100K - and growing

According to our traffic counter, Off Topic'd just past 100,000 page views.

Yes, I know: in the world of  blogs and websites that's no big deal -- some sites get that much traffic in a few seconds.

And I also know that page views don't equal page reads. Tomorrow we'll look at our five most popular posts, and  I suspect a good many of those hits were just someone opening the page, instantly realizing it wasn't what they thought it was, and moving on.

And I also know that page views don't equal readers -- one person can view multiple pages. And those people don't even have to be real. Some of the loopy comments I've recently received (but have been blocked from publication) are clearly coming from bots.

But still.

I don't have any professional goals for this blog. I'm not after any particular number of viewers, or need to monetize the content, or establish myself an expert in anything. During the day I spend a lot of time working in the realm of social media, writing highly focused content designed to do all of those things. This blog's for fun, and I know that by covering several subjects rather than sticking to one, I diminish my chances to build an audience.

That's OK. I'm having fun writing. Yes, I'm taking that 100,000 number with a large grain of salt, but even filtering out all the factors outlined above, it shows that someone's reading a post or two.

And for that, I thank you.

Mark-Anthony Turnage Ochestral Works: Great performances by the LSO

Turnage Orchestral Works
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Various conductors and soloists
LPO

Mark-Anthony Turnage was the London Philharmonic Orchestra's composer in residence for five years, and this is the third volume of his works written for the ensemble. The recordings are all take n from live performances, which gives them an added sense of freshness and energy.

On Opened Ground is kind of a disjointed jazz-flavored concerto for viola. The music moves in fits and starts with the viola (Lawrence Power, soloist) popping in and out in surprising ways, while still providing most of the melodic content. Sometimes it seems like the soloist and orchestra are playing two different pieces, then there's a sudden shift, and it turns out all to be part of Turnage's plan.

By contrast, Texan Tenebrae is an emotionally wrought little gem. It grew from Turnage's opera Anna Nicole, and is a work contemplating the death of the Texas Playmate-turned-trophy wife. Turnage effectively uses dissonance to both ratchet up the emotion and suggest that, despite the placid nature of the music, all is not right

Turnage composed the Lullaby for Hans for his mentor Hans Werner Henze. This string orchestra work pays fitting homage to Henze's style. The ensemble drifts about in thick chordal clouds of sound, sounding ethereal, and -- despite the dissonances -- strangely restful

The clarinet concerto Riffs and Refrains would make a great companion piece to Bernstein's "Prelude, Fugue and Riffs." Both works take the sound of the jazz clarinet, and jazz motifs and recast them as building blocks from contemporary classical works. In Turnage's case, the piece is prone to sudden bursts of energy, followed by slow sections that seem to be holding the motion of the music back (but only for a little while). Michael Collins effortlessly switches back and forth from classical to jazz playing, making this an effective work that brings together both worlds.

Christian Tetzlaff fearlessly performs the violin concerto Mambo, Blues and Tarantelly. The opening section sounds like an angular version of the mambo from West Side Story, and the other parts equally traditional and aggressively modern.That's not to say it's not original music -- it is. Tetzlaff is completely invested in this complex music and turns in a highly focused performance.

If you're already purchased the first two volumes in this series, then you need only know the quality hasn't wavered. If you're looking for an introduction to Turnage, this disc can provide a nice overview of his orchestral writing.

CCC 053 Marjan Mozetich

This installment of the Consonant Classical Challenge features Marjan Mozetich. Although of Slovenian heritage, Mozetich has lived in Canada since he was four years old. His music is somewhat neo-classical, but that doesn't do his compositions justice. Mozetich is very much a composer who's aware of current music trends, and adopts the ones that best suit his compositions.

His Procession, for example, has some traces of minimalism. The work has a strong, forward-moving pulse to it, and relatively simple chordal patterns. Overall, there's a lightness to the work that sets it apart. Minimalist compositions can sometimes feel ponderous, while Procession seems lighter than air.


Affairs of the Heart is a work for violin and orchestra. It shares some characteristics with the early classical period composers. Just like Mozart and Haydn, Mozetich starts with a very simple melody that's mostly comprised of arpeggios. But this simple material proves fertile ground for the composer's inventiveness.


Mozetich can create some rather complex harmonies, but because they remain tonally based, they sound exotic, but not foreign to the audience. The Passion of Angels is an evocative work for harp. In it are sections that sound reminiscent of Ravel, yet retain Mozetich's compositional voice.


Mozetich is well-regarded in Canada, but unfortunately not so well in this country. That's too bad, because his music has an instant appeal to it that audiences should respond to. If they were only given a chance.

Recommended Recording

Affairs of the Heart: Music of Marjan Mozetich

Dick Tracy Tips His Hat

Broadway Bates, as depicted by
Chester Gould in 1932.

Mike Curtis and Joe Staton have been breathing new life into Dick Tracy. Their imaginative blend of new, relevant stories and homages (but not slavish imitations of) the strip's rich past, as I've noted before. In the current continuity, one of Tracy's earliest villains returns.

Broadway Bates first appeared in 1932. He was also one of the first to torture the detective by applying a blowtorch to his bare feet. Over time, Tracy's foes would become increasingly outre in their appearance (like Pruneface and Flattop), and their torture methods would also become more exotic. (click on images to enlarge)

Curtis and Staton have brought the confidence man back in a story about costumed crimefighters and criminals coming to Tracy's city. And if you think Bates bears more than a passing resemblance to the Penguin, that's not an accident. There's been a strong suggestion in the strip that the Penguin is one of Bate's brothers (mentioned by first name only).

The other nice thing about this sequence is the reference to Fletcher and Collins. Artist  Rick Fletcher and writer Max Allen Collins took over the strip from its creator, Chester Gould in 1977. The team continued working on the strip until Fletcher's death in 1983.

It's just a throwaway line in one panel -- and a nice nod to the past for Tracy fans.

Wolfgang Rihm Violin Works -- Serious music for serious listeners

Rihm: Complete Works for Violin & Piano 
Tianwa Yang, violin; Nicholas Rimmer, piano 
Naxos 

This is music not for the faint of heart. Wolfgang Rihm is an expressionist composer, who cites Mahler, Schoenberg, and Boulez among his influences. Rihm's an extremely prolific composer, and while his music may reflect his influences, it's certainly not derivative. Rihm has a distinctive voice and his music unfolds according to his own logic.

Unber die LInei VII for solo violin is a massive work that presents Rihm at his bare essence. Double-stops and arpeggios are rare in this work -- most of the music is a single-line melody. But what a melody! It skips around in a pointillist fashion, then becomes tenderly lyrical, then hops up to the extreme register for some softly played harmonics. All the while, though, the music has a sense of direction. And that sense helps the listener follow the player through this world Rihm sets them out to explore.

Eine Violinsonate and Hekton come from the early 1970's, and share a similar style. The music is disjunct, with sudden, wide leaps in register. By contrast, Antlitz and Phantom und Eskapade, composed twenty years later, show significant growth in Rihm's style. The leaps are still there, but its now but one aspect of Rihm's musical language, rather than the defining feature of it.

Tianwa Yang and Nicholas Rimmer have firm command of this material -- which is no mean feat. If you're up for some active listening of thought-provoking music, then this may be the disc for you. Rihm's music is adventurous and challenging, but never dull. And you'll hear some darned fine playing, too.