New York

Classical Music, Composers, Contemporary Classical, Music Events, New York

All Around the Town

Lots of neat stuff happening this week and beyond. 

Pulse, the composers federation that includes our amigo Darcy James Argue will close out its 2006-2007 “season” with a new music project called Sihr Halal, Music of Praise and Celebration.  The concert is Saturday, May 5th 2007 at 8:30 PM at Roulette located at 20 Greene Street in SoHo (tickets are $15 at the door, $10 students/seniors). The project is funded in part through Meet the Composer’s Creative Connections program.

Sihr Halal features the premiere of six compositions by the composers of Pulse—Darcy James Argue, Jamie Begian, Joseph C. Phillips Jr., JC Sanford, Joshua Shneider, and Yumiko Sunami.  You can get a taste of what’s in store by going over to the Pulse blog where you’ll find audio excerpts from all of the pieces available online (recorded during rehearsal) along with commentary from the composers.

Another friend of the family, Jenny Lin, is doing an all Valentin Silvestrov program, including Der Bote, Epitaph, Post Scriptum & Drama Sunday, May 6, 2007, 5:00 PM 31 Little West 12th Street New York, New York 10014  Info here or call 212.463.8630.   

Young-Ah Tak, the amazing pianist who blew the joint away with her performance of Judith Lang Zaimont’s Wizards (2003) at last year’s Sequenza21 concert is playing the piece again (along with works by people named Haydn, Debussy, and Schumann) at the Yamaha Piano Salon, 639 Fifth Ave., 34th Street (entrance on 54th Street between Madison and Fifth).  The concert starts at 7:30 and admission is free.  If you want to catch a real comer while she’s still making her bones, this is a great chance.

by Jerry Bowles
ACO, Classical Music, Contemporary Classical, Film Music, Music Events, New York

Minimalist Friday

It’s minimalist week in the Center of the Universe, highlighted on Friday night by the John Adams 60th birthday concert at Carnegie Hall.  Adams will be conducting the American Composers Orchestra in performances of My Father Knew Charles Ives, The Wound-Dresser (with bass-baritone Eric Owens) and the Violin Concerto, with Leila Josefowicz doing the honors. 

Meanwhile, also on Friday, in a nearby universe, Michael Riesman, Music Director of the Philip Glass Ensemble and concert pianist, will be performing the world premiere of his marvelous new transcription for solo piano of Glass’ score to the 1931 classic horror film, Dracula.  The gothic walls of the Orensanz Foundation for the Arts provide a perfect backdrop to Reisman performance, which will done live to film.  Tickets are $20 ($25 at the door).

On a more somber note, there will be a public memorial service for composer and pianist Andrew Hill, who died last Friday, at Trinity Church (89 Broadway at Wall Street) this Friday, April 27, at 2:00 pm.

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

Getting a Clue

For those of you who may not be familiar with it, there is a seminal document called The Cluetrain Manifesto that defines a new style of communication in an age in which everyone and everything is electronically connected.  Its premise, to which I subscribe, is that the internet is fundamentally different from mass media like television because it allows lots of people to have “human to human” conversations (with all the complexity and difficulty that implies) rather than being force fed a one-sided party line or mass marketing message. 

There can be negative aspects to this ubiquetous connectedness.  Some people hide behind the mask of anonymity on the internet to say and do cruel and destructive things.  But, in the best case scenario, the web allows us to talk to each other and–under the right conditions of respect, transparency, and honesty–to learn and even grow into a community where people can disagree without being disagreeable.  I believe Sequenza21 is one of those rare communities and that makes me proud.

The first of the Manifesto’s 95 theses is this:  “Markets are conversations.”  In other words, if people are talking seriously about your product, or your Whitney concert, that is a positive thing from both a human and commercial point of view.

Just an old hippie (and professional marketer’s) point of view.

p.s.  We need a new conversation started over on the Composer Forum page.  If you don’t have a user name or password to post something let me know and I’ll fix you up.

Lots of terrific new reviews over on the CD Review page.

I listen to the fantastic Counterstream radio (see toilet seat icon) while I work and yesterday heard a terrific piece by Ezra Sims and it occurred to me that somebody ought to voluteer to write a regular column here every week or every other week called something like “Underrated,” which would focus on composers we don’t hear much about. 

