DOCSLIB.ORG

The Music Center's Study Guide to the Performing Arts

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Music Center's Study Guide to the Performing Arts MUSIC TRADITIONAL ARTISTIC PERCEPTION (AP) ® CLASSICAL CREATIVE EXPRESSION (CE) Artsource CONTEMPORARY HISTORICAL & CULTURAL CONTEXT (H/C) The Music Center’s Study Guide to the Performing Arts EXPERIMENTAL AESTHETIC VALUING (AV) MULTI-MEDIA CONNECT, RELATE & APPLY (CRA) ENDURING FREEDOM & THE POWER THE HUMAN TRANSFORMATION VALUES OPPRESSION OF NATURE FAMILY Title of Work: they perform. Powered by a cutting-edge attitude, Bang Cheating. Lying. Stealing. (1995) on a Can is an undeniable force in the search for and cre- Performed by the Bang on a Can All-stars ation of new music. Creators: About The Artwork: Composer: David Lang, Founders: David Lang (b. 1957), Michael Gordon (b. 1958) and Julia Wolfe (b. 1958) David Lang describes Cheating. Lying. Stealing. as an observation of the darker elements within the human Background Information: personality. The piece is a sequence of five sections that Bang on a Can composes and performs pieces that reveal explore different musical textures and emotional limits. an exciting new hybrid of many musical styles, including The music is filled with heavy and aggressive accents rock, classical, folk, world and electronic music. played by all the instruments at different times within American composers Michael Gordon, David Lang and the piece. The instruments you will hear are bass Julia Wolfe founded the Bang on a Can festival in 1987, a clarinet, cello, piano and percussion (marimba, bass one-week marathon of new and innovative music with drum, snare drum, triangle, and the brake drums of a no stylistic restrictions. The Bang on a Can All-stars car). Composed for four musicians, Cheating. Lying. bring this challenging music to life with a combination Stealing. is filled with a wide variety of sounds. of instruments resembling a rock band: drums, bass, Creative Process of the Artist or Culture: electric guitar, keyboards and cello. The All-stars music There is no lead voice in this music; instead each instrument which is funky, gutsy and energetic requires no special participates in creating a variety of moods and feelings musical listening experience to enjoy. Bang on a Can that drive the piece forward. It is a push-and-pull evokes a gamut of moods as they use musical sound to relationship, with each instrument becoming forceful express feelings of joy, fear, excitement, anxiety and for a short period of time, until overpowered by another aggression in a raw fashion. Based in New York City, instrument. This creates an atmosphere of conflict, Bang on a Can developed as a reaction to a divided struggle and anxiety. The musical musical scene that made many musicians feel they didn’t phrasing of the piece suggests images of fit in. Michael, David and Julia fought back by creating twitching, crying, whining, laughing music that reflected their intellect, classical training, and arguing. emotional spirit and urban consciousness. By combining the experiences of a rock show and a classical concert, New York they impact their audiences with a new sensation. Currently Bang on a Can has recorded numerous CDs Photo courtesy of Bang on a Can that include: Industry; Cheating. Lying. Stealing.; and Big “The variety of music in Beautiful Dark and Scary. The depth and talent of these America is one of the musicians and composers is evident in the variety of music great gifts of our time.” David Lang Discussion Questions: Additional References: After listening to the audio: • Talking Music: (Book) Conversations with American • How is this music similar or different to most music- composers by William Duckworth. Da Capo, 1999. played on the radio? Could this music be played at a • Marsalis on Music by Wynton Marsalis (Book w/CD, party? Why or why not? also available on video), Norton, 1995. • Were you able to recognize the instruments in the piece? • www.bangonacan.org • What does it mean to play music that is described as Multidisciplinary Options: cutting-edge? What risks are being taken? • Divide the class into four equal groups. Have each • What is the opposite of cheating, lying and stealing? group develop a simple rhythmic pattern. Figure out How could these opposite ideas be expressed in musical how to start and stop these patterns in unpredictable sound? What instruments would you include? ways. Perform for your classmates. Try having more • What art forms have you experienced? (ballet, rock than one group perform at the same time. and roll, orchestral music, jazz, opera, theater, poetry • With a partner, develop a story that will be accompanied etc.) What were your feelings about the art you heard? by Cheating. Lying. Stealing. Keep in mind the emotional • Does your attitude towards art impact your appreciation content of the piece. Allow the music to be a character of art? How? in the story, by providing several spaces for it to play Summary of the Music Scenario: alone. Since the beginning of the 20th Century, American Sample Experiences: composers and musicians have been creating new and vibrant music. Scott Joplin (1868-1917) was one of the