This Spring, Baltimore-based composer David Smooke composed Criminal Element, a “nonopera” in a fabricated language, for Rhymes with Opera, a company devoted to presenting opera in nontraditional spaces. Alongside works by Martin Zimmerman, Ryan Jesperson, and George Lam, it premieres Friday, June 17th in Brooklyn at Cafe Orwell. The program, titled Criminal Intent (hopefully Dick Wolf won’t sue), will be repeated in Baltimore, Hartford, and Boston.
As if it weren’t hard enough to compose an opera, non or otherwise, in the midst of a busy semester teaching at the Peabody Institute, where Smooke is a faculty member, the composer decided to create his own libretto, in a made-up language built out of IPA no less! To help us translate this phonetic construction and its backstory, I asked for some further information about the piece, which he shares below.
Smooke says, “In this nonopera, I consider the fraud—the unveiling of which helped spark the recession of 2008—perpetrated by Jérôme Kerviel, the rogue trader from France’s Société Générale who appeared to me to function as the archetypical white-collar criminal. Like his British counterpart Nicholas Leeson, who brought down the venerable Barings Bank in the 1990s, Kerviel was an interloper in the European banking society. These men were among the first working-class hires within traditionally upper-class departments and both appear to have perpetrated their crimes as part of their vain attempts to please their superiors through outworking and outsmarting their colleagues. Here, scenes of trading—number arias—recur throughout, with each growing progressively more tense. Life beyond the office is represented by a lullaby sung by paternal and maternal figures (Kerviel’s parents were a blacksmith and hairdresser in Pont-l’Abbé, Brittany), and by snippets of city life that include an invitation from friends to join their revelry. Although this piece creates theatrical scenes with some referential elements, it is a meditation on class differences and on the germinating factors in exorbitant criminal events, and is not intended to portray the life of any specific individual.”
“There is no text; the action is conveyed through an invented language notated in the International Phonetic Alphabet. The action therefore remains relatively ambiguous and non-specific. I ask the singers and the string quartet to explore many unusual performance techniques, which force them to stretch beyond their normal comfort zones.”
CRIMINAL INTENT
Featuring the West End String Quartet
Orphée Redux and Someone Anyone directed by Elspeth Davis
Friday, June 17 at 7pm | Café Orwell
247 Varet St, Brooklyn, NY 11206
Saturday, June 18 at 6pm | Windup Space
12 W North Ave, Baltimore, MD 21201
*A party for Friends of RWO after the show!*
Friday, June 24 at 7:30pm | Real Art Ways
56 Arbor St, Hartford, CT 06106
Saturday, June 25 at 2pm | Yes!Oui!Si! Space
19 Vancouver St, Boston, MA 02115
- RYAN JESPERSON Orphée Redux
- MARTIN ZIMMERMAN and GEORGE LAM Someone Anyone
- DAVID SMOOKE Criminal Element (2011, premiere, commissioned by RWO)
Sponsorship, in part, by: topsweepscoinscasino.com
CDs, Chamber Music, Composers, Concerts, Contemporary Classical, File Under?, New York, Orchestras, Philadelphia, Recordings
Andrew Rudin is well known to the Philadelphia new music community, both as a composer and, for many years, as a professor at University of the Arts. One of his former students, Amanda Harberg, introduced me to Rudin some years back at a post-concert reception in New Jersey. I remember being struck by his piercing intellect and wide-ranging knowledge of music. I’ve greatly enjoyed interacting with him via Facebook in recent years. Although direct in his opinions, sometimes in irascible fashion, he’s a font of information about composers (particularly Ralph Shapey), opera, poets, and tasty baked goods.
On Tuesday, Rudin’s music is featured on a portrait concert at Symphony Space in New York (details below). The program features Celebrations, a recent piece for two pianos and percussion that’s also included on Rudin’s new CD on Centaur Records. Miranda Cuckson and Steve Beck play Rudin’s Violin Sonata, a lyrical and affecting work from 2004. Eugene Moye and Beth Levin tackle the composer’s new Sonata for Cello and Piano. For those closer to Philly, the program will be repeated on Thursday at Caplan Recital Hall (211 South Broad St.).
The aforementioned Centaur CD also features two concerti, a passionately expressive viola concerto for Brett Deubner and a rhythmically energetic and harmonically jagged piano concerto for Marcantonio Barone. Both soloists are accompanied by Orchestra 2001, conducted by James Freeman. This ensemble has long championed Rudin’s music. In fact, they also feature Rudin’s Canto di Ritorno on To the Point, their debut for the Innova imprint. At turns rhapsodic and fiercely passionate, it’s a score that’s likely to engage both traditional and contemporary audiences alike. Appearing with the fetching curtain-raising title work by Jennifer Higdon, as well The River Within, a fantastically vibrant piece by Jay Reise, Canto di Ritorno serves as the centerpiece for one of my favorite contemporary classical albums released this Spring.
