Gary Noland’s Music Updates

Introducing Gary Noland’s Music

Introducing Jim Davidson

Updates

My friend, Gary Noland has been quite active lately with lots of new music.  Here are some of his recent pieces for your listening amusement.

Gary Noland

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Brand new piece (15 August, 2017): Gary Noland, piano & narration, performs Fascicle No. 162, Part Six of his chamber novel Jagdlied Op. 20.

Brand new piece (15 August, 2017): Gary Noland, piano & narration, performs Fascicle No. 162, Part Six of his chamber novel Jagdlied Op. 20.

 

 

 

My PAEAN IN HOMAGE TO HIGH-MINDED MAGGOTS, UPSTANDING BOTTOMFEEDERS, AND OTHER MALIGNANT PARASITES OF UNIMPEACHABLE MORAL INTEGRITY performed by THE PIMPLETON PROCRASTURBATION ENSEMBLE (December 20th, 2022): https://soundcloud.com/…/paean-in-homage-to-high-minded

(5) Gary Noland _ Facebook

 

 

 

 

 

 My latest piece: CONFUNKLED SNAFUBARBIES AND THEIR BIRDBRAINIAC CARBON COPIES CONFLABULATING AT THE FUNERAL HOME BEFORE THE FALL performed by THE PIMPLETON PROCRASTURBATION ENSEMBLE (December 18th, 2022): https://soundcloud.com/…/sets/confunkled-snafubarbies-and

My SOFT-BOILED EGGHEADS performed by THE PIMPLETON PROCRASTURBATION ENSEMBLE (December 16th, 2022): https://soundcloud.com/gary-noland/sets/soft-boiled-eggheads

My latest piece: TITS FOR TAT FROM A NURSING HOME NAZI’S NEMESIS performed by THE PIMPLETON PROCRASTURBATION ENSEMBLE (December 12th, 2022): https://soundcloud.com/…/sets/tits-for-tat-from-a-nursing

My VENGEGASMIC PHRENZY performed by the redoubtable PIMPLETON PROCRASTURBATION ENSEMBLE: https://soundcloud.com/gary-noland/sets/vengegasmic-phrenzy

 

 

 

 

Hello Jake, here is a full author interview I would like to share on my COLLECTED PIANO WORKS: Vol. 1.

 Collected Piano Works (Author Interview)

bookinform.com

Gary Noland

Lives in Portland, Oregon

Self-Employed

1/14/11, 3:37 PM

Gary

Hey Jake, Zappenin? Nice to see you in FB. I’m living in Portland, Oregon these days. Love it here. Jim tells me you’ve visited him on occasion in the Bay Area. I go there once or twice a year. Maybe we’ll cross orbits again sometime. I’m composing a 90-minute set of variations on my own theme for solo piano, which I started in April, 2009. Hope to have it completed in about three months. At 39 variations, I’ve probably broken the world record in terms of length and scope. You’re in Alexandria these days? Nice! Hope all is well. Cheers, Gary

Enter

 

Dear Friends, I AM PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THE UPCOMING RELEASE OF MY NEW DOUBLE CD: 20 COVIDITTIES Op. 116—composed amidst suffocating smoke, impending conflagrations, destructive riots, politico-ideological turmoil, all whilst in the throes of a pernicious global pandemic. Available for purchase on Amazon for only $16.95 “… a most important work … molted out of a neo-romanticism into a completely postmodern reduction of elements (ad absurdum) … Sometimes that romanticism … provides a frame or narrative on which [Noland] builds around or elaborates other layers. This is a multi-tiered music … the tonal works providing the frame are exquisite in their own right … the Chopin/Strauss element seems to reflect the old bourgeoisie under attack from the culture that has arisen since … its deliberately loving, saccharine poesy seems unmoved … love and fine taste exist wherever the appoggiatura stabs the heart … impressive series … a highly sophisticated sonic cartoon …”—ERNESTO FERRERI, American composerD

 

20 COVIDITTIES Op. 116—composed amidst suffocating smoke, impending conflagrations, destructive riots, politico-ideological turmoil, all whilst in the throes of a pernicious global pandemic.

amazon.com

Hi Jake, it is available for listening (in its entirety) on SoundCloud at the following link: https://soundcloud.com/gary-noland/sets/coviditties-op-116-by-gary

TWENTY COVIDITTIES Op. 116 by GARY LLOYD NOLAND

soundcloud.com

I have not used Sibelius with a keyboard since it has pretty good playback capabilities built into it. Listen to this, for example: https://soundcloud.com/gary-noland/demagogue-unseatment-celebration-march-for-military-band-op-110

DEMAGOGUE UNSEATMENT CELEBRATION MARCH for military band Op. 110

soundcloud.com

://soundcloud.com/gary-noland/access-of-oil-for-french-horn-violin-cello-percussion-piano-op-114

ACCESS OF OIL for French horn, violin, cello, percussion & piano Op. 114

soundcloud.com

I have a Yamaha Montage, which I started using in the summer but not in conjunction with Sibelius. As far as I know, virtually any MIDI keyboard ought to work with Sibelius. I haven’t tried it myself but I believe you shouldn’t have any problems with it. To be safe, ask the people at Sibelius and/or at Yamaha to recommend the right configurations. Best of luck with your new toys!

