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Focuses on two music composers, both named Kurt Weills, with one from Germany and other from Broadway, New York City. Discourse on the plays in which the two composers worked in the 1920s; Comment on the writing style of the two and the ideology towards their work; Popularity of the two in the U.S.

The current abundance of new music performance in New York has produced consequences for the public musical awareness. In particular, the necessity to find enough challenging material to so many programs has transformed the "advanced" composer into a celebrity who cannot turn out enough works of sufficient "advancement" to satisfy the demand. Consequently, the whole range of his earlier work has been explored and instead of the once a decade misinterpretation through which a composer's identity used to be known, it is now possible to get a full view of his creative accomplishment within a season or two. The release of a composer from his rigid appearance as a one-utterance phenomenon reveals the vital relation of his work to the principal concerns of the contemporary intellectual mainstream and gives his objectives the same urgency for the contemporary audience that those of the Romantics had for their time. The problem confronting the twentieth century composer is the one encountered in all the areas of contemporary thought.

The article profiles Marco Benevento, a pianist, organist and composer from Brooklyn, New York City. According to the article, he spent much of his 20s and early 30s in Brooklyn exploring various music including jam-rock, independent pop and groove-oriented jazz. Benevento formed the Benevento-Russo Duo with his lifelong friend Joe Russo. He has bought a house in the rural town of Saugerties, north of New York City, where he lives with his wife and two daughters.

The article focuses on musical career of American songwriter Charlyn Marie Marshall also known as Cat Power. It states that at the age of 20 years Marshall moved to New York City and her first show was at warehouse in Brooklyn. It informs that in the year 2003 she released the album "You Are Free" with plenty of droning guitars and double tracked vocals and in 2006 released another album "The Greatest."

The author discusses ways in which living in New York City influenced the late composer John Cage's philosophy of composition and music. He describes the Sixth Avenue apartment where Cage lived with his personal and business partner Merce Cunningham. In his 1967 book "A Year From Monday," Cage wrote how he was becoming less interested in music and was finding environmental sounds and noises to be more aesthetically useful.

The author presents information about composers who support the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) protest movement. The article discusses the complex connections between music institutions like the New York Philharmonic and financial firms like JPMorgan. He comments on artistic radicalism's relationship to OWS and the irony of the group's ejection from Winter Garden of the World Financial Center in New York City. Also discussed is the executive function of a composer, composers' value of the social hierarchy, and the concert hall as a police state. Other topics include the arts' low priority among the rich and U.S. President Barack Obama's support of the U.S. National Endowment for the Arts.

The article features several artists who are scheduled to perform at the 2012 National Association for Campus Activities (NACA) National Convention in the U.S. Alex and Janel are famous singer-songwriter acts in New York City. Dr. Seahorse is a project of singer-songwriter Trevor Davis and producer Mark Suhonen. The other featured artists include singer Chantae Cann, the Filligar band, and comedian Jasper Redd.

The article discusses the early recordings of the music of Czech composer Bohuslav Martin&#x016F as well as the personal and political contexts in which they were made. It notes Martin&#x016F's career in Paris, France, his arrival in New York with his wife in 1941, and the obstacles to his return to his homeland after the Communist takeover in 1948. His wartime compositions and the suppression of the recording and release of his Third Symphony and Fourth Symphony are also highlighted.

The article offers information on the German avant-garde composer Karlheinz Stockhausen. It mentions the press conference Stockhausen sponsored in Hamburg, Germany on September 16, 2001 in which he discussed issues regarding the 9/11 terrorist attack at the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York City. It cites Stockhausen's works as a composer during the 20th century, and how he views the similarities between war and art.

A biography of Gabriel Roth, songwriter, bass player and co-founder of Daptone Records in Saint Brooklyn, New York City, is presented. He was born in 1974 and studied at Ponderosa High School. He then pursued sound engineering at New York University (NYU) and succeeded in manufacturing authentic pop recordings. Roth's career success and achievements are also explored.

A biography of composer Norman Dello Joio is presented. He was born on January 24, 1913 in New York City and began his musical career as an organist and choir director for a church in New York. He studied at the Juilliard School of Music, and later became a professor for colleges and universities including Boston University. He won a Pulitzer Prize for Music, and remained as a composer until his death on July 24, 2008. A list of Dello Joio's compositions from 1940 to 1984 is offered.

The article profiles concert pianist, teacher, composer and arranger Jeffrey Biegel. After six years of coaching with legendary teacher Adele Marcus, Biegel graduated from the Juilliard School in New York in 1984. He had won many awards after his graduation, like the 1985 Juilliard William Petschek Piano Debut Award and the 1989 Marguerite Long International Piano Competition. Biegel's career developed quickly after his graduation at Juilliard and winning several awards because of his flexibility and entrepreneurial spirit. He believes that he has to fit in, and adapt to the latest styles and trend while remaining true to his beliefs, to have a successful career as a concert pianist.

The article presents a profile of the New York City-based music composer Nico Muhly. Details are given describing Muhly's musical aesthetics and influences, particularly that of fellow composer and employer Philip Glass, along with an overview of his personal life within the city. Several examples of Muhly's works are also examined.

The article cites unprinted letters by composer Samuel Wesley. The earliest of these letters was found in the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York City. It was a letter for Wesley's mother, informing his intention to visit his mother in the evening. It also mentioned the presence of his friend, the musician and writer William Linley. Another letter was pasted into an album in the Wesley Family Letters Collection at the Drew University Methodist Library in Madison, New Jersey.

