NYC Calendar: September 16-30, 2012

WESDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19th,
8:00 Nate Wooley + Mazen Kerbaj
VENUE: Our Lady of Lebanon Cathedral, 113 Remsen St, Brooklyn
DETAILS:
http://issueprojectroom.org/drupal/event/nate-wooley-mazen-kerbaj
ADMISSION: $8-10

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20th,
8:00 Composer Portraits – John Cage
VENUE: Miller Theatre, Columbia U
DETAILS:
http://www.millertheatre.com/Events/EventDetails.aspx?nid=1528
ADMISSION: $25-$30

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21st,
8:00 Erik Friedlander
VENUE: Barbes
ADMISSION: $10

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27th,
8:00 New Songs by Andy Laster
10:00 Anthony Coleman
VENUE: The Stone
DETAILS: New Songs by Andy Laster for mixed ensembles with text by D. Nurkse, Samuel Beckett and Samuel Hanagif
ADMISSION: $10/set

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28th,
8:00 VOICES & ECHOES: Otomo Yoshihide/Marina Rosenfeld + Gozo Yoshimasu/Tamio Shiraishi/Cammisa Bueraus + Akio Suzuki/Jason Lescalleet
VENUE: Abrons Art Center, 466 Grand St, New York
DETAILS:
http://issueprojectroom.org/drupal/event/akio-suzuki-gozo-yoshimasu-otomo-yoshihide-more
ADMISSION: $15 / $12 members + students

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29th,
8:00 Composer/Choreographer Series: Melanie Maar, Shelley Hirsch, Kenta Nagai
VENUE: Roulette
DETAILS: http://roulette.org/events/composerchoreographer-series-melanie-maar-shelley-hirsch-kenta-nagai
ADMISSION: $15 / $10 students

THEATER:
SOUNDING BECKETT
September 16 at 3:00
September 21 and 22 at 8:00
September 23 at 3:00
VENUE: Classic Stage Company (136 E. 13 St.) in Manhattan.
DETAILS:
http://soundingbeckett.com/
..a singular evening of theater and music that pairs three plays by Samuel Beckett from his “ghost period” with new works by contemporary composers written expressly in response to those plays
ADMISSION: $50-$75

Episode #1 John Cage: A Liberator of Sound

In the first episode of Extended Techniques podcast we cover contribution of John Cage to extending timber and compositional techniques: using any object to make music, development of new percussion instruments, prepared piano and electronics; invention of chance procedure and indeterminancy.

Following foreword to Silence, we talk about John Cage and his ideas in the way that exemplifies them.

John Cage – A Liberator Of Sound

..and 2 brief teasers:

Your hosts are Erlena Dlu and Alotro Lado

The John Cage Quintet: Lou Harrison, John Cage, Doris Dennison, Margaret Jansen, Xenia Cage

Playlist:

Running time 1.08 minutes

1. John Cage, “First Construction [in Metal]” for percussion sextet, with assistant (1939)
Amadinda Percussion Group
Hungaraton Recordings

2. John Cage, “Third Construction” (1941)
Amadinda Percussion Group
Hungaraton Recordings

3. John Cage, “BaCchanale” (1940)
William Grant
Nabore

4. John Cage, “Amores” (1943)
Amadinda Percussion Group
Hungaraton Recordings

5. John Cage, “The Perilous Night” (1944)
Margaret Leng Tan
New Albion Records

6. John Cage, “One for piano” (1987)
Stephen Drury
Mode

7. John Cage, “Cartridge music” (1962)
David Tudor, Takehisa Kosugi, Michael Pugliese, John Cage
Kew Gardens

8. John Cage, “Williams Mix” (1952)
Magnetic tape
Ellipsis Arts

9. John Cage, “Music of changes” (1951)
David Tudor
Hat Hut Records

10. John Cage, “Atlas Eclipticalis” (1961-62)
Ulrich Krieger – sopranino sax, soprano sax, alto sax
Tobias Rüger – tenor sax
Reimar Volker – alto sax, baritone sax
Kathrin Wagner – alto sax, tenor sax
Mode

11. John Cage, “Atlas Eclipticalis” (1961-62)
Friedrich Gauwerky, violoncello
Wergo

12. John Cage, “Atlas Eclipticalis” (1961-62)
The Orchestra of the S.E.M. Ensemble
Petr Kotik (conductor)
Joseph Kubera (piano)
Wergo

Also, the following works are quoted throughout the podcast:

“John Cage and David Tudor, Indeterminacy: New Aspect of Form in Instrumental and Electronic Music” (1959) Smithonian Folkways Recordings

John Cage, “Second Construction” (1940) Amadinda Percussion Group
Hungaraton Recordings

Erlena Dlu, “Six improvisations de la pleine lune” (2012)

Erlena Dlu, “Postearfest” (2011)

If you enjoy the music included here, please consider purchasing the recordings.

