Interchanging Idioms

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...

Kronos Quartet Announces KRONOS: UNDER 30 PROJECT / #5 Commissioning program includes mentoring, residency, premiere, + recording Deadline for applications is November 16, 2012 The Kronos Quartet/Kronos Performing Arts Association is pleased to announce the fifth edition of its Kronos: Under 30 Project , a comprehensive commissioning and mentoring program for young composers under the age of 30. Launched in 2003, the Under 30 Project is designed to help nurture the careers of emerging artists, while enabling Kronos to forge stronger connections with the next creative generation. To date, four composers have received commissions through the Kronos: Under 30 Project. Nearly 1,000 applications, coming from 49 countries on six continents, have been personally reviewed by the quartet. From this year’s call for applications, Kronos will select the composer to whom they feel most artistically committed. That composer will be commissioned to write a new work for Kronos in close consultatio...

Inspired by the Anthem Rock bands of the 70's and 80's – groups like Yes, Kansas, Led Zeppelin, and Pink Floyd. Anthem Rock has hard driving beats with intricate melodic lines and layers of different sounds – all features of the classical music I gravitate toward. This is not a pastiche of any particular song or band, but rather a homage to the artistry of these musicians. Skimming Rock & Skipping Stones has three movements. As word play, colloquialisms, and double entendré are common for song and album titles in the rock world, I indulge in the same practice. "Taken for Granite" - 1st Movement "Salt of the Earth" - 2nd Movement "Clean Slate" - 3rd Movement Even the title of the entire piece is a play on words "Skimming Rocks & Skipping Stones" In geological terms there are three types of rock      Igneous      Sedimentary      Metamorphic Granite is igneous, salt is se...

This is the 1st movement of the string quartet Atmospheres . While the cloud forms have a seemingly regular form to them, they are anything but a regular shape. So, using the time signature 19/16, I allow the quartet to move through a variety of different ways of breaking up this irregular time into semi-regular beats creating a sense of movement, while propelling the listener forward. Taking inspiration from György Ligeti, Atmospheres is a blending of the rhythmic 'clock' music with elements of the sonic-scape of 'cloud' music. For more about me and my music visit: http://chipmichael.com

On its dedicated website the Elias String Quartet continues to share its intrepid journey of discovery of the Beethoven quartets as it reaches one of the most challenging milestones, the Grosse Fuge . Following on from Sara Bitlloch’s much admired insight film about the work, a complete Wigmore Hall performance is available from today as a webstream for a limited 10 day period only. The Quartet begins UK performances of the complete Beethoven Quartets cycle in the forthcoming season and, in the meantime, has recently captured the hearts of American audiences (and sold out at Carnegie Hall) on it’s US debut tour: “Few quartets at any stage of their evolution have this much personality - as manifested by an unusually warm blend [and] emotional individuality” ( Philadelphia Inquirer )

“France’s Ebène Quartet has fast become one of the hottest chamber groups in the world, with excellent reason: The youthful group’s warmth, vitality, deep curiosity and musical intelligence has carried it far already.” – NPR Music The thrilling, young, and award-winning Ebène Quartet – described by the New York Times as “a string quartet that can easily morph into a jazz band” – returns to North America in March for concerts and master classes that will showcase repertoire from two recent releases on Virgin Classics: Dissonances , an all-Mozart album, and Fiction – Live at Folies Bergère , a concert DVD filmed at one of Paris’s most famous music halls. Performances begin in San Diego (March 2), with stops in San Francisco (March 8), New Orleans (March 14), and New York City, where they will make their Carnegie/Zankel Hall debut (March 18). Ebène also furthers its commitment to music education with a series of master classes at the Colburn School in Los Angeles (March 5-7). Ebène’s ...