The article profiles U.S. country musician and songwriter Loudon Wainwright III. He was born on September 5, 1946 and grew up in Westchester County, New York. Wainwright's upbringing was influenced by his father who was a longtime editor and writer. Thus, his gift for detail was due to his journalistic pedigree. As a child, he never really wanted to be a musician. Instead, he wanted to be an actor. Still, there was always music in their house. He got his first guitar at age 10.

The article profiles musician Ed Pettersen of Syosset, New York and his musical odyssey. His love for music and the work ethic instilled by his family helped him learned the ropes of being a songwriter, singer and the plan to put up his own music. His first album, Desperate Times was released in 1995 and was followed by six albums and became an album producer for various artists. He collaborated with Bob Olhsson and Gerry Livers that made projects to enhance the music industry.

The article presents an interview with musician and actress Idina Menzel. The death of Jonathan Larson, writer and composer of the musical "Rent," on the night of the final dress rehearsal at the New York Theatre Workshop has created a unique bond between the cast members. The musician prefers to collaborate with songwriters and producers. She feels a responsibility in doing plays that will have a positive influence on her audiences.

Presents the loft of songwriters Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman in New York City. Interior design; House furnishings; Role of Eric Hughes as designer of the songwriters.

Profiles composer Tobias Picker. Information on the composer's opera "An American Tragedy," to be premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City on December 2, 2005; Efforts of Picker to finish the orchestrations for the opera; Family background of Picker.

Interviews jazz composers Ben Allison, Stefon Harris and Vijay Iyer in New York City. Views on the comparison between composing and performance modes; Opinion involving the difference between the new musical instruments and technology; Basis of writing their jazz music.

Examines how the New York Philharmonic Orchestra is struggling to attract new audiences without antagonizing the old, as the orchestra faces the lowest attendance figures in many years. Potential impact of moving back to Carnegie Hall, the orchestra's smaller, former home; How the Philharmonic is arguably the most accomplished orchestra in the United States; Profile of composer and conductor Lorin Maazel.

Profiles Wayne Shorter, a saxophonist and composer from New York City. Career history; Achievements and awards; Lists of album composed by Shorter. INSET: THE HALL OF FAME..

An interview with Lawrence Sobol, composer and artist, is presented. He cites his experience on his meeting with Alan Hovhaness at a Long Island Chamber Ensemble concert at Carnegie Recital Hall in New York City on April 17, 1971. He mentions that Hovhaness has an in-depth understanding of clarinet. He offers information on the composition "Saturn," by Hovhaness for him.

Comments on the status of music-theater in New York, New York. Attitude of composers and music critics toward music-theater; Definition of the term; Factors preventing theater personalities to engage in music-theater; Significance of one-person production to artistic integrity in creative music; Choice patterns in the production of music-theater.

Richard Kogan's interest in the link between mental illness and creativity is more than a mere academic sideline. As a psychiatrist and director of the Human Sexuality Program at New York Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center, and a concert pianist, he has examined the psychopathology of some of the great composers, Schumann, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, even George Gershwin, and explored its effects on the composers' music. Kogan continued to mix music and medicine by going to Harvard Medical School under a special five-year plan that enabled him to travel and perform concerts.

Focuses on conductor John Harbison's opera adaptation of the 1925 novel `The Great Gatsby,' by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Problem of Harbison with the use of music in the novel; Cast and conductor for the adaptation at the Metropolitan Opera; Background information on Harbison.

Comments on Turin's Settembre Musica, a series of concerts presented in New York in 1989. Admission rate; Concerts by Alicia de Larrocha, Terresa Berganza, Shirley Verrett, the Kim-Ma-Ax trio, and the Moscow State Symphony; Composers honored during the festival.

Reports that William Bolcom's "Songs of Innocence and of Experience" had its premiere at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York City. William Blake's "Songs of Innocence and Experience, Shewing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul," which is a collection of poems; Bolcom's determination to convert all of the poems into music; Use of a large symphony orchestra.

Comments on several operas broadcast by WNYC in celebration of musical composer Virgil Thomson in New York City in November 1986. Background information on Thomson; Musical credits; Predilections.

Comments on several operatic plays in New York City in 1986 and their musical composers. "El Cimarron," by Hans Werner Henze; "The Stone Guest," by Alexander Dargomyzhsky; "Mireille," by Gounod.

Profiles musical composer Aaron Copland, whose works were featured in several orchestra performances in New York City in 1985. Range of Copland compositions performed during the events; Description of Copland's musical style; Key contributions of Copland to music.

Details how several composers returned to Corning, N.Y. last spring for a reunion of composers who had written a piece under commission from the Northside Blodgett Middle School and the Corning Area Community Concert Band in previous years. Offers comments from some of the composers on the challenge of composing works for a band of divergent skills and the concept of this type of combined band.

An interview with composer and clarinetist Meyer Kupferman in New York is presented. Kupferman describes his background as a clarinetist and highlights clarinetist Reginald Kell as his biggest classical influence in viewing the clarinet. He mentions his last year in high school as the time when he becomes serious about composing. He commented on how a performer might approach an analysis of his pieces to enhance interpretation by not taking his metronome markings seriously.