Really enjoyed reading about Julius Eastman here. In my final year as a music student I had the opportunity to take part in a performance of one of his pieces (Stay On It) and it was one of my favourite experiences I had there. And it still gets stuck in my head from time to time.
I can relate to some of your thoughtfully expressed feelings about Eastman - in a way his work is precious, because of the provenance, yet it should not be treated preciously. But perhaps it's a good thing that there are enough recordings and performances that we can afford to have some of them be less than ideal or true to his spirit. Bad interpretations inform our understanding of his work, just as with any other composers...but sitting through one would not be easy! I was lucky enough to hear and extraordinary version of Femenine by Talea Ensemble and the Harlem Chamber Players (covered here: http://anearful.blogspot.com/p/live-log-2023-eastman-excursion.html#.ZF1JpnbMJPY) - keep an eye out for their recording, made a couple of years ago, which will likely be as great.
Really enjoyed reading about Julius Eastman here. In my final year as a music student I had the opportunity to take part in a performance of one of his pieces (Stay On It) and it was one of my favourite experiences I had there. And it still gets stuck in my head from time to time.
It's a great piece.
I can relate to some of your thoughtfully expressed feelings about Eastman - in a way his work is precious, because of the provenance, yet it should not be treated preciously. But perhaps it's a good thing that there are enough recordings and performances that we can afford to have some of them be less than ideal or true to his spirit. Bad interpretations inform our understanding of his work, just as with any other composers...but sitting through one would not be easy! I was lucky enough to hear and extraordinary version of Femenine by Talea Ensemble and the Harlem Chamber Players (covered here: http://anearful.blogspot.com/p/live-log-2023-eastman-excursion.html#.ZF1JpnbMJPY) - keep an eye out for their recording, made a couple of years ago, which will likely be as great.
Thank you, I’ll be very excited to hear that recording!