“France’s Ebène Quartet has fast become one of the hottest chamber groups in the world, with excellent reason: The youthful group’s warmth, vitality, deep curiosity and musical intelligence has carried it far already.” – NPR Music The thrilling, young, and award-winning Ebène Quartet – described by the New York Times as “a string quartet that can easily morph into a jazz band” – added more accolades to an already impressive list when NPR named Fiction , the quartet’s 2011 Virgin Classics release, one of their 10 Favorite Classical Albums of 2011 as well as one of their overall 50 Best Albums of the year. Ebène takes repertoire from that album as well as from September’s all-Mozart album Dissonances on the road in the United States and Canada in March. Performances begin in San Diego (March 2), and include stops in San Francisco (March 8), New Orleans (March 14), and New York City, where they will make their Carnegie/Zankel Hall debut (March 18). Ebène continues its devotion to music ...

Jefferson Friedman’s String Quartet No. 3 Nominated for a GRAMMY for “Best Contemporary Classical Composition” Recorded by the Chiara String Quartet New Amsterdam Records Composer Jefferson Friedman's String Quartet No. 3, part of the Chiara String Quartet's Jefferson Friedman: Quartets album released in April on New Amsterdam Records, has been nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Contemporary Classical Composition category (#76). The 54th Grammy Awards ceremony will take place on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012, at 8pm EST on CBS. Jefferson Friedman: Quartets also includes the composer’s String Quartet No. 2 and two remixes of the quartets by electronica duo Matmos. Grammy-winning engineer Judith Sherman (who is also nominated this year in the Classical Producer of the Year category) produced the recording. The album has drawn significant praise since its release. The Boston Globe reports that String Quartet No. 3 shows “astonishing imaginative breadth,” while The San Francis...

“Up until recently, I’d always found op.130 (and its last movement op.133) the hardest Beethoven quartet to understand. It’s the first, 3rd, 4th and last movements (the Grosse Fugue) that were particularly enigmatic to me. I didn’t understand the connections between movements, the tonality relationships, what the characters are, and the meaning of this 15 minute relentless fugue that ends it. The fugue seemed an intellectual tour de force to me, but without the incredible depth of emotion there is in all of Beethoven’s other music. However I was convinced that this must be from my own lack of understanding rather than Beethoven’s fault! We’ve just had a week of rehearsals to really get to grips with it, so this was the perfect opportunity for me to immerse myself in the op.130 world and find my way into it….” Such honesty comes from Elias String Quartet cellist, Sara Bitlloch, doing exactly what The Beethoven Project website and blog was set up to do – share thoughts, ideas, doubts -...

Their first recording of Mozart quartets in 20 years The Emerson String Quartet stands alone in the history of string quartets as musicians of unrivaled eminence with an incomparable list of great recordings over three decades. For its debut on Sony Classical, the Quartet has selected Mozart’s last three string quartets, the “Prussian” quartets K. 575, K. 589 and K. 590. Available on Tuesday, October 18, the recording will coincide with a series of international concerts featuring the program of the CD. Mozart’s three last string quartets, written in 1789 and 1790 after a visit to the royal court in Berlin, were commissioned by the King of Prussia. The King himself played the cello and accordingly, Mozart set out to provide the cello with an especially prominent part. These, Mozart's last quartets, represent the distillation of a lifetime of writing for string instruments in various combinations and genres. Described by Time Magazine as “America's greatest quartet”, t...

“We are fortunate to have a clutch of young, extremely talented string quartets in action today. … But none except the Ebène Quartet can sing four-part harmony on tunes like ‘Someday My Prince Will Come,’ improvise solos on standards like ‘Nature Boy,’ shred with conviction on the surf-rock classic ‘Misirlou,’ and uncover the unique sound world of Fauré, Debussy, and Ravel.” — NPR Music France’s dynamic young Ebène Quartet, whose unique ability to switch seamlessly from core classical repertoire to jazz and pop music has made it one of classical music’s most talked-about ensembles, returns to the U.S. in the 2011-12 season with live performances and master classes, and on two new recordings from Virgin Classics. Fall performances in Pasadena, CA (Oct 2) and Portland, OR (Oct 3 & 4), master classes at the Colburn School in Los Angeles (Oct 5–13), and a concert with the Colburn Chamber Music Society (Oct 9) will coincide with the release on September 27 of Dissonances , an all-Moz...

