Dan Albertson

Dan Albertson has written for La Folia since 2004. His pursuits involve languages, lexicography, music, musicology, poetry, and translation, and tend to veer away from mainstream artists. He has worked on the Living Composers Project since 2000, has written articles for MusikTexte, has contributed entries to the encyclopedia Komponisten der Gegenwart, and has edited multiple volumes of the British journal Contemporary Music Review, on the composers Helmut Lachenmann, Earle Brown and Aldo Clementi, plus two volumes on modernism and the string quartet and a co-edited volume on Spanish music beyond Spanish borders. He has been a member of its editorial board since 2014. He translates notes for Cybele Records in Düsseldorf and has contributed his own notes to a variety of international labels. His poems are generally short and static in nature. American by birth, he is now based abroad.

Musica geriatrica

I call out these orchestras for their ineptitude. I call them out for pandering, for being complacent and for providing a disservice rather than enrichment to the cultural life of their respective cities.

Musica geriatrica

I call out these orchestras for their ineptitude. I call them out for pandering, for being complacent and for providing a disservice rather than enrichment to the cultural life of their respective cities.

Not an Encomium for Pierre Boulez

Pierre Boulez, the maître, will turn 90 next month. This occasion engenders a poem and a brief acknowledgment of conflicted thoughts.

Not an Encomium for Pierre Boulez

Pierre Boulez, the maître, will turn 90 next month. This occasion engenders a poem and a brief acknowledgment of conflicted thoughts.

Of Ephemera

Critics and the artists that they cover are allies in having an inflated estimation of their own worth. Perhaps the former have been deluded into thinking that the act of reviewing, reflexive instead of creative, is of inherent heft.

Of Ephemera

Critics and the artists that they cover are allies in having an inflated estimation of their own worth. Perhaps the former have been deluded into thinking that the act of reviewing, reflexive instead of creative, is of inherent heft.

Of Light through the Clouds

The Rands Concerto is, contrary to its title, much more a series of interactions between piano and different sections of the orchestra.

Of Light through the Clouds

The Rands Concerto is, contrary to its title, much more a series of interactions between piano and different sections of the orchestra.

Sweet Blandishment

In music, as in all aspects of life, one must take the good with the bad.

Sweet Blandishment

In music, as in all aspects of life, one must take the good with the bad.

Snapshots: Miroslav Srnka

Piano concertos are experiencing a surge – and not merely from populist corners of the musical spectrum.

Snapshots: Miroslav Srnka

Piano concertos are experiencing a surge – and not merely from populist corners of the musical spectrum.

Eastern Kingdom in the Midwest

Here was a concert of music from Vienna that, for once, ignored Beethoven, Mahler and Mozart.

Eastern Kingdom in the Midwest

Here was a concert of music from Vienna that, for once, ignored Beethoven, Mahler and Mozart.

Snapshots – Blur: Shulamit Ran

Shulamit Ran… is a composer of general tonality, or perhaps a general composer of tonality.

Snapshots – Blur: Shulamit Ran

Shulamit Ran… is a composer of general tonality, or perhaps a general composer of tonality.

Snapshots – Grace: Hans Abrahamsen

Having decried the bulk of contemporary music, I take a rare opportunity to indulge in advocacy.

Snapshots – Grace: Hans Abrahamsen

Having decried the bulk of contemporary music, I take a rare opportunity to indulge in advocacy.

Out with the New

For me, the most distressing element of new music is the self-satisfaction of its practitioners.

Out with the New

For me, the most distressing element of new music is the self-satisfaction of its practitioners.

Evolve or Perish

Classical music, if its foes are to be believed, should have been buried already.

Evolve or Perish

Classical music, if its foes are to be believed, should have been buried already.

Americans

Regular readers could divine that American music is anathema to me.

Americans

Regular readers could divine that American music is anathema to me.