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3/29/2006
The Harvard Group for New Music
presents the Arditti String Quartet
sponsored by the Fromm Music Foundation
Sunday, April 2, 2006, 8:00pm
Pre-concert talk at 7:00pm by Robert Kirzinger, Publications Associate for the BSO
John Knowles Paine Concert Hall, Harvard University
acoustic and electroacoustic premieres by Harvard student composers
Zipper
Shoot
Roberts
Oberm�ller
Liang
Lash
Hurtado
Honett
Gilbert
Fure
free admission, reception to follow
for more information call 617.496.6013
www.hgnm.org
http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~musicdpt/calendar.html
posted by Coming Events
3/29/2006 02:05:00 PM
3/28/2006
CANTORI NEW YORK TO GIVE PREMIERES
FOR CHORUS/CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
BY FRANK MARTIN AND ARNOLD SCHOENBERG
Additional Music By Osvaldo Golijov, Hugo Wolf, J.S. Bach
To be performed
Cantori New York, led by its Artistic
Director Mark Shapiro, Church of the Holy Trinity (Episcopal), 316 East 88th St, on Sunday, April 9, 2006, at 4 PM.
Tickets available at the door for $15.00 or online at
www.cantorinewyork.com.
This concert is the second in a gala season celebrating Shapiro�s fifteenth season as the group�s Artistic Director. Cantori New York specializes in new, recent, and neglected but
artistically important works for voices and instruments presented in conceptually rich programs. This concert, thematically unified across a range of languages and sonorities, epitomizes Cantori�s approach. Guest artists include Charlotte Paulsen, mezzo-soprano and Anna Reinersman, harp.
posted by Coming Events
3/28/2006 10:55:00 AM
3/27/2006
Kaufman Center presents the award-winning Quartet New Generation (QNG), a recorder collective rapidly becoming known for their innovative programming and dynamic stage presence (helped along by over twenty types of recorders!), on Monday, April 10 at 8 PM at Merkin Concert Hall. Hailed as "four recorder virtuosos" by The New York Times, Quartet New Generation's Andrea Guttman, Hannah Pape, Heide Schwarz and Susanne Fr�lich bring a fresh eye to early recorder music and juxtapose it with contemporary works, many of which have been commissioned. At Merkin Concert Hall, the group will be performing their program Ethereal. Ranging from the early Renaissance to more contemporary times, composers featured include Thomas Tomkins, Ferrabosco, Ciconia, Mencuso, Serocki, Meijering and Mensignh. Tickets are $20. Order at Kaufman Center's site, or by calling 212-501-3330.
posted by Coming Events
3/27/2006 06:26:00 PM
Mosheh is a uniquely personal depiction of the biblical saga of Moses in his early years. It examines the relationships between Moses and his mother figures while also interpreting the connection between Moses and God, a jealous and fearsome father figure. The opera is set in a present-day urban landscape that utilizes video clips of contemporary, "grungy" Brooklyn to reinterpret the human essence of the biblical tale. The piece is structured with God as narrator (sung, chant-like, by an alto and counter-tenor in unison), the "mothers" as central characters in various tableaus and the role of Moses performed by a dancer. Mosheh was developed in collaboration with and will be performed by Ensemble Pamplemousse, a new music group devoted to bringing theatricality and improvisation to the stage. TEA (Transpersonal Education & Art), a contemporary dance company, will also perform. The performance takes place at Merkin Concert Hall (129 W. 67th St.) at 8pm on this Wednesday, March 29, 2006. Tickets are $15, and can be ordered at Kaufman Center's site, or by calling 212-501-3330.
About Yoav Gal
Israeli composer Yoav Gal has been living in New York since 1988. Since that time, he has developed a large and respected portfolio of multi-disciplinary works that combine music and imagery. His growing list of operas includes The Dwarf, Venus in Furs and Mao Zedong�Jealous Son, which have met positive reviews in the New York media. Gal�s collaboration with new-media artist Yael Kanarek, Music for World of Awe, was featured in the 71st Whitney Biennial, and his polyphonic work for digitally manipulated voice, Yours Forever, is currently on the "Writing with Computers" syllabus at MIT.
About Ensemble Pamplemousse
Founded by Natacha Diels, Rama Gottfried, and Dawn Kim in 2002, Ensemble Pamplemousse dedicates itself to the production and performance of new works. The ensemble strives to create a concert experience that combines theatricality, set and costume design and improvisation with exceptional musical skill. As part of the creative process, the group regularly meets with composers to discuss the possibilities of each work, both musically and dramatically. This philosophy allows each concert to be entirely different from the last. Ensemble Pamplemousse is based in Brooklyn.
About TEA
TEA is a contemporary dance company, founded in 2005 by Israeli and Iranian-American artists who converse, explore and define a mutually understood language via movement studies, interdisciplinary collaborations, cultural-exchange and educational opportunities. TEA premiered its first season with add : infinitum at The FLEA Theater in May 2005. TEA�s 2006 season includes performances at DTW, Joyce SoHo, The FLEA Theater and St. Mark�s Church.
posted by Coming Events
3/27/2006 05:43:00 PM
3/23/2006
The New York Miniaturist Ensemble will present an hour of short music Monday, March 27th, 8:30 PM, at the Cornelia Street Cafe on Frank Oteri's 21st Century Schizoid Music series.
