Performed my last concert before my sabbatical period 2 days ago (Sat March 3) in Santander, which include the first complete performance of David del Puerto's Notebook for Children (Cuaderno para los niños) . Also that Saturday the video of our performance's of David del Puerto's "Alio Modo" was launched at YouTube, which has now, only two days later, received more than 200 visits . It looks very nice : you can check it at : http://www.youtube.com and you can search under my name or Chendra Panatan's there .
Meanwhile, I have been immensely enjoying my correspondence with my new idol, the great Sapardi Djoko Damono, who writes emails as if they were poems ; I promise you I´ll never throw any of his emails away ! Of course, now in this sabbatical period which last until May I will set many, many of his poems to music. I´ll reveal my plans in a few days.
Also I have read other poems by Nirwan Dewanto, Joko Pinurbo, Goenawan Mohamad, Debra Yatim, Eka Budianta ( I mention my favorites ) .
Bought some CDs last week : the ones I like are : a new version of Copland's Third Symphony with New Zealand SO (the one with New York Phil & Bernstein is still beyond comparison), Songs by Ferruccio Busoni, Britten plays with Colin MacPhee his "Balinese Ceremonial Music" and the suite from "Prince of the Pagodas". Only now, in the 21st century, that we can really appreciate the greatness of those 20th century composers !
Also read, and finished a very bitchy memoir of Ned Rorem (after all those bitching around I still consider him one of the greatest of modern composers as well) "Knowing when to stop". My favorite quotation from this book :
[Carlos] Chavez, whose own Sinfonia de Antigona and Sinfonia India, so stark and spare and diatonic, were close to my heart. Indeed, just as New Orleans today summons up the plays of Tennessee Williams more powerfully than it imposes its proper identity, so the music of Chavez evoked Mexico more than Mexico evoked itself. Nature imitates art, .....
Japan already has Toru Takemitsu, Australia has Peter Sculthorpe, Elgar, Britten, Vaughan Williams, Sir Michael Tippett etc have found "Britishness in music" and the music of Bernstein, Copland, Harris are so, so American. They all produced their masterpieces only in the last century. Will we find, in the near future, music that can evoke Indonesia more than Indonesia evoke itself ?