12/2/20, 5:40 PM

Gary

A musical memoir of 2020, this brand new double CD makes the perfect Xmas stocking stuffer! I AM PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THE OFFICIAL RELEASE OF MY BRAND NEW DOUBLE CD: 20 COVIDITTIES Op. 116—composed amidst suffocating smoke, impending conflagrations, destructive riots, politico-ideological turmoil, all whilst in the throes of a pernicious global pandemic. Available for purchase on Amazon. “… a most important work … molted out of a neo-romanticism into a completely postmodern reduction of elements (ad absurdum) … Sometimes that romanticism … provides a frame or narrative on which [Noland] builds around or elaborates other layers. This is a multi-tiered music … the tonal works providing the frame are exquisite in their own right … the Chopin/Strauss element seems to reflect the old bourgeoisie under attack from the culture that has arisen since … its deliberately loving, saccharine poesy seems unmoved … love and fine taste exist wherever the appoggiatura stabs the heart … impressive series … a highly sophisticated sonic cartoon …”—ERNESTO FERRERI, American composer

 

20 COVIDITTIES Op. 116—composed amidst suffocating smoke, impending conflagrations, destructive riots, politico-ideological turmoil, all whilst in the throes of a pernicious global pandemic.

amazon.com

Hope all is well with you. I am writing to let you know about my latest double CD “ENTROPIC ABANDON: a Super-Psychedelic, Maximalistic, Decadissident Free-Wing Dog & Pony Circus Flextravabonanza of Blightgeisty, Neuromantic, Encore-gasmic Opuscula,” which is now available for pre-order on Amazon. The official release date is March 1st. Order your copies NOW!!!

 ENTROPIC ABANDON: a Super-Psychedelic, Maximalistic, Decadissident Free-Wing Dog & Pony Circus Flextravabonanza of Blightgeisty, Neuromantic, Encore-gasmic Opuscula

amazon.com

My latest double CD “ENTROPIC ABANDON: a Super-Psychedelic, Maximalistic, Decadissident Free-Wing Dog & Pony Circus Flextravabonanza of Blightgeisty, Neuromantic, Encore-gasmic Opuscula” is now available for pre-order on Amazon. The official release date is March 1st. Order yours today!!!

 ENTROPIC ABANDON: a Super-Psychedelic, Maximalistic, Decadissident Free-Wing Dog & Pony Circus Flextravabonanza of Blightgeisty, Neuromantic, Encore-gasmic Opuscula

amazon.com

RAND NEW PIECE: ORLAN DOY GLANDLY conducts members of THE PROCRASTURBATION ENSEMBLE in a performance of GERTY MACDOWELL’S DRAWERS by GARY LLOYD NOLAND.

GERTY MACDOWELL’S DRAWERS

soundcloud.com

I am pleased to share this riveting performance by soprano Anna Haagenson and pianist Stephanie Thompson of the world premiere of my setting of Alexander Theroux’s poem “The Cabaret of Theresienstadt” (at 121:14), which was presented at the NACUSA 2021 Virtual New Music Festival on 18 April. This conference had originally been scheduled to take place in March, 2020 but was cancelled in the last minute due to the unfolding COVID crisis. I set ten poems of A. Theroux’s which I’ve been anxiously awaiting to hear performed (including one large choral setting for SATB, oboe, horn, bass & timpani). It is gratifying to finally hear this song interpreted by sensitive musicians. More performances of my Theroux settings are forthcoming. Anyone who is interesting in following the score may access it from my website in the “Scores 1” menu.

In the Neighborhood — NACUSA 2021 Virtual New Music Festival / Conference

youtube.com

This edition of my double CD ENTROPIC ABANDON will be out of print on June 4th. If interested, this is the time to order it!

 ENTROPIC ABANDON: a Super-Psychedelic, Maximalistic, Decadissident Free-Wing Dog & Pony Circus Flextravabonanza of Blightgeisty, Neuromantic, Encore-gasmic Opuscula

amazon.com

May 28, 2021, 1:09 AM

Although the recent double CD of my compositions “Entropic Abandon” (released on March 1st) is currently ranked No. 2 on the Amazon bestseller list of “Hot New Releases” in the “Special Interest” category, it is, unfortunately, going out of print come June 4th. All interested parties can take advantage of this last minute opportunity to order a copy from Amazon (two CDs for the price of one). https://www.amazon.com/…/dp/B08VXC9X5S/ref=zg_bsnr_35_2

Amazon.com New Releases: The best-selling new & future releases in Special Interest

amazon.com

Here’s where one can purchase it, along with two other recent CDs: https://composergarynoland.godaddysites.com/discography

