In a recent post, author and critic Alex Ross notes the intriguing article in the foundation’s publication, the Paul Sacher Stiftung, regarding newly unearthed sketches for Ligeti’s proposed third and fourth string quartets. The twentieth century master penned two complete quartets, both of which represent significant moments in both the development of Ligeti’s own style and the exploration of the genre and abilities of the ensemble. The unfulfilled promise of two more quartets from such a consummate genius is of great interest. The author of the article, Bianca Ţiplea Temeş, writes:

“At first, String Quartet No. 3 was meant to be written in a single section (“One long movement with many episodes”), recalling the form of Métamorphoses nocturnes. It then underwent various shapes as a piece in six or three movements, with the duration of each movement precisely specified (12′ + 3′ + 6′ = 21′). The musical language was also very well outlined in words: “Entirely microtonal,” “Microtonal harmonics,” “It disintegrates through hyperchromaticism typical of Gesualdo,” augmented with detailed information on which strings the instrumentalist was meant to play. Descriptions combining visual and acoustic elements of different musical fragments are very relevant: “Gradually it evolves higher and higher (maybe the cello plays in a low register, on the C string, as a BORDUN), the others disappear irritated in the high register through high harmonics, as a lost plane.” For each of these characteristics, Ligeti sums up a rich array of extra-European musical influences of a wide geographical spread, stringing together rhythmic and melodic ideas from Burma, Uganda, Great Zimbabwe, Java-Bali, Cameroon, etc. Moreover, he crosses the frontier of art music by integrating references from the fine arts into his verbal sketches: “In Escher’s footsteps,” “Pinturas negras,” “Alhambra ornaments,” all articulating the image of a complex personality of twentieth-century culture and leaving unanswered for posterity the question of what String Quartets Nos. 3 and 4 might have sounded like.”

We all must wonder what these quartets would have sounded like. This topic is one of many written about, examined, and explored in the Paul Sacher Foundation’s publications. The foundation’s website, linked at the bottom of this article, allows for the exploration of many of their published writings in either English or German; a collection worth exploring and seeing what can be stumbled upon.

First Prize
$1,000 • Performance of work • Live Recording • First Prize Award Letter from FAU Libraries

Second Prize
$500 • Second Prize Award Letter from FAU Libraries

Third Prize
$300• Third Prize Award Letter from FAU Libraries

REQUIRED INSTRUMENTATION: (15 parts)
1 Flute or Piccolo
1 Bb Clarinet
1 Soprano or Alto Sax
1 Tenor Sax
1 Baritone Sax
2 Trumpets
2 Trombones
1 Piano
1 Accordion (lead sheet with melody & chord changes)
1 Drum Set
1 Percussionist (available: bongos, congas, xylophone, glockenspiel, tambourine, triangle)
1 Violin (for soloist or unison section)
1 String Bass

DURATION: All entries must be 3:30‐4:00 minutes in length.
DEADLINE AND NOTIFICATION SCHEDULE:
DEADLINE: December 10, 2012 (materials received: application, hard copy score, and midi realization)
NOTIFICATION: by January 4, 2013
HARD COPY PARTS: January 23, 2013 (parts received)
PERFORMANCE: March 3, 2013
PAYMENT: Contest winners will be paid within 30 days of delivery of performance‐ready score and parts.

The competition is part of our concert program “Debussy as Painter of Song,” which will focus on Debussy as song composer and creator of exquisite miniatures. Debussy wrote over 60 songs throughout his life, as well as brief works for solo piano and solo flute which, despite their limited length and instrumental forces, display a dazzling range of color and emotion. Composers are asked to write brief works inspired by Debussy’s songs and miniatures.

Winning entries will receive world premiere performances on Sunday, June 2, 2013 at 3:00pm at the Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia. Winners participate in a post-concert conversation with the artists and composers and receive an archival recording of the concert. The artists are Elizabeth Reiter, soprano, Mimi Stillman, flute and Natalie Zhu, piano.

