Author: Steve Layton

Composers, Contemporary Classical, New York, Premieres

Christian Wolff and friends, S.E.M.

wolff-kotik

The S.E.M. Ensemble will open its 40th anniversary season with its annual Christmas concert at Paula Cooper Gallery in New York City on Tuesday, December 15. SEM has performed a holiday concert at the gallery for the last 25 years, and this year’s program will feature two N.Y. premieres by new-music icon Christian Wolff (above left), the first public performance of Petr Kotik‘s (above right) new percussion work performed by TimeTable Percussion, and Lejaren Hiller‘s rarely heard String Quartet no. 5, along with a work by J.S. Bach.

Christian Wolff is also marking his 75th birthday this year, and has put together a kind of celebratory all-Wolff concert at Roulette on Dec 12th. Christian was kind enough to write a bit about  his music on both of these concerts:

On December 15, the S.E.M. Ensemble will perform two New York premieres of my work: “Flutist (with percussionists)” and “For John”, as part of their annual concert at Paula Cooper Gallery (NYC). This will be one more in a long line of performances of my music by Petr Kotik and the S.E.M. Ensemble, beginning, I think, in the early 1970s, not long after Petr came to Buffalo – he had already organized the first performance of an early piece of mine in Prague in the 60s. There has been an extraordinary continuity of support. And, with this encouragement, I’ve also written pieces for the ensemble, as well as for the orchestra associated with it (the S.E.M. Orchestra in New York).

“Flutist (with percussionists)” came about when Chris Nappi, longtime percussionist for the SEM ensemble and friend, asked me for a piece – in exchange for music copying he had done for me. He wanted something to play with another percussionist, so the music is for more than one player. Then Petr Kotik, composer, conductor and excellent flutist, had me at his Ostrava (Czech Republic) New Music Days in 2003. I can’t exactly remember, but I think he was looking for some additional music for one of the concerts, so I made solo flute music for him, and then, since Chris was also there, it occurred to me the two pieces could be done simultaneously. Each piece has pauses of free duration, determined in the process of playing by the performers, so that they can be free to space their material in relation to one another, improvisationally. In addition, the flute material consists of a collection of shorter units which can be played in any sequence, as the player decides, and sometimes repeated, so that’s another element in ‘improvising’ the relation of the two pieces.

“For John” was written as part of a collaborative piece titled “For John” in celebration of John Cage at Bard College a few years ago (when the John Cage Archive was relocated at Bard). My contribution was a small set of piano nocturnes and “Material”, music playable by any smaller collection of performers (instrumentation not specified). The others collaborating were David Behrman, John King and Takehisa Kosugi, who played their own work simultaneously with mine, and intermittently we all played from the “Material”.

Then on Saturday, December 12, at 8:30 pm there will be a concert of my music at Roulette. The main item on the program will be the premiere of a new piece “Quintet”, written especially for this occasion.

After an earlier New York concert of my music, which was ok, but not quite ideal, I thought why not try to collect some of my favorite musicians who might be available in the New York area. 2009 is also the year of my 75th birthday, so this might also be a kind of celebration. The musicians are Larry Polansky, composer, long-time friend and colleague in Hanover, New Hampshire (but we both grew up in New York), and fine guitar player; Robyn Schulkowsky, also a longtime friend with whom I’ve done a lot of music, regarded in Europe as the premiere percussionist for new music, but also long associated with people like John Cage and Morton Feldman, and a great improviser; Robert Black, double-bass, also someone with whom I’ve worked over a long time, probably best known as an anchor of the Bang on a Can All-Stars. We also have all been involved in recordings of my music (Robert a CD of all my music involving double-bass, Robyn a solo percussion CD and she and Larry more recently on a recording of 10 “Exercises”). The other player, along with myself (on piano and melodica) will be Joey Baron, drummer, associated for years with John Zorn, but even better known as jazz drummer in his own right. Joey had been hearing my music in the last years and said he liked it, so it occurred to me to ask him to join us, and he agreed – a challenge for both us, me writing for a ‘non-classical/new music’ performer, him playing such music. The element of improvisation, or structural flexibility in my music I hope will provide a bridge.