LEVEL I first, creating a unique hybrid of African rhythms and * • Create a simple story with a beginning, middle and European harmonies in his Maple Leaf Rag, composed end for a piece of music. in 1899. Aaron Copland (1900-1990) was the first • Select a piece of music that appeals to you and express American composer to gain international acclaim, how it makes you feel through dance and movement. creating a simple, earthy sound that also borrowed LEVEL II themes and ideas from folk music. Duke Ellington * • Create vocal sounds that represent a human emotion (1889-1974) also had a distinct musical voice which he or human trait. shared in his many compositions for the jazz Big Band • Listen to three to five differing styles of music - rock, sound. Over time American music developed many jazz, blues, salsa, classical, etc. Discuss their similarities styles - blues, jazz, rock-’n’-roll, country, rap, hip-hop, and differences. and variations of classical music. As ideas evolve, these • Write the lyrics to a song about your life. Describe styles get mixed and matched in very exciting ways. In what the music of this song would sound like. fact, rock-’n’-roll began as a combination of country music and the blues. The members of Bang on a Can LEVEL III are influenced by the constant musical activity that * • Learn some techniques that help musicians communicate came before them and that still continues today. emotions on their instruments. • Examine the emotional content of three popular songs Audio-Visual Materials: on the radio. What do these songs make you feel or • Artsource® audio: Cheating. Lying. Stealing. Composed think? by David Lang, from the 1995 album Cheating. Lying. • Ask older members of your family or community to Stealing. Performed by the Bang on a Can share songs that make them feel happy or sad. Bring All-stars. recordings of these songs to share with your class. * Indicates sample lessons 2 MUSIC MUSICAL STORIES TRANSFORMATION LEVEL I Sample Lesson INTRODUCTION: Listening to music can be very similar to listening to a story. As listeners we naturally interpret the meaning of the music we are listening to in some way. Music may conjure up images, ideas, memories, emotions and landscapes in our minds. Although Cheating. Lying. Stealing. is not a specific story, it does have a story-like quality. Emotions play a big part in this musical story, but they might not be the emotions that you expect. Music can help us use our imaginations, and with our imaginations we can create great things through drawings, paintings, songs and stories. OBJECTIVES: (Student Outcomes) Students will be able to: • Demonstrate a greater understanding of the connection between human emotion and music. (Artistic Perception) • Identify the five main sections in the composition, Cheating. Lying. Stealing. (Artistic Perception) • Create an interpretive story to go with the musical composition, Cheating. Lying. Stealing. (Creative Expression) • Describe, discuss, analyze and connect information and experiences based on this lesson. Refer to Assessment at the end of this lesson. (Aesthetic Valuing) MATERIALS: • The Bang on a Can All Stars Artsource® audio: Cheating. Lying. Stealing. by David Lang. PROGRESSION: • Give some background information on Bang on a Can. • Explain to the students that in music the word “lick” refers to an interesting or difficult short phrase. Musicians may compliment each other by saying, “Hey, that was a cool lick you played.” • Ask the students to give their impressions of the music and the way the musicians perform and interact. 3 • Read the following example of a story that interprets the musical composition, Cheating. Lying. Stealing. A Cheating. Lying. Stealing. Musical Story: PART ONE (The instruments will be characters in the story) All the instruments are home; the cello, bass clarinet, piano, marimba, triangle, bass drum and brake drums. Three notes sneak in to the house, soft at first then getting louder quickly. Bang! They’ve become an unreliable rhythmic phrase, starting and stopping, clanking and jerking. This music is different, but at least everyone is home and safe. After a few minutes the Piano becomes anxious and nervous and convinces the other instruments that they are in danger, “maybe this kind of music isn’t safe to play.” The instruments leave home. PART TWO - @ 3 min.50 sec. The Marimba starts mumbling and the Cello and Bass Clarinet begin to cry, they really didn’t want to leave home. The Piano twitches and the Triangle feels lost. Feelings and emotions become part of the music. Leaving home can be a little scary. PART THREE - @ 5 min. 45 sec. The Cello and Bass Clarinet regain their composure and devise a plan to get back, “ let’s try to remember the music we played at home.” The Brake Drums think they remember the way, “follow us.” PART FOUR - @ 6 min.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • SFCMP Announces Its Season-Opening Concert Featuring A
