Pittsburgh New Music Net

loadbang is an exciting, New York-based contemporary music group featuring Pittsburgh native Andy Kozar. loadbang comes into Pittsburgh this week for two concerts—on Saturday night at Garfield Art works and on Sunday night at Trinity Lutheran Church in Freeport. Andy was in town in June and I had a chance to sit down and talk with him about how loadbang formed and what to look forward to during their concerts here. One of the highlights is sure to be a new piece by David Lang, composed especially for loadbang, in which Lang resets the lyrics to Waiting for the Man by the Velvet Underground. You can find out about how it came to be and more in the video below.

If you talk to Imani Winds bassoonist and Pittsburgh native Monica Ellis for very long, it soon dawns on you that a lot of things worked the way they were supposed to: her parents gave unquestioning support to her musical aspirations, dedicated music teachers in Pittsburgh Public Schools provided her with the opportunity to thrive, and Oberlin Conservatory was a place where she could absorb a wide variety of musical and cultural influences (full disclosure—I’m also an Oberlin alum).  When Imani Winds came to Pittsburgh this past February I jumped at the opportunity to interview Monica Ellis for PNMNet. The idea was to focus on the group’s ambitious Legacy Commissioning Project, and their approach to new music. The conversation that eventually took place covered that and much more.

I talked with Monica via Skype and recorded the conversation onto my laptop (it sounds very skype-y), and we decided that the best use of our conversation would be to post the raw-dio. I strongly encourage you to listen to the full conversation to get a sense of just how thoughtful, engergetic, and out and out funny Monica is, but in the meantime, here are some highlights, with audio excerpts, after the jump.

Continue Reading “A Conversation with Monica Ellis”

Violinist Mary Rowell and pianist Geoffrey Burleson will perform at the Warhol on Saturday night (Feb. 21st ) as part of the Music on the Edge/ Warhol collaboration. Mary and Geoff answered some questions via e-mail about their upcoming program, how they approach their art, and where they see contemporary music headed, and they don’t hold back.

PNMN: Your Music on the Edge program at the Warhol covers a really wide range of styles, from Vincent Persichetti to Arvo Pärt to Amy Kohn… those are three very different artists right there. Do you see any overarching theme for the program or was the goal more to represent the variety of contemporary music?

MR: Our programming is based on our own current musical interests with an eye toward interesting juxtapositions that come about by creating a program from these interests. The obvious similarities of George Antheil, Vincent Perschetti and Julia Wolfe of a compositional order of energy and a certain type of urban-ness. Eve Beglarian’s fascination with tone coloring and finding melody and harmony in what seems like noise is complimented by Arvo Pärt’s chant-like Fratres .The whimsical music hall quality of Amy Kohn’s music is touched with a wondrous quality yet can be tied with Antheil’s popular song qualities. Jon Appleton, known for his innovative work and teaching in the electronic medium, is represented here with a new sonata that is reminiscent of Darius Milhaud; tonal, lush and evoking early swing music. I suppose all the program lacks is atonality… It certainly offers many different music voices

GB: One by now very well-established 20th/21st-century musical genre is that of the wacky-stylistic-juxtaposition piece. George Antheil helped to codify this genre in his 1923 Sonata No. 2 for Violin, Piano and Drum, with which we open the program. Phrases of ragtime, stride, sentimental popular song, and grandiose romanticism collide with each other, but are linked by use of the same motifs, and are satirically charged via sudden, unexpected dissonances. Just when you expect a final cadence in F Major, the piano enters with industrial music, with clusters and single notes in rhythmic patterns evoking the music of factory machines. But the piece ends with a soft, plaintive duet between the violin and drums. The juxtapositions within this piece set up the myriad contrasts for the rest of our program, taken from the sublime crazy quilt of American Music: the beautifully crafted, distinctive classicism and romanticism of Persichetti; the intensely spiritual music of Pärt, with its allusions to both ancient chant and to the Baroque Chaconne; the avant-pop of Amy Kohn…

Continue Reading “Mary Rowell and Geoffrey Burleson Tell Us How They Really Feel”

Biava Quartet violist and Greensburg native Mary Persin took time to answer some questions via e-mail about the quartet’s approach to new music and what to expect from their performance for Pittsburgh Chamber Music Society’s Bridges Festival on Saturday night. You will enjoy every word from this thoughtful performer, so read on! You should also check out Andy Druckenbrod’s interview with Mary in yesterday’s PG

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PNMN: The Biava Quartet has been very committed to performing new music. Is that an emphasis that the group had from its inception, or did it emerge gradually?

MP: The Biava Quartet has long had an interest in performing new music.   From the earliest days, our quartet has enjoyed the challenge of  tackling unknown works in an effort to challenge both the audience (and ourselves!) to deepen our exposure to and appreciation of all musical styles.   Not only has this provided greater musical diversity to our programmming, but this has also given us the opportunity to present music that is relevant to our time.  Working with living composers has also provided the chance to understand and embrace music on a deeper level. Through these experiences, we have all gained insight into the challenges that faced the composers of the past, all the while resulting in more vibrant interpretations of both those works as well as the music of today.  As 21st century performers, we all believe firmly that we have a responsibility to commit ourselves to bringing about the next generation of masterworks.  It was, after all, the influence of the great performer composers of the past, the majority of whom were writing music beyond the confines of their own epochs, which inspired all which we now consider canon.

Continue Reading “Biava Violist Mary Persin on New Music, David Stock’s 8th Quartet… and the Super Bowl”