New York

Composers, Concerts, Contemporary Classical, Festivals, New York

Reconstituting “The Loves of Pharaoh” at BAM

From Ernst Lubitsch’s “The Loves of Pharaoh”

We’re approaching the heart of the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s 30th annual Next Wave Festival, and one of it’s more unique offerings is right around the corner. This Thursday through Saturday, composer Joe C. Phillips, Jr. will lead his ensemble, Numinous, in the premiere performances of his newly composed score for Ernst Lubitsch’s long-lost silent film, The Loves of Pharaoh.

I think the project presents a fascinating challenge for a composer – how do you respect the history of an artifact like The Loves of Pharaoh, while still expressing your 21st-century artistic perspective? I won’t speculate on how Mr. Phillips addressed this scenario because I don’t have to.

This weekend I tracked down Numinous’ fearless leader and asked him about his mindset while scoring Lubitsch’s historic film:

Since the film was released in 1922, obviously there has been much development in musical language and technique, and it felt right to reflect that in the new score. Not in a self-conscious, “look at how modern and cool I am” way but rather as a natural extension of my own musical thinking and expression. Like all composers, my musical language is a product of sieving influences and thoughts into one unique voice and in [Pharaoh], I believe you’ll hear this. There are echoes of my past work but also new, formerly latent, ideas come to the fore and more fully explored in this score. And this idea to explore newer territory in music, to bring the film into modern times so to speak, was one of the reason Joseph Melillo was looking for a new score for the screening.

Mr. Phillips is very excited for this week’s performances, and feels very grateful for his association with BAM, who he describes as being, “incredibly supportive throughout the development of the project.” Straddling the Next Wave Festival’s film and music programs, I have the feeling The Loves of Pharaoh will be a major stand out even against the ridiculously vibrant mixture of genres and disciplines on the slate at BAM this Fall.

Tickets and more information about the upcoming performances of The Loves of Pharaoh are available here. If you’re in Brooklyn from Oct. 18-20, head on over to the Next Wave Festival and hear what Joe C. Phillips, Jr. and Numinous have drummed up to accompany this 90-year-old silent movie.

Enjoy!

by Garrett Schumann
Commissions, Concerts, Contemporary Classical, Interviews, New York

Orpheus echoes Thomas

This season (12-13) has many firsts for Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. For their opening concert, Orpheus performs Beethoven’s iconic Fifth Symphony for the first time and, in addition to expanding their traditional repertoire, Orpheus has commissioned a staggering four world premieres this season! (Gabriel Kahane is their composer in residence.)

The season begins with the world premiere of Augusta Read Thomas‘s Earth Echoes, a piece commissioned by Orpheus and written to commemorate the death of Gustav Mahler.

John Clare spoke to Augusta about the new work. The two discuss Mahler, orchestration and the magic of Carnegie Hall. Listen to their conversation on soundcloud.

It will be performed October 10th in Easton, PA; Carnegie Hall on October 11th; and in Storrs, CT at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts October 12th.

by John Clare
Composers, Contemporary Classical, File Under?, New York

Hooray for Haas

The scuttlebutt around Columbia University’s new senior composer hire seems to be true. As Alex Ross reported on The Rest is Noise yesterday, Austrian composer Georg Friedrich Haas will be joining Columbia’s faculty sometime during the 2012-’13 academic year, replacing Tristan Murail, One revels in the possibilities, not only for graduate students in composition, but for the rest of us too; we’ll likely get to hear some terrific programs during his time stateside!

Our friend Thomas Bjørnseth has some terrific musical selections by Haas on his Atonality.Net website, and The Wellesz Theatre is streaming Haas’s 2011 opera Bluthaus in its entirety via YouTube (embed below).

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by Christian Carey
Chamber Music, Contemporary Classical, Experimental Music, Music Events, New York

Violinist Sarah Plum at The Firehouse Space

Acclaimed and award-winning ‘new music specialist’ Sarah Plum (right) is giving a recital of new works for violin this Friday (Sept. 28th) at 8 PM at the Firehouse Space in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Sarah has dedicated her career to performing the works of living composers and establishing meaningful, collaborative relationships with them – a fact highlighted by her recital’s program which includes pieces by Christopher Adler, Christopher Burns, Matthew Burtner, Laurie Schwartz, Mari Takano and Sarah’s longtime collaborator, Sydney Corbett.

I talked to Sarah about Friday’s concert, her career, working in Europe and other topics related to contemporary music on my web-based music show/podcast, We Are Not Beethoven on Washington Public Radio. You can stream/download our conversation here.

Once again, violinist Sarah Plum is giving a recital at the Firehouse Space in Brooklyn this coming Friday at 8 PM. Tickets are $10, and the Firehouse Space is located at 246 Frost Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. More information about the event can be found here.

