Music Events

Contemporary Classical, Music Events

Last Night in L.A.: Gloria

Gloria Cheng opened the Piano Spheres season last night at Zipper Hall. Much of the concert comprised selections from her recent recording, Piano Music of Salonen, Stucky and Lutoslawski, and if you don’t yet have this in your library, now is a good time to correct your omission. And here’s just one of its good reviews (just scroll down).

Betty Freeman commissioned a new work from Gerald Barry for Cheng to perform, and this opened the second half of the program. Le Vieux Sourd [the old deaf one], Debussy’s nickname for Beethoven, starts with quiet fragments of classical themes, as if you’re eavesdropping on a pianist just noodling around instead of practicing. Some distant “explosions” (Barry’s description) occur and get closer as the volume swells. The work then ends with loud settings of Auld Lang Syne (not the setting Beethoven did) fighting to be heard against the explosions and the loud extracts of other themes. My impression was of an angry Charles Ives, perhaps after a few too many drinks, writing something to force an audience to pay attention to his music. But the idiosyncratic work, wild and wacky, was fun. Cheng then balanced this work with the “Alcott” movement of Ives’ Second Sonata, and her lyricism seemed to beautifully reflect Ives’ intentions. This was an apt choice to accompany the Barry, with its Beethoven theme and its multiple threads.

There were three peaks in the concert. First was the youthful, student-written Piano Sonata (1934) of Lutoslawski. It’s a lovely work, and Cheng is doing the right thing in reviving it. (Although apparently played often by Lutoslawski, he never published it, and its first publication was only four years ago; Cheng said that she know of only one other pianist who has played the work since.) The work has a strong French accent; the ties to Ravel are noticeable, and Stucky has identified other influences as well. But even though the 21-year-old Lutoslawski did not have his own distinctive voice, he could certainly write well. This is a pleasure to hear, and by itself justifies listening to the recording. The second peak for me was Cheng’s performance of the Ives selection.

And then the climax, closing the concert, was her performance of Salonen’s Dichotomie (2000), written for Cheng. She commented before starting the work that she no longer needs to wear gloves as protections for her hands during the performance (the glissandos are fearsome), and she has all of the many performance demands well under her own control and interpretation. She enables this work to present the stimulating composer Salonen has become. (more…)

by JerryZ
Composers, Concerts, Music Events, Orchestral

August 4, 1964: Five Things

I heard the world premiere of Steven Stucky’s August 4, 1964 with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Chorus and soloists with Jaap van Zweden last night in Dallas.

1. Not since the golden age of Handel oratorios has something like August 4, 1964 been so touching and well crafted; from the amazing libretto by Gene Scheer to the vocal soloist’s costumes, the evening was thought provoking and emotional. Supertitles brought clarity to the work, but with the diction of the soloists, it wasn’t needed but certainly appreciated. Still, small details like the italics for the Stephen Spender poem used in the score that hung on one of the mother’s wall after hearing about her son’s death, was brilliant to make a distinct between the rest of the libretto.

2. The mix between the Civil Rights and Vietnam War was just right – kudos for the balanced libretto from Gene Scheer, and for Stucky’s expressive score. Especially moving was the interaction of baritone Robert Orth and the chorus, often contrasting and supporting the storyline. Also the lyric lines of the female soloists, Laquita Mitchell and Kelley O’Connor, were not only performed exquistely, but had touching elements such as holding hands. (All four of the soloists were in period clothes of the 1960s, complete with hats for the women and slender ties for the men held by tie bars.) Staging had been thought about, complete with an oval office set, but was left undone without sufficient rehearsal time. Also, there was an idea to have an audio prelude or overture, with the actual White House tapes and news reports about this day in 1964. It was decided with the Meyerson’s acoustics, NOT to play it beforehand, but if you catch a pre-concert talk they play it there…perhaps it should be put online as well?

