Pittsburgh New Music Net

Must see TeeVee! Jess Hohman videotaped an extensive interview with Roger Zahab at Pitt’s Music building, in anticipation of entelechron’s all-Cage concert at The Andy Warhol Museum on March 5. The interview happened over two days, and on the first, the fire alarms went off and everyone had to clear out of the building. But it was an unusually nice day, so Jess and Roger continued the interview outside while the rest of us milled around wondering what to do next. Jess worked some of the outdoor sounds in throughout the video, and I suspect Cage would have enjoyed this very much.

A quick reminder that the Garfield Artworks experimental music series wraps up tonight with percussionist and poet William Hooker headlining a show that also features Matta Gawa, Michael Johnsen, and Abram Taber. You can see Manny’s full post below. Check it out.

New York-based counter)induction will perform at The Andy Warhol Museum on Sunday, March 13 at 8 p.m. The critically acclaimed new music ensemble will perform a program that will include Kyle Bartlett’s Bas Relief, Douglas Boyce’s Deixo Sonata, Henryk Gorecki’s Genesis 1 – Elementi, Pitt faculty composer Eric Moe’s Dead Cat Bounce, and Anna Weesner’s Lift High, Reckon-Fly Low, Come Close.

Made up of a group of top-notch performers and composers, counter)induction has established itself as a major force in contemporary music. Philosopher of science Paul K. Feyerabend coined the term counter)induction to describe the occasional but persistent a-rational behavior of scientists performing revolutionary research. He describes thinkers abandoning the patterns of thought fostered by their training and thinking freshly: “we need a dreamworld in order to discover the features of the real world we think we inhabit.” counter)induction provides a place where listeners and musicians can discover features of the musical landscape which they had previously not imagined as possible.

counter)induction has strived to live up to this ideal, and the critics have noticed. Hailed by the New York Times for its “fiery ensemble virtuosity” and for its “first-rate performances” by the Washington Post, counter)induction has given critically-acclaimed performances at venues such as Miller Theatre, Merkin Hall, and Roulette. Of a 2005 c)i concert, Anthony Tommasini of the New York Times wrote that it was “brilliantly performed…masterly….the most bracing of musical experiences.” Perhaps reviewer Allan Kozinn summed up counter)induction’s performance most tellingly when he wrote,  “Everything was right… The performance was almost shattering enough to make a listener forget all that had gone before it.” Join us at the Warhol on the evening of March 13^th to see what all the fuss is about.

Tickets in advance through ProArtsTickets $15 for general admission and $10 for students and seniors. Call 412-394-3353 or visit www.proartstickets.org. At the door, general admission is $20 and admission for students and seniors is $15.

Entelechron trio will perform the music of John Cage on Saturday, March 5^th at 8 p.m. at the Andy Warhol Museum. Pianist Robert Frankenberry, cellist David Russell, and violinist/composer Roger Zahab formed entelechron in Akron, Ohio in 1994 when they convened to premiere Zahab’s Illegible Streets. As members of Ohio entelechron, which Zahab describes as “an imaginative utility providing continuous service in all dimensions,” their repertoire encompasses more than seven hundred years of music often involving consultants and guest artists. Frankenberry, Russell, and Zahab are also well known to Pittsburgh new music audiences for their performances with The Music on the Edge Chamber Orchestra (which Zahab directs), IonSound Project, and the Music on the Edge Ensemble.

Entlechron has chosen to beat the rush of Cage performances we can expect to see next year, as 2012 will mark 100 years since the composer’s birth on September 5^th, 1912. During his lifetime, Cage became one of the most recognized avante-garde composers of the 20^th century. He pioneered chance music, electronic music, and non-standard uses of musical instruments such as the prepared piano. Cage loved all types of sound and often included unconventional props in his pieces to create new sound combinations. Water Walk, for example, featured prepared piano, five radios, goose call, rubber ducky, a steaming kettle, a vase of flowers, and a bathtub. Child of Tree (which will be performed on the March 5^th program by guest percussionist Bill Sallak) makes uses of certain plants, such as the cactus, as percussion instruments. Other selections on the upcoming program will include Cage’s Harmonies from Apartment House 1776, Etudes Boreales, Freeman Etudes, Etudes Australes, Music for … (four in this case), and Water Music.

Tickets in advance through ProArtsTickets are $15 for general admission and $10 for students and seniors. Call 412-394-3353 or visit www.proartstickets.org. Ticket at the door are $20 for general admission and $15 for students and seniors.

Keep your eyes peeled for an interview with Roger Zahab on entelechon and John Cage.

Plenty of great sounds to take in this weekend. On Friday night, you can start downtown at 6 p.m. where CAPA’s Antithesis will play Satie, Reich, and Cage along with members’ compositions. After that, swing up to Garfield Artworks to hear Norwegian group Vertex perform on a bill that also includes Radic Sun’til (tribal electronic postrock ensemble) and Dreamweapon (local electronic artist).

Saturday night, MOTE and the Andy Warhol Museum present Jean Kopperud (clarinet) and Tom Kolor (percussion) playing five new pieces commissioned by Kopperud, including Mathew Rosenblum’s Throat.

Many more good concerts coming up, so look for an updated events calendar soon.