Length and Instrumentation: Works must be no more than three minutes in duration. They must be scored for soprano and piano, flute and piano, or soprano, flute, and piano. Piccolo and alto flute may also be used.

Eligibility: Composers under 30 who are U.S. citizens or residents, or who are enrolled as students in an accredited U.S. institution. Works must never have been performed publicly. All genres are eligible, including classical, jazz, rock, and world music, so long as the score is fully notated. Recordings (of a reading or a MIDI version) will be accepted along with the score, but they are not required. Winners must be present at the concert on Sunday, June 2, 2013.

Deadlines: Submissions are due by December 1, 2012. Winners announced March 1, 2013.

Adjudication: Dolce Suono Ensemble members and outside panelists will evaluate the submissions in two rounds.

With questions and for information about vocal range and tessitura, email MStillman@dolcesuono.com.

Mail submissions to:

Stockhausen is certainly one of the more eccentric and experimental composers of the 20th-century. Several of his more erratic concepts stand out in the classical cannon, such as his 1993 “

Helicopter Quartet”. Gruppen is equally inventive, being one of the earliest works to experiment with spatial placement of the ensemble (Ives being a notable exception). Stockhausen had experimented with the moving of sound through space in his 1957 pre-recorded electronic work Gesang der Jünglinge. It was only natural that he would carry these experiments into the acoustic realm, the result being this work. Of course, listening to a performance of this work on a recording doesn’t do it justice, as the movement of the sound from different locations in the room, like a planned choreography of sound, is as essential to the work as the mathematically structured pitches, rhythms, and timbres.

Though Gruppen holds center stage on the program for these performances, the other works that are included are ingeniously selected as explorations of spatiality in music. The precursor of many of the experiments of the 20th-century was the isolated Charles Ives. His work A Contemplation of a Serious Matter, or The Unanswered Perennial Question places three distinct instrumental groupings around the hall, each with its own tonality, tempo, and material. Ives’ masterpiece takes on a philosophical bent with its contemplation of man’s existence in the universe. Pierre Boulez, along with Stockhausen, was one of the conductors at the premiere of Gruppen. His work Rituel in memoriam Bruno Maderna is dedicated to the man who took on the role of third conductor at the premiere, Bruno Maderna. Cleverly, Alan Gilbert has also included the Act I finale of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, a number that famously places three instrumental ensembles on stage playing the different dance musics during the party scene. By separating the three groups and placing them around the auditorium, the audience is transposed from being viewers of the action to being inside of it.

The event, dubbed “Philharmonic 360”, will take place at the much better suited Park Avenue Armory. The space at Lincoln Center is not particularly suited to such a big performance (a problem Leonard Bernstein run up against when he wanted to perform the work in the ‘60s).

Sanctus, another string quartet of Maimets’s, was recently selected as the winner of the Villiers Quartet Competition in London. After being selected from the 54 entries for the semi-final round, Maimets’s score was ultimately determined the winner after an online audience vote. The prize includes £500, a studio recording of Sanctus and programming of the piece in upcoming Villiers Quartet concerts.

Maimet says of the work:

“My string quartet Sanctus draws on musical material from a variety of religious traditions (Eastern Orthodox choral music, Ashkenazy Jewish cantorial singing, Yiddish song, Renaissance motet, Klezmer and Persian chant). I felt inspired to write Sanctus when, while listening to a radio show, I heard a description of a holy man that deeply moved me, perhaps because of its reference to an ancient way of thinking that espouses eternal values which seem to have become neglected in the modern age. This quartet is an exploration of mysticism and spirituality in different forms. I decided to draw on a variety of musical and religious traditions to evoke the universality and eternality of spirituality.”

The 2012 Competition is dedicated to violin soloist or viola soloist and electronics and is open to composers of any nationality and of any age.

Scores should be for violin soloist or viola soloist and electronics. Theelectronic part must be playable from a data storage device. Pieces involving live electronics are NOT admitted.

