No. 1 in G major Muffat Concerto No. 12 in G major Propitia Sydera, Haydn Cello Concerto in C majorDumbarton Oaks, Haydn Symphony No. 59 Feuersymphonie; Andrea Herzog, cello; Tania Miller, baton.

  • 26th & 27th November program TBA; Time For Three, string trio; Edwin Outwater, baton

  • 26th & 27th February Program TBA Alain Trudel trombone/baton.

  • 6th & 7th March John Adams Tromba Iontana, Mahler Symphony No. 9 in D major; Edwin Outwater, baton

  • 22nd & 24th April Mendelssohn The Hebrides, R. Murray Schafer The Darkly Splendid Earth: The Lonely Traveller, Bridge The Sea, Britten The Young Person’s Guide To The Orchestra; Stephen Sitarski,violin, Edwin Outwater, baton.

  • 30th April & 1st May Program TBA (part of the KWS Open Ears Festival) Eve Egoyan, piano; Edwin Outwater, baton.
  • 6th, 8th & 9th May Monteverdi Sinfonie e Ritornelli from Orfeo, Marcello Concerto Grosso in D major Op 1 No. 1, Molter Clarinet Concerto, Mozart Divertimento in F major K138, Mendelssohn Sinfonia No. 7 in D major; Ross Edwards, clarinet; Stephen Sitarski, baton.