Interchanging Idioms

Featuring Music by Icelandic Composers Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Hildur Gudnadóttir, María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir, Hafdís Bjarnadóttir, and Thurídur Jónsdóttir New York, NY – Sono Luminus announces the July 31, 2015 worldwide release of Icelandic ensemble Nordic Affect’s debut album on the label, Clockworking , featuring the music of five Icelandic women composers – Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Hildur Gudnadóttir, María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir, Hafdís Bjarnadóttir, and Thurídur Jónsdóttir. The album was recorded by Georg Magnússon at The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service, with mastering and post-production by Valgeir Sigurdsson. This week, Headphone Commute is featuring the exclusive premiere of the video for the title track, Clockworking by María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir, well known for her work with Icelandic band amiina. Watch now at http://bit.ly/HCVideoPremiere . Clockworking represents collaboration, connection, and passionately fierce creativity. As put by Nordic Affec...

Horn players required for world premiere of a new work from Pulitzer Prize/Grammy Award-Winning ‘eco-composer’ John Luther Adams At East Neuk Festival on 5 July 2015 The East Neuk Festival (ENF) is sounding the bugle far and wide for a herd (?) of horn players looking for outdoor musical adventures and challenges in rural Fife this summer. Following its hugely successful 2013 UK premiere of John Luther Adams’ Inuksuit for 30 percussionists, ENF has commissioned Across the Distance for massed horns for the finale of this year’s Festival. Led by SCO’s highly acclaimed young principal horn, Alec Frank-Gemill, and seven other top professional horn players from around the UK, the performance line-up is 32. Across The Distance will be performed for a promenade audience in and around the parkland and gardens of the glorious Cambo House and estate situated just south of St Andrews in the East Neuk of Fife. ENF director Svend Brown enthuses about the prospect of this unique p...

Dedicated Proponents, Pianists Adam Tendler & Christopher Taylor Will Reveal the Intricacies of These Linked Works in a Pair of Linked Concerts at Jacaranda Music’s February 22nd Mid-Century Modern Program Jacaranda's 10th anniversary season continues on Saturday, February 22, 2014 with a dinner break — a break that separates the performances of two 20-movement mid-twentieth-century masterworks by John Cage and Olivier Messiaen. Each cycle is played by an American pianist with whom the music has become synonymous: Adam Tendler and Christopher Taylor, respectively. The consecutive concerts (Tendler at 5:00 p.m. and Taylor at 7:30 p.m.) will take place at First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica, 1220 Second Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401. Jacaranda’s first decade gave extensive attention to the centenaries of Messiaen (1908-92) and Cage (1912-89). As a nod to that legacy, artistic director Patrick Scott chose for the 10th anniversary two works for solo piano that link the...

World Premiere by Terry Riley NY Premiere by Philip Glass Special Guests: Bryce Dessner, Wu Man, Jherek Bischoff, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, + Musicians from Face The Music As a highlight of its 40th anniversary season,   Kronos Quartet   takes the stage in Carnegie Hall’s fabled Stern Auditorium on   Friday, March 28 at 8 pm . The one-night-only concert features a world premiere by   Terry Riley , and boasts a stellar array of guest artists.   Composer   Bryce Dessner   of The National will play electric guitar on   Aheym , the title piece from his acclaimed new Anti- CD of works written for Kronos. Pipa virtuoso   Wu Man , a frequent partner, will be heard in the New York premiere of   Philip Glass ’s   Orion: China . Protean indie-rock composer   Jherek Bischoff   joins in on electric bass for   A Semiperfect Number , which he premiered with Kronos last July at Lincoln Center Out of...

And why we need to change the preception of new classical music A hundred years ago classical music was going through growing pains. It had been in a 'Romantic' style of music since Beethoven premiered his 3rd symphony in 1805. Composers of the early 20th century were looking for something new, to make a change from the previous hundred years. Society was also going through changes from the industrial age to the age of steel. New inventions for the home and for the battle field were flooding Patent Offices - a new world was dawning. Some of these changes lead to two world wars and the invention of nuclear weapons which many still consider the ultimate deterrent. Now, in the 21st century, we are discovering a new kind of warfare - terrorism. While the 20th century saw drastic changes in the way we wage war, it also brought changes to the music industry. Early on the invention of the phonograph brought music into the homes of people who couldn't play an instrument - music b...

TwtrSymphony wants to bring Classical Music back into the forefront of our musical experience. The other night I was at a hockey game. It was amazing how much a part of the whole experience of the game was the music that played during the breaks. The music was what got the crowd roaring and excited for the event, the music was what peaked emotions during the game and the music was what encouraged the chanting for the victory. Sometimes the music was hard pounding rock, sometimes it was elements of film scores with the sweeping strings driving people to a frenzy. The audience was experiencing music and responding to the music physically. Classical music has this power and (IMHO) more ability to achieve this than any other music form due to its rich complexities and possibilities. Disneyland has a show, "The World of Color" which features a light and water fountain show set to music from Disney movies. The most enthusiastic moment in the show is when the music of "Pirat...

Done for the Mini Operas project by English National Opera Synopsis: Humanity lies sleeping as The Sweeper of Dreams enters making his daily rounds to clear away the night’s imaginings. The Sweeper is very thorough and leaves no tatters or smattering of dreams to pollute the waking lives of the humans. He is good at his job but does not enjoy it and has perhaps become a bit careless. One of the dreamers, Promethea, is still deeply involved in her dream of flying and freedom. The Sweeper’s actions rip the dream from her and she plunges towards consciousness screaming. Clinging to the memory of her dream, Promethea argues with the Sweeper. When he remains adamant, she steals back her dream, in the process damaging his broom. No longer will he be able to efficiently remove all of humanity’s dreams. The residue of both dreams and nightmares linger to haunt the waking hours. Promethea by Chip Michael Featuring the voices of: Theodore Sipes - The Sweeper Megan Ihnen - Prometh...

The trio talks to Chris McGovern backstage at Le Poisson Rouge before their concert Chicago-based ensemble The Lincoln Trio have invited me to come hear them at Le Poisson Rouge in NY--And I sadly had to leave early to get a train back to CT (long story; it's always trains, cabs, directions and timeline issues with me). What I did manage to hear was such a great program of works (some brand new) by Lera Auerbach, Stacy Garrop and Joan Tower among others, and there was absolutely nothing regrettable about having a chance to hear any of that, particularly the jarring modernism of the Stacy Garrop piece Seven (I have to stress that when I hear new music, I'm usually watching it played by people dressed in street clothes or the color black; these people had gowns and a nice suit on, and it has to be the first time I've seen a lady in a gown so gorgeous as Marta Aznavoorian's while she was playing inside the piano). Sitting down with them before the show backstage, the...

ACME in Concert, Joe's Pub, NYC, October 25, 2011 Other than my highly-expensive coke and chocolate brownie (Thanks, Joe's Pub food policy), the evening for the chamber group American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME) left me feeling much more assured and happy I was there to capture it. It was quite a crisp, vital program in the intimate setting of Joe's Pub, a place that one associates more with indie rock, but these days there's hardly a chasm between the two anyway. The ensemble, featuring the compelling violist Nadia Sirota and, on a few works pianist Timo Andres (Christian Carey's work and a great solo-piano piece by David Smooke called Requests ), blazed through 11 relatively short pieces for varied instruments by 11 composers--9 of which that were chosen from over 200 that applied for the event--Carey and Hayes Biggs were judges and also had pieces on the program. The highlights of this program for me were: a) The world premiere of Christian Carey...