Click Picks, Composers, Contemporary Classical, Uncategorized

Force of Nature – Frederic Rzewski Solo Piano UC Davis

Photo:Jerome de PerlinghiIt’s sometimes said that composers are either German or French, and American vanguard one Frederic Rzewski, with his much vaunted admiration for Beethoven, is clearly on the German side.  But how could he not be when some of his composition teachers like Dallapiccola and Babbitt forsook a flowing lyric line for a jagged dramatic one, whose aim is not to seduce the ear, but to wow with intellectual rigor?  But that doesn’t mean that Rzewski’s work is insincere, or lacks power — it has that in spades — but that it tends to be aimed at the mind and not the heart. It’s often confrontational, too. But that’s a good thing because any real musical interaction, like any real human one, has a built in   confrontational element, and confrontations help us grow.

Rzewski’s 1976 solo piano piece The People United Will Never Be Defeated (El Pueblo Unido Jamas Sera Vencido) is certainly a work in which he confronted the musical possibilities of all kinds of things that had been appearing in his output until then.  He was 38 at the time he wrote it and his discoveries here power lots of his subsequent work. I t’s as much as a watershed piece for him as Glass’ massive ensemble work Music In 12 Parts (1971-74) was for him.  It’s also a kind of compendium of rhythmic, harmonic and coloristic approaches to Chilean composer Sergio Ortega’s song for Salvador Allende on which it’s based. There are 6 variation sets of 6 each plus a coda, and Rzewski seems to use every possible pianistic device in it. (more…)

by Michael McDonagh
Interviews, Performers, Podcasts, viola

My Ears Are Open. This week on the podcast: John Pickford Richards

161406554_2a1aeaa283 This week on the podcast, I wrap-up the month of violist interviews with John Pickford Richards. For those of you not sure who John is, he’s best known as the violist in Alarm Will Sound and the JACK Quartet. Our three violists in May posed some important questions, not just for composers, but for performers as well. Beth Weisser asked, “What is the core of what we do?” Nadia Sirota encouraged us to embrace who we are. John Richards asks, “What is the opposite of a cheerleader?” Also, have you ever wondered if John has been hit by a composer? Listen to this weeks episode and find out.

Click here to subscribe through iTunes. Click here to add it to your RSS.

I wish I could tell all of you how excited I am about the interviews lined up for the summer, but I need to keep a few of them a secret until I actually finalize and record them. For now, I will just mention that July is devoted to the members of a certain unique string quartet, and August and September will feature musicians from outside New York (and even a few from outside the US).  In the meantime, check back in June for my interviews with Seda Röder and Brad Lubman. And thanks again to Beth, Nadia and John.

For those of you in NYC, I’ll see you today at the Bang on a Can Marathon!

by James Holt
Contemporary Classical

Great Noise Ensemble at the Kennedy Center – tonight!!!

Great Noise Ensemble
Good gravy, how could I have forgotten to post this…Armando Bayolo’s Great Noise Ensemble will be performing their Kennedy Center debut TONIGHT with the Congressional Chorus at 7:30 pm in the Terrace Theatre at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Works featured include the world premiere of Daniel Felsenfeld’s “The First Time I Saw Snow”, and Armando Bayolo’s concerto for violin and orchestra, Musica Concertante, with violinist Jameson Cooper. Sorry for the tardy posting, but if you’ve got time tonight, check ’em out!

by Rob Deemer
Concerts, Contemporary Classical, New York, Performers, Piano, Premieres, Recitals

Review: Xiayin Wang at Alice Tully Hall


[We previewed this concert a couple weeks ago, and were hoping to file a quick review following the performance. Due to unforseen circumstances it’s a few days later than we’d like, but reviewer Eric Johnson came through in the end:]

..      ..       ..       ..