They will be performing a set of fantastic works by Alban Berg, Philip Czaplowski, D. Edward Davis, David Drexler, Carlo Forlivesi, Mark Fromm, Jeff Harrington, Paul Hindemith, Dale Jergenson, Gerhard Krammer, Steve Kornicki, Martin Q Larsson, Guillaume de Machaut, Massimilano Messieri, Matthew Monkan, Alexander Nohai-Seaman, Taylan Susam, and Karlheinz Stockhausen - all 100 notes or fewer.
Please visit http://nyme.org for more information.
posted by Coming Events
3/23/2006 06:37:00 PM
3/20/2006
The JUILLIARD STRING QUARTET performs EZEQUIEL VI�AO's "The Loss and the Silence"
NEXT PERFORMANCES:
Cal State Laxson Auditorium (Chico, California) March 24, 2006 (at 7.30 pm)
San Francisco State University, McKenna Theatre, March 26, 2006 (at 3 pm) FREE!
Perimeter Institute (Waterloo, ON, Canada) March 30, 2006 (at 7.30 pm)
Pennsylvania Convention Center (Philadelphia) March 31, 2006 (at 8 pm)
"Monumental" (STUTTGARTER NACHRICHTEN, Jan. 2006)
"Vi�ao writes expertly for four strings; the parts are intricately interlocked, imaginatively textured." (THE STRAD, Jan. 2006)
Read about this Juilliard Centennial Commission:
http://www.juilliard.edu/update/journal/j_articles659.html
Listen to an excerpt:
http://home.netcom.com/~tlondownloads/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/Q2_4mov_exc.mp3
Read program notes:
http://www.carnegiehall.org/article/box_office/events/evt_6170_pn.html?selecteddate=12102005
posted by Coming Events
3/20/2006 10:55:00 AM
3/19/2006
Hi out there, Rama Gottfried here. I would like to invite you to the Merce Cunningham Studio, (at Westbeth, 55 Bethune St. 11th FL., NY, NY: www.merce.org) March 24th and 25th for the premiere of a new work of mine for electro-acoustic ensemble, written for choreographer Tommy Noonan. Ensemble Pamplemousse will be performing the score live with Tommy and his group of all-star New York dancers as part of an event called "MORE". Also being performed is a new work by choreographer MaryAlice White and an installation by visual artist Ryan S. Lemke.
Saturday is booked, but there are still reservations available for Friday night, so if you are interested please call 212.696.6519 and leave a message to make a reservation. There will also be floor seating, so we will try to fit everyone that shows up. Ticket prices are $15 general admission, $10 for students, seniors and artists (but who isn't artist? : )
Ensemble Pamplemousse:
Natacha Diels - flute,
Mike Lormand - trombone,
Kiku Enomoto - violin,
Jessie Marino - cello,
Andrew Greenwald - percussion,
Rich Bennett - e. guitar,
and myself playing white & brown noise, loose1/8" stereo cable and
short-wave radio.
hope to see you there!
Best wishes,
Rama Gottfried
posted by Coming Events
3/19/2006 07:23:00 PM
3/18/2006
Flexible Orchestra 06
April 28th, 2006, 8 PM St. Peter�s Episcopal Church
346 W. 20th St. @ 8th Av. $15/10, info: 212-925-6684 or dsgoode@earthlink.net
Subway: 1,C,E,
For the third season of the Flexible Orchestra, we are pleased to announce that the Orchestra has, most flexibly, changed its make-up to:
11 trombones
2 clarinets (all doublings)
1 violin (viola)
1 percussionist
�conducted once more by Tara Simoncic
We have commissioned Barbara Benary, Chris McIntyre, Daniel Goode and Peter Zummo to compose for this new flexible orchestra, and we are pleased to revive a 1969 piece for multiple trombones by Frederick Rzewski: Last Judgment which draws on Mozart�s Requiem, now that his 250th is in full swing.
� a new idea for a real orchestral sound with rotating instrumentation__
� we surmount the rigidity of the historical orchestra with a section of one instrumental family plus a smattering of others, changing every year or two__
In the 2004 debut year of the Flexible Orchestra, its make-up was twelve cellos, flute, clarinet, trombone. We performed new and old work by Christian Wolff, Daniel Goode, and William Hellermann. The same make-up in 2005 presented new work by Polansky, Finckel, Goode, Zummo and a revival of Lois V Vierk�s Simoom, for eight amplified cellos.
�� a wonderful concert�� � Thomas Buckner, Interpretations, after the
first concert of the Flexible Orchestra
Barbara Benary, a multi-instrumentalist, is founder and artistic director of Gamelan Son of Lion. A recording of her work is coming out on New World Records this year. She will present her Exlasega, a re-orchestration of her 1980 commission for the Goldman Band. Shifting chords build, showing influences of Javanese music, Japanese gagaku, Orlando di Lasso, and her own minimalist process music.
