La Monte Young, generally regarded as the father of musical minimalism, is one of America’s most important contemporary composers–and one of the most elusive. Early on Young eschewed the conventional musical institutions of publishers, record labels, and venues, in order to create compositions completely unfettered by commercial concerns. At the same time, however, he exercised profound influence on such varied figures as Terry Riley, Cornelius Cardew, Andy Warhol, Yoko Ono, Velvet Underground, Brian Eno and entire branches of pop music. For half a century he and his partner and collaborator, Marian Zazeela, have worked in near-seclusion in their Tribeca loft, creating works that explore the furthest extremes of conceptual audacity, technical sophistication, acoustical complexity, and overt spirituality.
By the time of Emperor Joseph II’s death in 1790 Beethoven was a member of the court musical establishment in Bonn. To mark the occasion, Beethoven was commissioned to write two cantatas, one to mourn Joseph’s death and the other to celebrate the accession to the throne of Emperor Leopold II. Although Beethoven was only 19 years old at the time, both works show the embryonic marks of his greatness: intense expression and control of structure in one, and an almost operatic panache in the other. Neither piece was performed during Beethoven’s lifetime.
Dai Kaht, a progressive rock band from Finland specialized in the Zeuhl genre, has announced the upcoming release of its album Dai Kaht II. Dai Kaht creates works known for their epic and dark visions of humanity’s future in the age of space colonization. Tthe saga continues as the crew of spaceship "Doover Üouh" finally arrives ro its destination, the great planet Dai Kaht.
Following the critically acclaimed release of The Cormorant I this Fall, Brooklyn-based art pop project SAN FERMIN today announce the March 27 release of The Cormorant I & II, the second and final installment in their latest dual-part album. Introducing the project with the October release of The Cormorant I and garnering critical acclaim from NPR, Consequence of Sound, Paste, TIME and UPROXX, San Fermin now return with eight new tracks that encompass the full scope of The Cormorant story. The resulting 16-track collection completes the narrative set out by The Cormorant I, expanding on bandleader Ellis Ludwig-Leone's questions of identity, growth and its ever-changing variations.
Soprano Regula Mühlemann is releasing her second album of Mozart arias with the Basel Chamber Orchestra on the Sony Classical label on September 4, 2020. The Swiss soprano Regula Mühlemann released her debut album on the Sony label in 2016, when she chose a selection of opera and concert arias by Mozart.