The overall duration of the work should be from 7 (seven) to 15 (fifteen) minutes.

The electronic part should be from 2 (two) to 8 (eight) channels.

The competitors is requested to send 5 (five) copies (anonymous) of the following material to the office of Nuova Consonanza:

1 – a complete description of the technical requirements for performing the work

2 – the score in printed form

3 – a complete stereo recording (instrumental part plus electronics) of a performance of the work; a MIDI simulation of the work may also be sent if it has never been performed. In both cases the recording must be sent on Audio CD.

As an exception (for candidates without recording and not in condition to provide the midi simulation) competitors have any way to send the stereo version of the electronic part of the composition on Audio CD.

Each composer has to send 1 (one) copy of the electronic part on Cd Romor Dvd, with separate or interlaced tracks on AIFF or WAV file format, 16 or 24 bit resolution and 44100 Hz or higher sampling rate.

The composer undertakesthe responsibilityto fill the role of technician/performer foreseen in the score or else to appoint his/her own technician.

All the material indicated above must be sent to the Association (viale Giuseppe Mazzini 134 – Scala B, 00195 Roma) not later than 31 May 2012 (certified by the post office stamp).

The compositions can have been performed already but must not have been published or awarded prizes in other competitions.

Each composer can submit only one piece.

The Competition is anonymous. Each score and each CD/DVD must be characterized by a motto and accompanied by a sealed envelope, identified by the same motto, containing the personal data of the composer (forename, surname, date of birth, nationality, address, telephone number, e-mail if any, photocopy of identity card), a detailed curriculum vitae, the receipt confirming payment of the registration fee, a declaration certifying that the composition has not been awarded a prize in any other competition and the written permission for possible radio broadcasting. The information requested must be in Italian, English or French.

1) The call is directed to composers of all ages and nationalities.

2) The aim of the call is the creation of electroacoustic sound miniatures (duration: 2-5 minutes) in 2012 under the theme of “sound text composition”

3) No more than one electroacoustic work per composer will be presented at the Sound Walk installation.

4) All applications should be sent via internet in 1 single Zip File by UPLOAD on the Miso Music’s FTP.

The Zip File with the candidate’s application should contain 3 files inside a single folder:
- 1 Text file (.doc, .txt, .rtf or .pdf) with a short biography and contacts, as well as information about the piece (methods used, concept, etc.)
- 1 Audio file .AIFF or .WAV format 16bit 44,1kHz with the recording of the composer’s name and title of the piece spoken aloud (this is to be used as an announcement and will be played before each piece on the Sound Walk installation).

- 1 Audio file .AIFF or .WAV format 16bit 44,1kHz containing the stereo version of the piece*
In case of works up to 4 channels (multichannel pieces) the audio files corresponding to each of the channels in AIFF or WAV format should be recorded on a CD-R or DVD-data and submitted by post to:

5) The deadline for submissions (upload and post) is 12 P.M. GMT time, June 30 2012

Vox Novus is inviting composers/sound artists to submit recorded works 60 seconds or less in length to be included in its tenth annual 60×60 project. 60 compositions will be selected to be played continuously in a one-hour concert.
Open to all composers. No entry fee. All submissions must be uploaded online.

First prize: £500
Second prize: £200
Submitted compositions will be shortlisted for performance. Shortlisted pieces will be performed and judged as part of our Christmas concert on the evening of Thursday 13th December 2012, at the Church of St Sepulchre-without-Newgate. Judges will be Patrick Russill and Judith Weir.
It is proposed (but not confirmed) that the winning entries will also be published.

1. The competition is open to composers of all nations regardless of age.
2. Each participant may submit more than one score.
3. All submitted works must have been composed after December  31st, 2009, be unpublished, have never been performed in public and not awarded in any other competition.
4. The jury will give its award to three pieces, which will be performed in The Arthur Rubinstein Łódź Philharmonic.