Christopher McIntyre, composer/trombonist, director of the large brass ensemble, Tilt, has composed for the Yoshiko Chuma�s School of Hard Knocks dance company and for the UnParade of 2005 kicking off the River To River Festival. His new composition, entitled Elements (for Tenney), expands on the idiomatic and site-specific components explored by his 7X7 Trombone Band with choreographer Yoshiko Chuma. Organized in multiple spatialized inner-groupings, located throughout the church (including a procession from outside), Elements pays literal and oblique hommage to one of the great musical minds in contemporary music, James Tenney.
Daniel Goode, composer and clarinetist, is founder/director of the Flexible Orchestra, and co-founder/director of the DownTown Ensemble. He will premiere Annbling which contemplates how to help New Orleans in a one movement piece bringing Mahler and the passionate vocal style of West Javanese music to this year�s configuration of the Flexible Orchestra.
Peter Zummo will premiere his Flexible Fantasy on Experimenting With Household Chemicals, his trombone concerto from the 1990s that pursued improvisational habit-avoidance using slide logic and ensemble apartness. The Fantasy... will have phantom titles including Honky Arena, Homeland Charcuterie, Limited Encryption, and Terrace of Fusion. Zummo, long-time experimentalist in trombone and composition, has been a member of many groups since the 1970�s, including the DownTown Ensemble and the Flexible Orchestra. His Experimenting With Household Chemicals, chamber version, is available on the XI label.
The Flexible Orchestra, principles:
1) It should sound like an orchestra. That means at least one�probably only one section of multiples of a single instrumental type. And like an orchestra there are also different timbres from a few other instruments used both for contrast and emphasis.
2) It should have flexible orchestration, meaning it should change its section of multiples and the contrasting group of instruments every so often, let�s say every year or two, not every two hundred years (and more) as with the official Western orchestra.
3) It must be economical that is, accomplish its sound concept at a reasonable cost. So if the Flexible Orchestra caps at fifteen, there might be twelve for the section of multiples and three for the contrasting group; or perhaps eleven and four, etc.
4) Such a type of orchestra could spring up anywhere and make use of the instrumental strengths of a community or geographical area. Let�s say San Francisco proper has a surfeit of double basses, while the Peninsula has lots of violas�, Cincinnati may have many trumpets. Those could be the multiples in each of those communities that make up the cores of the flexible orchestras in those places. [DG]
posted by Coming Events
3/18/2006 06:04:00 PM
3/17/2006
For Immediate Release:
Contact Richard Carrick
richard@eitherormusic.org
EITHER/OR SPRING FESTIVAL OF CONTEMPORARY MUSIC
PERFORMING ZORN, SHARP, FELDMAN, KURTAG, and more
AT TENRI CULTURAL INSTITUTE 43A West 13th St. (tel. 212-645-2800)
ON APRIL 6 AND 7, 2006 � 8:00 pm
$15 each night, $25 both nights, $10/students.
Thursday, April 6:
Morton Feldman - "Crippled Symmetry"
Friday, April 7:
Richard Carrick - "In Flow" for violin
Daniel Felsenfeld - "First Scenes from Red Room" for violin and piano
Gy�rgy Kurt�g - "Eight duets for violin & cimbalom," Op. 4
Gy�rgy Kurt�g - "Trei Pezzi for clarinet and cimbalom," Op.38
Elliott Sharp - "Oligosono" for solo piano
John Zorn - "Gri-Gri" for solo percussion
�Either/Or are making a splash with superb programming etched by some the city�s best musicians....this is a hot new group to watch."
Bruce Hodges of MusicWeb.UK
"Either/Or have taken on a startlingly ambitious program"
Alan Lockwood of New York Press
Either/Or present their first festival with two evenings of contemporary chamber music featuring two world premieres, a varied selection of cutting-edge New York Composers, and the rarely heard instrument; the cimbalom.
Thursday night (April 6), Either/Or continue their survey of the trios of Morton Feldman with a performance of his major work �Crippled Symmetry,� a concert-length work for flutes, piano/celesta, and percussion. The Friday night (April 7) program pairs two monolithic solo works, Elliott Sharp�s 2004 piano piece �Oligosono� and John Zorn�s 2000 percussion solo �Gri-Gri�. with the seldom-heard cimbalom duo miniatures of Gy�rgy Kurt�g, Eight duets for violin & cimbalom, Op. 4, and Trei Pezzi for clarinet and cimbalom, Op.38, �and world premieres by New York composers Richard Carrick, �In Flow� for solo violin*,� and Daniel Felsenfeld, �First Scenes from Red Room� for violin and piano*.
Either/Or will feature performances by New York new music veterans Andrea Schultz on violin and Anthony Burr on clarinet,�Jane Rigler on flutes, and founders David Shively on percussion and cimbalom and Richard Carrick on piano and celeste.