Contact dr. noland about commissions or private music lessons

composergarynoland.godaddysites.com

Here’s a link to the hardbound color version of my chamber novel JAGDLIED: https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/jagdlied-a-chamber-novel-for-narrator-musicians-pantomimists-dancers–culinary-artists-standard-color-hardcover/19506767/item/29328620/?gclid=CjwKCAjwt8uGBhBAEiwAayu_9V82ECGJv3JS6AQBFhX59cnu6nNuQn9ZI4AgMCyn78x3floMplefNRoCdQ4QAvD_BwE#idiq=29328620&edition=20733719

Jagdlied: A Chamber Novel for Narrator,… book

thriftbooks.com

My bio can be found on the home page of my website: https://composergarynoland.godaddysites.com/

Contact dr. noland about commissions or private music lessons

composergarynoland.godaddysites.com

Hi Jake, I have a new collection (Volume 2) of my COLLECTED PIANO WORKS available for pre-ordering from most major, and many independent, book retailers worldwide. Thanks for asking! Hope all’s well with you and yours. Gary

I’m excited to announce that Volume 2 of my COLLECTED PIANO WORKS, which includes 39 VARIATIONS ON AN ORIGINAL THEME IN F MAJOR Op. 98 and GRANDE RAG BRILLANTE Op. 15, is available to pre-order from Amazon at: Ihttps://www.amazon.com/Collec…/dp/1732302391/ref=sr_1_1… “…The [39 Variations] is an astounding tour de force. In its far-reaching, systematic exploration of the theme’s creative possibilities … it reminds one of the Goldberg and the Diabelli. But in its monumental dimensions it goes far beyond them both, and in the large number of historical styles referenced and integrated into the work … I am unaware of any parallel … I offer my humble congratulations on a titanic achievement!”-LUDWIG TUMAN, composer & pianist

Gary Noland

Introducing Gary Noland’s Music

I have known Gary Noland since high school.  He is a very talented composer, piano player, and cartoonist who lives in Portland.  His music is eclectic with a snarky sarcastic tone to it, somewhat like listening to Frank Zappa’s classical music scores.   His cartoons are very Robert Crumpian in spirit.  Take a listen and let me know what you think.

https://soundcloud.com/gary-noland/sets/new-album-by-gary-lloyd-1

Here’s a link to a page on my website where orders for this CD and others can be made:

https://composergarynoland.godaddysites.com/discography

Here’s a link to the home page on my website, which includes my short bio:

https://composergarynoland.godaddysites.com/

Here’s a link to my chamber novel JAGDLIED and my play NOTHING IS MORE. Jag lied is offered in several versions: https://www.amazon.com/Dolly-Gray-Landon/e/B07GJV8Y11?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1624516602&sr=1-1

If you need anything else, don’t hesitate to ask.

Thanks!

All best,

Gary L. Noland

You can contact Gary Noland at nolandgary5@gmail.com

BIO

Introducing Gary Noland’s Music

Dr. Gary Lloyd Noland (a.k.a. author Dolly Gray Landon & artist Lon Gaylord Dylan), grew up in a crowded house shared by ten people on a plot of land three blocks south of UC Berkeley known as People’s Park, which has distinguished itself as a site of civic unrest since the late 1960 Dr. Gary Lloyd Noland (a.k.a. author Dolly Gray Landon & artist Lon Gaylord Dylan), grew up in a crowded house shared by ten people on a plot of land three blocks south of UC Berkeley known as People’s Park, which has distinguished itself as a site of civic unrest since the late 1960s. As an adolescent, Gary lived for a time in Salzburg and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, where he absorbed many musical influences. Having studied with a long roster of acclaimed composers and musicians, he earned his Bachelor’s in music from UC Berkeley in 1979, continued studies at the Boston Conservatory, and transferred to Harvard University, where he added to his credits Dr. Gary Lloyd Noland (a.k.a. Author Dolly Gray Landon & artist Lon Gaylord Dylan), grew up in a crowded house shared by ten people on a plot of land three blocks south of UC Berkeley known as People’s Park, which has distinguished itself as a site of civic unrest since the late 1960s.

As an adolescent, Gary lived for a time in Salzburg and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, where he absorbed many musical influences. Having studied with a long roster of acclaimed composers and musicians, he earned his Bachelor’s in music from UC Berkeley in 1979, continued studies at the Boston Conservatory, and transferred to Harvard University, where he added to his credits a Masters’ and a Ph.D. in Music Composition in 1989.

