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This page contains postings on compositions, performances and press.
May 3, 2017 - Stanford lecture by my long-time collaborator Andrew Schloss, with lots of the pieces we did together - "A history of radiodrum and robotics in musical performance".
Works discussedinclude "Underground Economy," "The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World," "Maravillas," "MaraDeviBot Variations," "The Space Between US," and others.
April 8, 2017 - Hillside Concerts. Bob Cowart's classic Berkeleyconcert series presented the preview performance of the 2nd and 3rd movements of a violin/piano version of my 2016 concerto, "How Did It Get So Late So Soon?," performed by Karen Bentley Pollick and Marja Mutru. This was my first opportunity to have the pleasure of working with Ms. Mutru, who also was extremely helpful in advising me on the piano arrangement.
5 Nominations in 2017 Just Plain Folks Awards
Read More"Musicguy247, - A Celebration of People Involved in Music" is a blog featuring interviews by many leading composers and musicians. The blog recently published an interview with me. The link is here. entitled "Dr. David A. Jaffe - An Interview with the composer and electronic music pioneer."
Review of November 11, 2016 Boulder Chamber Orchestra performance of "How Did It Get So Late So Soon?" is on the Sharps & Flatirons web site, a blog by Peter Alexander. Link to review is here. Excerpts below...
This highly personal but unmistakably American work [How Did It Get So Late So Soon?] received a vigorous performance from the orchestra and Pollick, for whom the concerto was written, and by whom it was premiered in Lithuania Aug. 27.
A former bluegrass musician, Jaffe has filled the score with quotes and references to American music from the blues to the protest music of the 1930s. You may not hear the Woody Guthrie song he quotes, but the overall tone will be familiar to American audiences. The blues inflections, the outbreaks of Appalachian fiddling, the folk-tune-like melodies all come from a world we recognize.
There are portions of the concerto that sound as American as anything by Copland. But these ideas are always refracted thought a Charles Ives-ian sensibility, so that the music never settles into an extensive folkish groove. To my ears, that makes it all the more interesting: you never know what will happen next, but it all hangs together in a fascinating mélange. Bravo to Saless and the BCO for programming a work that deserves to be heard widely.
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