Next year, 2008, is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Olivier Messiaen, a French composer, organist, and ornithologist. He must have been one of the most original composers of the 20th century: by mixing his own modes of limited transposition, birdsong transcriptions, exotic rhythms, religious ideas, and colourful instrumentation and orchestration (see ondes Martenot, for example), he created some truly original and inspiring music.
Lists are nice. I’m a big fan of “best of” lists as they help me keep things in one place for future reference. By viewing lists compiled by other people you can get new ideas and refine your own lists. It’s fun and useful.
During the last week or so, I’ve heard three good concerts here in Belgium: first The Chemical Brothers in Antwerp, then SoundCheck at Beurskafee in Brussels, and finally Meshell Ndegeocello in Leuven. Some weeks ago, Bobo Stenson Trio played in St Truiden (too bad I missed that).
To follow up with my previous post about travel photos on Flickr, I’ve uploaded some new photos. If you have a minute, go ahead and have a look (arranged below by tags):