Some piece­meal updates: 

Nước chấm sauce is really “whetting my whistle” these days. I used to get it along­side dishes at Viet­namese restau­rants, and always thought it was magical stuff— and there was never enough of it. Only recently did I discover how simple a thing it is to create. Just today I poured it only to some roasted eggplant; lovely. 

I posted ACME’s record­ing of Thrive on Routine a few days ago; it sounds fantas­tic. Special thanks are due Ryan Streber, who did an amazing record­ing job in a not-so-acousti­cally-ideal space. 

LOTS of things in the works for this coming season. Every day this week has been partially occupied by some sort of scheming in this regard. Keep your eyes peeled, and your ears clean.

On my way up to Great Barring­ton right now to here the wonder­ful ACME Quartet première Thrive on Routine at a place called Crissey Farm, which I’m seri­ously hoping is an actual farm, because my piece contains a movement called “potatoes”. This will be the second piece I’ve written for the group, and I couldn’t be happier to be working with them again; these are the type of players who basi­cally do all your work for you, and then you just come in at the last minute and mumble inco­her­ent things about “shape” and “gesture” and then they smile and nod and play it even better. So pretty much, if you’re in the Berk­shires, which I know many of you are this time of the season, you’ve got no excuse not to be there.

What else is kind of amazing is that I just wrote and posted this from a Peter Pan BUS.

Some­times when I’m listen­ing to the best music, I have the feeling that it is the only music that exists. I get that feeling listen­ing to a Mahler symphony; I had it last night, pounding through Pictures at an Exhi­bi­tion at my piano (badly); and on Wednes­day night, during Arcade Fire’s set at Madison Square Garden.