Xiayin Wang offered two world premieres on her May 18 recital at Alice Tully Hall. Ms. Wang’s career is on the rise, with a number of orchestral appearances, solo recitals, and her new CD release of music by Scriabin on Naxos. The New York Sun recently praised her for a “robust, confident performance,” attributes she displayed here as well. In addition to Haydn, Chopin, Ravel, Scriabin and Liszt, we heard Richard Danielpour’s Second Book of Preludes and Sean Hickey’s Cursive.

Danielpour says that “the Preludes are evocative memories of real life,” but no explicit narrative was provided for any of the seven movements. The opening “Persepolis” hinted strongly at neoclassical Stravinsky, followed by an angst-filled second movement, an “Elegy” resembling Barber, and a spastic rag. I was particularly fond of the straightforward appeal of “Elegy”; not only in the music but Wang’s performance. Simplicity can often create the most eloquent music, and that was surely the case here.

Sadly, I’m not sure anyone but Ms. Wang and Mr. Danielpour really know what the fifth prelude sounds like. Shortly after the beginning of the piece, a particularly rude audience member answered a phone call in the concert hall. She then proceeded to walk out very slowly, talking in a stage whisper all the while. It’s fair to say that the pianist was the only one not glaring at her!

Sean Hickey has firmly grounded his career in jazz and chamber music, as well as composing for film and theatre. Hickey’s notes for Cursive speak of a desire to write seamlessly, a “mostly unbroken line,” but to these ears it was anything but seamless. The piece was filled with seemingly unrelated ideas — more like sketches than cursive calligraphy. Yet Ms. Wang gave a compelling performance, tying the loose threads together. Wang’s enthusiasm and daring shone clearly in her commitment to these two living composers’ pieces.

The standard repertoire was engaging too, every selection displayed wonderfully. Indeed, the most exciting portion of the program was the final movement of Ravel’s Gaspard de la Nuit. Ms. Wang practically lifted herself off the bench as she pounded out Ravel’s exotic, even sultry depiction of Scarbo’s moonlit flight. A complimetary highlight was Chopin’s Ballade No. 2 in F Major – a thing of rare beauty, played most delicately.  ~~ Eric Johnson

by Steve Layton
Contemporary Classical

Entrepreneurial Spirit

Necessity being the mother that it is, it’s always intriguing to find folks within the new music community who see a need and break out the grindstone. Here’s two examples of online entrepreneurs who have created their own niche markets:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quQnNpt6kDE[/youtube]

The brainchild of pianists Hugh Sung and SoYoung Lee, the AirTurn wireless page turner removes one of the major difficulties in piano performance – dealing with page turns (Galen mentioned this back in December). They offer a universal wireless device and several choices in pedals as well as a music scanning software that allows for digital annotations on the score.

MusicTeacherTools

Composer Rafael Hernandez has been busy coming up with all sorts of goodies both for music educators and composers at his MusicTeacherTools site. His various woodwind fingering fonts (see below) come in very handy when working with extended techniques and how many other composers have actually invented their own card game?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFI9SeAZCfY[/youtube]

These are only two examples of online entrepreneurs…got any more?

by Rob Deemer
Composers, Concerts, Contemporary Classical, Experimental Music, Festivals, File Under?, June in Buffalo

June in Buffalo starts Monday

Red Fish Blue Fish. Photo credit: Irene Haupt
Red Fish Blue Fish. Photo credit: Irene Haupt

Two of the happiest experiences I’ve had as a composer were back to back summers (’98 and ’99) at JUNE IN BUFFALO. Held at SUNY Buffalo in upstate New York, the weeklong festival is a chance for ‘emerging’ composers to hear their music performed by top notch musicians and to have it critiqued by master composers.

By the end of the festival, they’re likely to have gotten a good tape of their piece, met performers and new music ‘movers and shakers,’ listened to nigh a hundred hours of contemporary fare, gathered tons of ideas for new works of their own, and made some lifelong chums among the other emergent creators. To this day, I keep in touch with many folks I met at JiB.

