February 2016 - Sequenza21

American Music Center, Classical Music, Composers, Concerts, Contemporary Classical, Music Events, New York, Piano, Recitals, Twentieth Century Composer

Arnone plays Babbitt: A double bill

(This is an expansion of an earlier post for a concert ultimately postponed due to snowstorm Jonas in January) Augustus Arnone performs a double bill of Milton Babbitt’s solo piano works including the complete Time Series, at Spectrum, Sunday March 6, at 12-5 pm (12 and 3:30) This year marks the centenary of the legendary composer Milton Babbitt (1916-2011). To my ears, his extensive body of piano works especially channels his singular charm as a raconteur. Over the decades a number of pianists have championed some of his major piano works, for instance Robert Helps and Robert Miller performing and recording his Partitions

February 29, 2016March 2, 2016 by Joshua Banks Mailman

Commissions, Composers, Concert review, Contemporary Classical, Los Angeles, Mexico, Minimalism, Premieres

Cold Blue Music Concert at Monk Space

On February 16, 2016, Tuesdays@Monk Space hosted a concert of Cold Blue Music artists in the lively Koreatown district of Los Angeles. A good crowd came out to hear music by Michael Jon Fink, Jim Fox, Michael Byron and Peter Garland. Three premieres were heard including the world premiere performance of In the Village of Hope by Michael Byron. The first piece, Vocalise (1979), by Michael Jon Fink, was for piano and performed by the composer. This opened with series of quietly beautiful notes, like the melody from a simple hymn and unfolded with the spare elegance that is the

February 24, 2016 by Paul Muller

Concerts, Contemporary Classical, File Under?, New York

G.F. Haas in New York

This week in New York, Austrian Cultural Forum celebrates the music of Georg Friedrich Haas. Haas, currently MacDowell Professor of Music at Columbia, is a thoughtful and innovative composer. The two programs curated by ACFNY, both free (with reservations), are excellent opportunities to hear two different facets of his creativity. On Wednesday February 24th at 7:30 PM at the ACF, JACK Quartet performs String Quartet No. 3 In iij. Noct., a piece that occurs in total darkness. On February 26 at 8 PM at Bohemian National Hall (321 East 73rd Street), the Talea Ensemble presents the following program of large ensemble and

February 23, 2016 by Christian Carey

CDs, Contemporary Classical, Review

Elliott Sharp: The Boreal

Elliott Sharp may sometimes be characterized as a cellular composer, but he is by no means a cellular thinker. Rather, he seems to conceive of things in large swaths of creation, only then removing skins and reconnecting veins until each organism revives by means of unexpected blood flow. The Boreal collects four somewhat recent examples, of which the 2008 title composition, performed here by the JACK Quartet, employs awesome extended techniques, including bows strung with springs and ball-bearing chains, in addition to standard hair. But through this recording it’s not so much the craft as the art that shines. Like

February 23, 2016 by Tyran Grillo

Contemporary Classical

Helmut Lachenmann at SpoletoUSA

Helmut Lachemann, 80, this November, is one of the most important, original and influential living composers. To hundreds of younger composers whose ambition is to push the boundaries of music and sound beyond its presumed limits, he is a God-like figure, the reigning king of musical post-modernism. Think Stockhausen or Cage, tripled down. Extreme, thrilling, unexpected, visionary, painful, edgy. If he were a Zen master, his mantra would be “Who knows the sound of a beetle lying on its back?” For listeners who prefer their “classical” music with a touch of consonance, he is one of those composers whose work

February 22, 2016February 22, 2016 by Jerry Bowles

Composers, Contemporary Classical, Deaths, File Under?, New York, Video

RIP Steven Stucky

Eminent composer, college professor, and Lutoslawski scholar Steven Stucky has died, aged 66. The cause was brain cancer. Below, listen to one of his beguiling works, the Notturno movement from Serenade for Wind Quintet.

February 15, 2016 by Christian Carey

Composers, Concert review, Concerts, Contemporary Classical, Downtown, Experimental Music, Los Angeles

WasteLAnd Concert at Art Share LA

On Friday night, February 5, 2016 a good crowd braved the dreaded 101 freeway closure to travel downtown to Art Share LA . The occasion was …until… the first concert of 2016 for wasteLAnd music, marking the third year they have offered programs of new and experimental music in Los Angeles. Four pieces were performed – including a premiere – each incorporating traditional acoustic instruments accompanied by electronics. Scott Worthington was the double bass soloist on …until… #10, by Santa Barbara-based composer Clarence Barlow. This was the premiere performance and the inspiration for the concert title. …until… #10 begins with

February 10, 2016February 10, 2016 by Paul Muller

Boston, Composers, Contemporary Classical, File Under?, Opera

ECCE Ensemble Performs Aylward

On February 12-14 and February 19-20, ECCE Ensemble premieres Switch, a new opera by my friend and colleague composer John Aylward. Directed by Laine Rettmer and conducted by Jean-Phillipe Wurtz, the piece features two vocalists: soprano Amanda DeBoer Bartlett and bass-baritone Mikhail Smigelsk. The project is part of ECCE’s year-long residence at Le Laboratoire, a new multimedia space in Cambridge that combines visual arts, music, the sciences, and even olfactory stimulating exhibits. To whet your appetite, below is a video of Aylward’s Ephemera. WHAT: World premiere of the contemporary opera Switch WHEN:February 12-14+ February 19-20 at 7:00 p.m. WHERE: Le

February 8, 2016February 10, 2016 by Christian Carey

Month: February 2016