NYC Calendar: September 1-15, 2012

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 1,
6pm

THURSTON MOORE & GENE MOORE – Brotherly Guitar Duo!

ADMISSION:FREE
VENUE: DMG
DETAILS:

http://www.dtmgallery.com/Main/instoreshows.html

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2,
6pm

JOHN CAGE EARLY BIRTHDAY PERFORMANCE!

ADMISSION:FREE
VENUE: DMG
DETAILS:
Meeting of Capitalists Inc. to Mark the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of John Milton Cage, Jr., Hosted by rahrahree! (Kurt Gottschalk and Tamara Yadao):

With “Lecture on Nothing” and “Theatre Piece”; please bring 100 records to break during the session.

http://www.facebook.com/events/138418539632409

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4,
c spencer yeh – violin+voice
okkyung lee – cello
ryan sawyer – drums

ADMISSION: FREE
VENUE: Zebulon
DETAILS:
http://www.facebook.com/events/137960613015084/

Our review of one of Okkyung Lee’s previous performances: With her sonorous explorations Okkyung Lee appears to be the truest follower of John Cage – “getting rid of the glue” and letting the sounds be themselves.

WESDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5,
8 and 10pm
Cage100@Stone Festival, Day 2

ADMISSION:$10
VENUE: Stone
DETAILS:
The John Cage Variety Show Big Band directed by Miguel Frasconi
Miguel Frasconi (flute, electronics) Daniel Goode (clarinet) Gelsey Bell (voice) Kathleen Supove (piano) Chris McIntyre (trombone) TILT Brass, Cristian Amigo, Richard Carrick (guitars) David Watson (bagpipes) John Zorn (sax) and many others celebrating the composer on the day of his birth, 100 years ago. Pieces will include “Sonata for Clarinet” (1932), “In a Landscape” (1948), “Fontana Mix” (1958), “Aria” (1958), “Music for Amplified Toy Pianos” (1960), “Variations II” (1961), “Solos from Song Books” (1970), “Child of Tree” (1975), “Composed Improvisations” (1990) and an ensemble performance of “4’33″” (1952).

WESDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5,
8pm
Brötzmann / Adasiewicz Duo & Joshua Abrams Natural Information Society with Chad Taylor

VENUE: LPR
ADMISSION:$15/free for members

DETAILS:
http://lepoissonrouge.com/events/view/3642

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8,
6:30-7pm
The Festival of New Trumpet Music

ADMISSION:FREE
VENUE: Brooklyn Bridge Park, Jane’s Carousel – DUMBO
DETAILS:
FONT’S 10th Anniversary Celebration and Grand Opening – Rotations, Rotations by Stephanie Richards Rotations, Rotations is a site-specific performance composed and directed by Stephanie Richards, who will be joined by nine moving brass and percussion players performing with the nostalgic sounds of the carousel’s “mechanical band”. Personnel includes Kirk Knuffke and Ben Holmes on trumpet, Brian Drye and Jen Baker on trombone, and Andrew Munsey, Nick

Jenkins and Kenny Wollesen on percussion. Wardrobe stylist Sarah Maiorino and movement direction by Mark DeChiazza.
http://fontmusic.org/

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8,
8pm

New Vision Emerging Artists 2012

ADMISSION:RSVP|FREE ($10 Suggested Donation)
VENUE:Our Lady of Lebanon Cathedral, 113 Remsen St, Brooklyn
DETAILS: Che Chen and Sherlock Terrys with zithers and monochords drawing on Indian music, Minimalism, and the outsider tradition of instrument building composers
http://issueprojectroom.org/event/che-chen

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 9,
8pm

axel dörner, phil minton, okkyung lee, c spencer yeh

VENUE: FB Gallery

ADMISSION: $10

DETAILS:

http://www.facebook.com/events/443176822400373/

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11,
6:30 PM

Steve Reich: complete string quartets

VENUE: LPR
ADMISSION:$15/free for members (with lottery)

DETAILS:
http://lepoissonrouge.com/calendar
(Different Trains, Triple Quartet, & world premiere of WTC 9/11, all-live version) performed by ACME
w/ composer and special guest Steve Reich in attendance

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13,
7:30 PM
EVELYN GLENNIE / ZEENA PARKINS with The Joshua Light Show