Gary’s catalog consists of hundreds of works, which include piano, vocal, chamber, experimental, and electronic pieces; full-length plays in verse, “chamber novels,” and other text pieces; as well as graphically notated scores. His award-winning chamber novel JAGDLIED for Narrator, Musicians, Pantomimists, Dancers & Culinary Artists was listed by one reviewer as the “Top Book of 2018.” Gary’s compositions have been performed and broadcast (including on NPR) in many locations throughout the United States, as well as in Europe, Asia, and Australia. He founded the Seventh Species concert series in San Francisco in 1990 and, for 23 years, produced well over 50 concerts of contemporary classical music on the West Coast. He is also a founding member of Cascadia Composers. Gary has taught music at Harvard, the University of Oregon, and Portland Community College. His musical scores are available from J.W. Pepper, RGM, Sheet Music Plus, and Freeland Publications. Six CDs of his compositions are available on the North Pacific Music label at: www.northpacificmusic.com. He has well over 300 videos of his music and narratives available for listening on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJt_eNyJqOZBErG9McQ51nA and numerous other sites on the Internet. composition lessons Lake Oswego Beaverton

The PIMPLETON PROCRASTURBATION ENSEMBLE performs STATE-OF-THE-ART EAR EXERCISES for MUSICAL COGNOSCENTI Op. 119 by GARY LLOYD NOLAND.

Featuring the composer and his five alter egos:

GARY LLOYD NOLAND: panda harmonium, malapropsichord, climaxophone, smorgasborgasmatron, bombasticordion, whoopeeboard, air cacophony or

ORLAN DOY GLANDLY: squealharp, ventilator guitar, squawkarina, Gulag whistle, dodecaphone, double-crossillators, electro-kakazoo

DARNOLD OLLY YANG: googah, hee-haw, harrumphinator, dalzheimers, oink bells, nerdy gurdy, didgeridoowahdoo, jello thumpers, custard pounders

LON GAYLORD DYLAN: unstitched concussion, belly button cymbals, lambastanets, barking spider engines, underarmonica, stiletto knockers, pudding whackers

DOLLY GRAY LANDON: forbidden flute, yo-yo-boe, C-sharp clarinet, stench horn, C-flat crumpet, smackbutt, bombdrone, polyphonic foot tuba

ARNOLD DAY LONGLY: steam viola, nose cello, nostril bass, power-barf machine, scaremin, toilet brushes, discordion

Review:

Composergarynoland – Composition Lessons, Music, Piano

GARY LLOYD NOLAND CHALLENGES MUSICAL CONVENTIONS, TRADITIONS, AND CUSTOMS

 

The distinction between music and noise is, I think, perfectly described by Physics.info. “Music and noise are both mixture

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the music of sound waves of different frequencies. The component frequencies of music are discrete, separable, and rational, with a discernible dominant frequency. The component frequencies of noise are continuous and random with no discernible dominant frequency.” Hence, the further we delve into dissonant or even atonal music, the more likely it is to be perceived as noise. Ultimately the line between the two is very blurry, and writer Meghan Davis took this concept to task smartly, when she wrote: “Someone nearby is tapping their toe. Is this an irritating noise or a musical sound? As it turns out, the difference depends almost entirely upon the listener.” And that ultimately is the point, my friends. The beauty of sound is in the ears of the beholder.

So why this long premise on sonic contrasts? Well, when you engage with the music of an avant-garde composer, and dare I say, sound designer, such as Gary Lloyd Noland, there is no sitting on the fence. You either judge his album, “State-of-the-Art Ear Exercises for Musical Cognoscenti Op. 119”, as ingeniously brilliant, or utter hogwash. If this hard and fast assumption sounds dramatically drastic, well then so does Noland’s classically inspired, post-modern sonic concoctions.

Gary Noland has boundless artistic spirit

Gary Lloyd Noland, who has received glowing critiques, has a boundless artistic spirit, and a seemingly endless technical and musical ambition. His compositions strive to challenge the listener to cast away conventions, traditions, customs, and any formal limitations their musical mindsets may have locked them into. The 18 tracks contained within this album will take you through sounds composed of multiple frequencies that are produced by instruments whose names alone will have your mind twisting into a loop.

Your ears will be teased, stroked, stretched, and surprised, by the featured players – Gary Lloyd Noland and his alter-egos: Orland Doy Gladly, Darnalod Olly Yang, Lon Gaylord Dylan, Dolly Gray Landon, and Arnold Day Longly. Even more surprising, are the names of the instrumentation used by the players. Among them, the pandaharmonium, squealharp, googah, unstitched concussion, stench horn, nose cello, and toilet brushes.

Now if you’re thinking of, outright dissonant bombast, think again. Because the album is awash with beautiful classical motifs filled with luscious melody and harmony. They’re simply interposed by varying flurries of atonal sounds which most people link to dissonance. If you could imagine an ensemble led by the combined minds of Richard Strauss, Frank Zappa, Brain Eno, and Luigi Russolo, you may just have the slightest idea of where Gary Lloyd Noland is going. And that’s practically everywhere.

Even the song titles themselves will make you sit up and take notice: “Murder Hornet Lullaby”, “Vaginavenger Vortex”, “Elevator Mucus”, “Only Drooly Grubbles” and “Larcabounger Zizz”, being just a selected few. That being said, Gary Lloyd Noland’s endearing eccentricities only really seem far more subversive to those stuck in the conventions of the mainstream jungle.

