Thursday, May 1st, 2008
DRAM has announced the addition of yet more content, including:
Mode Records: An American new music label with an extensive catalogue of works by John Cage, Morton Feldman, Luciano Berio, Iannis Xenakis, and Morton Subotnick. 18 new albums with 53 in production.
Lovely Music: Robert Ashley, Roger Reynolds, Lois Svard, Christian Wolff and many more. 39 new albums with 71 more in production.
Open Space: A recording label and publisher of experimental composers including Elaine Barkin, Benjamin Boretz, J. K. Randall, Mary Lee Roberts and others. 12 New Albums with 18 more in production.
BGSU user’s may hear these and other recordings on the DRAM website.
Tuesday, April 8th, 2008
If you’ve been having technical difficulties accessing DRAM recently, it could be because of a bug in v.7.4.1 of QuickTime. DRAM advises the following update:
A new QuickTime update was released last week (v.7.4.5) which fixes this issue. It can be downloaded here: http://www.apple.com/support/downloads
/quicktime745forwindows.html .
As always, let us know if you encounter difficulties not addressed by this fix.
Thursday, April 3rd, 2008
Naxos Music Library just announced the addition of the following three labels to its online content:
Launched in 2002 by music industry veterans Simon Foster and Melanne Mueller, Avie Records has always operated with the interests of artists first. An eclectic label, Avie Records artists include the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Trevor Pinnock and the European Brandenburg Ensemble, Douglas Boyd and the Manchester Camerata, and Christopher Hogwood.
Based in Switzerland, Divox AG/Ltd was founded in 1984 and began with a focus on the promotion of emerging chamber music artists. It now has four sub-labels, covering music from ancient to modern by mainstream and less familiar composers, as well as world music. Divox has always taken pride in its commitment to individual musicians and their own interpretations, as well as the quality of the recordings themselves.
Located in the Netherlands, Challenge Classics is run by a group of jazz and classical music enthusiasts. Leading national and international artists are represented, performing a wide variety of music. The Brodsky Quartet performs Britten, Ton Koopman and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra perform Bach Cantatas, Musica Antiqua Koln performs Gluck’s Trio Sonatas… and there is much more.
Happy listening!
Friday, March 28th, 2008
A recent discovery of a phonautogram in France’s patent office reveals what seems to be the earliest recording of a human voice. Created by Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville in 1859, the “recording” — a collection of sound waves transcribed on paper — is of a woman singing “Au Clair de la Lune.”
The full story of the discovery was featured in a front-page story in the New York Times today, and the recording itself may be heard at: http://www.firstsounds.org/sounds/.
Friday, March 14th, 2008
DRAM has had some reports about Mac users having difficulty with Quicktime and DRAM. If you are a Mac user and find yourself unable to stream music from DRAM, or if your browser crashes after closing the pop-up player window, you might need to download a different version of Quicktime. See DRAM’s announcement for details and fixes for this problem.
Monday, March 10th, 2008
Earlier, we encouraged Mac users to download the flip4mac utility to reduce problems with using Naxos. Now, flip4mac seems to be causing its own difficulties, specifically simultaneous playback of tracks when more than one track is selected. Naxos recommends installing Windows Media Player 9 for Mac and disabling flip4mac. Here’s how to disable flip4mac:
- Click the Apple icon at the top left of the screen
- Go to ‘System Preferences’
- Select Flip4Mac on the bottom row
- Click the Plug-in/browser tab (it is labeled differently for different versions of the player)
- Uncheck “Use Flip4Mac WMV Internet Plug-in”
- Restart your computer
As always, please let us know if you have problems with Naxos or any of our other products.
Wednesday, March 5th, 2008
Today’s issue of The Independent includes an article on a new instrument developed by Yamaha and media artist Toshio Iwai that is part sequencer, part performance art.
A tablet with lights on both the front and back, the Tenori-On was developed in Japan and already has a host of fans, including the Tenorions, a group that works exclusively on the Tenori-On. The article includes a range of perspectives on the instrument’s learning curve. According to Peter Peck, Yamaha’s Tenori-On spokesman:
I don’t need to know anything about music, I’m just pressing lights and buttons. Anyone can walk up to it and make something happen, and be inspired. With a guitar you don’t get that instant reward. But after that initial bit of inspiration, there’s also a huge curve of musical development to learn on the Tenori-On if you really want to get the most out of it.
Visit Yamaha’s Tenori-On site for more details about the instrument, including demos. So far, the Tenori-On is only available in the UK.
Wednesday, March 5th, 2008
One of Luigi Colani’s “Pegasus” Grand Pianos, designed in consultation with Schimmel Pianos of Braunschweig, Germany, is up for sale this month.
This piano represents one of only fourteen that were originally built. According to automorrow.com, this instrument is “For sale by the original owner, and kept in pristine condition in their private residence.” Gizmodo provides a few more details about the history of the design and more pictures.
Friday, February 29th, 2008
In the March 20, 2008 issue of the New York Review of Books, Nicholson Baker (best known in library circles for his 2001 book, Double Fold: Libraries and the Assault on Paper) provides some insights on “The Charms of Wikipedia.”
“It’s like some vast aerial city with people walking briskly to and fro on catwalks, carrying picnic baskets full of nutritious snacks.”
“This is a reference book that can suddenly go nasty on you.”
He provides a history of the project and describes its merits and shortfalls based on his own experience with editing and championing articles. It’s a great starting point to help you understand why people love and hate Wikipedia (and why your teacher tells you not to use it in your bibliography).
Friday, February 8th, 2008
Naxos Music Library recently announced the addition of four new labels to their database of streaming audio:
Dinant is a record label formed by Canadian saxophonist Paul Brodie – ‘Ambassador of the Saxophone’ (Crescendo International Magazine) – dedicated to this instrument. He himself performs a range of saxophone music.
Albany Records is dedicated to producing interesting, imaginative releases to satisfy the public’s hunger for more than just the famous great works in classical music. It is devoted to music by American composers (with only a few exceptions) performed by the best of America’s artists. There are premiere recordings by Roy Harris, Morton Gould and others, plus music by George Lloyd and Andrei Eshpei and many more.
New Albion’s mission is to search for new musical territories. With composers and performers, the label develops, records and releases about six titles a year. The creativity is evident from a selection of titles: Ars Magis Subtiliter (secular music of the Chantilly Codex, France, 14th century), Daniel Lentz’s Apologetica (settings of texts from the Chilam Balam – the sacred books of the Maya Indians of Yucutan) and Food for the Bearded (the solo debut of guitarist and composer Gyan Riley).
Music & Arts Programs of America is an independent classical and jazz label. Live performances from Casals, Schnabel and other great artists of the past feature in this label’s output, as well as the cream of the American jazz tradition. Plenty of gems to enjoy here!
BGSU students, faculty, and staff may visit our Listen Online page to access Naxos and other streaming audio sites.