This year’s festival runs from Monday, June 1 through Sunday, June 7. The senior composers are MARTIN BRESNICK, BERNARD RANDS, MATTHEW ROSENBLUM, HARVEY SOLLBERGER, and festival director DAVID FELDER. Ensembles include the Buffalo Philharmonic, Slee Sinfonietta (JiB’s in-house new music orchestra!), Meridian Arts Ensemble, Verge Ensemble, and the New York New Music Ensemble.

SUNY Buffalo has recently boosted its online presence in the new music community. The university’s Robert and Carol Morris Century for Twenty-first Century Music has launched a website offering programming from the past two years of JiB and other SUNY Buffalo new music activities. Alongside this is an addition to the blogosphere, entitled Edge of the Center.

There’s plenty to be excited about this year, but next year’s festival celebrates twin anniversaries: the thirty-fifth anniversary of JiB’s inception and its twenty-fifth since David Felder resurrected it from hiatus. Should be a loaded week!

David Felder. Photo credit: Irene Haupt
David Felder. Photo credit: Irene Haupt

While it’s been a while since I’ve gone to JiB, I have a few suggestions for attendees.

1) Bring extra copies of scores, parts, and recordings

2) Make enough business cards to share with performers, composers, etc.

3) That said, don’t force any of the above on anyone. Unlike some venues, the spirit at JiB is more about ‘building a new music community’ and less about ‘sharp elbowed angling for commissions.’

4) Bring non-perishable food: power bars, H2O, etc. Between lectures, seminars, rehearsals, concerts, and socializing, opportunities to eat are few and far between.

5) Leave yourself far more time to get out of the dorm than you think will be necessary. That place is a labyrinth!

6) Be polite to your performers and to the JiB staff. The week is a gauntlet: they are unbelievably busy!

7) Be a good colleague to your fellow composers. If you have something to say about their music, be constructive. Don’t use the masterclasses as an opportunity for one-upmanship.

8 ) Keep open ears. You may not like a certain style now, but getting a chance to hear all sorts of music at JiB may provide stimulus for projects or avenues of inquiry that you can’t yet foresee.

9) Don’t expect to get any new music written. The festival’s days start early and end late. Soak in the sounds. Get out and meet people.

10) Enjoy – you’ll never forget June in Buffalo.

by Christian Carey
Bang on a Can, Chamber Music, Concerts, Contemporary Classical, Downtown, Festivals, New York

Marathon Meets Twitterthon

Yes, it’s that time of year again… The Bang On A Can Marathon is about to take flight once more, this Sunday, May 31 from noon to midnight at the World Financial Center Winter Garden (220 Vesey Street, NYC).  And yes, it’s all FREE.

Knowing we can’t all be every place at once, a band of nine volunteers will all be tweeting their reactions and observations in real time! — @anastasiat, @talkmusic, @sethcolterwalls, @espyem, @ogiovetti , @memilybk, @cryfok, @dotdotdottweet and @elimaniscalco.  To simplify things, you can follow all in one centralized spot (even if you’re not an active twitterer) by checking this link (or searching the tag “bangonacan”). Should be oodles of fun, especially for us folk out in the hinterland.

Acting as kick-off for the larger, citywide River to River Festival, the BOACM packs so much great music and so many great performers that even 12 hours can end up flying by (maybe in a haze, but what a glorious haze!). Why not just quote a bit from their own press release?…

The Marathon features two world premieres commissioned especially for the occasion – one from Oscar winning-pianist, composer, producer and actor Ryuichi Sakamoto and the other from innovative guitarist Bill Frisell. Both works will be performed at the Marathon by the Bang on a Can All-Stars with Sakamoto and Frisell as guest soloists. Sakamoto, who began his career with the synthpop trio Yellow Magic Orchestra, has gone on to release numerous albums with artists as diverse as David Byrne, Iggy Pop, Brian Wilson, Youssou N’Dour, and DJ Spooky, and score films including The Last Emperor, Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, The Little Buddha, Wild Palms, Snake Eyes, and Femme Fatale. Bill Frisell has been recognized as one of the world’s leading guitarists since the late 1980s, and his eclectic music touches on jazz, progressive folk, classical music, country music, noise and more. The Marathon will also feature post-rock band Tortoise, bringing their signature merging of dub, dance, jazz, techno, rock, and classical minimalism to the Winter Garden. Tortoise will perform selections from their upcoming album, Beacons of Ancestorship (Thrill Jockey, June 2009), their sixth full-length album and first release of new material in five years.  (more…)