Warped Musical Sensibilities

Though Noland’s appeal comes from his warped musical sensibilities; most of the melodies and core structures contained within the album are fairly accessible, reflecting an alluring fondness for classical music. It’s just that his arrangements are far more unusual and idiosyncratic than your normal or garden variety of music. The infusion of Noland’s avant-garde sensibility and experimental spirit makes for a fascinating combination, and very much is, what sets him apart everyone else. And I mean, EVERYONE else.

This album is literally packed with ideas and sounds, as Gary Lloyd Noland ventures into a different avenue with every track. The instrumentals have distinctive identities, and they’re extremely palatable in even in their most unusual forms. In 2021, you will definitely find fewer challenging albums, and maybe even more challenging albums, but you will never find anything quite like “State-of-the-Art Ear Exercises for Musical Cognoscenti Op. 119” anywhere else on this planet…maybe even in the entire universe for that matter!

—TUNEDLOUD!

WAYWARD AFFECTS & AFFLICTIONS

$17.00

The PIMPLETON PROCRASTURBATION ENSEMBLE performs WAYWARD effects & AFFLICTIONS Op. 120 by GARY LLOYD NOLAND

Fever DREAMS Op. 118,

an Unequivocal Crustbucket List of Smexy and Sophistocratic Quarantunes for Perspicacious Connoisseurmudgeons, Trans melancholiac Insomniacs, Necromantic Misanthropes, Compulsive Transgress mists, and other Categorical Certifiable from the Psycho-Experimental Ward of Herr Doctor Noland’s Avantgarde-Boiled Cynic Clinic

24 Interludes for Piano, Vol. 2

October 2006: “Twenty-Four Interludes” for piano Vol. 2  (Op. 71, Nos. 13-24), performed by Gary Noland. Duration: 75 minutes. www.NorthPacificMusic.com (NPM LD 027).

24 Postludes for Piano, Vol. 2

February 2006: “Twenty-Four Postludes for Piano” Vol. 2  (Op. 72, Nos. 13–24), performed by Gary Noland. Duration: 75 minutes. www.NorthPacificMusic.com (NPM LD 025). music CDs original compositions Beaverton Portland Lake Oswego

More REVIEWS

“Gary Noland is one of those 21st Century composers seeking to forge a new aesthetic based on older models that do not traffic in serialism or minimalism. These dry, playful pieces pay homage to classical forms from various periods while gently satirizing them. Zany waltzes, ragtime riffs, chorales, toccatas, and much else romp and tear through these depictions of superheroes and villains from his ‘chamber novels’; other pieces spoof serial music (‘Ventured, nothing gained’) to grand operas (‘Meditative’) and Jewish guilt (‘Spikes’). The irreverent program closes with two serious, impressive, endlessly modulating memorials: one to George Rothberg, an allusive homage to an important neo-romantic who was himself a master of allusion; another to Jon Sutton, an artist Noland feels was wrongfully neglected by a corporate culture that promotes dreck and mediocrity, making it ‘possible to have a Brahms or Schubert next door and not even realize it. This is a culture that ‘confers towering soapboxes to impostors of all persuasions, all too often to the exclusion of first-rate minds who are less savvy about how to work the system to their advantage’.

North Pacific Music

Smaller labels like North Pacific Music represent a new way of working that system, a small means of saving what Noland regards as ‘an endangered (and fast becoming extinct) high culture’. I could do without the ugly cover art, but the piano sound is extremely vivid—and Noland plays his work with wit and conviction.”

—Jack Sullivan, American Record Guide, July/August 2007

“Yesterday, the first day of the year [2004], I opened your CD package—and could hardly believe my ears when I listened to your Venge Art and 24 Postludes for Piano, Op. 72—how magnificent!!  I will include most [of] your works in our local shows, especially in the Art Block program Sound Sculpture—a program for visual and sonic art.… I listen to all arriving music and [respond] seldom as excited as I did to your music.… Have a terrific 2004.  You made mine with your inspiring music, talent, and creativity. Thank you.”

—Brita Heisman, Executive Producer, KAZU Local Programming, Pacific Grove, CA.

Royal Oil works Music

January 2006:  “Royal Oil works Music” (electro-acoustic). Duration: ca. 75 minutes. Includes: “Prelude in E Minor” (Op. 34), “Serial Lullaby” (Op. 80, No. 1), “Spray Taint” (Op. 80, No. 2), “Dog Duo” (Op. 66), “Rag bones” (Op. 11), “Grey Malignant Banks” (Op. 80, No. 3) “My Babe’s Gone Down to Do Her Glue” (Op. 80, No. 4), “Royal Oil works Music” (Op. 80, No. 5) “Prelude & Zoo trot” (Op. 22), “Something Rotten” (Op. 80, No. 6) “Music is Dead” (Op. 53), “Treadmill” (Op. 37), “Deformed Fugue” (Op. 17), “Insurrection of the Office Slaves” (Op. 80, No. 7), “Psycho-Bacchanal” (Op. 80, No. 8). www.NorthPacificMusic.com  (NPM LD 024). music CDs original compositions Beaverton Portland Lake Oswego

“We recently received a CD [Royal Oil works Music] of Gary Noland’s here at WOBC. I must say that upon previewing some of the tracks and reading the program notes that all of us have never laughed so hard in our lives. We usually don’t play music as arrogant and docile as Gary’s but the ironic-postmodern-naive-pretension that this CD showed made me reconsider. I would like to get in touch with M. Noland and arrange a telephone interview for one of our classical radio shows.”