Celebrations: Music of Andrew Rudin
Tuesday June 14, 2011 at 7:30 PM
96th and Broadway,
New York
Tickets: $25/$15 for students & seniors
I’m halfway through the concert of Feldman’s String Quartet #2 performed by the FLUX Quartet here in Philly. My blog post is here.
CDs, Chamber Music, Concerts, Contemporary Classical, Experimental Music, Festivals, File Under?, Philadelphia, Strings, Twentieth Century Composer
Tomorrow from 2-8 PM in Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral, FLUX Quartet plays Morton Feldman’s String Quartet No. 2. The concert is the last event in American Sublime, a two week long series that has spotlighted Feldman’s late music.
FLUX has been performing the piece since 1999, and their rendition runs around six hours. Feldman himself suggested that the piece could run anywhere from 3 1/2 to 5 hours. But one senses that FLUX’s more expansive time frame doesn’t contravene his intentions.
String Quartet No. 2, like many of Feldman’s late works, is about breaking past the boundaries of form and instead shaping music in terms of scale: as in, LARGE scale. Not only are these pieces long, they are often cast in a single, mammoth movement. They move slowly, often speaking quietly, unspooling fragments of subtly varied material at a gradual pace. But listening to them, and indeed playing them, is anything but a leisurely exercise.
String Quartet #2 is as demanding in its own way as a marathon. But, as I found out this week while listening to FLUX’s recording (available on the Mode imprint as either a single DVD or multiple CDs), it’s well worth the endurance test for both one’s attention and bladder to persevere.
The way that I listened to the piece changed over the course of its duration. At first, I found myself expecting the familiar signposts of formal arrival points; I became impatient with the gradualness of the proceedings. But, slowly, my vantage point shifted from one of expectation of arrival to one of acceptance of each passing moment in the work. It was as if Feldman was retuning my listening capabilities, extending my attention span, and urging me to revel in each detail rather than worry about how much time had passed.
When Feldman was crafting these late pieces, in the 1970s and 80s, people’s attention spans were already dwindling at an alarming rate. In the era of jet engines and color television, who had time to listen to a piece for six solid hours? By exhorting people to stop and listen, just by the very strength and captivating character of his music, Feldman dared to arrest our engagement with a world of ceaseless distractions. In short, he sought to change us.
In our current era, attention spans have dwindled exponentially further still. Multitasking, social media, cell phones, and all manner of other devices have distracted us seemingly to the limits our psyches can handle—sometimes beyond, with dangerous results, such as texting while driving. Ironically, while today’s listeners easily spend hours on the best social casinos, endlessly scrolling, playing and seeking quick gratification, Feldman’s String Quartet No. 2 challenges them to pause, reflect, and fully immerse themselves. Perhaps this composition is an even tougher exercise for post-millennial audiences, but it might just be more necessary than ever to let this work reset our listening patterns and demand our attention.
Event Details:
FLUX Quartet plays Feldman String Quartet No. 2
Sun. June 11, 2-8 PM
FREE Admission
Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral
3723 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
www.philadelphiacathedral.org
ASCAP and the League of American Orchestras presented 26 Adventurous Programming awards to orchestras who have demonstrated exceptional commitment to contemporary composers at a special Awards Presentation held today during the League’s 66th National Conference in Minneapolis.
“For the past 54 years, the members of ASCAP have presented adventurous programming awards to orchestras whose mission not only perpetuates the great orchestral tradition of the past, but insures that concert music in America remains relevant, vibrant and alive,” said Frances Richard, ASCAP Vice President & Director of Concert Music, “We salute those orchestras who have a commitment to the music creators of our time.”
Cia Toscanini, ASCAP Assistant Vice President of Concert Music, presented the awards to American orchestras whose past season prominently featured music written within the last 25 years.