(more…)

by John Clare
Composers, Contemporary Classical, Music Events

August 4, 1964: Preview

Stucky and Clare in Ithaca, NYTomorrow night is the world premiere of Steven Stucky’s August 4, 1964 with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Chorus and soloists.
I spoke with Stucky last summer in Ithaca, NY about the work. Listen to the interview here. (about 4 minutes)
I’ll have more coverage of the premiere tomorrow night and reactions on Friday.
Read more (including the NY Times piece from Sunday and the program notes here.)

by John Clare
Concerts, Contemporary Classical, Downtown, Minimalism, Music Events, New York

M50: Minimalism Turns Fifty

Minimalism Turns Fifty
This September marks the 50th anniversary of musical Minimalism, an artistic revolution which critic Kyle Gann has described as “the most important musico-historical event of my lifetime.” I’m delighted to announce that Sequenza21, in collaboration with the exciting new concert series Music On MacDougal, will be celebrating this important milestone with a concert of early Minimalist music.

When: September 17th, 2008 at 8:00 PM
Where: The Players Theatre, in Greenwich Village, Manhattan
115 MacDougal Street, New York, NY 10012
Tickets: By Phone: 212-352-3101 or Online.

Program:
Steve Reich — “Piano Phase” (1967) (Version for two Marimbas)
Philip Glass — “Piece in the Shape of a Square” (1967)
Terry Jennings — “Piano Piece” (December 1958) and “Piano Piece” (June 1960)
Intermission
Terry Riley — “In C” (1964)

We know that this September is the fiftieth anniversary because in September of 1958 La Monte Young completed his “Trio for Strings,” which is generally regarded as the first true Minimalist piece. Young is arranging for a performance of the Trio later in the season, and our concert is focused on representative pieces from the first 10 years of the movement. “Piano Phase” is arguably the high point of Reich’s use of phasing, and a perfect example of his “music as a gradual process.” “Piece in the Shape of a Square” illustrates Glass’s early interest in additive processes. “In C” represents the arrival of the pulsating, repetitive, tonal Minimalism which has dominated the genre ever since.

In some ways the most exciting pieces on the program are the early “Piano Pieces” by Terry Jennings. Jennings (who died tragically in 1981) was the first composer to understand what Young was doing and to follow in his footsteps, and in December 1958, a mere two months after Young completed the “Trio for Strings,” eighteen year old Jennings wrote the first of three “Piano Pieces.” We’re presenting the first two of these pieces, which we believe haven’t been performed publicly since 1989.

This concert is also the inaugural concert of the Players Theatre’s hot new concert series “Music On MacDougal.” Curated by pianist Sheryl Lee, Music On MacDougal promises to become one of New York’s most interesting presenters of new music–classical and otherwise. This season’s lineup includes the DITHER Electric Guitar Quartet, Mantra Percussion, Moet, Newspeak, Grenzenlos, Matrix Music Collaborators, and others. The full season schedule can be found here.

The M50 concert has been sponsored in part by a generous contribution from Cold Blue Records. The performers are a veritable who’s who of hotshot New York musicians. The current lineup (subject to a few changes) is Mike McCurdy (Percussion), Jessica Schmitz (Flute), Elizabeth Janzen (Flute), Joseph Kubera (Piano), Dan Bassin (Trumpet), George Berry (Trombone), Sila Eser (Viola) Gillian Gallagher (Viola), and Adam Havrilla (Bassoon).

This concert is, to the best of our knowledge, the only concert celebrating this important anniversary, so you won’t want to miss it. See you in September!

by Galen H. Brown
Contemporary Classical, Music Events

Saturday Afternoon in Ojai: a Midway Report

Saturday afternoon, already. We’re half-way through this year’s Ojai Music Festival, and I need some time-shifter to slow things down. Today’s mid-day concert was superb. Dawn Upshaw, but that’s redundant. It was a lovely program. Each song, seemingly, gave her a different opportunity to tell a story. Anyone there could pick a different set of highlights. My own included a simple, beautiful song by Ruth Crawford Seeger of a lyric by Carl Sandburg, “White Moon”. But then an absolute highlight came with the last set: a French song by Kurt Weill and three cabaret songs by William Bolcom. For each of her two breaks, giving her friend and accompanist Gilbert Kalish a solo, Upshaw sat in a chair by the piano. Just watching her gave a lesson in performance secrets as she sat there, focused on the music, changing expression with the shadings of the music on the piano. Being in Ojai, hearing Dawn Upshaw. We have a lot to be thankful for.