    Contact: Sheryl Lynn Thomas [email protected] (415) 633-8802 Press kits SAN FRANCISCO (September 18, 2018) - San Francisco Contemporary Music Players (SFCMP) announces ​ ​ its season-opening concert featuring a celebration of the music of Elliott CARTER on Saturday, October 20, ​ ​ 2018 at the Taube Atrium Theater in San Francisco. The on STAGE Series features large-ensemble ​ ​ ​ ​ contemporary works of the most influential and innovative composers of the 20th and 21st centuries. Carter was the grandest of the grand American composers from the 20th century, who lived beyond his 100th birthday and yet wrote music that was fresh, inventive, and forward-looking to the very end of life. SFCMP welcomes its newly arrived artistic director, Eric DUDLEY, with a program featuring three of Carter’s works, including the ​ ​ rhythmically energetic and emotionally powerful Penthode for twenty players. Complementing Carter’s enduring ​ ​ voice will be a wry work by the young American composer, Asher Tobin CHODOS, written for an instrumentation ​ ​ uniquely drawn from Carter’s Penthode, plus Canadian composer Sabrina SCHROEDER’s Bone Games/Shy ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Garden, an essay in the sensuality of noises. The series will begin with our popular How Music is Made ​ ​ Composer Talk and Open Rehearsal with composer Tobin Chodos. Audiences can expect to see a number of compositional voices brought into the mix that have never been a part ​ of the ensemble’s lexicon. This season-opening performance will begin with Asher Tobin Chodos, a young California-based composer who will showcase his world premiere of Big Show, an Elliot Carter-inspired piece ​ ​ commissioned by SFCMP. In his piece Big Show, Chodos exhibits a fresh take on aspects of Carter’s work: ​ ​ “Carter’s endlessly stimulating polyphonic writing has been seen by many as a sort of musical version of an idealized democracy: a harmony that emerges from many dissenting voices.
    [Show full text]
  • Deconstructing David Lang's the Anvil Chorus
    Columbus State University CSU ePress Theses and Dissertations Student Publications 2014 Deconstructing David Lang's The Anvil Chorus Brandon M. Smith Columbus State University Follow this and additional works at: https://csuepress.columbusstate.edu/theses_dissertations Part of the Music Education Commons Recommended Citation Smith, Brandon M., "Deconstructing David Lang's The Anvil Chorus" (2014). Theses and Dissertations. 113. https://csuepress.columbusstate.edu/theses_dissertations/113 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Publications at CSU ePress. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of CSU ePress. Deconstructing David Lang's The Anvil Chorus by Brandon Michael Smith A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of Requirements of the CSU Honors Program for Honors in the Degree of Bachelor of Music in Music Education College of the Arts Columbus State University Thesis Advisor Committee Member Dr. Sean Powell Honors Committee Member J&^^ f Date [g^SjLS ' Dr. Susan Tomkiewicz Honors Program Director ^trkO^h^C^^ Date £&Q indy Ticknor 1 Usually, when a piece of music is taken out of context, that is, when it is learned and performed without studying the piece, the composer, the musical genre, or the historical significance, the understanding of it for the performer is narrow and limited and the performance is less than ideal. This leads to a substandard realization of the music. Contrarily, a musician should integrate research with the learning process as to enhance the comprehensive understanding of the piece, which ultimately results in a high level of performance. This idea is important for the complex and extensive musical repertoire of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
    [Show full text]
  • 2015 ANNUAL REPORT Pictured (Top to Bottom, L-R)
    OUR 2015 ANNUAL REPORT Pictured (top to bottom, l-r): Shawn Patterson and vocalist Sammy Allen at the 2015 ASCAP Film & TV Music Awards Latin Heritage Award honorees La Original Banda el Limón at the 2015 ASCAP Latin Music Awards ASCAP Golden Note Award honoree Lauryn Hill at the 2015 R&S Awards Lady Antebellum at the 2015 ASCAP Country Music Awards Dave Grohl congrat- ulates Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley on their ASCAP Found- ers Award at the 2015 ASCAP Pop Awards Cast members from Invisible Thread with Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award winners Matt Gould (at piano) & Griffin Matthews (far right) at the 2015 ASCAP Foundation Awards The American Con- temporary Music En- semble (ACME) at the 2015 ASCAP Concert Music Awards Annual Report design by Mike Vella 2015 Annual Report Contents 4 16 OUR MISSION Our ASCAP Our Success We are the world leader in performance 6 18 royalties, advocacy and service for Our Growth Our Celebration songwriters, composers and music publishers. Our mission is to ensure that 8 20 Our Board Our Licensing our music creator members can thrive Partners alongside the businesses who use our 10 music, so that together, we can touch Our Advocacy 22 Our Commitment the lives of billions. 12 Our Innovation 24 Our Communication 14 Our Membership 25 Financial Overview 3 OUR ASCAP USIC IS AN ART. AND MUSIC IS A BUSINESS. The beauty of ASCAP, as conceived by our visionary founders over 100 years ago, is that it serves to foster both music and commerce so that each partner in this relationship can flourish.