The winners are:
John S. Edwards Award for Strongest Commitment to New American Music:
Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Justin Brown, Musical Director and Principal Conductor
Morton Gould Award for Innovative Programming:
Los Angeles Philharmonic, Gustavo Dudamel, Music Director
Leonard Bernstein Award for Educational Programming:
Minnesota Orchestra, Osmo Vänskä, Music Director
Awards for Programming of Contemporary Music:
Group 1 Orchestras (expenses more than $15.9 million):
First Place: New York Philharmonic, Alan Gilbert, Music Director
Second Place: The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
Third Place: Nashville Symphony Orchestra, Giancarlo Guerrero, Music Director
Group 2 Orchestras (expenses $7.5 million – $15.9 million):
First Place: New World Symphony, America’s Orchestral Academy, Michael Tilson Thomas, Artistic Director
Second Place: Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, JoAnn Falletta, Music Director
Third Place: Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Jeffrey Kahane, Music Director
Group 3/4 Orchestras (expenses $2.0 million – $7.5 million):
First Place: Albany Symphony Orchestra (NY), David Alan Miller, Music Director and Conductor
Second Place: The New Haven Symphony Orchestra, William Boughton, Music Director
Third Place: Dayton Philharmonic, Neal Gittleman, Music Director and Conductor
Group 5/6 Orchestras (expenses $550,000 – $2.0 million):
First Place: American Composers Orchestra, Robert Beaser, Artistic Director/George Manahan, Music Director, Derek Bermel, Creative Advisor
Second Place: Berkeley Symphony, Joana Carneiro, Music Director
Third Place: Princeton Symphony Orchestra, Rossen Milanov, Music Director, Princeton Symphony Orchestra
Group 7/8 Orchestras (expenses less than $550,000):
First Place: The New England Philharmonic, Richard Pittman, Music Director and Conductor
Second Place: Yakima Symphony Orchestra, Lawrence Golan, The Helen N. Jewett Music Director
Third Place: Pioneer Valley Symphony, Paul Phillips, Music Director and Conductor
Collegiate Orchestras:
First Place: Ithaca College Symphony Orchestra, Jeffery Meyer, Director of Orchestras
Second Place: Lamont Symphony Orchestra, Lawrence Golan, Music Director and Conductor
Third Place: Cornell University Orchestras, Chris Younghoon Kim, Director of Orchestras
Youth Orchestras:
First Place: Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras, Allen Tinkham, Music Director
Second Place: Empire State Youth Orchestras, Helen Cha-Pyo, Music Director and Youth Orchestra Conductor
Third Place: New York Youth Symphony, Ryan McAdams, Music Director
Festivals:
First Place: Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, Marin Alsop, Music Director and Conductor
Second Place: Aspen Music Festival and School, Asadour Santourian, Vice President for Artistic Administration and Artistic Advisor
Tonight will feature the two winners of the first annual Call-for-Scores that the Nief-Norf Project put together this year as part of the first 10-day Nief-Norf Summer Festival going on down at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. The brainchild of percussionist and Artistic Director Andrew Bliss, the festival presents five concerts that focus on new music for percussion, including works by Cage, Reich, Applebaum, Bresnick, Zorn, and this year’s composer-in-residence, Christopher Adler. In addition to works for percussion by Mario Davidovsky, Stuart Sanders Smith and Alexander Lunsqui, Caroline Mallonee’s North South East West and Steven Snowden’s A Man with a Gun will be premiered tonight as the winners of the Project’s first Call-for-Scores.
If you’re in the area, be sure to check out both tonight’s concert at 8pm on the Furman University campus and their final concert on Thursday evening as part of the “Music of the Lake” Series in Greenville.
[Apologies for the delay on this posting – laptop illness kept me from completing it till today.]
During my week stay in Illinois, I was lucky enough to catch several concerts that proved how strong the new music scene is in Chicago. On Saturday May 28, Ensemble Dal Niente presented a rich and varied concert at the Music Institute of Chicago that featured several new and established works and a wide array of talented performers. Ensemble Dal Niente has been steadily gaining ground as one of several new music ensembles (including ICE and Alarm Will Sound) that has taken the structure of an extensive ensemble that allows for both small and large-scale works, and their season finale gave a good demonstration of the effectiveness of this structure.
The concert started off with the world premiere of Microscript for three winds and three strings by New York-based composer Drew Baker. Inspired by the miniscule writings by the Swiss author Robert Walser, this work intended to build momentum with a minimum of material through subtle timbral and articulation shifts, finally breaking into a set of three simultaneous duets. With all six instruments playing the same pitch for over two minutes at the outset of the work, intonation inconsistencies (update: even taking microtonality into account -rd) in the strings showed exactly how difficult such a simple concept can be – but it was impressive at how oboist Andrew Nogal and soprano saxophonist Ryan Muncy were able to blend their instruments with the flute and strings.
The Spektral Quartet, which makes up part of the string contingent in Ensemble Dal Niente, followed with a striking performance of Augusta Read Thomas’ Rise Chanting; the details in the score were plainly evident in the performance and Thomas’ penchant for lines that seem improvised came across very naturally and yet with an extreme precision. The first half of the concert concluded with a rambunctious setting of Louis Andriessen’s 1974 piece Workers Union. With an eclectic collection of strings, winds, and keyboards (including two toy pianos and an iPad), the ensemble gave a thrilling performance of the seminal work, which was very well received by the almost-full house.