Either/Or is a new music ensemble drawing its membership from a pool of active soloists in New York City.� Founded in 2004 by composer/pianist Richard Carrick and percussionist David Shively, Either/Or has already received rave reviews for its cutting-edge programming and performances.� E/O specializes in music for unconducted chamber ensembles.� Its programs focus on American experimental music, its influence on European composition, and the works of emerging composers. For more information, please visit
www.eitherormusic.org
posted by Coming Events
3/17/2006 08:48:00 AM
3/16/2006
For Immediate Release:
Contact: Nova Chamber Artists, Artistic Directors
Caroline Chin carolineevachin@yahoo.com 212-496-8698
William Hakim williamhakim@hotmail.com 917-621-6128
NOVA CHAMBER ARTISTS
Presents
From My Life
Featuring New York Premiere of
String Quartet by Matthew Van Brink
Tenri Cultural Institute of New York
Thursday, March 30 at 8 p.m.
Program includes works by
Shostakovich, Smetana
Cyrus Beroukhim, Violin � Caroline Chin, Violin
William Hakim, Viola � Robert Burkhart, Cello
Barbara Podgurski, Piano
Shostakovich: Piano Trio No. 2 in e minor, op. 67
Matthew Van Brink: String Quartet
Smetana: String Quartet No. 1, in e minor �From My Life�
New York, NY� The Nova Chamber Artists presents their New York debut, From My Life: a concert of chamber works composed in reflection, at the Tenri Cultural Institute of New York on March 30th at 8pm.
The concert features the New York premiere of American composer Matthew Van Brink�s String Quartet, a work that combines the inspirations in Van Brink�s varied musical surroundings, from the environs of New York to the Aspen Music Festival. The program begins with Dimitri Shostakovich�s dramatic Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor, which conveys the haunting melodies of Hebrew composers in concentration camps during World War II. Also on the program will be Bedrich Smetana�s String Quartet No. 1, From My Life.
Violinist Caroline Chin explains, �This program presents works influenced by surrounding events in the composer�s life from the people in their lives, childhood memories, a world war.�
PROGRAM
Matthew Van Brink�s String Quartet, though it doesn't carry Smetana's austere subtitle, is in the composer�s words, �really a musical wunderkammer �from my life.�� Since 1999, when the piece was written, he has assembled more musical �objects� for his collection, but the ecclectic elements of this 6-year-old piece still populate his musical persona today. The Quartet is more of a four-course meal than a buffet, though it constantly combines flavors. On the menu: Klezmer, twelve-tone melodies, theme-and-variations, sonata form, verse-chorus form, minimalism, careful counterpoint and voice-leading, jazz harmonies and jazz rhythms. The synthesis of these elements takes place at times simultaneously and at other times as a juxtaposition. Mr. Van Brink began the piece in Aspen, Colorado in July 1999 and finished it in Bloomington, Indiana that winter. It was first performed in 2000 by students at Indiana University, then edited and revised during 2005, and finally receives its second performance by the Nova Chamber Artists.
Matthew Van Brink is an American composer and pianist currently living in New York City. His recent compositions include music for dance and film as well as chamber music for the concert setting: Running at the Sunshine, a unique work for dance and spoken word, was written in collaboration with writer Jesse Jarnow and Boston University choreographer Judith Chaffee; Up, Up, and Up commissioned by FleetBoston Celebrity Series and premiered by violinist Stefan Jackiw and pianist David Deveau; and Dal Dosai, a flute sonata commissioned by Thomas Robertello and recently recorded on Crystal Records with pianist Winston Choi. He has studied composition with Bruce Adolphe at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, with David Dzubay, Samuel Adler and Don Freund at Indiana University, and with John Harbison and Lukas Foss at Boston University (D.M.A.). He is currently an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Music at Hofstra University and an instructor at Concordia Conservatory (Bronxville, NY).
Dimitri Shostakovich�s Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor, written in 1944 during World War II, is one of his most deeply felt creations. Written after the death of his close friend, Ivan Sollertinsky, who five days earlier had given an introductory speech for a performance of Shostakovich's Eighth Symphony, Shostakovich wrote this piano trio as a memorial to the scholar and critic, one of his first supporters. Having many Jewish friends, Shostakovich used Russian-Jewish themes and dance music in much of his music. The closing movement of this piano trio includes a tragic dance to commemorate the death of the Jews, who were fated to be slaughtered by invading Nazis. Shostakovich intended this musical dissent to be disguised and it was often misinterpreted as providing light relief in an otherwise serious and dramatic work.
Bedrich Smetana�s String Quartet No. 1 in E minor �From My Life,� written in late 1878, is an internal, reflective, and even nostalgic work. Its program, "From My Life," is intended to paint a tone picture of Smetana�s life depicting youthful leanings towards Romantic atmosphere as well as a warning of his future misfortune�the loss of his hearing as well as the tragic death of his first love and wife. The conclusion of the work describes his joy in treating national elements in music marked by the onset of his deafness, the hope of recovery, all the while remembering the promise of his early career and a feeling of painful regret.