The Festival began Thursday night with a Steve Reich retrospective: Eight Lines (1983), Nagoya Marimbas (1994), Four Organs (1970), and Daniel Variations (2006). Signal and So Percussion gave lovely performances, conducted by Brad Lubman. The audience enjoyed the treat. For Four Organs, this was the 35th anniversary of its first performance at Ojai. Having heard Daniel Variations performed by the Master Chorale in the Disney, it was a less powerful version outdoors at Ojai, with four singers instead of a chorus. There were slight gains in clarity of the words, but that probably depended on location of your seat. Still, I’ll keep my recording of the Master Chorale’s performance.

In the Friday night concert David Robertson gave us music for the theatre, music of humor and fun. The focus of the night was performance of Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times (1936), complete with a live performance of Chaplin’s music for the film, as reconstructed. Great music? No, but it was fun to hear and see how his musical ideas could be used to support his film. And it was interesting to see how difficult it was to see his film transition between silent movies and the talkies, so that other than its background music, the film used recorded sound only in those instances when the sound was central to Chaplin’s idea. To me it was a long stretch, however.

The music was much more interesting in the first half which opened with George Antheil‘s A Jazz Symphony (1925, revised in 1955). This music was a surprise to me; it had wit, and charm, and sparkle; its musical ideas were interesting. (It helped that there was a good performance by a conductor and darn good orchestra that followed all of the jagged rhythms and changing meters, and that Gloria Cheng was here at Ojai for the crucial piano role.) I guess I’ll have to make a point of listening to some other music by Antheil; his music seems to deserve more than a footnote to the musical history of the 20s or of the Hollywood film.

The first half ended with another first for me, the performance of Francois Narboni’s El Gran Maturbador (2000) for orchestra and electronics. This is a complex set of elaborate interactions between sampled sound and acoustic instruments. I looked for a recording of this after the concert, to hear it again.

Friday’s seminar sessions gave us a triple treat. The morning was spent with The Master discussing the West Coast trends in music, from Charles Seeger to John Luther Adams. Then David Robertson discussed his three programs and Steve Reich closed the afternoon. Ara Guzelimian, as usual, was a skilled and sensitive moderator.

Thursday night was a reception honoring the newest classical music blogger in the West, Alan Rich. You’ll want to put this site in your bookmarks.

by JerryZ
Composers, Concerts, Contemporary Classical, Festivals, Music Events, New York

ICO (formerly VIM:TRIBECA) Concert Series Disaster

Last year, many of us saw a posting regarding the VIM:Tribeca concert series. The organizers, Judd Greenstein and Kimball Gallagher, wanted to put on concert series of mostly new works; the composers were responsible for providing performers. The concerts were to be put on in the Gallerie Icosahedron (I’m deliberately not linking to them, for reasons that will be apparent soon!). The first indication of trouble to us should have been the delays, imposed by the gallery, regarding scheduling and, we found out later, the renting of a piano. The first public sign of trouble was the sudden announcement that the concert series was now to be called the ICO series.

When it was announced that my work had been accepted, I was thrilled. I was to be featured alongside Pamela Stein; I contacted Kathy Supové, who was going to play my new pieces for interactive piano. And, Pam was going to sing the premiere of a piece by Lukas Ligeti. This had all the makings of an exciting event.

On Thursday, we received the following note:

1) CONCERT FEE: all concerts will be subject to a $300 minimum, payable to the gallery in half a week before the concert, with the remainder due at the show. For double-bills, each artist will be responsible for half this figure. In addition to this de facto rental fee, all money over $600 in receipts from the door will continue to be split 50/50. The fee is a guarantee against low turnout – a deposit, essentially. These checks must arrive 1 week before each concert, beginning with the February 14th show, and all checks should be mailed to Gallerie Icosahedron, 27 N Moore St., New York, NY 10013, and made out to Gallerie Icosahedron.

2) TICKET PRICE: the ticket price will now be raised to $20, with no student discounts.

3) REHEARSAL FEE: all artists will have access to the gallery from 5-6:30 on the day of the show. Any other rehearsal times need to be scheduled in advance and will be available at a $40/hr rate.

4) INTERMISSION: there will be NO intermissions of any kind. For double-bills, there will be a brief set change, but even this will be less than a standard intermission.