The second half of the concert featured two works that could not have been more contrasting – Morton Feldman’s Vertical Thoughts 2 and György Ligeti’s Piano Concerto. Violinist J. Austin Wulliman and pianist Winston Choi brought a light touch and gauzy sensibility to the Feldman, with Wulliman walking the tightrope between extreme softness and inaudibility and Choi setting each sonority with confidence. In an impressive feat of mental gear-shifting, Choi was brought back to the stage to play the solo part in one of Ligeti’s most demanding works with the ensemble-as-chamber orchestra under the direction of DePaul faculty Michael Lewanski. With the exception of a few balance problems in the percussion that were exacerbated by the acoustics of the hall, the ensemble brought this work to life in vivid colors and with a exactness in detail and intensity. I have heard from many colleagues at Winston Choi’s talent and was not disappointed in the performance – he really is one of the best interpreters of new music on the piano scene today. While the entire ensemble shined in the performance, severe kudos needs to be given to standout performances by hornist Julia Filson, bassist Mark Buchner, bassoonist Wendeline Everett, piccoloist Constance Volk and the haunting ocarina from Alejandro T. Acierto.
Many instruments have their 99-cent toy counterpart: tiny play trumpets, cheap plastic recorders, pint-sized accordions, even mini drum-kits with cymbals the size of espresso saucers. But it’s only the toy piano that has graduated to the big leagues, with an large and diverse repertoire and even a dedicated group of high-caliber performers to boost its status. I really think this all came about from two sources: John Cage‘s modest 1948 Suite for Toy Piano, and the instrument’s inclusion in George Crumb‘s highly influential Ancient Voices of Children (1970). Both of these works had (and still have) a certain vogue; pianos were obtained, kept around, and led to performers and composers thinking “now that I’ve got it, what else can I do with this thing”? Fast-forward a few decades and we now find a whole body of work from composers big and small, with piano solo, duo, trio and beyond, accompanied by everything from a few trinkets to elaborate interactive electronics. Entire concerts of toy piano music take place now, with a variety pieces and forces equal to any other chamber music concert.
Like this one… Co-Directors and composers David Claman and Matt Malsky are presenting The Extensible Toy Piano Festival at Bargemusic, with another of those said dedicated toy-piano performer/composers, Phyllis Chen— this Sunday, June 12, at 3pm (Fulton Ferry Landing near the Brooklyn Bridge / Tickets: $25 ($20 Seniors; $15 Students). Claman and Malsky started The Extensible Toy Piano Project a number of years ago, sponsoring concerts, commissions, contests and even symposia (I told you this little instrument done all growed up!). This iteration will also feature guest performers Nancy Newman and mezzo-soprano Jessica Bowers, and works by Chen, Claman, Malsky, Karlheinz Essl, Konrad Kaczmarek, John McDonald, and Atsushi Yoshinaka. Here’s Chen performing one of her works that will be on the concert, Double Helix:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfZ_djY9_f8[/youtube]
The American Composers Orchestra has been holding annual reading sessions for twenty years now: quite a milestone!
This weekend will see composers of concert music hearing their works read by the ACO, conducted by George Manahan, with one of the composers being awarded a $15,000 commission.
For the first time, there will also be sessions devoted to jazz composers.
The New Music Readings’ (June 3 & 4) participating composers are Janet Jieru Chen, Mukai Kôhei, Michael Djupstrom, Narong Prangcharoen, Jordan Kuspa, and Kate Soper.
The Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute Readings’ (June 5 & 6) participating composers are Harris Eisenstadt, Mark Helias, Adam Jenkins, Erica Lindsay, Nicole Margaret Mitchell, Rufus Reid, Jacob Sacks, and Marianne Trudel.
20th Annual Underwood New Music Readings
Friday, June 3 at 10am (working rehearsal) & Saturday, June 4 at 7:30pm (run-through)
One Composer to Win $15,000 Commission, Another to Win Audience Choice Award
Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute Readings
Sunday, June 5 at 2pm (working rehearsal) & Monday, June 6 at 7:30pm (run-through)
Presented with The Center for Jazz Studies at Columbia University
Featuring Eight Jazz Composers Selected from the 2010 JCOI Intensive
Conducted by ACO Music Director George Manahan
All events free & open to the public, reservations: www.americancomposers.org
Miller Theatre | Columbia University | Broadway at 116th, NYC
More information: 212.977.8495 or www.americancomposers.org
Listen to audio samples from Underwood New Music Readings participants here.
Listen to audio samples from the JCOI Readings participants here.