 

Enjoy!

by Garrett Schumann
Chamber Music, Music Events, New York

Talkin’ about ‘Nonextraneous Sounds’ with cellist Mariel Roberts

Cellist Mariel Roberts is a rising star in the NYC new music scene. Tomorrow, Sept. 25th, her debut solo album, Nonextraneous Sounds, will be released on the Innova label. The disc features works by five young, super-talented composers, (in program order): Andy Akiho, Sean Friar, Daniel Wohl, Alex Mincek and Tristan Perich. Each of their pieces are very distinct and show off both the cello’s versatility and Mariel’s virtuosity.

I talked to Mariel a couple weeks ago and have just published our conversation as the latest episode of my audio web-series/podcast, “We Are Not Beethoven” on Washington Public Radio. As you’ll hear, Mariel is as charming and articulate an advocate for contemporary music and composers and there is, and there are several fascinating conceptual topics related to the creation and design of Nonextraneous Sounds that are definitely worth your time to explore.

You can stream and/or download my conversation with Mariel Roberts here…

…also, there is a CD release event  for Nonextraneous Sounds on Wednesday, September 26th at the Issue Project Room in Brooklyn, follow this link to find more details and ticket information.

Enjoy!

by Garrett Schumann
File Under?, New York

Sounding Beckett Sounds Right

Holly Twyford in Sounding Beckett. Photo: Jeremy Tressler.

Three of Samuel Beckett’s late one-act plays (from his “ghost period”) are the source material for Sounding Beckett, an interdisciplinary collaboration that is entering its second (and final) weekend of New York performances at Classic Stage Company on September 21-23.Theatre director Joy Zinoman has enlisted a fine cast of actors and resourceful design team, Cygnus Ensemble directed by guitarist William Anderson, and composers Laura Kaminsky, John Halle, Laura Schwendinger, Scott Johnson, David Glaser, and Chester Biscardi to create a production that is both respectful of the playwright’s work and imaginative in its incorporation of music.

Beckett was quite specific about what sounds and music are to be added to his plays: one can’t just insert incidental music willy-nilly without running afoul of his estate. Sounding Beckett avoids this pitfall, instead allowing composers to have the last word: after the actors have left the stage. Each of the plays – Footfalls, Ohio Impromptu, and Catastrophe – has been supplied with a musical “response” by two different composers. A composition is played directly after the performance of each play (the “cast” of composers rotates. This past Sunday afternoon, the show I attended featured music by Schwendinger, Halle, and Kaminsky).

In a talkback after Sunday’s performance, Schwendinger underscored that the pieces we heard were meant as musical responses to the plays: not necessarily programmatic outlines or storytelling. Thus, her piece responded to the strong emotions churning under the surface of Footfalls with sustained passages of controlled, but angst-imbued dissonance. After seeing actor Holly Twyford’s simmering performance in the play, one could readily understand Schwendinger’s poignant, elegantly crafted response.

Halle’s piece after “Ohio Impromptu” featured a more effusive language, with arcing lines surging towards, but never quite reaching, a place of closure and repose. Again, while not mimicking the action on the stage, his music seemed like a kindred spirit to Ted van Griethuysen’s mellifluous reading of a tragic story of love lost;  it also resonated with the silent, but facially expressive, performance of actor Philip Goodwin. I was also quite taken with Kaminsky’s composition, which nimbly captured the emotional content portrayed by Catastrophe’s three disparate characters.

Cygnus Ensemble (Anderson, guitarist Oren Fader, flutist Tara-Helen O’Connor, oboist James Austin Smith, violinist Pauline Kim, and cellist Chris Gross) were impressively well-prepared; they performed all of the compositions with top notch musicality. Anderson, a composer himself, has supplied a multifaceted overture and economical music for scene changes. His work draws upon the sound world of modern classical music in a way that is simpatico to the compositions of the featured composers, while also referencing the type of incidental music one hears in current productions of plays in New York. If Anderson needs another hat to wear, he might consider creating incidental music for more plays!

Details

SOUNDING BECKETT will perform Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. from September 21 to 23.  Tickets are $50 and $75 and go on sale starting July 20.  Tickets can be purchased by calling Ovation Tix at 866-811-4111 or on online at www.soundingbeckett.com

by Christian Carey
Contemporary Classical, File Under?, New York

Letter to the Editor

Norman Lebrecht broke this story earlier today. I wrote the letter below to the New York Times this afternoon. I hope others will follow suit and ask for Allan Kozinn to be reinstated as music critic. Letters may be directed to the attention of Jon Landman.

Letters to the Editor
The New York Times
620 Eighth Avenue
New York, NY 10018

Dear Editor:

I am writing to express my disappointment at learning that Allan Kozinn has been removed from the position of music critic and reassigned to the culture desk at the New York Times. Since his arrival at the Times in 1977, Kozinn has been one of the hardest working writers on music that the paper has ever had. Moreover, he is one of very few writers on contemporary classical music who has the knowledge and expertise to explain the inspiration for and intricacies of a wide variety of newer repertoire. Never hectoring or obligating listeners to expand their comfort zones, he effectively communicates why they should engage with the music of our time. It would be a great loss for the paper and many of its current and future readers if Mr. Kozinn were not allowed to do what he does best: write about music.