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

All We Are Saying is Give Peace a Chance

Kevin Gallagher, guitarist and founder of Electric Kompany, writes: 

I noticed in your Jacob TV piece that there was hardly any mention of the fact that Electric Kompany is doing a world premiere of White Flag (for rock quartet and tape) based on sounds from the Iraq war starring the voices of Bill O’Reilly and George W Bush at the Whitney Museum at Altria on Friday, May 4 at 8pm.
Needless to say, I was pretty upset that they aren’t stressing this piece to the press. It’s rare enough to have a world premiere for rock quartet at the Whitney, never mind to have it tied to the biggest news story for the past 5 years.
I don’t know if the Whitney is scared of it (possible), but I want people to know what we’re about to do. It’s a good piece and we’re going to play the hell out of it. If you could please make sure people know about the premier, I would be very appreciative. Thank you for your help.

by Jerry Bowles
Classical Music, Contemporary Classical, Festivals, New York

I Want My JacobTV

Contrary to speculation that the mystery man in Friday’s photo is a Guantanamo detainee or a middle school crossing guard, the fashion-forward gentleman in question is, in fact, the Dutch composer Jacob ter Veldhuis, aka JacobTV, whose work (it says here in the press release) “…has had a huge impact on the European music scene in the past decade, but he is far less known in the U.S.”  It could happen.    

The Whitney Museum of American Art, that well-known new music venue, is concluding its Spring 2007 Whitney Live series with Grab It!, a three-day festival dedicated to JacobTV, Wednesday to Friday, May 2-4, 2007 at the Whitney at Altria in mid-town Manhattan.  The festival is the first large-scale examination of his work on this side of the pond, featuring some of his signature pieces as well as recent compositions and premieres, video, instrumental work, and a new evening-length dance piece set to his boombox music.  He will also unveil a major CD/DVD anthology of his work on the Dutch label Basta, which includes orchestral music, boombox works, chamber music and video. 

That would explain the “three pounds” of CDs I got from the Whitney which, by the way, are still up for grabs although, frankly, judging from the catty comments, you folks are not taking this opportunity nearly seriously enough.

Among the participants and performers in the festival are PRISM Quartet, Miro Dance Theatre,  New Century Quartet,  Frank J. Oteri,  Kevin Gallagher, Electric Kompany, Margaret Lancaster, Dorothy Lawson, Meehan/Perkins Duo, and Kathleen Supové 

The back story is that Limor Tomer, who curates the “Whitney Live” events,  heard JacobTV’s music when the Prism sax quartet did a whole evening of his work at Symphony Space last year (Prism performs on the May 2 concert, then again twice in Philadelphia a few days later).  She went wild over the music and decided to take the risk of programming three nights of his work, although no one here is really familiar with it.  She hired the terrific new music publicist and all-round hottie Aleba Gartner to promote the show and, of course, we all know about my character flaws in the area of pretty gals.

Speaking of which, Aleba is also promoting the June in Buffalo Festival June 4-10 this year.  This is one of the top festivals in America and it gets surprisingly little coverage although we always try to do our part.  Anybody live in the Buffalo area who would like to “audit” the festival, do a little deep immersion, and keep a daily Sequenza 21 diary of the event?  Something can be arranged.

Other stuff:  I was having a Rome withdrawal attack last night and tuned into Showtime’s new Tudors mini-series.  Pretty good, actually, but my favorite part is when a scruffy young man turns up at the cathedral with a letter from the Bishop of Canterbury introducing him as Thomas Tallis, a bright prospect who plays the organ, flute, sings and “composes a bit.”

And, finally, if I haven’t said so already, I think Steve Layton does a fantastic job week after week with his Click Picks.  Thanks much, Steve.  You’re a big part of our little success.