The Cypress String Quartet (Cecily Ward, violin; Tom Stone, violin; Ethan Filner, viola; and Jennifer Kloetzel, cello) is pleased to announce the release of its latest recording, The American Album , featuring music inspired by America. The new album will be available from all major retailers on Tuesday, November 8, 2011, through the Cypress’ own label. The American Album includes Antonín Dvořák’s String Quartet No. 12 in F Major, Op. 96 (“American”), Charles Tomlinson Griffes’ Two Sketches Based on Indian Themes, and Samuel Barber’s String Quartet in B Minor, Op. 11. With The American Album , the Cypress Quartet celebrates these composers’ efforts to define and develop an American sound. Dvořák wrote his String Quartet No. 12, nicknamed the “American,” in Spillville, Iowa in 1893 while visiting a small Czech farming community. Influenced by the music he encountered there, he incorporated Native American and African American themes into the work. Of his time in Spillville, Dvořák ...

After a startling 25 year career, it is no exaggeration to say that composer Michael Gordon has already profoundly changed the contemporary classical music scene. This fall, Gordon remains discontent to rest. His newest album, Timber , will be released physically today, August 30, on the Cantaloupe label. Also today, a live recording of his work "The Sad Park" will be available on iTunes until December 31. The Kronos Quartet will perform "The Sad Park" at the 2011 Next Wave Festival at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) September 21 through 24. The rhythmically experimental "Timber" is scored for six wooden 2x4s. First used in classical music by composer Iannis Xenakis and inspired by instruments from the Greek Orthodox church called Simantras, these different sized 2x4s each have a slightly different pitch. By subtly shifting the accent of sound from one player to another, Gordon is able to create a complex meditation on sound and rhythm. An excerpt...

Venturesome string quartet Brooklyn Rider can be heard everywhere these days: on record, onstage, on the air, and even up in the air. Violinists Johnny Gandelsman and Colin Jacobsen, violist Nicholas Cords and cellist Eric Jacobsen were on WNYC's "New Sounds" last month with host John Schaefer. The foursome not only performed music from their new album of Philip Glass quartets; they also played an Irish medley with fiddler Martin Hayes, with whom Brooklyn Rider will be recording next season. On June 12, Brooklyn Rider appear at the popular Greenwich Village club Le Poisson Rouge with singer-songwriter and violinist Christina Courtin. Summer travelers can hear Brooklyn Rider's recording of "Shur Landing" from Colin Jacobsen's Achille's Heel (off the group's 2010 album Dominant Curve) on Continental Airlines in-flight classics channel throughout this month. And look for Brooklyn Rider in the "40 Artists to Watch" feature in the June issu...

The dynamic Paris-based Ebène Quartet begins a twelve-city North American tour next week with its debut at the Savannah Music Festival (March 31), hot on the heels of the release of its new Virgin Classics album, Fiction . On tour, the Ebène will play works from the great chamber music repertoire – including the quartets of Debussy, Fauré, and Ravel, heard on the group’s debut album, which won the coveted Gramophone Award – as well as music from Fiction, a program of 16 pop and jazz tracks boasting guest appearances by drummer Richard Héry and a quartet of female stars: Natalie Dessay, Stacey Kent, Fanny Ardant, and Luz Casal. The tour also includes debuts for the Ebène in Syracuse, NY (April 2), Storrs, CT (April 6), Philadelphia, PA (April 7), Montreal, QC (April 10), Indianapolis, IN (April 13), Urbana, IL (April 14), and Houston, TX (April 15). The quartet’s New York City engagements include an appearance at Town Hall (April 3); a performance chat at WQXR’s Jerome L. Greene Perf...

STARTING - AND SHARING - A VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY “Having revealed themselves as superb exponents of Mendelssohn’s music, the Elias players now seem natural Brittenists, but the styles are not without their common features: clarity, economy, lyrical decisiveness, faultless technique.” The Sunday Times (London) Now it’s time for Beethoven. Not only is this highly acclaimed quartet embarking on a three year journey to perform the complete cycle of Beethoven string quartets, but it is also inviting the public to share the experience with them via a dedicated interactive website, supported by the Borletti-Buitoni Trust. The website, which is launched 30 March 2011, has been conceived by the Elias String Quartet to encourage a wider audience appreciation of these masterpieces, some of the most profound works in the string quartet repertoire. Rather than just hear the finished result on the concert platform, the Elias players are willing to share their immersion in study, analysis and dis...