NOVA CHAMBER ARTISTS
The Nova Chamber Artists is comprised of New York's most talented young musicians as well as select visiting artists from the United States and Europe. Founded at the Juilliard School, these musicians have performed in concert halls all over the world including Carnegie Hall, Symphony Center of Chicago, and Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. The group is dedicated to performing contemporary works; the 2004 season premiere concert featured New York composer Steven Gerber�s Quartet No. 5, written in 2000. Another highlight of its inaugural season (2004) was a concert with world renowned violinist Philippe Graffin. A new non-profit organization, Nova believes in being musically involved and active within the community. The group brings its love of chamber music to local schools through interactive presentations and workshops.
TICKET INFORMATION
Single tickets are $20, student $10. Tickets can be purchased at the door. Tickets are limited and can be reserved in advanced by calling 212-496-8698. Additional information about the season can be found at the Nova Chamber Artists� website at www.novachamberartists.org or by calling the office at 212-496-8698.
Thursday, March 30 at 8p.m.
TENRI CULTURAL INSTITUTE OF NEW YORK
Nova Chamber Artists
Shostakovich Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor, Op. 67
Matthew Van Brink String Quartet
Smetana String Quartet No. 1 in E minor, �From My Life�
_____________________________________________________________________________________
For Press Tickets Contact:
Caroline Chin
212-496-8698
carolineevachin@yahoo.com
###
posted by Coming Events
3/16/2006 11:53:00 PM
3/12/2006
Music by four New York composers performed by New York�s most versatile ensemble in two great New York art spaces kicks off the 13th season of the St. Luke�s Chamber Ensemble�s Second Helpings series, acclaimed by The New York Times as �an engagingly informal way to present contemporary music.� Performed in the midst of art exhibitions at the Chelsea Art Museum and Dia:Beacon, the Dia Center�s acclaimed new outpost in upstate New York, this first program of the three-concert series features Chester Biscardi�s Piano Quintet (2005); Martha Mooke�s Circa 5 for string quartet and piano (2004); Greg Sandow�s A te, variations on an aria from Bellini�s I Puritani for cello and piano (2006); and Joan Tower�s For Daniel for piano trio (2003). The concert takes place at the Chelsea Art Museum on Saturday, April 1, at 2:00 p.m., and at Dia:Beacon on Sunday, April 2, at 2:00 p.m.
�New works of music, while usually premiered with great fanfare, often wait a long time for that second or third performance,� said St. Luke�s President and Executive Director Marianne Lockwood. �Our Second Helpings series was created to plumb the riches of all the good music being written today, and to bring the composers to talk to the audience directly � and everyone loves the experience.� Host Joan Tower, St. Luke�s Composer-in-Residence, creates an intimate and informal atmosphere by introducing the composers to talk briefly before their works are performed, and the intermission-less concert is followed by a wine reception for artists and audience.
The St. Luke�s musicians performing on the program are Margaret Kampmeier, piano; Krista Bennion Feeney and Krzysztof Kuznik, violin; Maureen Gallagher, viola; and Myron Lutzke and Daire FitzGerald, cello.
Chester Biscardi (b. 1948) wrote his Piano Quintet in memory of his father; he began the work in 2002 while in residence at the Copland House as a recipient of the Aaron Copland Award, and completed it during a residency at The MacDowell Colony in New Hampshire in 2004. To evoke this piece, the composer quotes a passage from The Odyssey (translated by Robert Fitzgerald): �I am that father your boyhood lacked and suffered pain for lack of. I am he.�
Chester Biscardi's music has been featured at the Gaudeamus Festival in Rotterdam, the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival in England, Moscow Autumn, Music Today-Japan in Tokyo, the Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors Festival, the North American New Music Festival in Buffalo, the Festival of New American Music in Sacramento, Piccolo Spoleto, the International Guitar Festival of Morelia, and the Bienal of S�o Paulo, Brazil. Performances of his music have also been sponsored by the American Composers Orchestra, the BBC-London, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Gothia Percussion Ensemble of Sweden, the Houston Symphony, the Orchestra della Radiotelevisione Italiana in Rome, and UNESCO/International Music Council.
Martha Mooke dedicated Circa 5, to her father, Arnold I. Mooke. She says of the piece, �There is a symbiotic relationship between the music, the players, and the audience with the number five, defined (in the Random House Dictionary) as a �cardinal number, four plus one.� The concept of �five� is at times literal, at times implied. Four string players plus one piano. Five sections, circle of fifths, pentatonic scales, five seconds, five beats. The Roman numeral V. The symbol of peace." The piano is played by the string players: �both violinists sit at the keyboard at various times and play, and the violist plays under the lid!
