Experimental Music

Composers, Contemporary Classical, Electro-Acoustic, Experimental Music, Interviews, Women composers

Zoë Keating: An Interview

Photo courtesy of Andre Penven for Coilhouse Magazine Zoë Keating (Wow, what can I say??) has definitely cultivated a very respectable place in the new music and indie music circles. After rethinking a classical concert career as a cellist for working a tech job, she was intervened to perform with various friends, played in the band Rasputina, eventually went solo with a gorgeously layered, rhythmic cello sound. Zoë went on to sell over 40,000 copies of her CDs without distribution, a record label or management. And she has over one million Twitter followers. The internet loves her! Besides her solo

January 7, 2012September 25, 2025 by Chris McGovern

Chamber Music, Classical Music, Concerts, Contemporary Classical, Experimental Music, Los Angeles

Contemporary Classical Music Is Where It’s At In LA Next Year

For the LA Weekly, I compiled a list of what appear to be the best classical music events next year in Los Angeles. (Of course, the 2012-13 seasons haven’t been announced yet, so there will likely be events in the fall that I’ll be crazy about, and REDCAT had not published its Winter/Spring concert schedule by the time I turned my copy into my editors) Just about all my picks involve 20th/21st century music (there’s lots of pre-20th century music at Ojai, and although Mahler may not seem 20th-century to many classical music mavens, over half of his output was

December 23, 2011December 26, 2011 by Christian Hertzog

Electro-Acoustic, Events, Experimental Music, New York, Performers, Review

Amy X Neuburg/Cory Smythe at Roulette: A Review

Cory Smythe and Amy X Neuburg; Photos courtesy of Glenn Cornett Amy X Neuburg/Cory Smythe Roulette Brooklyn, NY Dec. 13, 2011 It’s East Meets West…coast, that is. On the stage of the old-school charming Roulette in Brooklyn was yet another creatively edgy program, put on this time by the pairing of West-coast avant-cabaret artist Amy X Neuburg and New York’s own pianist-composer, ICE’s Cory Smythe. Presented without an intermission, the show was almost entirely electronic or electro-acoustic in nature (with the exception of a refreshing burst of Fats Waller’s “Handful of Keys” from Mr. Smythe), and most of the pieces

December 15, 2011December 17, 2011 by Chris McGovern

Concerts, Contemporary Classical, Experimental Music, New York

Amy X Neuburg/Cory Smythe at Roulette: A Preview

On Tuesday, December 13, Bay-area artist Amy X Neuburg will collaborate for one-night only with NY-based pianist/composer Cory Smythe at Brooklyn’s Roulette on Atlantic Ave. Neuburg’s brand of music, which has been dubbed “avant-cabaret”, promises to be an interesting blend with Smythe’s improvisational work as they will play a majority of the evening together, as well as some portions solo. AMY X NEUBURG Amy told us recently in an interview what to look forward to in this unique show: We’re each performing a few solo songs, but the bulk of the evening will be brand new and collaborative. Much of

December 9, 2011December 9, 2011 by Chris McGovern

Composers, Concert review, Contemporary Classical, Electro-Acoustic, Events, Experimental Music, Festivals

Vital Vox 2011: A Review

Judith Berkson performing “Vor an Sicht” (Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Reddin) Vital Vox: A Vocal Festival (Vital Vox 2011) Roulette Brooklyn, NY Sat, Nov 5 & Sun, Nov 6, 2011 I guess there was no better way to kick off the Vital Vox Festival than with a primal scream. Gelsey Bell and her partner for this performance, composer/performer Paul Pinto, actually gave us several of them separate and together at the start of the song cycle Scaling, and they seemed to be the sound that signified both the power of vocal performance and the experimental nature of the festival as

November 8, 2011November 8, 2011 by Chris McGovern

Choral Music, Composers, Concerts, Contemporary Classical, Events, Experimental Music, Festivals

2011 Vital Vox Festival: Interviews with Toby Twining and Iva Bittova

The following are extended versions of the interviews I had with Toby Twining and Iva Bittova, who are both appearing at the 2011 Vital Vox Festival (Both will be performing on Night 2: Vocals + Strings) First up, Toby Twining talks about his beginnings and inspiration as well as the new and current material. CM: How did you go from roots in country-swing to rock to the other-worldly music you’ve been making for various instruments, including voices and chamber ensemble? TT: This is a long story—I’ll attempt a Reader’s Digest version. I grew up in Houston and my maternal grandparents

November 4, 2011November 4, 2011 by Chris McGovern

Contemporary Classical, Experimental Music, Festivals

2011 Vital Vox Vocal Festival: A Preview

Iva Bittova The 3rd annual Vital Vox Vocal Festival, this year being held at Roulette in Downtown Brooklyn (Sat, Nov 5th and Sun, Nov 6th, 8 PM), is not just about singers, but those that are equally skillful at creating music. On November 5th and 6th, there is a sensational lineup of artists that are gifted at both of those as well as skirting genre lines between new classical, indie, jazz and world music.

November 2, 2011November 4, 2011 by Chris McGovern

Contemporary Classical, Experimental Music

Composers in the Wild

As those of you who regularly read my reports from Ann Arbor know, most of the new music I cover is related to the University of Michigan, usually in the form of a student composer concert, a performance by the resident Contemporary Directions Ensemble or the appearance of a contemporary work or two on a Symphony Band concert. Beyond these highly active groups at the Michigan School of Music, our town is gifted with two wonderful concert presenting organizations who regularly feature contemporary music on their programs: the University Musical Society and the Kerrytown Concert House. Last year I attended

November 2, 2011 by Garrett Schumann

Contemporary Classical, Experimental Music, File Under?, Percussion, Twentieth Century Composer, Video

Third Coast Credo

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nL5Kym7hVFI[/youtube]

November 1, 2011 by Christian Carey

ACO, Brooklyn, Choral Music, Composers, Concerts, Experimental Music, File Under?, New York, Songs

Early October Events – an Embarrassment of Riches

Too Many Concerts and Cloning is Still Illegal! October in New York is becoming an embarrassment of riches in the new music world. So many wonderful concerts to hear in town! But the plethora of notable events can be a source of frustration too: sometimes you wish you could be in two places at once. (I have a sneaking suspicion that Steve Smith has figured out a way to do this!) So, while we won’t get to review everything, there’s nothing saying we can’t preview as many events as possible! What follows are some, but rest assured not all, of

October 4, 2011October 5, 2011 by Christian Carey