5) COMPS: there will be no comps, except for press.

6) PIANO: the piano needs to be kept at the back of the gallery, and cannot be moved forward.

And, furthermore, Judd and Kimball were to be removed from the organization of the concerts themselves. Actually, we’d have to individually negotiate elements of the shows, if we wished to continue.

At this point, the series is in disarray. I haven’t kept track, but most of the participants have jumped ship. I’m not sure if I would have done this had these policies been in place beforehand. But, to impose these changes mid-season – mind you, the ICO had a full slate of concerts in the Fall of 2007 – is just infuriating. And, looking at their demands, the one that irks me the most is the policy against comps or student discounts. $20 is a steep fee, particularly when you’re just going to a gallery with folding chairs. $20 would get me into a lot of concert halls in many places (okay, nosebleed seats in some places), and with more comfortable chairs.

I’m aware that costs have risen tremendously in the past few months. But, assuming their gallery would have been open those nights anyway, would the ICO series really have been displacing $300 worth of business? $900, if you count the door costs.

What’s truly disturbing is the Kremlin-style overthrow of the originators of the series. Here you have two people who have done all the work, put a huge amount of time, energy, and, I assume, their own money into this project. It seems to me that the ICO people just want the series to go away, which it seem like it will.

First of all, here is my advice. If anyone is still planning on putting on one of the ICO concerts, please go support them. Go to the gallery, and have a good time. Don’t buy any refreshments if the gallery sells them.  As a matter of fact, avoid direct eye contact with any gallery employee.  However,  if you see any art there you like, write down the name of the artist, and contact them directly when you go home. If you like, wait until their show at the ICO is done. Buy something else from them, but make sure no money goes to the Gallerie Icosahedron.

At one point, I have been told, they complained about the nature of the music being presented. It wasn’t ‘classical’ or ‘conservative’ enough. I didn’t realize that we were under the scrutiny of the new music police, telling us how to write as well as demanding that we pay – oh, and that piano is just there for decoration.  I’m sure that their list of demands would eventually include no parallel 5ths or un-resolved dissonances – and, I’m sure, no Max patches.
This is truly a horrible situation for all of us. I understand that concerts do need to be canceled sometimes. Performers get sick or injured, the composer isn’t finished with the piece, sometimes even accidents occur in the performance venue. Yet, this is truly, truly appalling: a concert canceled because of greed and almost maniacal control exerted by the proprietors of the concert space. I am disgusted by their actions.

This morning, someone suggested that we try to find another location. I’m all for that, although I have my doubts that we’d be able to find a decent concert site that would have availability for all the events (which were scheduled on Thursdays). If that can be done, I’d be thrilled. I’d be happy to wait until the Fall. I’d be happy to pay or raise funds for a performance at a good venue. And, I’ll be happy to avoid walking down the street anywhere near the Gallerie Icosahedron.

by Anthony Cornicello
Composers, Concerts, Contemporary Classical, Festivals, Music Events

What’s Happening This Season?

The season is underway in New York and, as usual, there are a number of promising looking performances coming up.  Here are a few things to look for:

Margaret Garner, Richard Danielpour’s operatic collaboration with Toni Morrison, is in mid-run at City Opera and, judging from the ads, there are plenty of seats to be had.  I can’t quite stir myself enough to drag up there and sit through an evening of misery about a runaway slave who murders her daughter rather than have her captured.  Doesn’t stop me from having an opinion, though.  Morrison is too sanctimonious and self-important by half and Danielpour should write an opera about Omar the Tentmaker.  Samuel Barber’s Vanessa opens on November 4.

Chance Encounter, On September 28, Lisa Bielawa, Susan Narucki and the new-music chamber group the Knights, will commandeer East Broadway near the Seward Park Library to perform a 4-hour work based on overheard conversation, collected over the last year and set to music.  Details at Lisa’s blog.

Kronos Quartet – The indefatigueable quartet is slated for BAM’s Next Wave festival with collaborations with two Finnish composer/musicians: Kimmo Pohjonen, an accordionist and singer, and Samuli Kosminen, an accordionist and manipulator of electronic sounds.  Oct. 3, 5-6.