    [Show full text]
  • The Annenberg Center Appoints Marc Baylin As Artistic Advisor and Programming Consultant
    NEWS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 8, 2021 The Annenberg Center Appoints Marc Baylin as Artistic Advisor and Programming Consultant (Philadelphia – April 8, 2021) — Marc Baylin, a longtime leader in the national performing arts landscape, has been appointed Artistic Advisor and Programming Consultant at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Pennsylvania. “We are excited to welcome Marc in his capacity as Artistic Advisor and Programming Consultant, as we continue to expand our programming, and plan for our return to in-person events and the Annenberg Center’s upcoming 50th anniversary,” said Annenberg Center Executive and Artistic Director Christopher Gruits. “Marc's tremendous experience in the performing arts combined with his established Philadelphia connections makes him incredibly well-suited to working with our team to shape dynamic, contemporary, and truly inclusive performance programming.” “I am beyond thrilled to join the excellent team at the Annenberg Center,” said Baylin. “Helping to shape their 50th anniversary season is a terrific opportunity.” Marc Baylin, a resident of Doylestown, PA, has over thirty years of experience as an arts entrepreneur, project developer, and artist manager, with extensive expertise in touring, presenting, and special event management. As founder and President of Baylin Artists Management, he oversees a professional staff and guides the curation of the roster while leading the marketing efforts and business operations. In February 2020, he announced that Baylin Artists Management would sunset in 2021, after 28 years in operation. He spent the better part of 2020 navigating the pandemic and assisting the artists with new management. In a new collaboration with Alliance Artist Management, six companies move to that roster beginning with the 21-22 season.
    [Show full text]
  • Suffering and Social Conscience in the Passion Genre from JS Bach's
    Messiahs and Pariahs: Suffering and Social Conscience in the Passion Genre from J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion (1727) to David Lang’s the little match girl passion (2007) Johann Jacob Van Niekerk A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts University of Washington 2014 Reading Committee: Giselle Wyers, Chair Geoffrey Boers Shannon Dudley Program Authorized to Offer Degree: School of Music ©Copyright 2014 Johann Jacob Van Niekerk University of Washington Abstract Messiahs and Pariahs: Suffering and Social Conscience in the Passion Genre from J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion (1727) to David Lang’s the little match girl passion (2007) Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Giselle Wyers Associate Professor of Choral Music and Voice The themes of suffering and social conscience permeate the history of the sung passion genre: composers have strived for centuries to depict Christ’s suffering and the injustice of his final days. During the past eighty years, the definition of the genre has expanded to include secular protagonists, veiled and not-so-veiled socio- political commentary and increased discussion of suffering and social conscience as socially relevant themes. This dissertation primarily investigates David Lang’s Pulitzer award winning the little match girl passion, premiered in 2007. David Lang’s setting of Danish author and poet Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Match Girl” interspersed with text from the chorales of Johann Sebastian Bach’s St. Matthew Passion (1727) has since been performed by several ensembles in the United States and abroad, where it has evoked emotionally visceral reactions from audiences and critics alike.