Martha Mooke (b. 1963), composer/electro-acoustic violist, a pioneer in the field of electric five string viola transcends musical boundaries by synthesizing her classical music training with extended techniques, digital effects processing, and improvisation. She is a Yamaha Artist and leading clinician on electric and alternative approaches to string playing. Founder and violist of the electro-acoustic Scorchio Quartet, Mooke has performed and recorded with David Bowie, Philip Glass, David Byrne, Moby, Lou Reed, Trey Anastasio, Ziggy Marley, Enya, John Cale, and the Orchestra of St. Luke�s to name a few. Her genre-defying recordings, Enharmonic Vision and Bowing's Caf� Mars have attracted wide critical acclaim. Mooke's catalog includes works for electric and acoustic instruments, theater, dance, film, and multimedia productions. She was honored with an ASCAP Concert Music Award for conceiving and producing the new music showcase THRU THE WALLS featuring ASCAP composer/performers whose work defies categorization. For more information, go to www.MarthaMooke.com.
Greg Sandow describes his A te, a set of variations for cello and piano based on the aria �A te, o cara� from Bellini�s I Puritani, as �a Bellini sandwich: pure Bellini, then variations, then pure Bellini.� The variations veer widely in style from minimal to rock to jazz. Sandow says, �I wrote the piece for a cellist [Adiel Shmit] who plays romantic music beautifully. That's why he and I agreed that it would be fun to use an Italian opera aria as the basis for the piece. The variations aren't strict structural variations, the way Brahms or Beethoven would have written them; they're pretty free. Sometimes they just pick up on one or two aspects or phrases of the theme, and then run off in their own direction. And sometimes they're variations of each other, rather than being variations of the theme!� � the concluding variation is �made up of fragments from some of the other variations.�
Greg Sandow (b. 1943) had an active composing career in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Four of his operas were successfully produced, by small and large opera companies, opera workshops, and schools, and ranged in style from atonal to Broadway, including a piece based on Frankenstein, and written in the style of 19th century Italian opera. When he became an active music critic in 1980, he gradually gave up composing, and went on to become a well known and influential critic, writing about both pop and classical music � for a while writing only about pop, and serving as music editor for Entertainment Weekly magazine. But when he returned to classical music in the �90s, the future of classical music became his special subject. Currently, he writes and speaks about the large issues of classical music�s future, and also serves as a consultant to major orchestras. During this time, he slowly returned to composing, with performances of new works by the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Fine Arts Quartet, and the New York City Opera�s VOX showcase of new operas.
Joan Tower says, �For Daniel was written for the wonderful Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, who have performed the work around the U.S. (including at Tanglewood). It is written in memory of my beloved nephew Daniel, who died after a very long battle with a lung disease. The premiere took place in his hometown of Tucson, Arizona, at the hall of the Friends of Tucson Chamber Music Society, the commissioners of the work � but unfortunately not in time for Daniel to hear it. He died two months earlier.�
Even as she prepares for her 70th birthday in 2008, Joan Tower is looking forward as much as she is looking back on a career that already spans over five decades. Hailed as "one of the most successful woman composers of all time" in The New Yorker magazine, Joan Tower was the first woman ever to receive the Grawemeyer Award in Composition in 1990. She was inducted in 1998 into the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Letters, and into the Academy of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University in the fall of 2004. Joan Tower is the first composer chosen for the ambitious new "Ford Made in America" commissioning program, a collaboration of the American Symphony Orchestra League and Meet the Composer, the first project of its kind to involve smaller budget orchestras as commissioning agents of a new work by a major composer. In October 2005, the Glens Falls Symphony Orchestra presented the world premiere of Tower's 15-minute orchestral piece. The work goes on for performances by orchestras in every state in the Union during the 2005-2006 season. Since 1972, Tower has taught at Bard College where she is Asher Edelman Professor of Music. She is composer-in-residence with the Orchestra of St. Luke's, a title she also held for eight years at the Yale/Norfolk Chamber Music Festival.
Recently, The New York Times said, �The Orchestra of St. Luke�s may be the most protean group in town.� The Second Helpings series continues on April 29 and 30 with a program devoted to St. Luke�s Assistant Composer-in-Residence Daniel Bernard Roumain and his influences, titled �Conversation Pieces,� and featuring not only works by Roumain, Philip Glass, and Wynne Bennett (one of Roumain�s students), but the composers in conversation with each other. On June 3 and 4, the series concludes with �Fresh Paint,� a program featuring the world premieres of St. Luke�s commissions by Joan Panetti and Barbara White, along with works by Michael Daugherty and Gabriela Frank. The Orchestra of St. Luke�s concludes its Carnegie Hall season on March 19 with a program led by Donald Runnicles featuring tenor Ian Bostridge; and the St. Luke�s Chamber Ensemble concludes its Zankel Hall series with a program with countertenor Andreas Scholl on April 11, and performs the final Brooklyn Museum concert of the season, a program of Baroque music, on May 7.
Second Helpings is made possible with generous support from the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, BMI, Commerce Bank, the Gladys K. Delmas Foundation, Meet the Composer, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Argosy Fund for Contemporary Music, and generous individuals.
The Orchestra of St. Luke�s has a long and distinguished record of commissioning new works by world-renowned composers, as well as emerging American composers of great promise. Throughout its history, it has premiered and recorded more than 100 new works by leading contemporary composers.
