John McLachlan
30 November 2011
After the rejection of repetition by many modernist composers in the mid twentieth century, the extreme repetition of minimalism seemed inevitable. But, writes John McLachlan, composers don't always know when to stop.
1 July 2011
The idea of a common language in composition is a thing of the past: the world of contemporary music is now entirely chaotic, the result of individualism, tradition and cosmopolitanism pulling, irreconcilably, against each other. John McLachlan found this world in action at the ISCM World Music Days in Zagreb earlier this year.
27 June 2011
A concert in Donegal found unity in the vitality of contemporary Irish composition's diverse strands.
10 June 2011
Recent concert and competition jury experiences suggest to John McLachlan that only the best music sparks disagreement, and that mediocre work enjoys consensus.
2 February 2011
Composers are afraid of using the basic building blocks of their trade.
1 February 2011
Now that we no longer have a common practice in music, novelty moves in different directions and at different speeds, all depending on the context.
1 April 2010
The challenges facing the funding of the arts go beyond the current economic situation. In the absence of clear guiding language from policy documents, and an ambition to try and do everything, arts councils thrash about during a crisis, wreaking bigger change than the numbers alone would justify. All artists can do is read the tea-leaves after the cup of funding is drained, writes composer John McLachlan
1 February 2010
Promoters of art mislead audiences by suggesting that there is meaning where there is none. Sometimes you just have to trust the artist, writes John McLachlan
1 December 2009
ISCM World New Music Days, Visby, Växjö and Gothenburg, Sweden, 24 September – 4 October 2009
- 1 of 6
- ››
Discussion