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December Concert Radar: New Music in Chicago, New York
Saturday - December 3, 2011

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Your level of holiday cheer (and happiness in general) will be greatly elevated by going to the following shows:

Chicago:

Spektral Quartet - Break Right Through That Line
Where: Lutkin Hall - Northwestern University - 700 University Place, Evanston, IL
When: Monday, December 5, 2011 at 7:30pm
Tickets: FREE

This is a portrait concert of sorts, providing a look at the latest works coming out of Northwestern University. The program will include two works by current grad students - Eliza Brown's String Quartet No. 1 and Chris Fisher-Lochhead's Dig, Absolutely - as well as three faculty pieces - Lee Hyla's String Quartet No. 4, Hans Thomalla's Alumblatt and Jay Alan Yim's The Blue Voice of Air.

Ensemble Dal Niente - Hard Music Hard Liquor
Where: Mayne Stage, 1328 Morse Avenue
When: Saturday, December 10, 2011 at 7:30pm
Tickets: $20 general, $25 reserved, $10 student (with valid ID)

Dal Niente describes this concert as "a celebration of the most dazzlingly difficult music created in the past fifty years." The program will include Luciano Berio's Sequenzas III and VI (female voice and viola respectively), Claude Vivier's Shiraz for piano, Iannis Xenakis' Kottos for cello, Georges Aperghis' P.S. for saxophone (see below for additional video and links regarding Aperghis) and Brian Ferneyhough's La Chute d'Icare for clarinet and ensemble.

Third Coast Percussion - Common Patterns in Uncommon Time
Where: Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St.
When: Sunday, December 11, 2011 at 3pm
Tickets: FREE

The program is titled after David Skidmore's work of the same name which will receive its Chicago premiere at this concert. The program also features John Cage's Credo in Us and Steve Reich's Mallet Quartet.

Chicago Symphony Orchestra Music NOW: Hubbard Street Dance Company and MusicNOW
Where: Harris Theatre for Music and Dance, 205 East Randolph Drive
When: Monday, December 12, 2011 at 7pm
Tickets: $22 general, $10 students

This will be the first collaboration between Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and MusicNOW. The program includes Julia Wolfe's Dig Deep, Anthony Cheung's Enjamb, Infuse, Implode, Aaron Kernis' L'Arte della Danssar, Lee Hyla's The Dream of Innocent III and Anna Clyne's Within Her Arms.

New York:

loadbang - Worlds Collide
Where: The Tank Playroom Theatre, 151 W. 46th St. - 8th Floor
When: Thursday, December 15, 2011, 7:30pm
Tickets: $10

Aside from Jeffrey Gavett's arrangement of Machaut's Messe de Nostre Dame, this program is made up entirely of world premieres of works by Marco Alunno, Eve Beglarian, Andy Kozar, Alexandre Lunsqui, Gary Philo and Fay Wang.

 

Talea Ensemble - Inharmonic/(x)enharmonic: A Conference and Concert Celebrating Microtonal Music
Where: Conference - Columbia University Dodge Hall, Room 622 | Concert: Merkin Concert Hall, 129 W. 67th St.
When: Saturday, December 17, 2011 | Conference: 9:30am - 3pm | Concert: 8pm
Tickets: Conference - FREE (open to public) | Concert: $10

This promises to be a exceptional day of information and music. Below is the conference schedule and concert program:

Conference Schedue
9:30-10:10am - Anthony Cheung, Old Technologies, New Signifiers: Non-tempered Horn Writing in 20th Century Music Through Ligeti’s Hamburg Concerto
10:10-10:50 - Toby Twining, Tuning, Imagination, Accuracy
10:50-11:30  - Frank J. Oteri, Wyschnegradsky: Paths Not Taken and Missing Links
11:30-12:10 - Christopher Trapani, Cognitive Consonance: Composing Precise and Practical Microtones in an Ensemble Context
1:00-1:40 - Robert Hasegawa, “Le vertige de la durée pure”: Time and Harmony in Gérard Grisey’s Vortex Temporum
1:40-2:20 - Dean Drummond, Performing Harry Partch
2:20-3:00 - Panel discussion moderated by Frank Oteri

Concert Program
Ivan Wyschnegradsky: String Quartet No. 2 (1923)
Dean Drummond: Mars Face (1997)
Toby Twining: 9:11 Blues (2003)
Enno Poppe: Holz (2000) *US Premiere
Tristan Murail: Seven Lakes Drive (2006)
Anthony Cheung: Discrete Infinity (2011) *US Premiere

Links of the Week: Chicago Q Ensemble, Eckardt, Vivier, Sorensen
Wednesday - October 26, 2011

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Chicago Concerts:

Chicago Q Ensemble - AMBITION: music inspired by very, very big ideas
Where: Dixon Strings Salon, 4636 N. Ravenswood, Suite 205/6
When: Friday, October 28, 2011 at 8pm | Sunday, October 30, 2011 at 6pm

The Chicago Q Ensemble presents a program that places Haydn's Op. 76 No. 1 Quartet in between works by two Chicago-based composers, Eric Malmquist and Amy Wurtz. The concert's theme seems especially well-suited to Malmquist's Burnham’s Plan for Chicago, a work the ensemble describes as "high-octane portrait that contrasts Chicago’s soaring beauty with its poverty and darkness." For more information about this concert, check out the Chicago Q Ensemble Blog.