Release Date: April 26, 2011 on New Amsterdam Records Jefferson Friedman: Quartets will be released on New Amsterdam Records, performed by the Chiara String Quartet (Rebecca Fischer and Julie Yoon, violins; Jonah Sirota, viola; Gregory Beaver, cello) and Matmos (Drew Daniel and Martin Schmidt), on April 26, 2011. Included on the album are Friedman’s String Quartets Nos. 2 (1999) and 3 (2005), plus two remixes of the quartets by electronica duo Matmos. Grammy-winning engineer Judith Sherman produced the recording. On Friday, May 6, at 7:30pm, the Chiara Quartet, Matmos, and Friedman will celebrate the release of the new album with a live performance at (Le) Poisson Rouge (158 Bleecker Street, NYC), in a shared bill with NOW Ensemble launching their New Amsterdam album, Awake (also released on April 26). William Brittelle, a co-founder of New Amsterdam Records, said, “These discs are a continuation of New Amsterdam’s commitment to robust new classical chamber music. Awake is a spirit...

On Tuesday, September 28, 2010, the New York Foundation for the Arts and innova recordings celebrate 25 Years of New York New Music with the release of The NYFA Collection. The recording features works by 52 NYFA fellows and includes Lisa Bielawa’s quartet, The Trojan Women , recorded by the Miami String Quartet. Lisa Bielawa’s The Trojan Women is written in three movements, each based on the particular sufferings of women who lost husbands and sons in the notorious brutality of the Trojan War – “Hecuba,” “Cassandra,” and “Andromache.” This version for string quartet was composed in 2000 based on musical materials from Ms. Bielawa’s 1999 score for Euripides’ tragedy, The Trojan Women , and was premiered by the Miami String Quartet at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Ms. Bielawa says that the piece was inspired by “the nature of public and private grieving.” About Lisa Bielawa: Born in San Francisco into a musical family, Lisa Bielawa played the violin and piano,...

“The ARC Ensemble play with fierce conviction” ― Alex Ross SONY MASTERWORKS announces the release of ARC Ensemble’s third recording, Two Roads to Exile . As part of its acclaimed “Music in Exile” series, Two Roads to Exile features repertoire by two brilliant but neglected composers, Adolf Busch and Walter Braunfels. Produced by multiple Grammy® award- winner David Frost, Two Roads to Exile comes on the heels of ARC Ensemble’s previous two Grammy®-nominated albums, On The Threshold of Hope (2006) and Right Through the Bone (2007). SONY MASTERWORKS releases Two Roads to Exile on Tuesday May 25, 2010. Adolf Busch and Walter Braunfels were major German musical figures in the 1920s and ‘30s, who were forced into two very different kinds of exile as their country moved toward institutionalized racial intolerance. Adolf Busch, praised by Hitler as “our German violinist” to differentiate him from his Jewish colleagues, was one of Europe's pre-eminent virtuos...

The Cypress String Quartet (Cecily Ward, violin; Tom Stone, violin; Ethan Filner, viola; and Jennifer Kloetzel, cello) is recording the six quartets written by Beethoven between 1822 and 1826 (historically known as Beethoven’s Late Period) for commercial release. The second disc of this three-volume set includes Beethoven’s String Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 130 and the Große Fuge , Op. 133. It will be available on iTunes, CDbaby.com, Amazon.com, and other major retailers on August 3, 2010. The disc was produced by Cypress first violinist Cecily Ward, engineered by Mark Willsher, and recorded at Skywalker Sound. Volume one of the Cypress’s Late Beethoven set was released in August 2009. Gramophone praised the disc as “revealing artistry of uncommon insight and cohesion.” The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported, “The Cypress players converse with such rare sincerity as to make long-familiar music sound utterly fresh.” The album was featured as one of The Denver Post ’s “Best discs o...