Here's Daniel Felsenfeld on Sound Notion, talking about his Music After project — an attempt to mark the tenth anniversary of September 11th without speechifying, without sanctimony, without pro-forma lamentations. Instead, it's simply a marathon concert of and by creative musicians who were in downtown Manhattan when 9/11 happened — everyone from Elliott Carter and David Lang to Laurie Anderson and Justin Bond. I admit I've felt ambivalent about a lot of the musical tributes that have been announced. (The series at Trinity Wall Street, where the last music of the day will be Ligeti's Lux aeterna, is in a separate category.) Like so many New Yorkers, I have overpowering memories of that day, yet I've grown weary of "official" commemorative events, which can't avoid having at least a trace of politics or commerce attached. Listening to the German Requiem had a profound effect on me in the weeks after the attack, but I'm not sure I need a re-play now. Danny's idea of a space dedicated purely to local new music appeals to me strongly, and I hope that fund-raising proceeds apace.