The rest of the program will consist of earlier pieces, a double-bass solo “Look She Said”, a solo snare drum “Peace March”, and an electric guitar piece “Another Possibility,” written to make up for my losing (it was stolen) the only existing copy of a piece by Morton Feldman, “The possibility of a piece for electric guitar.”

Thanks Christian, Happy (late) Birthday, and have a great show or two!  More information for the S.E.M. concert can be had here; for the the Roulette gig click here.

by Steve Layton
Composers, Concerts, Contemporary Classical, Contests, New York

New works, Free tix!

contact1

This month kicks off the New York Philharmonic’s Contact! series. Concerts in December and April feature seven composers and seven premieres, played first at Symphony Space and then a day or two later at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Phil tells us that “performances will include personal introductions to the music from the composers themselves, in a less formal and more intimate setting.”

The list is a really great mix of styles and careers from a few different continents: The December 17 and 19 concerts feature music by Marc-André Dalbavie, Arthur Kampela, Lei Liang and Arlene Sierra, conducted by Magnus Lindberg; then on April 16 and 17 Alan Gilbert leads the musicians and baritone Thomas Hampson, with works by Nico Muhly, Matthias Pintscher and Sean Shepherd.

And the New York Philharmonic would like a few lucky souls to come hear it for free! We have three pairs of tickets to the Dec 19th 7p.m. concert at the Met Museum, and we’d like to give them away to the first three correct answerers of these five questions:

1) In 1998 Marc-André Dalbavie was named “Best Young Composer of the Year” by what rather surprising U.S. source?

2) Which Arthur Kampela piece did pianist Jenny Lin record for her Koch CD “The Eleventh Finger”?

3) At what age did Lei Liang begin composing?

4) Arlene Sierra‘s first orchestral work won the 2001 Takemitsu Prize and was performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic; what was the title of the piece?

5) In 1980 Magnus Lindberg and Esa-Pekka Salonen together formed an experimental performance ensemble; what was its name?

Send your five answers directly to me at: stevelayton@niwo.com (not to the S21 email, or they could be lost in the administrative shuffle!). The three winners will have tickets waiting for them at the box office.

I have links to all the answers of course, but I’ll only post them next Tuesday (hey, they’re not hard at all, and I think a little effort on your part is a darn good thing!).

And for those that miss out, I think we’ll be able to do the same thing all over again in April. Happy hunting!

by Steve Layton
CDs, Contemporary Classical, Interviews, Violin

Talking with Jennifer Koh

Violinist Jennifer Koh has, since even before this past Spring showed its face, been pretty much living out of a suitcase or two. Crisscrossing this country and a couple other continents, She’s been playing everything from Antonio Vivaldi to John Zorn. Just last week she was beautifully acquitting herself at Miller Theatre, in a performance of Kaija Saariaho’s Graal Theatre. December is about all the break she’s getting, too, before it starts all over again.

In the middle of all this came her newest CD on Cedille, Rhapsodic Musings, a collection of solo violin music almost all composed within the last ten years: Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Lachen Verlernt (2002), Elliott Carter’s Four Lauds (1984-2000), Augusta Read Thomas’ Pulsar (2003), and John Zorn’s Goetia (2002). It’s an intensely involving and personal listen, definitely not simple showy fare, and the recording is close and crystalline. Here’s a short video of Jennifer talking about the genesis of the CD:

I recently had the chance to ask Jennifer a few questions via e-mail, and her answers follow:

S21: You’ve got quite a wide repertoire at your command, but when it’s come to recordings you haven’t gone with much in the way of the grand war-horses. The Szymanowski 1st is about as close as you’ve come, the rest delving back into lesser-known gems by Menotti, Martinu, Bartok… And then most recently lots of contemporary (and usually living) American and European composers. The pieces you choose — Higdon, Ruggles, Harrison, Salonen, Carter, Zorn — while often incredibly beautiful aren’t the stuff of easy crowd-pleasers. I get a bit of this feeling of you truly being taken deeply by something in each of these works, and bringing them to people almost like an excited kid shares their latest amazing discovery to their friends or parents. Am I getting warm here? …

JK: I just want to play music that I believe in!  This is true for music that is known or unknown, new or old.  When I play a piece, it means I will have lived with it in a very intimate and intense way for a long time and ultimately, I want to spend my life with music that I love and find meaningful.  If I discover a piece of music that I think is incredible but is not very well known, I do become fervently dedicated to it because I think it SHOULD be known to everyone and I want to share it with as many people as possible!  In the end, I don’t think I’m that different from the next person.  I’m just another member of society and I hope that if I find a piece of music to be compelling and interesting, then it will speak to other people as well.

S21:  These past few CDs you’ve gone from violin and orchestra, to violin and piano, to just solo violin. I know this can’t go much further (unless you toss the violin and just clap and sing!), but was that increasing intimacy and focus at all intentional? Does it feel any different when you make a CD where you know you’re responsible for every moment of sound on there?

JK: Everything about “Rhapsodic Musings” was intense and personal for me from the initial inspiration point for the program to the recording process to the actual compositions on this CD.  The idea for this CD came from a collective time of  shock and loss and I wanted to focus the CD into a personal  journey out of that collective experience.  During this same period of time, I saw the violin that one of my mentors, Felix Galimir played while he was alive.  Felix was a huge influence on me in so many ways especially because of the passionate relationship he had with the music that he worked on with the composers of his time which included Schoenberg, Berg and Webern.   When I played on Felix’s violin in the shop, I felt he was back with me because I heard him in that violin.  Violinists have very intense and intimate relationships with their instruments and it is almost impossible to separate the identity between violin and violinist because each lives in the other. I feel like my violin  is a part of me and I chose a solo violin program for “Rhapsodic Musings” because I wanted to express that personal relationship between violin and violinist. (more…)

by Steve Layton
Festivals, New York, Opportunities

Make yourself MATA

mataWord has reached us that NYC’s long-running MATA new-music festival is looking for an new Artistic Director, and maybe it could just be you:

The position requires a broad knowledge of contemporary musical practices and communities (local, national, and international), strong organizational and interpersonal skills, and a clear, inclusive artistic vision. Key to the AD position is the ability to maintain high visibility in the music community as both a participant and audience member. Attention will be paid most closely to applicants who are currently active in the New York music community as a composer and/or performer. Along with the ED, the AD serves on MATA’s Board, ex officio, thereby gaining access to invaluable opportunities to develop relationships potentially important to his/her own career. There is an annual salary of $10,000 for this part-time position.

The full info is in this PDF:

MATA Artistic Director Information.PDF

You’ve got until Jan. 4, 2010 to get off your tush and apply. If you’re a composer/performer who’s always saying “what these festivals really need to have is  XXX and YYY”, well here’s your chance!

by Steve Layton
Canada, Concerts, Contemporary Classical

Truly Canadian

Sunday, November 15th, the Esprit Orchestra and conductor Alex Pauk are giving what I think will be a really wonderful concert. It happens in Toronto, at 8PM in Koerner Hall at The Royal Conservatory (273 Bloor Street West, Toronto), with a 7:15Pm pre-concert chat with a composer and guest artists. That composer would be Alexina Louie, and my guess is the guest artists are Inuit throat singers Evie Mark and Akinisie Sivuarapik. First up on the bill is Louie’s work Take the Dog Sled, for two throat singers and ensemble.