VENUE: NYU

DETAILS:
http://nyuskirball.org/calendar/jlszrlg

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14,

7:30 TERRY RILEY/ GYAN RILEY
10 JOHN ZORN / LOU REED / BILL LASWELL / MILFORD GRAVES

with The Joshua Light Show

VENUE: NYU
ADMISSION:$12 with NYU id, from $40 otherwise
DETAILS:
http://nyuskirball.org/calendar/jlszrlg

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15

9.00 Taylor Ho Bynum Sextet

VENUE: The Jazz Gallery, 290 Hudson St
ADMISSION:$10
DETAILS:
http://taylorhobynum.com/091512

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15
07:30 THE JACK QUARTET
Clemens Gadenstätter, Georg Friedrich Haas

VENUE: Austrian Cultural Forum
ADMISSION:FREE with RSVP
DETAILS:
http://www.acfny.org/event/the-jack-quartet/

The Art of Experiment: Magda Mayas, Tony Buck, and Nate Wooley

Experimental music demands a performer-composer to be both an artist and a scientist. An artist, who can reach musical integrity and full completeness on the spot “from scratch,” just being there, and a scientist who is in perfect terms with acoustics. Both roles were accomplished perfectly during two performances of Magda Mayas and Tony Buck (Roulette, September 29^th), joined by Nate Wooley (Ibeam, October 14^th).

The gig in Roulette resembled an act of sorcery or shamanism. While Magda transformed the piano into a string and percussion instrument, the percussion itself became a cauldron, where Tony was cooking some mystic potion – with small boxes to sprinkle the spices, and a censer to spread the incense. When sounds become magic – are they still sounds? When we hear them as if emerging from the depth of the cave resembling sirens or stones thrown into our ears – are they music? When any sound of environment can be prepared on a musical instrument, should we go back listening to nature? But nature alone could not, as easily as this music did that night, take a listener onto a spiritual trip, with a singing bowl at the end leading to a final meditation that calmed elevated heartbeat.

In experimental music the minimal advance preparation of tunes or sounds plays a role of composition – material that initiates an act with unpredictable outcome. During the trio’s performance in Ibeam the timbral palette became even richer. Percussion and string sounds coming out of a piano do not require obvious experimentation, but what about imitation of electronic noise? And what about same electronic noise, coupled with refrigerator drones and factory whistles produced by Nate’s muted trumpet blowing into a metal sheet? The images of acoustic laboratory appeared in my mind, suggesting that a composer role had been taken by the role of a scientist.

A few words on the duo/trio’s audience. Slightly over twenty people in Roulette, which made the place look embarrassingly empty. Twelve listeners in Ibeam (just the right amount for such an intimate place), myself being the only woman. What I described as spiritual trip above, often felt like an almost physical one. It’s hard to say what exactly makes the magic work here – proximity of the performers, or exceptionally rich palette of timbre – but I felt that the sound was physically touching my skin, underneath it, crawling along my spine… Such experience is not rare, but it only occurs with involvement of improvised music, when several players are fully engaged and speak each other’s language, especially when exploring new sounds. Sometimes I wonder why the audience at such concerts is predominantly male. Why women deprive themselves of the pleasure to be touched and caressed in such an exquisite and pure way – by sounds – in the midst of the magic and art of experiment?

Getting rid of glue by means of stone walls – Okkyung Lee and Michelle Boulé at Issue Project Room

We enter the glass door of ISSUE future home – and there she meets us, sliding the endpin of her cello over the stone floor. That the quirky squeak and grinding notes born in the cello’s body are unusual is no news, but the way Okkyung literally gropes the air with sound creates the special connection within the space, placing the audience at the heart of mystic resonance. And we, startled, follow – become resonance ourselves – as all the listeners are a part of the sound, the echo of our footsteps is an element of the performance. Michelle with her conspiratorial wink inflates the air further, creates wind by running up and down the stairs, turning the revolving glass door, dancing the sound and playing it with her eyes.

As we (listeners and performers) enter the theatre space, the sonorous pallet becomes more abundant – acoustical landscape here is enriched with balustrades, Corinthian columns, and vaulted ceilings. More listeners – randomly scattered on the chairs around the place, laying on the floor, following the performers – each one’s experience is genuinely unique. It is the cello we came to indulge our ears with – its rich overtones, wide pitch range and sonorous variety in the body and strings. But not only the ears rejoice – our whole bodies transform into instruments, feeling how sound is born between the ribs.

With her sonorous explorations Okkyung Lee appears to be the truest follower of John Cage – “getting rid of the glue” and letting the sounds be themselves. This is the present history of experimental music.

September 25, 2011