Tim Rutherford-Johnson's Blog, page 4

Altered Space in Altered Times

The lockdown is doing strange things to time. Time in lockdown is moving both faster and slower; boredom is simultaneous with an inability to keep track, to keep on top of, to keep up with. More time has meant less time. The time for what one used to do has been taken up by what … Continue reading Altered Space in Altered Times →

Playlists for the Long Distancing 4

This weekend’s listening is one, all-new playlist. It’s related to a recurring fascination of mine – one that has been growing in recent months – of contemporary composers’ attraction to the music of Schubert. There will hopefully be a much larger project to come out of this one day, but for now I’ll just observe … Continue reading Playlists for the Long Distancing 4 →

Sounds Outside

I’ve been finding that as I’ve been isolating, sounds have started to take on heightened meanings. A cough in the street, a cry from a neighbouring house, an ambulance siren: in the first week sounds like these became especially poignant, even harrowing, the sounds of a world in pain, fractured into remote, isolated bits. Yet … Continue reading Sounds Outside →

Playlists for the Long Distancing 3

We’re going to be indoors for a long time now. In case it helps ease the pressure, I’m revisiting my back catalogue of new music playlists and posting things here every weekend. Some of these lists regular readers will have seen before; some of them will be new collections. (Or at least ones I’ve had … Continue reading Playlists for the Long Distancing 3 →

Krzysztof Penderecki, 1933–2020

I heard the news about the death of the Polish composer and conductor Krzysztof Penderecki yesterday evening. He was 86, and although one of his carers had recently been diagnosed with Covid-19, there was no suggestion that his death was related. He had been ill for a long time. Penderecki’s music was once very close … Continue reading Krzysztof Penderecki, 1933–2020 →

Playlists for the Long Distancing 2

We’re going to be indoors for a long time now. In case it helps ease the pressure, I’m going to be revisiting my back catalogue of new music playlists and posting things here every weekend. Some of these lists regular readers will have seen before; some of them will be new collections. (Or at least … Continue reading Playlists for the Long Distancing 2 →

ICE and Music on the Rebound to present Pauline Oliveros’s The World Wide Tuning Meditation

The following press release just landed in my inbox. This looks like a terrific idea – I might see you there – and I’m pasting it here without addition: International Contemporary Ensemble and Music on the Rebound Present Pauline Oliveros’ The World Wide Tuning Meditation Hosted by Ione and Claire Chase Live on Saturday, March 28, … Continue reading ICE and Music on the Rebound to present Pauline Oliveros’s The World Wide Tuning Meditation →

Isolation Chamber: Alvin Lucier’s Nothing Is Real

Circumstances change how we hear things. Our ears, connected to our minds, connected to our bodies, moving through the air, touching and being touched, penetrating and distancing, hear differently in different situations. This was clear to me today as I listened to Alvin Lucier’s Nothing Is Real (1990), the first in a series of weekly free … Continue reading Isolation Chamber: Alvin Lucier’s Nothing Is Real →

Playlists for the Long Distancing

We’re going to be indoors for a long time now. In case it helps ease the pressure, I’m going to be revisiting my back catalogue of new music playlists and posting things here every weekend. Some of these lists regular readers will have seen before; some of them will be new collections. (Or at least … Continue reading Playlists for the Long Distancing →

Washing together

(With apologies to Frederic Rzewski and Samuel Melville.) And my favourite recording of this much-loved piece: