Companion site to "American Mavericks" series produced by Minnesota Public Radio offers opportunity to play eccentric musical instruments virtually online:

American Mavericks (www.musicmavericks.org), a new Web site focusing on unorthodox classical composers, allows visitors to hear [Harr] Partch's music, read one of his manifestos or, by tapping on a computer keyboard or moving the mouse, play virtual versions of 20 of the unusual instruments that Partch himself devised. These include the Chromelodeon, an organ-like instrument with unconventional tunings, and a marimba made from two dozen light bulbs.

While the virtual instruments give anyone a chance to sample Partch inventions that are rarely played in public, they raise questions about the authenticity of such digital recreations. Still, the virtual instruments provide an entertaining introduction to the prickly Partch, who died in 1974. Richard Kessler, executive director of the American Music Center in New York, said, "The opportunity to interact with the instruments, the opportunity to learn about the tuning systems, the opportunity to be put in touch with Partch - it's pretty extraordinary." [NY Times]

The Web site, which went online in May, was produced by Minnesota Public Radio as a companion to "American Mavericks," a 13-part radio series celebrating Charles Ives, Duke Ellington, John Cage, Steve Reich and other iconoclastic composers of the 20th century. In the New York area, the hourlong programs are being broadcast on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on WFUV-FM (90.7 on the dial) and will be carried later this year on WNYC-FM (93.9).

The programs can also be heard at the site, where the audio is augmented by interviews with 60 composers, more than 12 hours of exclusive recordings of concert performances by the San Francisco Symphony, and interactive features like the Partch instruments. The site also offers two channels of continuous music, a "smooth" one for easier listening and another labeled "crunchy" for more challenging material. "We asked ourselves what would it look like if the radio show were about the Web site and not vice versa," said Sarah Lutman, senior vice president for cultural programming and initiatives at Minnesota Public Radio.

The American Mavericks site is the latest attempt to find a home on the Internet for progressive classical music, which is played sparingly in concert and on the radio. Sites like Art of the States , sponsored by WGBH radio of Boston; the American Music Center's NewMusicJukebox ; and Kalvos and Damian's New Music Bazaar continually document the breadth and vivacity of American musical creativity in a way that, given its relatively tiny audience, no concert promoter or station manager could possibly afford.

I reviewed this contempoary classical concert March 5, 2002:

Rockin' With CCS
I don't get out much lately; that's just the way it is for now, but my brother's friend Sean is the principal flutist with the Cleveland Chamber Symphony so I headed downtown on the coldest night of the year for an 8pm performance entitled Time Windows.
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