Since 1998, the St. Luke�s Commissioning Program has been supported generously by the Jerome Foundation. Among the highlights of commissioned works over the last four years are Roshanne Etezady's Monkeyshines; Daniel Bernard Roumain's I Never Wanted My First Communion; Unexpected Light by Jane Ira Bloom; String Quartet No. 3 (�Powell�) by Assistant Composer-in-Residence Daniel Bernard Roumain; Hovenweep by Kyle Gann; Quartet for Horn, Violin, Cello, and Piano by Michael Hersch, a recent Rome Prize winner and Vilar Fellow; and Fast BLACK Dance Machine by Daniel Bernard Roumain; and commission by Gabriela Frank that will be performed on June 3 & 4, 2006. St. Luke�s wishes to thank the Jerome Foundation for its visionary leadership and generous support of creativity in classical music.
Founded in 1974, the St. Luke�s Chamber Ensemble consists of 20 virtuoso artists dedicated to mastery of a diverse repertoire spanning the Baroque to the contemporary. The Ensemble is also the artistic core of the Orchestra of St. Luke's, America's foremost chamber orchestra and a unique musical organization that currently comprises the orchestra, the chamber ensemble, and the St. Luke�s Arts Education Program. St. Luke�s currently performs approximately 100 orchestral, chamber, and educational concerts throughout New York each year, all showcasing the hallmark collaborative spirit that has garnered consistent critical acclaim for vibrant music-making of the highest order.
The St. Luke�s Chamber Ensemble presents, in partnership with Carnegie Hall, an annual series in Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, and also performs a three-concert series at the Brooklyn Museum, as well as Second Helpings, a contemporary music series featuring premieres of new works commissioned by St. Luke�s, that takes place both at the Chelsea Art Museum and at Dia:Beacon in upstate New York.
The Orchestra of St. Luke�s (Donald Runnicles, Principal Conductor) evolved from the Chamber Ensemble and was founded at the Caramoor International Music Festival in 1979. In addition to being presented by Carnegie Hall in an annual series in the Isaac Stern Auditorium, the Orchestra continues a 20-year collaborative relationship with Carnegie Hall that currently includes participation in such Carnegie events as the Choral Workshop, Family Concerts, concert presentations of musical theater, and others. The Orchestra is also engaged throughout the year in a number of artistic collaborations with other New York City cultural organizations, and serves each summer as the Orchestra-in-Residence at the Caramoor Festival. OSL musicians also participate in the St. Luke�s Arts Education Program, which integrates comprehensive in-school workshops and residencies with free performances for over 12,000 New York City school children annually.
In the 2005-2006 season, the St. Luke�s Chamber Ensemble�s annual series at Zankel Hall and the Brooklyn Museum include a Valentine�s Day program titled �A Little Night Music,� an evening of St. Luke�s musicians� favorites, and a concert with Andreas Scholl; and the Ensemble�s acclaimed Second Helpings series features programs devoted to New York composers and to Assistant Composer-in-Residence Daniel Bernard Roumain, all overseen by St. Luke�s Composer-in-Residence Joan Tower.
St. Luke�s Chamber Ensemble�s critically acclaimed recording of Bach�s Brandenburg Concertos, a two-disc set, was recently released on the new St. Luke�s Collection label. Other recent recordings include Morning, Noon, and Evening, a disc of Haydn�s Symphonies 6, 7, and 8, and From the Forest, featuring Ensemble member Stewart Rose on French horn. These are part of a stellar St. Luke�s discography that includes three Grammy Award-winning recordings as well as Mozart�s Symphonies 39 and 41 �Jupiter� with the Orchestra of St. Luke�s led by Donald Runnicles, the inaugural release of the St. Luke�s Collection.
ST. LUKE�S CHAMBER ENSEMBLE
Second Helpings: �Crosstown New York�
CHESTER BISCARDI Piano Quintet (2005)
MARTHA MOOKE Circa 5 (2004)
GREG SANDOW A te (2006)
JOAN TOWER For Daniel (2003)
Saturday, April 1, 2006, at 2:00 pm
Chelsea Art Museum
556 West 22nd Street at 11th Avenue, New York City
Tickets: $15
Chelsea Art Museum members: $10
Students: $10 at the door with ID
Call: 212-594-6100 or order online at www.OSLmusic.org
Sunday, April 2, 2006, at 2:00 pm
Dia:Beacon, Riggio Galleries
3 Beekman Street, Beacon, New York
Tickets: $15
Dia members, students, seniors: $10
Call: 212-594-6100 or order online at www.OSLmusic.org
For directions and travel information visit www.diaart.org
Three-concert GO Pass (good for both museums): $30; $20 for museum members
posted by Coming Events
3/12/2006 12:30:00 PM
3/6/2006
Elebash Recital Hall
CUNY Graduate Center
365 Fifth Ave. (btw. 34th and 35h)
Thursday, March 9th, 7:30
Works by Zachary Seldess, Jeff Leigh, Pat Muchmore, Eric Roth, Brian Coughlin, Rob Collins, and (gulp) David Salvage.
