Composer’s Notebook Quarterly: An Introduction, from the editor

Composer’s Notebook Quarterly is a publication of articles about contemporary music composition. Its birthplace, one of the most open-minded, cosmopolitan and culturally vibrant cities in the world: Amsterdam. Its main purpose: to promote discussion about topics related to music composition, ranging from notation to ethics, from form to conceptual matters, from the composer’s role and responsibilities, to his or her relation to performers and the audience.

Why talk about composition independently of performance and listening? The art of music is not complete unless we have the three protagonists of the process. Each has its own responsibilities for the music making process to become transcendent and of artistic value. “Composer’s Notebook Quarterly” intends to focus on the initial stage in the creation of music and its responsibilities, without deeming it more important than the subsequent stages. It aims at one of the most mysterious processes of music creation and searches for it’s meaning with or without relationship to its results.

“Composer’s Notebook Quarterly” is written by composers from around the globe and is intended for anyone interested in the topic of music composition. In a time when performers and audience struggle to understand composers and their music, this magazine looks to facilitate the communication between these entities. This space doesn’t intend to be a medium for pedantic justifications, but a space to facilitate the understanding of composers and their decisions. The publication also intends to open dialogue between different views within the composition spectra. Without alignment to a specific musical aesthetic “Composer’s Notebook Quarterly” can provide a space where different views can be scrutinized, praised or condemned.

In this webpage, you will find the articles in the form of blogs, and you're encouraged to discuss any given topic you think is relevant in the context of our magazine.

For the first edition, the publication still lacks a specific profile. It encompasses opinion articles based on purely aesthetics stances, research articles based on factual information, and an interview with a world-renowned composer: Jonathan Harvey. The urgency for publishing a medium that encourages discussion in our field is, in the opinion of the creators of the magazine, so great that the lack of a specific profile can be tolerated. However, the lack of discussion about what we do everyday cannot!

The first issue of our magazine will cover topics related to “The Occult”: Hidden Art, its meaning and its value.

We gladly present to you the first publication of Composer’s Notebook Quarterly. The editors and contributors of the publication hope that you enjoy it.

Francisco Castillo Trigueros, Editor
frcatr@gmail.com