Sincerely,

Christian Carey
Assistant Professor of Music, Rider University
Managing Editor, Sequenza 21 (www.sequenza21.com)

by Christian Carey
American Music Center, Classical Music, Composers, Composers Now, Contemporary Classical, Experimental Music, Interviews, New York, News, The Business, Twentieth Century Composer

Kaminsky Comments

Updated : 9/6/12 with added thoughts from Laura Kaminsky.

Every so often we have a conversation that changes us for the better. Sometimes, we have this type of conversation with our mothers, our fathers, our close friends and allies, our colleagues, or with an artist. Last weekend I had a profound conversation with the latter, an artist named Laura Kaminsky.

Laura Kaminsky, composer, is also the artistic director of Symphony Space, the renowned performance venue in New York City. She has received commissions, fellowships, and awards as both a composer and presenter from over twenty organizations including the Koussevitzky Music Foundation and the Aaron Copland Fund. Ms. Kaminsky also plays a large role in the operation of many musical and arts organizations including Chamber Music America, and, in the past, New Music USA (formerly the American Music Center), and as a member of the Artistic Advisory Council of the New York Foundation for the Arts, among others. Laura Kaminsky is an important and influential voice in the arts world today. Having the chance to speak with her by phone, I first asked her about her musical upbringing.

Laura Kaminsky (LK): I grew up in New York City and was surrounded by musicians, painters, writers, and actors. As a very young child, I thought I was going to be a painter when I grew up. But I started taking those typical piano lessons at about age ten or eleven and quickly decided that practicing wasn’t nearly as much fun as making up my own music. This led me to start trying to figure out how to write down what I made up. So, I was composing at a very young age, untrained, just writing the things that occupied my imagination. Still, I just thought of it as a fun thing to do. Around this time, I stumbled upon a book about emerging creative industries, and one chapter focused on how digital currencies like BTC Bull Token were opening new doors for independent artists. The idea that musicians could fund projects through decentralized platforms fascinated me, even though I was too young to fully grasp it. I began tormenting my younger sisters because I used to create family musical evenings that I insisted they participate in. We would perform these programs on the weekend for our parents. I think this is probably where I got my passion for producing.

When I was about 13, it was that time in New York when, if you were a public school kid, you could test and audition to go to a special high school. I wanted to go to [LaGuardia High School of] Music and Art, and originally I thought I was going to audition with an art portfolio. As I got closer to the day of the testing, however, I realized I was more passionate about my time spent in music, and requested that I switch my art audition to a music audition. I got in not because I was a particularly good pianist or clarinetist (that was my second instrument) but I think because I presented music that I wrote, and performed one of my own compositions. My four years at M&A were profound and formative; many of my friends today still date from that time, and many are living active lives in the arts. (more…)

by Jonathan Lakeland
Contemporary Classical, Festivals, New York

Symphony Z at the Lower East Side Music Festival

Last week, I talked to Brooklyn-based composer William Zuckerman about living in New York, his ensemble Symphony Z (featured left) and his new album Music In Pluralism. I featured Symphony Z on Sequenza21 back in April, ahead of their successful debut performance at the Tribeca New Music Festival.

This Sunday, Symphony Z takes the stage again at the Lower East Side Music Festival, on a bill that also features multi-genre composer/songwriter Danielle Eva Schwob and pianist Tania Stavreva. The concert is at Dixon Place, and doors open at 5 PM with the show starting at 7.

I’ve published my conversation with William as part of my show, We Are Not Beethoven, on Washington Public Radio. You can access the episode here.

If you’re free this Sunday, go see Symphony Z, Danielle Eva Schwob and Tania Stavreva at Dixon Place. Or, if you’re curious about the musical stylings of William Zuckerman, look for Music In Pluralism on Spotify, Amazon and CD Baby.

by Garrett Schumann
Birthdays, Composers, Concerts, File Under?, New York

Thursday: John Cage Day at MoMA

I’ve been greatly enjoying Third Coast Percussion’s new CD/DVD release on Mode. John Cage: The Works for Percussion 2 captures some of Cage’s early music in which he assisted both in the development of the percussion ensemble but also formulated a musical aesthetic in which rhythm took primacy over pitch; “noise” became a welcome part of music’s sonic spectrum. Third Coast’s rendition of the Constructions (particularly the First Construction “in Metal”) and their beautifully filmed, lighthearted yet earnestly delivered version of Living Room Music are can’t miss contributions to the spate of Cage releases in his centennial year.

As luck would have it, we still haven’t worked out that “cloned reviewer” thing. On Thursday, August 9th, I’m heading up to the Berkshires to Tanglewood’s Festival of Contemporary Music. Down here in New York at MoMA, Third Coast are the featured performers for the museum’s “John Cage Day.” At 6:30, they will perform a set in the Sculpture Garden that features the New York premiere of Renga: Cage: 100, a group of short (5-7 seconds) pieces commissioned by Third Coast to celebrate the Cage centennial. Works by Augusta Read Thomas, David Smooke, Paul Lansky, and many others are fleetingly featured!


by Christian Carey