New and specialized ensembles, groups of composers and performers banding together, DIY concerts and record labels… All the stuff of now. But let’s pay a little respect to New York’s Composers Concordance, who’ve been DIY-ing it for a good 25+ years now. Their latest outing is a marathon show, Jan. 31st (6:00 pm doors, 7:00-10:00pm performance time at the club Drom, 85 Avenue A, between 5th & 6th, New York, NY. 212-777-1157) No less than 23 composers are on the bill: Roger Blanc, Thomas Bo, Luis Andrei Cobo, Charles Coleman, Dan Cooper, Larry Goldman, David Gotay, Patrick Grant, Franz Hackl,
Read moreWe heard from Christian Carey last week that the American Composers Orchestra has brought on George Manahan as their new Music Director but that’s not until next season. Fortunately you don’t have to wait until next season to hear the orchestra – they are performing THIS weekend in New York (Friday, January 29th – Zankel Hall. 7:30pm) and Philadelphia (Saturday, January 30th – Annenberg Center. 7:30pm) with Conductor Anne Manson. I was able to get her on the phone for a few minutes last night to talk about the program, you can listen to our short conversation here. The program
Read moreHead’s up on a couple things this coming week that caught my eye: WPRB’s Marvin Rosen is doing a special edition of his Classical Discoveries radio show this Wednesday, Jan. 27th. From 5:30 until 11:00 AM EST. Titled “East Meets West“, the entire five-and-a-half hours will be devoted to works by Middle and Far Eastern Composers, as well as to works by Western composers inspired by these regions. A special treat in the 10-o’clock hour will be the world premiere broadcast of the Sonata for solo viola Op. 423 (1992) by Alan Hovhaness (1911-2000), performed by Christina Fong (from a
Read moreChamp pianist Sarah Cahill performing Henry Cowell’s Tiger and Lou Harrison’s Largo Ostinato, from the December 2008 Other Minds “New Music Seance”: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7Qm6rEwT54[/youtube]
Read moreI like to plan ahead. But does that just mean I’m too old to decide where I’m going at the last minute, like the Generation Y and Z impulsives we hear so much about at arts participation conferences? You know, the ones who don’t know where they’re going until somebody they’re following tweets their destination on the night of? Mid-life insecurities and fuddy-duddiness aside, I know where I’ll be this coming Saturday evening: in the San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s sweet new Concert Hall, taking in new short works by ten local composers, all presided over grandly by Gyorgy Ligeti’s
Read moreThere are a lot of older men–myself included–who have had a crush on Hilary Hahn for an unwholesome length of time so I was not surprised when a couple of my best friends–professional photographers who normally wouldn’t pick up a camera unless there was money involved–volunteered to run down to the Village Gate…ur, Le Poisson Rouge for those of you with no respect for history–and shoot some pictures for free at her Bach Party last night. The occasion was the release of Hilary’s newest album, Bach: Violin and Voice on Deutsche Grammophon. “Ms. Hahn is even more enchanting in person
Read more…Is that it’s happening in California, and not spreading the wonderful work and word in some navel-gazing opposite coast (NYC, I’m talkin’ to youz!). But even those who are or might be L.A.-bound, what better place to be on a Monday night (January 11 2010, 8:00pm; Zipper Concert Hall at the Colburn School), than taking in this absolutely fine mix of the old and the new?: California has always attracted innovators. Three composers from Los Angeles, Berkeley and San Diego confirm this is still the case. In a program showcasing the variety of activity in our own backyard, Michael Pisaro’s
Read moreHere are a few concerts worth checking out if you’re near New York City. Friday, December 4th: Newspeak celebrates their 5-year anniversary at Public Assembly in Williamsburg, 6:00-9:00pm. Also on Friday night in the West Village, Forecast Music spends the evening performing new works for voice at Greenwich House, 8:00pm. Saturday, December 5th: NYsoundCircuit is presenting an evening of “continuous music, food, visuals, drinks, and fashion” at the Brecht Forum, 8:00pm. Sunday, December 6th: The Knights are performing at the Church of St. Ann & the Holy Trinity in Brooklyn Heights, 3:00pm. And I always like to mention shows happening
Read moreThis 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
Read moreDoes anyone remember the early August announcement that the American Composers Orchestra was going to begin a partnership with LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton to “Commission and Premiere New Music by Emerging American Composers”? Well, whether you can wrap your head around that pairing or not, the first concert is happening on Monday night (November 30th) in Zankel Hall with Erin Gee’s Mouthpiece XIII: Mathilde of Loci, Part 1. Erin is the lucky recipient of the first commission through this new partnership. There are two other world premieres on the program: 1) Donal Fox: Peace Out for Improvised Piano and
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