Cherokee Ranch

I just returned from the incredible Cherokee Ranch, a bucolic estate in the rolling hills near Sedalia Colorado, crowned with a medieval style castle. The occasion was a chamber music concert, in which I turned pages for my mentor, pianist Hsing-ay Hsu, who accompanied violinist Yumi Hwang-Williams and cellist Judith McIntyre.

The acoustics of the main hall with a piano trio was excellent, and the program was composed of classical and romantic era music - Beethoven, Massenet, and Chausson. The playing was outstanding, and of the three pieces, the Chausson trio was my favorite for some of its innovative harmonic progressions (for late 19th century music): in this case, chromatic mediant relationships - a favorite technique of modern film composers and others (notably Philip Glass).

It is venues like the Cherokee Castle & Ranch that provide vital support for the western-classical art music tradition in the Western United States. I was impressed by the castle-bound concert, which harkened back to the true origins of chamber music, with music taking place in the great halls of wealthy patrons of art. It is also great to see that their performing arts series, now in its third season with twenty yearly concerts, is expanding, and may soon include a popular music series. Furthermore, as a composer, I would be ecstatic to see them continue to enrich the tradition of chamber music not only by hosting amazing concerts in their castle, but hopefully by commissioning new works from living Colorado composers.

This is a tangent to an experimental place - but speaking of castles, one of my favorite compositions dealing with the physical dimension of space took place on 1984 in Rohan Palace in Strasbourg: "Fête galante et pastorale" by Polish composer Zygmunt Krauze.
His website is here: http://www.zygmuntkrauze.com/index_eng.htm
You used to be able to find Fete galante et pastorale on musicologist/composer Kyle Gann's webradio, Post-Classical Radio: http://www.live365.com/stations/kylegann