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

Montani semper liberi (with a Capital M)

Next to the Mountaineers winning the NIT (okay, so it’s the tournament of losers…we won), the most exciting news in the world today is that our lil’ buddy Ian Moss is having his second annual Capital M world premiere extravaganza at Tonic next Wednesday.  The concert will feature new works by Ian Dicke, Mike Gamble, Caroline Mallonée, Ian Moss, Edward RosenBerg III,  Jonathan Russell, and Kyle Sanna. Noted provocateurs and ne’er-do-wells Anti-Social Music will follow with their particular brand of “punk classical” madness.

by Jerry Bowles
Bang on a Can, Classical Music, Composers, Contemporary Classical, New York

13 Ways to Listen to Post-Ugly Music

Let’s go to the old mailbag and see what’s happening in the exciting world of new music.  Ah, here’s something.  Our friends at the American Music Center are launching Counterstream Radio, a showcase for new music by U.S. composers, on March 16 at 3 p.m. EST.  To mark the official station launch, Counterstream Radio will broadcast an exclusive conversation between Meredith Monk and Björk.  No word on who gets to wear the chicken suit.

Actually, the station is streaming right now so you don’t have to wait until the 16th to try it out.  Any chance of getting a popup player over here so people can listen while they’re reading S21?  Tech people?

Oh, wow.  On Bach’s 322nd birthday, March 21, 2007, C.F. Peters is celebrating the publication of a new set of variations, 13 Ways of Looking at the Goldberg, based on the Goldberg Variations theme, with a mini-concert and reception at Steinway Hall.  Blair McMillan will perform six of the twelve variations.  The composers are C. Curtis-Smith, Jennifer Higdon, Mischa Sarche Zupko, Stanley Walden, Bright Sheng, Derek Bermel, David Del Tredici, Fred Lerdahl, William Bolcom, Lukas Foss, Ralf Gothoni, and Fred Hersch.

And then there’s this. The NY Times web site is running a  group blog in March called “The Score” that will include writings by Glenn Branca, Alvin Curran, Michael Gordon and Annie Gosfield. They will also run audio excerpts from an exclusive interview with Steve Reich conducted in February.

In a March 5 piece, Michael Gordon attempts to answer the eternal question faced by all contemporary composers:  What Kind of Music is That Anyway? (My favorite answer–“Post-Ugly”–is attributed to his co-conspirator David Lang.)

Alas, the feature is on TimesSelect, which is a pay service that costs about $8 a month but they have a free two-week trial offer if you want to check it out.  Or, Michael sent me an e-mail copy…nudge, nudge, wink, wink.

by Jerry Bowles
Classical Music, Contemporary Classical, New York, Opera

The Good, the Bad, and the Anal

Gérard Mortier, who is famous for painting lipstick on corpses and taking them to the ball, will become general manager and artistic director of the New York City Opera after he retires from the Paris Opera at the end of the 2008-2009 season.   Mortier ran the  Salzburg Festival in the 1990s  where he mounted such customer-unfriendly provocations as Hans Neuenfels staging of  Die Fledermaus, in which Orlofsky was a drug dealer who sold cocaine, Nazi thugs appeared on stage and Eisenstein had incestuous children who commit suicide.   Can’t wait to see what he does with Lulu.

Reminds of one of my favorite lines, from Charles T. Downey in ionarts, a couple of years ago:  “I suppose that opera all comes down to that eternal question that must be answered: anal rape or elaborate wigs?”  Indeed.

by Jerry Bowles
Classical Music, Composers, Contemporary Classical, Metropolitan Opera, New York, Opera

What’s So Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding?

The Metropolitan Opera announced that its co-production of Philip Glass’s Satyagraha with the English National Opera will debut next season on April 11, 2008.   The ENO is doing nine performances of Satyagraha this April.  Written in 1980, Satyagraha is based on Gandhi’s formative years in South Africa, as he developed his philosophy of nonviolent protest as a powerful force for change. It is the second work in the ”portrait” trilogy by Glass, which also includes Einstein on the Beach (1975) and Akhnaten (1983-84).  Satyagraha involves the director Phelim McDermott and the designer Julian Crouch, two of the three artistic directors of the visionary British theater company Improbable.

On the bad news front, the Met has dumped a scheduled revival of Tobias Picker’s honorable An American Tragedy in favor of Tan Dun’s terminally lame The First Emperor, apparently because it has a chance to take the production on the road to China. 

It’s great to see that Peter Gelb is going with artistic merit and not being tempted by the possibility of big crowds and big bucks.

by Jerry Bowles