by Steve Layton
Experimental Music, Music Events, San Francisco

Note to Self: Find that FM Radio

Middle Harbor Shoreline ParkI write that note to myself about four times a year, and I forget every time, and every time I miss out on a key aspect of the Illuminated Corridor – “a collision of public art, music and film” that persistently crops up in different San Francisco Bay Area locations to work its site-specific magic.

On May 30th the Illuminated Corridor will manifest in Middle Harbor Shoreline Park, at 7th Street and Middle Harbor Road in West Oakland. The public is invited to show up between 7:00 and 9:30 p.m. to hear and admire sounds and visuals created by 30 artists inspired by Oakland’s history and habitat.  Organizers recommend early arrival (since park gates close when the parking lot is full) and layers of clothing against the unpredictable Bay breeze.

Oh, and why do I need an FM radio?  Because every Illuminated Corridor features live music especially for the FM airwaves.  On May 30th the name of the station is Port Radio featuring Zachary James Watkins mixing live input from musicians and sound artists Sean Clute, Phog Masheen, Biggi Vinkeloe, and Michael Zelner.

Other featured installations will be The Shallow Tide, by Cheryl E. Leonard and Rebecca Haseltine, in performance with Ann Dentel and Karen Stackpole; and Building 122, by Artists’ Television Access luminaries Gilbert Guerrero and Kathleen Quillian. Alfonso Alvarez, Keith Arnold and Kahlil Karn will team up with Steven Dye, Ian Winters and Evelyn Ficarra to offer Triangulation; and the Killer Banshees have knit together their newest tour-de-force, The Subtidal Goals.

Naturally you have questions!  Get answers to all of them by reading the Illuminated Corridor FAQ, and don’t forget your FM radio.

by Polly Moller
Books, Composers, Contemporary Classical, Exhibitions, Scores

New, Newer, Newest Notations

from Notations 21Last year I mentioned seeing an exhibition here in Houston, “Every Sound You Can Imagine“; a compilation of all kinds of newer musical manuscripts and scores.  Then just yesterday I was reading of a show at the Akademie der Künste in Berlin, “Notation, calculation and form in the arts“.  All, of course, continuing the tradition of John Cage’s and Alison Knowles’ seminal 1969 book Notations (available complete online right now as a PDF download).

Which seems all the more reason to mention the long-awaited Notations sequel just released: Notations 21, brought together by Theresa Sauer.  Besides the book, the Notations 21 project has its own website with even more information.  Between all these links you can feast, gawk and marvel at snippets of the highest, subtlest, strangest and most elegant musical and extra-musical explorations of the last 50 years.

by Steve Layton
Contemporary Classical

Chock Full o’ New Music at the Cleveland Orchestra

If you happen to be in the Lake Erie neighborhood tomorrow night, the Cleveland Orchestra will be showcasing several new works by American and British composers under the baton of Oliver Knussen. The concert will include a world premiere of Wanderlust by Cornell doctoral student Sean Shepherd, a US premiere of Helios Choros III by Augusta Read Thomas and performances of works by Julian Anderson, Luke Bedford and Knussen himself (his Requiem: Songs for Sue featuring the talents of soprano Elizabeth Keusch).

The concert will begin at 8pm in Severence Hall, 11001 Euclid Avenue in Cleveland, with tickets being available online or at the door (for more information call (216) 231-1111 or (800) 686-1141). Shepherd and Thomas will be giving a pre-concert talk at 7pm and you can read about each work ahead of time in their program notes.

by Rob Deemer