Thursday, September 25, 2014

Post-Bop and Avant-Garde Jazz Saxophonist Keith Gamble: Paul Hindemith: Concert Piece For Two Alto Saxopho...

Post-Bop and Avant-Garde Jazz Saxophonist Keith Gamble: Paul Hindemith: Concert Piece For Two Alto Saxopho...:      Every composition has a story, whether it is as simple as - oh, I think I will write a song today, or maybe deeper reasons for writing ...

Paul Hindemith: Concert Piece For Two Alto Saxophones

     Every composition has a story, whether it is as simple as - oh, I think I will write a song today, or maybe deeper reasons for writing a composition. Here is a story for Paul Hindemith`s Konzertuck Fur Zwei Altsaxophone, or in English - Concert Piece For Two Alto Saxophones.

     Composer Paul Hindemith (1895 - 1963) is one of my favorite composers in the western art music genre. I fell in love with Paul Hindemith`s music when I was introduced to his composition Ludus Tonalis, which goes through the cycle of all 24 major and minor keys.

     Concert Piece For Two Alto Saxophones was composed in 1933, for Sigurd Rascher. Sigurd  Rascher discussed many details of the piece with Paul Hindemith directly. Hindemith was a composer of late Romantic and Modern style periods.

     Paul Hindemith was from Germany, and during the takeover by the Nazis and right-wing cultural organizations, Hindemith`s works were prohibited. There was an official performance ban on all his works by October, 1936. In 1938, Paul Hindemith emigrated to Switzerland, and later to the United States. Saxophonist Sigurd Rascher left Germany in 1933.

      For years,  Concert Piece For Two Alto Saxophones could not be performed in public due to a lack of suitable alto saxophonist. Concert Piece For Two Alto Saxophones premiered in New York State with Sigurd Rascher`s daughter playing second alto, in 1960. Rascher programmed the piece for his 1964 concert in Zurich, Switzerland. Scheduled for March 6, 1964, Sigurd Rascher invited Paul Hindemith to his concert. Hindemith was so delighted, and accepted the invitation to hear Concert Piece For Two Alto Saxophones for the first time. Paul Hindemith died in December, 1963, just three months before Sigurd Rascher`s performance of Concert Piece For Two Alto Saxophones.

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Post-Bop and Avant-Garde Jazz Saxophonist Keith Gamble: Music Degree Programs Online?

Post-Bop and Avant-Garde Jazz Saxophonist Keith Gamble: Music Degree Programs Online?:      As a music education graduate at Oakland University, in Rochester Hills, MI, I value that experience. Long nights of practicing, early ...

Music Degree Programs Online?

     As a music education graduate at Oakland University, in Rochester Hills, MI, I value that experience. Long nights of practicing, early morning classes, and ensemble classes and rehearsals made it all the more special. An on-line music degree program just sounds wrong.

     Berklee College of Music, in Boston, MA, offers such a program. My first impression is NO! When an institution with the reputation as the Berklee College of Music offers such a degree program, then I must take a second look. I am sure many of you understand my reservation, especially being a music education graduate myself.

     Coming from a traditional university music program I have questions about studying music online, even if that program is Berklee College of Music. What about relationships? Music is not made in a vacuum, but with student musicians with shared experiences. Yes, you may be able to get a degree in music online, but in the long-run, I think you loss.

     Today I share the band stand with friends I attended college with as a music major. Those friendships are life long relationships with other musicians. For this reason, I cannot recommend an online music degree program.