Throat singing is an ancient traditional musical form/contest where two women join in a face-off, chanting back and forth in a rhythmic game. The point is for each to keep the rhythm going through all its elaborations; the one who either runs out of breath, misses, or starts laughing is the “loser” , but the loss is not nearly so important as the bonds formed. Louie here incorporates their singing into her piece for western ensemble, part of which you can preview in this clip from a documentary made about Kent Nagano and the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal‘s recent journey through the high north, to bring classical music and instruments to places that had never heard them live before:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCYQW57EVoI[/youtube]

Following that will be one of the great evocative experiences of my own teen years: a performance of R. Murray Schafer‘s mysterious North/White for snowmobile (!) and orchestra. I think it may have a couple different versions now, but I first heard this near its premiere in 1973: as a teen in an agricultural region of Washington State, my modern classical education consisted largely of late-night radio listening, to the swelling and fading signal of the CBC wafting over the border from Alberta. One of those nights came an utterly strange rustling of orchestral music, eventually mixed with menacing sounds that I could never quite place; but they were textures, harmonies and sonorities that stayed in my head to this day. All I knew at the end was that the announcer’s voice told me this was some composer named R. Murray Schafer, and the piece was called North/White. I was taping the radio with a little cassette placed just next to it, and even years later I would sometimes pop the tape in to hear that moment again. Well, here it is in the flesh once more, and I’d give a lot to be there to hear it. The concert’s site tells us that “North/White is the composer’s highly personal statement on how industrial forces impact on Canada’s Northern mythology”; I’ll take that, and add that it certainly impacted my own personal mythology. (And you just name me one other piece for snowmobile and orchestra, huh?)

Rounding out the program are two very much non-Canadian works, but both I think very much a fit with the sound world that came before, and are both among my all-time favorites: Gyorgy Ligeti‘s classic Atmospheres, and Toru Takemitsu‘s Green (November Steps II).

If you’re anywhere close (or what the hell, use that New-World pioneer spirit, jump in the car and drive all night!), this is a must-hear.

by Steve Layton
Bang on a Can, CDs, Contemporary Classical, Downtown, New York, Odd, Performers

Multiple goodness

bagpipeJust a few weeks ago over at our CD Review section, Jay Batzner wrote about the new Julia Wolfe Dark Full Ride CD: “Each piece transfixes me.  I am writing my own music differently because of this disc.  I am so glad that Julia Wolfe exists, is writing music, and that such talented performers play the hell out of her stuff.”  It’s a really interesting Ride, each piece intensely working over some greater or lesser multiple of the same instrument.

If you’re a skeptical “show me” kind of person, free as a bird tomorrow (Nov. 10th) in NYC and maybe just a little crazy, you can test your own reaction to all of these works and the performers. The normal CD release concert has been jettisoned for this one, instead having each of the four pieces performed separately in venues familiar and not-so, scattered around Manhattan:

At 11 AM Matthew Welch is guaranteed to absolutely fill the air as he plays LAD on bagpipe with 8 more bagpipes on tape, at Roulette, 20 Greene Street (between Canal and Grand);

At 12 noon, the title piece Dark Full Ride for 4 drumsets (manned by the Talujon Percussion Quartet — David Cossin, Tom Kolor, Michael Lipsey and Matt Ward) will pound out at Dauphin Human Design, 138 West 25th Street, 12th Floor (between 6th and 7th Avenues);

At 1 PM Robert Black and the Hartt Bass Band will rock Wolfe’s Stronghold for 8 double basses, at the Chelsea Art Museum, 556 West 22nd Street (corner of 11th Avenue);

Finally at 2:30 PM Lisa Moore, Lisa Kaplan, Blair McMillen, Timo Andres, Kate Campbell and Isabelle O’Connell, all conducted by Sam Adams, will undertake the epic my lips from speaking for 6 pianos at Faust Harrison Pianos, 205 West 58th Street (between 7th and 8th Avenues).