I can guarantee the best viola playing to be heard in New York City this Thursday will be at this concert.
posted by David Salvage
3/06/2006 11:06:00 PM
3/3/2006
Avner Dorman
String Quartet No. 2 (�Mirage�)
US Premiere
Jerusalem Quartet
29 April 2006; 92nd St Y, New York City
The U.S. premiere of Dorman's String Quartet No. 2 (�Mirage�) takes place on April 29th at the 92nd St Y, performed by the Jerusalem Quartet, a group praised for their �impeccable blend [and] fiery sweetness� (The Daily Telegraph, London). The work, described as �very impressive [and] full of essence and energy� (Ma�ariv) and �genuinely moving and delicate� (The Jerusalem Post), was commissioned for the quartet's tenth anniversary. The heart of the piece � the second movement, entitled �Prayer for the Innocents� � is dedicated to the memory of the children that perished in Beslan, Russia.
Avner Dorman is the newest addition to the G. Schirmer roster. For more information, visit:
G. Schirmer
www.avnerdorman.com
posted by Coming Events
3/03/2006 11:53:00 AM
3/1/2006
Capital M, a New York City-based electric chamber ensemble led by vocalist/composer Ian Moss, announces its first ever World Premieres Extravaganza on Tuesday, March 21st at the Cutting Room. The concert, which takes place at 8:30pm, will feature seven new works by seven different composers, five of which have been written specifically for this event. The program is the recipient of a Meet The Composer Creative Connections grant, and composers David Claman, Jennifer Fitzgerald, Monika Heidemann, Bradley Kemp, Ian Moss, Frank J. Oteri, and Stefan Zeniuk will be on hand for a question-and-answer session preceding the concert.
Capital M is one of the first rock bands ever to seek out music from the contemporary classical world. The band's instrumentation (two guitars, electric bass, drums, saxophones, and vocals) and liberal use of studio effects recall influences as diverse as King Crimson and godspeed you! black emperor, and its performance history includes appearances at the 2005 College Music Journal Marathon, the Tribeca Rock Club, and the Millcreek Tavern in West Philadelphia. Yet the band's members all possess extensive classical training and its leader, Moss, takes a composer's approach to constructing its sound.
'The idea behind Capital M was to create an ensemble that really couldn't be categorized, no matter how hard you try," says Moss. 'If you think about it, even genre-busters like Bang on a Can and Bj�rk can be forced into one metaphorical bin or another, based on the way they act if not always the way they sound. But it's very unusual to have an ensemble with our kind of instrumentation playing music that was written for the group by people who are not in the group. It just doesn't happen. Really, the only precedent that I know of is when Sonic Youth played a bunch of new music and commissioned a piece from Pauline Oliveros for its Goodbye 20th Century album. Other than that, I can't think of another time that something like this has taken place."
Moss knows of which he speaks�his day job involves working for the American Music Center, the nation's foremost information resource for the field of new American music, and he has written extensively on the subject of genre divisions between classical and popular music. In September 2005, he placed a notice in the Center's monthly Opportunity Update newsletter calling for pieces fitting Capital M's unusual yet versatile instrumentation. Among the responses were Jennifer Fitzgerald's How Terrible Orange, originally written for Duke University-based new music ensemble pulsoptional, and David Claman's Loose Canons, a meditative work scored for three electric guitars playing e-bows. Both works will be included on the program March 21st.
'I think that the moniker �new music' leaves room for a happy ambiguity," says Fitzgerald. 'I wrote a piece that included electric guitar and drumset because those were the instruments that I had available to me at home in North Carolina. Thankfully, there are a growing number of groups such as Capital M who engage in this ambiguity. We don't need to call this �crossover' for it to defy specific labels. Just �new music' works for me."
The evening is capped off by the world premiere of Frank J. Oteri's Imagined Overtures, a multi-movement work in 36-tone equal temperament. Oteri, who edits the highly regarded internet publication NewMusicBox, reconciles serialism, minimalism, and microtonality by referencing similarly seeming opposites in rock like punk and prog. 'Although I was born the same year that the Beatles invaded America (1964)," confesses Oteri, 'I didn't listen to Sgt. Pepper or any other rock album until I was in college, several years after I had already gotten turned on to classical music and was already exposed to microtonality. Believe it or not, the first rock band I ever heard live was the 31-tone J.C. and the Microtones!"
Moss has high hopes that the event will open up new horizons for Capital M. 'The best thing about this concert is that, because we're a rock band, the story doesn't have to end for these pieces on March 22nd. We can introduce them into our normal repertoire and play them at clubs, bars�wherever we go next. I keep having this fantasy of us being onstage at the Bowery Ballroom a few years from now, announcing to a crowd of teenagers with eyebrow piercings that �this next piece was commissioned for Capital M with generous support from the Fromm Foundation,' before launching into an onslaught of power chords. This concert brings us one step closer to that goal."
Oteri agrees. 'What Capital M has done by asking me and other composers to write for them is not just breaking down a wall in our seemingly wall-less musical communities. More importantly, they've created an opportunity to build something new. Imagined Overtures, as its name implies, is ultimately just a beginning."
posted by Coming Events
3/01/2006 10:23:00 AM
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