    [Show full text]
  • Bang on a Can Announces Onebeat Marathon #2 Live Online! Sunday, May 2, 2021 from 12PM - 4PM EDT
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Press contact: Maggie Stapleton, Jensen Artists 646.536.7864 x2, [email protected] Bang on a Can Announces OneBeat Marathon #2 Live Online! Sunday, May 2, 2021 from 12PM - 4PM EDT A Global Music Celebration curated and hosted by Found Sound Nation. Four Hours of LIVE Music at live.bangonacan.org Note: An embed code for the OneBeat Marathon livestream will be available to press upon request, to allow for hosting the livestream on your site. The OneBeat Virtual Marathon is back! OneBeat, a singular global music exchange led by our Found Sound Nation team, employs collaborative original music as a potent new form of cultural diplomacy. We are thrilled to present this second virtual event, showcasing creative musicians who come together to make music, not war. The OneBeat Marathon brings together disparate musical communities, offering virtuosic creators a space to share their work. These spectacular musicians join us from across the globe, from a wide range of musical traditions. They illuminate our world, open our ears, and break through the barriers that keep us apart. - Julia Wolfe, Bang on a Can co-founder and co-artistic director Brooklyn, NY — Bang on a Can is excited to present the second OneBeat Marathon – Live Online – on Sunday, May 2, 2021 from 12PM - 4PM ET, curated by Found Sound Nation, its social practice and global collaboration wing. Over four hours the OneBeat Marathon will share the power of music and tap into the most urgent and essential sounds of our time. From the Kyrgyz three-stringed komuz played on the high steppe, to the tranceful marimba de chonta of Colombia's pacific shore, to the Algerian Amazigh highlands and to the trippy organic beats of Bombay’s underground scene – OneBeat finds a unifying possibility of sound that ties us all together.
    [Show full text]
  • The Little Match Girl Passion a CONDUCTOR’S GUIDE
    DAVID LANG’S the little match girl passion A CONDUCTOR’S GUIDE JOHANN JACOB VAN NIEKERK Johann Jacob Van Niekerk Assistant Professor of Music Centre College [email protected] 8 CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 56 Number 2 David Lang’s the little match girl chorus version in 2008, published passion is an unusual piece on many by Red Poppy Music and available levels. Lang (b. 1957) combines the for rent from G. Schirmer Inc. It is story of Christ’s crucifi xion—based most suitable for professional choirs on Bach’s treatment thereof in his and more experienced university and St. Matthew Passion (1727) —with the community groups. story of “The Little Match Girl,” a The passion genre is a genre that fairytale by Hans Christian Ander- extends back more than seven cen- sen that tells the harrowing tale of turies, and Lang reworks this format a little girl who freezes to death on into a vehicle that allows the audience a cold New Year’s Eve in Denmark. to not only witness the slow demise The music for the little match girl pas- of the innocent girl but more impor- sion is equally unusual. Lang’s use of tantly to feel as if they were somehow minimalist cells, expanded over fi fteen part of this injustice. It is this sense of movements, is unlike any other stan- complicity that has largely contrib- dard piece in the choral repertoire. uted to the work’s universal success. The composition, while tricky at fi rst Reactions have been astounding: on sight, eff ortlessly weaves these cells a critical level it has been lauded since into an approachable and relatable its premiere and was awarded the idiom for singers and audiences alike.
    [Show full text]
  • Volume I (Final) Proofread
    UCLA UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title The Influence of Pop Music in the Works of Three Contemporary American Composers: Steven Mackey, Julia Wolfe and Nico Muhly Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5h4626dd Author Lee, Hyunjong Publication Date 2014 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles The Influence of Pop Music in the Works of Three Contemporary American Composers: Steven Mackey, Julia Wolfe and Nico Muhly A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctoral of Philosophy in Music by Hyunjong Lee 2014 © copyright by Hyunjong Lee 2014 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION The Influence of Pop Music in the Works of Three Contemporary American Composers: Steven Mackey, Julia Wolfe and Nico Muhly by Hyunjong Lee Doctor of Philosophy in Music University of California, Los Angeles, 2014 Professor Ian Krouse, Chair There are two volumes in this dissertation: the first is a monograph, and the second a musical composition, both of which are described below. Volume I These days, labels such as classical, rock and pop mean less and less since young musicians frequently blur boundaries between genres. These young musicians have built an alternative musical universe. I construct five different categories to explore this universe. They are 1) circuits of alternate concert venues, 2) cross-genre collaborations, 3) alternative modes of musical groups, 4) new compositional trends in classical chamber music, and 5) new ensembles and record labels. ii In this dissertation, I aim to explore these five categories, connecting them to recent cultural trends in New York.