julia wolfeJulia herself will be tagging along to each performance; if you happen to spot this face in the crowd you might go and say hi & thanks to the woman who penned all this glorious madness. It’s all free and open to whoever makes it, so pack a lunch, put on those walking shows and have a great hike!

by Steve Layton
Composers, Concerts, Contemporary Classical, Performers, Piano

“Somebody handed me a hammer”

So recalls Felix Heltmann of then-West Berlin, in a comment over at the BBC, “and without question I just started pounding away at the Wall. I was so excited that I got exhausted after some time and I gave the hammer to my other mate who started hammering away too. What a night…”

To celebrate that night on this night, NYers might want to head to Le Poisson Rouge, where admirable pianist Heather O’Donnell will be in town — she herself has lived in Germany now for some years — to give a commemorative concert thanks to the Wordless Music series. On the bill will be Walter Zimmermann‘s the missing nail (at the river), for piano & toy-piano, and Wüstenwanderung; Oliver Schneller‘s Five Imaginary Spaces and Tomorrow…, both for for piano & electronics; and Charles Ives‘ Three Quarter-Tone Pieces for Two Pianos (new version for piano & electronics).

Heather’s also taking her show on the road the next few days: tomorrow the 10th she’ll be at An die Musik in Baltimore with music of Schneller, Ives and Schumann; the 12th she’ll repeat that recital at the Goethe Institut in Boston; and the 15th she’s at the Ethical Society in Philadelphia doing Zimmermann, Ives and Schumann.

by Steve Layton
Composers, Concerts, Contemporary Classical, Miller Theater

November portraits

portraits

Miller Theatre at Columbia University is running a great little series of composer portrait concerts this month:

Saturday, Nov. 7th, Galina Ustvolskaya (1919-2006) is featured, with Chicago’s Fifth House Ensemble doing the honors. The program includes Ustvolskaya’s Trio (1949), Piano Sonata No. 6 (1988), Octet (1949-1950), Composition 2 (1972-1973), Piano Sonata No. 4 (1957), Composition 3 (1974-1975).

Then on Tuesday, Nov. 17th, we get a full plate of a true American “gnarly” individualist, Ralph Shapey (1921-2002). Miranda Cuckson (violin, viola, and artistic director), Charles Neidich (clarinet), William Purvis (horn), and Blair McMillen (piano) will join conductors Donato Cabrera and Michel Galante, The Argento Chamber Ensemble, New York Woodwind Quartet and Talujon Percussion Quartet for this rare panoramic essay of Shapey’s work: Five for violin and piano (1960), Interchange (1996), Movements (1960), Etchings (1945), Concerto for clarinet and chamber group (1954), and Three for Six (1979).

Things round off with a concert on Sunday, Nov. 22nd, devoted to Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho (1952- ). Violinist Jennifer Koh will join the International Contemporary Ensemble and conductor Brad Lubman in a concert full of gems: Terrestre (2002), Graal théâtre (violin concerto) (1994, rev. 1997), Lichtbogen (1985-1986), and Solar (1993).

All concerts kick off at 8PM. Columbia University’s Miller Theatre is located north of the Main Campus Gate at 116th St. & Broadway on the ground floor of Dodge Hall. For tickets, call the Miller Theatre Box Office at 212/854-7799, M–F, 12–6PM, or they can also be purchased online.

by Steve Layton
Commissions, Composers, Concerts, Contemporary Classical, Premieres

N.C. without the Y.

I’ve just been informed via press release, that our s21 blogging regular Lawrence Dillon is a “mid-career composer.”  It’s nice to know that he’s only half-done making great music and not already washed-up!