If you happen to be in New York this Sunday, the best possible Super Bowl pre-game show will be with Eva Rainforth, Lindsey Goodman, and Rob Frankenberry reprising the recital they gave two weeks ago at Duquesne. The program features works by Roger Zahab, Jeff Nytch, Eli Tamar, Gilda Lyons, Joseph Schwantner, and Amy Williams.

The concert takes place Sunday, February 6, 4 p.m. at

St. Peter’s Episcopal Church
346 W. 20 St. (8-9 Aves)
New York City, NY

MOTE’s next concert takes place on Friday night at Bellefield when Cellist Dave Eggar takes the stage with Chuck Palmer (percussion), Mary Moser (violin), Rob Frankenberry (piano), and Attack Theatre Dancers. Here’s the complete program:

Seize Seas Seeth Seen (2003), Elliott Sharp

Trapped (2008), Somei Satoh

commissioned by and featuring Attack Theatre dancers

Switches, for Dave Eggar (2007), Sam Pluta

Child’s Song (1983) arr. Deoro, Fred Hersch

INTERMISSION

Durations (1953), Morton Feldman

Evocations no. 3, Ralph Shapey

II.

III.

Circadian Rhythms (1989), Mathew Rosenblum

Sweet! Be there!

NOTE: In case you didn’t see it, CAPA’s Antithesis program has been rescheduled for February 18.

Meet Music on the Edge at 117 Sandusky Street at 8 p.m. on February 19th for your next contemporary music fix. There for your listening pleasure, Jean Kopperud, clarinet and Tom Kolor, percussion will perform a show dubbed Rated X II that showcases five premiers that stretch the boundaries of modern music. Selections include Louis Karchin’s Evocations, John Aylward’s Twin Suspension, Mathew Rosenblum’s Throat, Jeff Stadelman’s wills & wonts, and Yiorgos Vassilandonakis’ X-asti. With a full line-up of spanking new music, this show is really what Music on the Edge is all about.

Why is the show called Rated X? Well, let’s just say that Jean Kopperud can do things with a clarinet you didn’t think possible. Seriously, reviewers have described her as ‘superhuman’, ‘staggering’, ‘dazzling’, ‘magnicficent’, ‘sensational’, and the list goes on. A graduate of The Juilliard School, Kopperud has toured the US, Canada, Europe, Japan, China, the Caribbean and Australia as a concert soloist and chamber musician, and she currently performs with The New York New Music Ensemble, Omega, Ensemble 21, Washington Square Chamber Players and University at Buffalo’s Sinfonietta.

Her compatriot and fellow faculty member at the University of Buffalo, Tom Kolor is no less worthy of accolades. Kolor is one of New York City’s most in-demand chamber musicians and can be seen throughout the United States and Europe performing with Talujon Percussion, Manhattan Sinfonietta, Ensemble 21, Sospeso, American Modern Ensemble and Newband.

Tickets can be purchased in advance from ProArtsTickets. Tickets in advance are $15 for general admission and $10 for non-Pitt students and seniors. Call 412-394-3353 or visit www.proartstickets.org. At the door, general admission is $20 and admission for students and seniors is $15. Did we mention that Pitt students are admitted Free with ID? That’s right, tell all your friends!

Bellefield Hall Auditorium
Tickets

20-year old violin phenom Benjamin Beilman continues the Pittsburgh Chamber Music Society’s Bellefield Recital Series with a concert that includes works by Joan Tower and Christopher Rogerson. Find out more about the program here.

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
Sonata in E major, BWV 1016

RICHARD STRAUSS
Sonata in E-flat major, Op. 18

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
Sonata No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001

CHRISTOPHER ROGERSON
Lullaby: no bad dreams

JOAN TOWER
String Force

JENÖ HUBAY
Carmen – Fantasie Brillante, Op. 3, No. 3

Music on the Edge is proud to present cellist Dave Eggar on Friday, February 4 at 8 p.m. in Bellefield Hall Auditorium. Alongside his trio DEORO, featuring Chuck Palmer on drums and bassist Tom Pirozzi, Eggar will perform music by Huang Ro, Somei Satoh, Annie Gosfield, Fred Hersch, and DEORO.

Dave Eggar is well known to Pittsburgh audiences as the music director for Attack Theatre and has appeared worldwide as a solo cellist and pianist. A virtuoso of many musical styles, he has performed and recorded with artists in numerous genres including Evanescence, The Who, Michael Brecker, Josh Groban, Coldplay, Beyonce, Pearl Jam, Fall Out Boy, Dave Sanborn, Kathleen Battle, Ray Lamontagne, Roberta Flack, and many others.

His list of awards and accomplishments includes accolades from Time magazine, ASCAP, the National Endowment for the Arts, Sony Records Elevated Standards Award in classical music, the Geraldine Dodge & Leonard Bernstein Foundations, and at 15 he was the youngest winner in the history of the Artists International Competition.

Are you impressed yet? Don’t just take our word for it. Come out in February and see Dave in action. In the words of Andrea Ruse of EasyReaderNews, “There is nothing this man cannot do and nowhere he cannot go with a cello.”

Tickets are available through ProArtsTickets at 412-394-3353 or proartstickets.org. In advance: $15 for general admission, $10 for non-Pitt students and seniors. At the door: $20 for general admission, $15 for non-Pitt students and seniors. Pitt students are admitted FREE with ID.

Directions to Bellefield Hall: http://www.gsfapittsburgh.org/mapbellefield.htm

Learn more about Dave at his website: http://www.daveeggarmusic.com/bio.php