—Joshua Morris, Classical Director, WOBC 91.5 FM, Oberlin, OH

“Gary Noland is a composer to end all composers

… his attitude is not subtly disestablishmentarian, and you’d better enjoy it.… Some of the sounds are amusing, but the music is sort of deliberately annoying, both in sonority and in the mood—deliberately uninspired, almost to the point of inspiration. From Bach to rags to whatever, Noland seems determined to annoy as many people as he can, in an amusing way. He is an angry guy but witty.

If the idea of deliberate lack of originality purveyed in an atmosphere of political incorrectness appeals to you, here, in no uncertain terms, it is. Titles such as ‘Spray Taint’, ‘Dog Duo’, and ‘Insurrection of the Office Slaves’ give the mood, while the title tune [‘Royal Oil works Music’] is the real purpose of the Bush administration, as explained in the notes.…”

—David Moore, American Record Guide

Seriously Odd Classical Tongue in Check Electro-Acoustic

“Seriously odd classical… Tongue-in-cheek electro-acoustic combines baroque harpsichord and cheesy electronic sounds. Funny like Satie is funny – zany and irreverent. Lots of serialism … but the bizarre collage of styles and periods is brilliant. Oh, it’s also like PDQ Bach/Peter Schickele in some ways. Absurd liner notes!  Baroque-sounding … Serialist electro-acoustic … very refreshing, given how “ivory tower” this type of music often is. Cheesy synths, electronic percussion, and trumpets … up tempo and funky. Baroque harpsichord with pop and world music sounds going on in off-kilter, almost random rhythms. WTF? Very cool …Waa Waa synth, fugue-like … Zany … Cecil Taylor piano over drum machine breakbeats … Close to Dual (Ed Chang and Doug Theriault – crazy dense guitar and laptop processing), with national anthem-like moments?? And bird song?? Zany … Slow serialist/romantic … prelude to baroque trills to Richian/rag arpeggios to a Chopin breakdown to a jazz ending. Phew. This rocks … Bogy woozy synth with jazz percussion and serialist randomness. Lots of noodling, er, electronic wanking? Upbeat … Staccato baroque fugue on electronic choral sounds and pipe organ sounds … funny … Rhythmically interesting …  Fugue for harpsichord … Some free jazz freak-outs … Great title for this … Squeaky sounds with sax and choral synthesizer—like if you played the Handel theme from the film A Clockwork Orange, Sonny Rollins, Tchaikovsky, and, well, a psychotic serialist all at once.”

—KZSU FM90.3, Stanford, CA

“A look at the head-note will alert you to Gary Noland’s very personal way with words. Not for Noland the lures either of Olympian detachment or lower case “significance.” No, Noland is full-on and takes few linguistic prisoners. Similarly with the booklet artwork, Noland’s own, which is an example of crazed Robert Crumb à Africanize. And his music is much the same, Deformed Fugue, his 1977 piece for harpsichord summoning up pretty nicely his compositional stance. This is an elixir brewed of Couperin and Rameau, Scott Joplin, Bach, free funk, free Jazz (Cecil Taylor?), the Fugue, and an unholy alliance of straight sounding neo-classicism and its subsequent assault by the forces of percussive militancy.

 

Noland may be a romantic but doesn’t want you to know.

His Prelude is baroque-convincing though attended by some sour-is off notes he follows it with Serial Lullaby, a synthesizer-rich free funk piece that mocks its title. Spray Taint gives us assaulted baroque, the percussion blizzards full of jazz offbeat and whoop-bang noises (plus telephone rings and disco inferno). He subjects Ragtime to the same souring procedures as he does to his off-note harpsichord baroque and evokes a drugs fix (in My Babe’s Gone Down to Do Her Glue) with some haywire free form. He writes an American fanfare for the title track and subjects it to anti-Bush assault by bird song and drum blister.

Quixiotic Sense

His quixotic sense extends to opus numbers – the bowels of Op. 80 are scattered throughout the disc, and to instrumentation as well. I assume he makes all the noises, both pianistic and harpsichord synthesized and vocalized. He’s a veritable one-man band of off-kilter influences, the procedural repetition of which sometimes got me seriously down, though I did like his Swingle Sisters take-off on Music is Dead: A Paradox in Fugue.”