    [Show full text]
  • Getting Over the Shock of the New
    GETTING OVER THE SHOCK OF THE NEW CONTEMPORARY IS SYMPHONIC MUSIC Thomas Dausgaard conducts the Seattle Symphony GETTING OVER THE SHOCK OF THE NEW AGE COMING OF BY GREG CAHILL here is a creepy bloodlust to orchestra will premiere the rest of the it,” he says. “That alertness to what the com- the doom-mongering of clas- works in future seasons. poser actually wrote, rather than what might sical music, as though an Indeed, a look at major orchestras around have become standard practice, is an inspira- “T autopsy were being con- the United States shows that contemporary tion for me when working on music by dead ducted on a still-breathing body,” William symphonic works are slowly, but surely, mak- composers we can no longer ask questions of. Robin wrote in the New Yorker in a 2014 ing inroads into program schedules. For So much of what we perform is written by article about perpetual reports of the example, subscribers to the Chicago Sym- people long gone; it can be frustrating never genre’s death. “What if each commentator phony Orchestra’s 2020–21 season can to be able to ask them, never to see how their decided, instead, to Google ‘young com- expect a generous serving of Brahms, Cho- faces light up when they hear their music poser’ or ‘new chamber ensemble’ and write pin, Schubert, Schumann, Debussy, Ravel, coming to life. a compelling profile of a discovery?” and Scriabin. But the orchestra also will per- “So what a joy it is as performer and audi- That’s good advice, especially since form two world premieres of CSO-commis- ence to be around living composers and young composers are providing an infusion sioned works by American composer Gabriela enrich the experience of hearing and per- of new blood into the modern orchestra.
    [Show full text]
  • Anthracite Fields Bay Area Premiere Performed by Bang on a Can All-Stars and Cappella Sf Sunday, February 26
    CONTACT: Louisa Spier Jeanette Peach Cal Performances Cal Performances (510) 643-6714 (510) 642-9121 [email protected] [email protected] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 17, 2017 Press Room Images of Julia Wolfe and Bang on a Can All-Stars available in the press room. CAL PERFORMANCES AT UC BERKELEY PRESENTS JULIA WOLFE’S PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING ORATORIO, ANTHRACITE FIELDS BAY AREA PREMIERE PERFORMED BY BANG ON A CAN ALL-STARS AND CAPPELLA SF SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 26 Berkeley, January 17, 2017—Cal Performances welcomes new music champions Bang on a Can All-Stars to Zellerbach Hall for the Bay Area Premiere of Julia Wolfe’s Pulitzer Prize-winning oratorio, Anthracite Fields, on Sunday, February 26, at 7pm. Wolfe’s concert-length work, scored for electric sextet and choir, is inspired by the stories of coal-mining families in Pennsylvania at the turn of the 20th century. For the performance, Bang on a Can is joined by Bay Area esteemed new music choir, Cappella SF, directed by Ragnar Bohlin. The Los Angeles Times wrote, Anthracite Fields “captures not only the sadness of hard lives lost...but also the sweetness and passion of a way Cal Performances / Julia Wolfe: Anthracite Fields, page 2 of daily life now also lost. The music compels without overstatement. This is a major, profound work.” Named after the technical term for the purest form of coal, anthracite, Anthracite Fields was developed through Wolfe’s extensive research about the coal-mining industry in an area very near where she grew up in Pennsylvania. Wolfe’s music is often distinguished by an intense physicality and rhythmic drive, and she freely crosses the boundaries between classical, jazz, rock, world, and experimental music in her acclaimed works.
