In celebration of its 20th anniversary, the PRISM Quartet issued a call to more than 20 composers, asking them to write short works to mark this milestone. The majority of these micro-compositions last between one and two minutes, each providing a fascinating window into its composer’s unique approach to the ensemble.

With the release of their debut CD sweet light crude, David T. Little’s chamber rock project Newspeak has arrived in a big way.

By Brian Sacawa
Saxophonist Eliot Gattegno is less concerned with impressing his peers than being a medium for the voices of seven composers.

While they’re not exactly the hipster answer to King Crimson, Dirty Projectors are creating music that tests the boundaries of what you’d expect from a group that gets filed under “indie rock.”

In the present new music milieu of countless oddly staffed ensembles, Flexible Music has one of the more exciting combinations of instruments and probably one of the most, um, flexible out there in terms of their ability to capture such a broad range of sounds and styles.

New music itself tends to be complicated; but the relationship between composers and performers doesn’t need to be.

Much has been made about Marin Alsop’s appointment as the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s new music director-elect—a post she’ll assume beginning in the 2007-08 season. To say the least, Alsop’s appointment marks an immense change at the helm for the BSO. Last night, Baltimore got a glimpse of the maestra in action.