Iannis Xenakis’ Rebonds, plus John Cage and George Crumb at the Tenri Cultural Institute.

Saturday, January 27, 2007 at 8:00 PM

Even for composers well-versed in the eccentricities of concert percussion in the context of orchestral or chamber music, writing unpitched multi-percussion music for solo performer is an entirely different beast. For example, the seemingly endless variety of new and unusual sounds can leave a composer intoxicated with timbre, focusing primarily on the surface, at the cost of structure and thematic material.

Iannis Xenakis‘ Rebonds, which I’m thrilled to be performing at the Tenri Cultural Institute for ACME this month, is the rare case of a multi-percussion solo piece that succeeds on both surface and structural levels. In fact, here Xenakis uses contrasting timbres as motivic material, much like the A and B themes of a sonata: they define the structure of the piece. Happily, this music isn’t content to just be a brilliant example of skillful and thoughtful composition, it also ROCKS.

Here’s an excerpt from one of my live performances of the b movement:

And speaking of rocking, the incredible mezzo-soprano Bo Chang will open the program with John Cage’s Aria, and the rest of ACME will perform Cage’s Quartet in Four Parts and George Crumb’s Voice of the Whale, complete with psychotropic lighting and party masks…
(continue reading…)

Whitney Composers’ Showcase: Nico Muhly
This influencial series at the Whitney Museum of American Art, in hibernation for over two decades, prophetically presented portraits of many of the composers who would ultimately define late 20th century music. Of the impressive list: Luciano Berio, John Cage, Elliott Carter, Philip Glass, Meredith Monk, Steve Reich, and Terry Riley just barely scratches the surface.

The museum is bringing the series back to life this year with the music of Nico Muhly, and I’ll be performing his Beaming Music, for marimba and organ. Originally commissioned for my graduate recital, with Nico performing the organ part, this performance will feature synth organs and also Nadia Sirota reading bass clef!

Have a listen to an excerpt from the premier performance, with the composer playing organ, recorded live in December, 2002:

The concert focuses on works for solo performer and electronics, be they a prerecorded tape part or a synth part performed live, as in the case of Beaming Music. Also performing on the concert are Alex Sopp - flute, Nadia Sirota - viola, and Lisa Liu - violin.

This concert is free! (continue reading…)