—Jonathan Woolf, Music Web International

24 Postludes for piano, Vol. 1

August 2004: “Twenty-Four Postludes for Piano” Vol. 1 (Op. 72, Nos. 1–12), performed by Gary Noland. Duration: 72 minutes.  North Pacific Music (PO BOX 82627, Portland, Oregon 97282-0627, USA, tel/fax:  1-800-757-7384, www.NorthPacificMusic.com (NPM LD  018). music CDs original compositions Beaverton Lake Oswego

 REVIEWS/ENCOMIUMS

“As usual I have been fiendishly busy and during my last absence, our humidification system went bonkers, depositing condensation and mold all over the place so now I am trying to deal with that on top of my overload. Nonetheless, I have put on the postludes whenever I’ve been at the computer and found them up to your usual iconoclastic, stylistic potpourri standards of giddy humor, no holds barred soup to nuts and high spirits. They are balm to the grim state of mind in which I find myself.”

—Robert Levin, pianist (cadenza improviser extraordinaire), scholar, Professor of Music, Harvard University

“Many thanks for the CDs you sent me, which I have been listening to with great pleasure and fascination.… I am bowled over by the expertise of your music:  you use certain elements from the 19th century and jazz, etc., and just at the moment when I am about to say, OK, what else is new? you do several things, such as speeding up, becoming wildly dissonant, modulating to a distant continent, stopping completely, and throwing some kind of total surprise. All of these things are possible, but you seem to know exactly when to do what and how much.  I don’t know anybody else who can do it!  And the brief electronic statements are spooky in the best and most extreme sense.  They make my hair (what’s left of it) stand on end.…”

—Andrew Imbrue, composer, Pulitzer Prize finalist

“Mr. Noland’s Postludes are a collection of wild and crazy pieces for … piano. These are essentially parodying of various styles, set in a dizzying harmonic language that loops uncontrollably through a wide-ranging gamut of possible and impossible tonalities. He applies this procedure to the fugue, ragtime, German dances (Schubert), romantic waltzes (Richard Strauss seems to be a favorite), and virtuosic piano scherzos. There’s a Chinese polonaise, a whiff of pentatonic Debussy; and, like most composers after Berlioz, he can’t seem to keep his hands off the Dies Irae (though fortunately, the tongue is firmly in cheek). Both Peter Schickele and Conlon Nan arrow hover over the proceedings. I’d even throw in Mark Applebaum, another Californian … The opening fugue is dedicated to the late David Lewin, the prominent Harvard theorist.  Lukas Foss gets a dedication, also (maybe his Baroque Variations had some sort of influence on Noland at some point).

The general effect is like watching wet paintings of 19th Century musical memorabilia drip into frazzled 21st Century oblivion. The comic-book grotesquerie that graces the jewel box pretty much says it all … these pieces are striking and entertaining … (Postlude 12, an interminable exercise in blues montage, is the most daunting.) The pieces all have funny titles … Mustaches on the Mona Lisa, but those can be interesting if you’re in the right frame of mind.”

—Allen Gimbel, American Record Guide

“Composer and pianist Gary Noland are into ‘ha-ha music’—that is, classical music played for laughs, a genre famously (or infamously, depending on your taste in humor) popularized by Peter Schickele, also known as P.D.Q. Bach. This collection of solo piano music, identified as postludes rather than the more traditional preludes designation, indicates that, despite occasionally forcing the musical jokes (and writing far too many tortured puns in his liner notes), Noland has both the writing and playing chops to compensate for his painful musical humor. Dedicated to the late music theorist David Lewin, ‘Philomathetique’ is a witty trope on the music of Richard Strauss, with characterful motives and abundant quick modulations. ‘Effete Singulations’ is a deft, splashy bit of ragtime, while ‘Pickthanks and Premediates’ is a light-hearted romp played at a dizzying tempo and ‘Psychonipptions’ (dedicated to composer Henry Martin) is a send-up of 20th Century French music. Overall, Postludes is a mixed bag, but when Noland focuses on playing the piano well rather than simply playing for laughs, his compelling artistry shines through.”

—Christian Carey, Splendid Magazine

“Gary—you continue to be one of the most original of the contributors to ‘The Classical Salon.’ And ‘Effete Singulations’ [Postlude #2] opens one of my ragtime shows.”

—David Rifkin, Host, “Classical Salon” and “The Ragtime Machine,” KUSF 90.3 FM, University of San Francisco.

24 Interludes for piano, Vol. 1

August 2004: “Twenty-Four Interludes for Piano” Vol. 1 (Op. 71, Nos. 1-12), performed by Gary Noland. Duration: 74 minutes. North Pacific Music (PO BOX 82627, Portland, Oregon 97282-0627, USA, tel/fax: 1-800-757-7384, www.NorthPacificMusic.com (NPM LD  019). music CDs original compositions Beaverton Lake Oswego

“… intriguing, irritating, … distinctive, inventive, … subversive, … [the music] is never what you expect.  You hear all sorts of styles and influences—Beethoven, ragtime, Nan arrow, stride—often in very quick succession.… I had the strange feeling with many of these pieces [Interludes and Postludes] that, about halfway through, I had got fed up with them, but I was then sorry when they finished.… You can hardly be indifferent to Noland’s music and so I would urge you to try it. Despite my frequent irritation, I will certainly be returning to it and seeking out examples of Noland’s chamber works and multimedia compositions. Music aside, speaking as a cat-lover, I feel an instinctive sympathy with the composer depicted on the front cover of the Interludes fondly embracing his cat. Illogical? Well, yes; I think this music has got to me after all.”

