Vision Festival Experiments with Jazz
by Zoë Gorman Photo credit: Zoë Gorman Experiments are, by nature, hit or miss, and last week's Vision Festival at Roulette was no exception. A lineup of experimental and avant-garde jazz artists paid tribute to
Feast of Music
Summerstage NYC 2013: “Speak” by Marla Mase and Tomás Doncker
by Dan Lehner Photo credit: Dan Lehner Marla Mase has a lot she wants to talk about. Over the course of the 90-minute “Speak”—a new multimedia/multidisciplinary work based on her
Stonewall Chorale Brings Fiery “Carmina Burana” to Church of the Holy Apostles
by Michael Cirigliano II Marking the end of their 36th season, the Stonewall Chorale—the nation’s first LGBTQ chorus—presented an intense reading of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, using its alternate orchestration
Bonnaroo 2013: Paul McCartney
When I reviewed the lineup for this year's Bonnaroo, I saw Paul McCartney's name on the bill and thought to myself: "That's nice that they gave the old guy a
Jennifer Koh and Ensemble LPR at (le) Poisson Rouge
Last night, trailblazing violinist Jennifer Koh was joined by Ensemble LPR at (le) Poisson Rouge. They came together for a night of music by John Zorn, Charles Wuorinen, and Ludwig van Beethoven as a part of the LPR X5 festival. All of the pieces, ‘Passagen’ by Zorn, ‘Spin-5 for Violin and 18 Musicians’ by Wuorinen, and Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony brought a sense of wild abandon that perfectly complemented the youth and excitement of both Koh and Ensemble LPR.
Koh brought a fiery passion to John Zorn’s ‘Passagen’ for solo violin, which, like Wuorinen’s, was written for Ms. Koh. The piece is rife with rapid shifts from tight, intense tremolos and harsh pizzicato to tender ghostly harmonics. Sometimes, just sometimes, Koh coaxed out a single pure clean ethereal note or phrase that would sing out from the chaos before it was swallowed up again. The uneven rhythmic chords and pizzicato playing gave a distinctly Bartokian flavor, a flavor that was enhanced by Koh’s savage bowing.
Bonnaroo 2013: Friday
It's clear and warm here in Manchester, TN, where Bonnaroo has called home for the past dozen years. It is an impressive set up, to say the least: two main
Bill Frisell, Marc Ribot, and Nels Cline at LPR
Speaking of LPR, I stopped by last night for an early set of improvisations from three of today's greatest jazz guitarists: Bill Frisell, Marc Ribot, and Nels Cline, who heads back to his
String Orchestra of Brooklyn Premieres Modern Works
by Zoë Gorman The String Orchestra of Brooklyn (alternately known as the SOBs, wink) is giving new flair to concert music by bringing modern compositions to the streets of New York’s
Ensemble Linea Performs at CUNY During Second Overseas Tour
by Melanie Wong France’s premier contemporary chamber group, Ensemble Linea, arrived at CUNY’s Elebash Recital Hall Friday night while in the midst of their second overseas tour. While officially a sextet—flute,