II. SUBJECT

1. The subject of the competition is a piece for:
   a) voice solo and string orchestra with the option of using percussion instruments (up to four players),
   b) or instrument solo and string orchestra with the option of using percussion instruments (up to four players).
2. In case of a composition for voice solo, the text may be written in any language. A translation into English must accompany the composition.
3. The string orchestra consists of:
   8-14 Violini I, 6-12 Violini II, 6-10 Viole, 4-8 Violoncelli, 2-6 Contrabassi.
4. List of percussion instruments:
   Xilofono, Campane (Tubolari), 5 Timpani/ Tubi di Bambù (Wood Wind Chimes), Blocchi di Legno Coreani, Castagnette, Guiro, Cabaza, Raganella, Frusta/ Triangolo, Concerro (Cowbell), Sonagli, Flessatono (Flexatone), Incudine, Lastra, Piatti a 2, Piatti Sospesi, Tam-tams/ Tamburo Basco, Timbales Cubani, Bongos, Tamburo Militare, Tom-toms, Gran Cassa.
5. The use of recordings and live electronic means is not permitted.
6. Duration of the composition must be 10-20 minutes (this should be specified in the score).

III. PRIZES

1. Three prizes funded by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage:
   1st Prize: 27.000 PLN (approx. 6.000 €*)
   2nd Prize: 18.000 PLN (approx. 4.000 €*)
   3rd Prize: 9.000 PLN (approx. 2.000 €*)
   * The euro equivalent of prizes has been given according to the exchange rate of the National Bank of Poland on the day of the competition announcement.
   All prizes are given in their gross amounts.
2. The first performance of the awarded compositions will be on December 7th, 2012 in The Arthur Rubinstein Łódź Philharmonic.
3. The jury reserves the right to divide the prizes as it sees fit.

IV. JURY

1. The members of the jury:
   Zygmunt Krauze (Poland) – Chairman
   Agustin Charles (Spain)
   Paul Patterson (United Kingdom)
   Chen Yi (China, USA)
2. Results of the competition will be announced in the second half of September 2012.

V. APPLICATIONS

1. The score should be submitted anonymously, bearing a letter or digit code.
2. The score should be sent along with proof of payment of the registration fee and a sealed envelope, bearing the same code as the score.  It must include the following information:
   a) first name and surname of the composer,
   b) date and place of birth,
   c) nationality,
   d) address, telephone number, e-mail
   e) a declaration that the submitted work has been composed after December 31st, 2009, is unpublished, has never been performed in public and has not been awarded a prize in any other competition.
3. Scores should be sent to the following address:
   4th Grażyna Bacewicz International Composer Competition
   The Grażyna and Kiejstut Bacewicz Academy of Music in Łódź
   32 Gdańska St., 90-716 Łódź, Poland.
   The deadline for sending scores is  August 31st, 2012 (the postmark is decisive).

VI. REGISTRATION  FEE

1. The registration fee for each score is 40 €.
2. The amount is to be paid to the bank account of
   The Grażyna and Kiejstut Bacewicz Academy of Music in Łódź
   32 Gdańska St., 90-716 Łódź, Poland
   NG Bank Slaski SA BAN:
   PL 57 1050 1461 1000 0090 3005 4044
   WIFT/BIC: INGBPLPW with a note:
   4th G. Bacewicz International Composer Competition and the composer’s name and surname.
3. All banking charges and commissions must be covered by the applicant. Please, make sure that the amount  that will reach the account will be precisely the same as required (see article VI.1).
4. Cheques will not be accepted.
5. The registration fee will not be refunded.

VII. CLOSING RESOLUTIONS

1. Entering the competition means that each participant agrees to the above rules.
2. Scores not fulfilling requirements defined by the rules will not be accepted to the competition.
3. Scores are not to be returned to the composers.
4. Winners of the competition are obliged to prepare parts and send them at their expense in due time, determined by the competition organizers.
5. In the case of non-standard instruments in a solo part, the composer of an awarded piece is obliged to recommend a soloist. The organizers will cover costs of the soloist’s travel within Europe.