    [Show full text]
  • Story Time by Alex Ross the New Yorker April 28, 2014
    Story Time by Alex Ross The New Yorker April 28, 2014 Zankel Hall, the coolly futuristic space beneath the main auditorium of Carnegie Hall, opened a decade ago, amid what turned out to be a golden age of adventurous programming at the Carnegie complex. John Adams oversaw a crazy­quilt festival; far­seeing composers like Frederic Rzewski and Meredith Monk shared space with Youssou N’Dour and Ustad Vilayat Khan; John Cage and Morton Feldman, musical leaders of the heroic mid­century generation that also produced Abstract Expressionism, were celebrated more than five decades after their first meeting, which took place in the Carnegie lobby, as both men fled a performance of Rachmaninoff’s “Symphonic Dances.” These days, Carnegie follows a more conservative line: Rachmaninoff takes precedence over Cage and Feldman. But Zankel remains a welcoming space for wayward artists, and this month it will host “Collected Stories,” a six­concert series curated by the Pulitzer Prize­winning composer David Lang, who occupies the Richard and Barbara Debs Composer’s Chair at Carnegie. Lang explores the various ways in which music suggests a narrative: each program is tagged with a topic (“hero,” “spirit,” “love/loss,” “travel,” “(post)folk,” “memoir”), and yet each presents a sharp internal contrast, with seemingly disparate styles juxtaposed. The tone is set by the first event, at which Benjamin Bagby’s bardic recitation of “Beowulf” will give way to the barbaric yawps of Harry Partch, who found an epic breadth in nineteen­thirties hobo culture. In later concerts, audiences will hear “Passio,” Arvo Pärt’s impassive meditation on the Crucifixion of Christ; a spell of Tuvan throat­singing; folk­tinged pieces by Julia Wolfe, Nico Muhly, and Donnacha Dennehy; and, in a detour back into the Romantic mainstream, Liszt’s sprawling pianistic travelogue “Années de Pèlerinage.” Such groups as Alarm Will Sound, Ensemble Signal, and the early­music collective TENET participate; Louis Lortie, in a three­hour marathon, confronts the Liszt.
    [Show full text]
  • | Generational Frontiers |
    CON L’ADESIONE DEL PRESIDENTE DELLA REPUBBLICA Fondazione Ente dello Spettacolo via G. Palombini, 6 - 00165 Roma - Tel. +39.06.96519200 - Fax +39.06.96519220 [email protected] - www.tertiomillenniofilmfest.org | GENERATIONAL FRONTIERS | CON IL SOSTEGNO DI: IN COLLABORAZIONE CON: SPONSOR: 14 PROGRAMMA | PROGRAMME | Cinema Sala Trevi - Vicolo del Puttarello, 25 - Roma | | GENERATIONAL FRONTIERS | dicembre | december 2010 dicembre | december 2010 08 EVENTO SPECIALE | SPECIAL EVENT 09 VARIAZIONI SUL TEMA | 16.30 VARIATIONS ON THE THEME Intonazija. Sergej Slonimskij, kompositor 16.30 dicembre | december 2010 di | by Aleksandr Sokurov | 45’ Park Mark EVENTO SPECIALE | SPECIAL EVENT di | by Baktash Abtin | 42’ 07 EVENTO SPECIALE | SPECIAL EVENT Introduce | Introducing by Federico Pontiggia 16.30 17.30 Intonazija. Boris Averin, filolog Intonazija. Vladimir Yakunin, president OAO EVENTO SPECIALE | SPECIAL EVENT di | by Aleksandr Sokurov | 33’ Rossijskie železnye dorogi 18.15 EVENTO SPECIALE | SPECIAL EVENT di | by Aleksandr Sokurov | 45’ Intonazija. Boris Averin, filolog di | by Aleksandr Sokurov | 33’ 17.00 EVENTO SPECIALE | SPECIAL EVENT Intonazija. Arsen Kanokov, 18.30 EVENTO SPECIALE | SPECIAL EVENT president respubliki Kabardino-Balkaria WEDNESDAY Intonazija. Valerij Zor’kin, predsedatel’ 19.00 di | by Aleksandr Sokurov | 41’ | Konstituzionnogo suda Rossijskoj Federazii Intonazija. Arsen Kanokov, 18.00 di | by Aleksandr Sokurov | 50’ president respubliki Kabardino-Balkaria THURSDAY di | by Aleksandr Sokurov | 41’ Incontro con | Meeting with TESTIMONIANZE | PERSONAL STORIES | | Ornella Muti e | and Andrea Facchinetti 20.00 20.00 20.00 La morte rouge Incontro con | Meeting with TUESDAY Incontro con | Meeting with Aleksandr Sokurov di | by Víctor Erice | 32’ Mahamat-Saleh Haroun | 2010 | | | e presentazione del libro | and book presentation: Introduce | Introducing by Alberto Barbera Modera | Chairman Valerio Sammarco Osservare l’incanto.
    [Show full text]