Said release was about the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts LINKS Commissioning Awards, and the four composers who’ll be getting premieres thanks to it, at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) in Winston-Salem — whose composer-in-residence just happens to be… yes, Lawrence Dillon. And one of which is by… yes, Lawrence Dillon. But since his is the odd man out location-wise and not first up, I’ll hold off that one to tell you about a couple others:

First up is Laura Kaminsky‘s Wave Hill, in Watson Hall at UNCSA Saturday, November 7, 2009 with pianist Allison Gagnon and Violinist Kevin Lawrence.  The composer writes: “Wave Hill is a multi-movement work inspired by the eponymous 28-acre public garden and cultural center in the Bronx overlooking the Hudson River and Palisades. Wave Hill’s mission is to celebrate the artistry and legacy of its gardens and landscapes, to preserve its magnificent views, and to explore human connections to the natural world through programs in horticulture, education and the arts. Celebrating this special place through music, the piece evokes the garden’s changing landscape at different times of day and throughout the four seasons.”

Then on January 12, 2010, again in Watson Hall, David Maslanka will offer up an as-yet-untitled new work for two pianos and percussion, to be performed by The CanAm Piano Duo (Christopher Hahn and Karen Beres).

OK, now we can take a quick jaunt out of town and meet up with… yes, Lawrence Dillon. On January 15th, 2010 his brand-spanking-new String Quartet No. 4: The Infinite Sphere will be heard in Wolf Trap, Virginia, performed by The Daedalus String Quartet. The latest in Dillon’s Invisible Cities string quartet cycle, the fourth takes its inspiration from Pascal’s reference to an “infinite sphere, whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere.” The piece taps the potentials of classical circular forms and techniques to create an exuberant, wheels-within-wheels showcase for a virtuosic ensemble.

Leaving… yes, Lawrence Dillon… and rounding out this little tour of “mid-career” folk, we need to get back to Winston-Salem and then the Stevens Center by May 21, 2010, when Randall Woolf‘s new work Native Tongues will see light of day under conductor Ransom Wilson, the UNCSA Symphony Orchestra and “beatbox flutist” Greg Pattillo. Even the orchestra will be getting their chance to rap & scratch on this one, so it promises to be one lively affair.

To purchase tickets for these UNCSA concerts, or for more information, call (336) 721-1945 or visit www.uncsa.edu/performances.

by Steve Layton
American Music Center, Auction, Composers

Hey bidder bidder!

do i hear $50?Like to own a piece of potential history? Or maybe just somebody to lug your bags around? Grab some fare or flair, from fluff to full, all to be had at the American Music Center’s 70th anniversary online auction fundraiser. Proceeds will support the Center’s ongoing programs, which have been working to build a national community of artists, organizations, and audiences creating, performing, and enjoying new American music for a good chunk of the last century.

The list of auction items is eclectic, to say the least. I’m not really seeing the musical value in a gift certificate for some beef, or tickets to a comedy club (except maybe to feed that starving artist, and give them a few ideas for that next absurdist chamber opera)…  But there are quite a few truly special treats to be had: how about tickets to the New York City Opera complete with backstage tour? A private salon concert by the wonderful violinist Jennifer Koh? Commission your dream piece from Steven Stucky or Robert Xavier Rodriguez? Get some personal consulting on your composerly career from market-savvy composer Alex Shapiro? Vocal coaching with Paul Sperry? And my personal favorite — name your own David Rakowski piano étude!

The material’s even better for you autograph hounds: not only signed sketches and manuscripts from the likes of Stucky, Bernard Rands, Augusta Read Thomas, Tobias Picker, there’s the conductor’s score of  Three Occasions by Elliott Carter, signed by the grand old man himself! For the ‘multiples’ collector, there are special “Pulitzer Prize Packages” — each of which includes both a signed CD and signed score of their prize-winning composition — from Bernard Rands, David Lang, John Corigliano, and Melinda Wagner. All this and more, more more!

The bidding opens Thursday Nov. 5th and runs through Nov. 20th. Some seriously good stuff, some seriously useful stuff, some seriously silly stuff — no matter, it all goes to benefit the efforts of the most fundamental and over-arching organization in the U.S., for the advocacy of New Music and the people who make and play it.

by Steve Layton