Esa Pekka-Salonen – Another famous Finn is the subject of a Composer Portrait at Miller Theater on October 5.  Performers include Imani Winds, cellist Darrett Adkins, soprano Tony Arnold and pianist Blair McMillen.

Berlin in Lights –  Life is a carbaret, old chum, with a bunch of cultural events scattered around town between November 2 and 18.  The centerpiece is the Berlin Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall on November 13 and 14.  Simon and gang will be doing the U.S. premiere of Marcus Lindberg’s Seht die Sonne on the 13th and Thomas Adès’ Tevot on the 14th.  Adès, who Simon sez is also a spectacular pianist, is doing an entire recital that will include (without electronic or mechanical assistance) Conlon Nancarrow’s fiendish  Three Canons for Ursula.

That takes us up to mid-November.  We’ll pick up there over the weekend.  What’s hot in L.A., San Francisco, London, Grand Rapids?  Give us a report.

 

by Jerry Bowles
Classical Music, Contemporary Classical, Experimental Music, Music Events, New York

The Issue is Money

Over the past couple of years, ISSUE Project Room has become one of the hot spots for contemporary music in the city and earned a well-deserved reputation for presenting new and artistically challenging work. It has outgrown its funky silo on the Gowanus Canal and has just launched a $350,000 capital campaign with the goal of expanding its programs and moving to a larger, more centrally-located home.

As often happens, though, a great opportunity has come along and the group needs to raise a bundle of cash by July 24 to take advantage of it.  ISSUE is one of two finalists for the right to move into a new, rent free space in one of the most beautiful buildings in downtown Brooklyn.  But, says founder and artistic director Suzanne Fiol, it must demonstrate the financial capability to develop the space if it is to secure the lease.

An anonymous donor has made a $25,000, one -for- two matching grant to be met by August 10, which means that for every dollar the group raises between now and then, it will get an an additional 50 cents.  It has already raised $10,000 and Fiol says her goal is to raise another $25,000 this week.

“The reason of the urgency is that we’re meeting with the property’s developers on July 24,” Fiol says. ‘It is crucial to our success that we have this money in hand in time for this meeting. Nothing could better help ISSUE in making its case to the property’s developers than to be able to walk into the meeting saying we have met the match.  Successfully closing this first phase of the campaign before the deadline will inspire large  donors, corporations and foundations.”

Here’s how to give:

To make a donation on line, go to http://www.nyfa.org and click “For Donors.” Be  sure to earmark your donation for the Issue Project Room.  To make a donation by check, make your check payable to the New York Foundation for the Arts . Write ISSUE Project Room in the memo line, and mail your check to: ISSUE Project Room 232 Third Street, Brooklyn N.Y. 11215.  ISSUE Project Room is under the fiscal sponsorship of the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), and all donations are tax deductible.

If you want to know more about ISSUE or have ideas about how to help, you can contact Fiol at 718-812-1129, or write to
suzanne@issueprojectroom.org.

by Jerry Bowles
Classical Music, Composers, Contemporary Classical, Music Events, New York

Blue Jeff

The Composers Concordance is having a concert tomorrow night at 8PM at the Greenwich House Music School Renee Weiler Concert Hall, 46 Barrow Street which will star our very own Jeff Harrington.  Okay, there are some other composers on the program, too, but none as adventuresome or all-round lovable as our favorite geek-composer.  Paul Hoffmann will perform the New York premiere of Jeff’s brilliant Big Easy mashup, Blue Strider.  You’ll find the full schedule for the program here. 

by Jerry Bowles
Classical Music, Concerts, Contemporary Classical, Music Events, New York

Multi-Culti

Marco 004.JPG                           Marco Antonio Mazzini is a Peruvian clarinetist with an Italian name who lives in Belgium and plays with a Czech orchestra called the Ostravska Banda which–as fate would have it–is joining the Orchestra of the S.E.M. Ensemble for a good-looking program (Brown, Wolpe, Stockhausen, Xenakis) of modern music at Zankel Hall Monday night.  There will be a preview performance Sunday night at the Willow Place Auditorium in Brooklyn Heights. Marco would be up for organizing a Sequenza21 concert in Ghent sometime if we have some Euro-interest.

by Jerry Bowles