Music Links:

digitICE: Composer Jason Eckardt Addresses the Role of Politics in Music

Jason Eckardt's guest post on the ICE web site addresses the necessity of avoiding obvious political references in music (which Eckardt equates with "sloganeering"). Furthermore, he draws a parallel between the complexity and nuance of art music and the "intricacy of truth."  This post provides a very important reminder to composers that our often marginalized pursuit has both symbolic and literal importance.

Video Clip from Claude Vivier's Lonely Child

Credit to Arlene Sierra, who posted this 1980 performance by Susan Narucki and the Asko and Schoenberg Ensembles to Twitter.

Watch Bent Sørensen Cut His Grass

On a much lighter note, who says the most bland domestic chores are beneath composers?

Watch a clip from a documentary on Bent Sørensen from The Wire Magazine on Vimeo.

Stress Position is released on New Focus Recordings
Wednesday - October 26, 2011

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I am excited to announce that Stress Position, Marilyn Nonken's recording of my complete piano music, is now available on the New Focus Recordings web site. I want to thank Marilyn for taking on this project. Simply put, Stress Position would not exist without her tireless efforts. Additional thanks go to Sean Connors, Peter Martin, Dan Lippel, Silas Brown, Jennifer Boyd and everyone who supported our Kickstarter campaign.

Please visit the Stress Position page on this site to read the album liner notes, download the press release and link to the New Focus site. Links to reviews are posted below.


Read Christian Carey's review of Stress Position on Sequenza21.

Read Chris McGovern's review of Stress Position on The Glass Blog.

Links of the Week: MusicNOW, Dal Niente, Clifford Still and More
Monday - October 17, 2011

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As the 2011-2012 season gets under way, it seems an ideal time to bring back the Links of the Week feature. Scroll down to learn more about upcoming concerts as well music and art-related blog posts.

Chicago Concerts:

Monday, October 17, 2011

MusicNOW: Stomp
Location: The Harris Theater for Music and Dance
Time: 7pm

This week begins with the season's first Chicago Symphony MusicNOW concert. The program includes works by John Corigliano, Kirsten Broberg, Alejandro Viñao, Paula Matthusen and Donnacha Dennehy.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Ensemble Dal Niente: Klänge suchen Menschen / Sounds Seek People
Location: Nichols Conccert Hall
Time: 7:30pm

Dal Niente is joined by conductor Scott Voyles for a program that includes works by Chaya Czernowin, Edgar Guzman, Kirsten Broberg, Edward Hamel and Eno Poppe.

Dal Niente's press release describes the concert as follows:

"Whisper-quiet and riot-loud sounds will commingle in this concert led by one of today’s leading interpreters of new music, Scott Voyles. Music Director of Germany’s ensemble interface, Voyles collaborates with pioneering composers and intrepid performers around the globe. He has worked with rising German superstar Enno Poppe, whose Salz is a busy, chaotic, and beguiling work of expressionist mastery. Voyles will lead another Chicago premiere: Czernowin’s Lovesong, a contemplative, gentle piece full of fleeting gestures. Three extremely new pieces round out the program."

Music Links:

Ekmeles Blog: The New Continuo?

In a recent blog post, Jeffrey Gavett, Director of Ekmeles Vocal Ensemble, ponders whether the use of pitch tracks by singers should be thought of as "the new continuo." This is an interesting topic and Gavett's insights are well worth reading.

NewMusicBox: It Ain't Where Your From, It's Where You've Been

Tim Rutherford-Johnson, author of The Rambler Blog, discusses the recent Pharos International Contemporary Music Festival (PICMF). In particular, Rutherford-Johnson considers the extent to which the aesthetic outlooks of young composers are influenced by the schools and countries where they study as opposed to their countries of origin.

Art Links:

The Wall Street Journal: Still's Stalwart

It is only a month until the new Clifford Still Museum opens in Denver. I cannot overstate the significance of this event. For many years, 95% of the Still's output (825 paintings and 1,575 works on paper) has been withheld from public view pending the construction of a permanent museum devoted exlcusively to his work. In her article in the Wall Street Journal, Judith H. Dobrzynski discusses this mammoth project with Dean Sobel, Director of the Clifford Still Museum. Read it and then book your ticket to Denver.