—Roger Blackburn, Music Web International

“Gary Noland, a composer, and pianist with an impressive academic pedigree (including a Ph.D. from Harvard) and extensive performing experience, here presents an album of solo piano compositions, or ‘interludes.’ Actually, some of these pieces seem in no way transitory; instead, they present extended musical dialogues that call upon a host of musical styles and require the considerable technical facility to perform. Noland, a fleet-fingered, ebullient performer, is more than up to the task. Pastiche pieces like ‘Mumbo Gumbo’ and ‘Expresso Wagon’ evoke all manner of Romantic-era classical piano figurations; they gently lampoon some of the genre’s conventions, but always remain bright, witty, and engaging. ‘The Temptation of Saint Floyd’ also channels Romanticism, particularly the Strassman sort, demonstrating a more reflective demeanor and adding a dollop of schmaltz to the proceedings. ‘Push Button Fingers’ is prevailingly modern in construction, with syncopated rhythms and sprightly, angular runs creating a far more contemporary sound world. Noland’s work may be eclectic—sometimes even a bit goofy—but Interludes is cleverly constructed and consistently well performed.”

—Christian Carey, Splendid Magazine, 12/29/2005

FIND OUT MORE

Selected Music from Venge Art

July 2002: “Gary Noland:  Selected Music from VENGE ART.”  Duration:  75 minutes. Cellist Hamilton Heifetz and pianist Victor Steinhardt playing “Fantasy in E Minor” for cello & piano (Op. 24), pianist Randall Hodgkinson playing “Humoresque” for piano (Op. 3) and the “Russell Street Rag” (Op. 5), Gary Noland performing three segments of “P*run*Music” (Op. 48), Violist Katherine Murdock and pianist Randall Hodgkinson playing “Romance” for viola & piano (Op. 10), a computer-driven Disklavier performance of “Grande Rag Brillante” (Op. 15), The Onyx String Quartet playing “American Bozo Dance” (Op. 32, No. 8), and Guy Tyler conducting “Septet” (Op. 43) with clarinetist Carol Robe, alto saxophonist Tom Bergeron, French hornist Ellen Campbell, violinists Tawana Nagahara and Anthony Dyer, double-bassist Forrest Moyer, and pianist Art Maddox. Released by North Pacific Music (PO BOX 82627, Portland, Oregon 97282-0627, USA, tel/fax:  1-800-757-7384, www.NorthPacificMusic.com (NPM LD  012). music CDs original compositions Beaverton Lake Oswego

“Mr. Noland writes as a ‘time traveler’ in styles long abandoned by most composers as well as styles so new as to not have been imagined but by him.  This he accomplishes naturally, convincingly, with originality and true passion.  His command of all musical languages and his ability to traverse musical time is nothing less than remarkable.  Listen!”

—Donald Martino, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer

“Composer Gary Noland is possessed of a rich musical imagination, whose technique distills the achievements of Roger, Strauss, and Schoenberg but also refracts their post-romantic/expressionist tendencies through the lens of twenty-first-century post-modernism, American style. Moreover, he fits Stravinsky’s definition of a great composer:  one who doesn’t merely steal but knows what to steal.  This Noland does with wit and aplomb unique to the music of our time.”

—Ira Braes, pianist, musicologist, Professor of Music, The Hart School

“Gary Noland’s Venge Art is more than just a collection of music.…inspiring.  He walks with assurance through the treacherous landscape of late tonality and early post-tonality (e.g., Strauss).…a gifted composer.”

Payton MacDonald—American Record Guide

FIND OUT MORE

Player less Pianos

May 2000: “Player less Pianos: Virtual Music for Pianos Virtual and Otherwise.” Seventh Species Composers Series Debut Recording, Limited Collector’s Edition (NPM LCE 007—North Pacific Music). A compilation recording of works by various composers. Includes Gary Noland’s “Grande Rag Brillante” (Op. 15), which was recorded on August 19, 1998, on a Disklavier at SPARK Studios in Emeryville. music CDs original compositions Beaverton Portland Lake Oswego

Original Compositions by Gary Noland music CDs

1996: “Passion.” A compilation recording of works by composers Gary Noland, George Rothberg, Georges Enescu, Greg Steinke, and Jackie T. Gabel performed by violist Rozanne Weinberger and pianist Evelyne Lust. Includes Noland’s “Romance” for viola & piano (Op. 10).  (NPM LD 003—North Pacific Music).  Recorded September 1994 at MET Studio Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana.  In Schwann Catalog. music CDs original compositions Beaverton Portland Lake Oswego

FIND OUT MORE

Be sure and listen to performances of Gary Noland’s music on this website under “videos,” “more videos,” etc.

All CDs are available for purchase from www.northpacificmusic.com music CDs original compositions Beaverton Portland Lake Oswego

 

The End

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