Month: September 2014

World Premiere at Michigan State

From the Eastern American Music Distributors Company

World Premiere of Robert Beaser’s The End of Knowing at Michigan State University

World Premiere of Robert Beaser's <em>The End of Knowing</em> at Michigan State University

On September 25, Kevin Sedatole leads the Michigan State University Band in the world premiere of Robert Beaser’s The End of Knowing, for soprano, baritone and wind ensemble. The premiere takes place at Michigan State University’s Wharton Center in East Lansing, Michigan, and features soprano Lindsay Kesselman and baritone Benjamin Park as soloists.

Commissioned by a consortium of 27 bands across the United States, The End of Knowing is a powerful setting of texts from poets Seamus Heaney, Alfred Noyes, Joseph Brodsky, Gjertrud Schnackenberg, Chidiock Tichborne, Theodore Worozbyt and James Joyce. Beaser describes the work as “a dramatic meditation on the nexus of religion, politics and the fragile human condition.”

Following the premiere, the work receives several performances by ensembles across the country, including a featured performance in Nashville at the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) Conference in March 2015.

For more information on Robert Beaser, please visit www.schott-music.com.

Details on the premiere can be found at music.msu.edu.

Robert Beaser
The End of Knowing (2014)
for soprano, baritone and wind ensemble
texts (Eng) by Seamus Heaney, Alfred Noyes, Joseph Brodsky, Gjertrud Schnackenberg, Chidiock Tichborne, Theodore Worozbyt and James Joyce
pic.2(2.afl).2.ca.Ebcl.3.bcl.cbcl.2.cbsn.ssax.asax.tsax.barsax-4.3.2.btbn.2euph.1-timp.7perc-hp.pno/synthesizer-db
30’

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9-Beet Stretch

beets

From Scandinavian sound artist Leif Inge comes a transcendent soundscape made out of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. By stretching the recording to 24 hours with no distortion or pitch shifting (achieved through high-quality granulation), the piece is fundamentally changed from a goal-oriented tonal work with a dramatic narrative to a slowly-evolving sonic environment more closely resembling micropolyphonic works of Ligeti or post-minimalist pieces by John Luther Adams and R. Murray Schafer.

The source recording is from Naxos, conducted by Béla Drahos with the Nicolaus Esterházy Sinfonia and Chorus. The work can be heard streaming 24-hours a day—click here to download the internet radio station link (open in iTunes or VLC Media Player).

http://www.xn--lyf-yla.com/

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New Music Detroit: Strange and Beautiful Music VII

New Music Detroit will present Strange Beautiful Music VII this Saturday (Sept. 13, 2014).

New Music Detroit will host a 6-hour event for new music including two world premieres: John Zorn’s “Trilogy” and a work by Detroit native, Frank Pahl.  New York-based violinist, Todd Reynolds, will join us for a set of composition and improvisation.  NMD will perform Detroit’s premiere of David Lang’s “Death Speaks”  with special guest, Shara Worden. Also featured are GVSU’s New Music Ensemble, Miles Brown Quartet, Donald Sinta Sax Quartet, and Clem Fortuna.

Get more details on the NMD website.

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NPR: New music from “My Brightest Diamond”

My Brightest Diamond’s new album, This Is My Hand, comes out Sept. 16.

“Worden’s music feels simultaneously micro-orchestrated and entirely, ecstatically spontaneous. She has in common with former bandmate Sufjan Stevens an exceptional knack for world-building, as well as an ability to cultivate intimacy through flawless, complex production with a beating heart. This Is My Hand is a paean to the work of human hands, in the same way 2011’s All Things Will Unwind celebrates beauty born of human struggle.”

Read the whole article at npr.org

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Up Close with Michel van der Aa

michevanderaa

If you have a spare 30 minutes (because in this day and age 30 minutes of extra time is easy to come by), you may want to check out this concerto for cello, by Michel van der Aa, a dutch composer who was the recipient of the 2013 University of Louisville Grawemeyer award. Titled ‘Up Close’, this piece could be considered more of a film opera than a concerto. That being said, it is imperative that you watch the accompanying video along with listening to the music.

Feel free to share your comments below. Maybe we can get an interesting discussion going!

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24 Hours of John Zorn

john-zorn

Q2 Music, the contemporary music radio station associated with New York Public Radio, is celebrating the 61st birthday of John Zorn with a 24-hour marathon of his music tomorrow (Friday, September 5). This is actually a rebroadcast of their 60th birthday celebration from last September, but in case you’d like to listen to some great music and support a wonderful radio station, check out the website where you can stream it here:

http://www.wqxr.org/#!/series/q2/

Zorn is the host, so you will also get to hear commentary from the composer about his works!

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