Once upon a time, I got to hear a fair amount of music by David Del Tredici. I guess I was in the right place at the right time, for opportunities in the Baltimore area have been scarce. I was reminded of this lamentable deficiency in my musical diet when I noticed that today marks the richly imaginative composer's 75th birthday. It made me want to hear some of marvelous works inspired by the writings of Lewis Carroll -- or anything else, for that matter.
The Detroit Symphony Orchestra honored Del Tredici earlier this month with ...
a performance of "Final Alice" and posted the closing portion of that prismatic score from 1976, which I thought would make a worthy birthday salute here. What mesmerizing music this is -- a sonic wonderland, you might say. (Boosey & Hawkes also marked the birthday by posting a three-part interview with the composer that is well worth checking out.)