Composer Portraits: John Zorn at Miller Theater

Miller Theater at Columbia University

A sold out night and many of the NY contemporary music gang was there, for instance, Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, Uri Caine, Kaija Saariaho, Richard Carrick, David Shively, Matt McBane, Vicky Chow, Scott Johnson, Christian Carey, Steve Dalachinsky, Yuko Otomo, and Annie Gosfield. Zorn’s compositions were all over the map and that’s good news; we got to hear his multiple musical interests and four world premieres in one night. “Bateau Ivre” (2011) by the Talea Ensemble and “Illuminations” (2010) was performed by the stellar trio of Kenny Wollesen, drums; Trevor Dunn, bass; Steve Gosling, piano. Zorn was sitting on stage conducting in his iconic garb of black tee shirt and orange-hued camouflage pants. “Passagen” (2011) Jennifer Koh, solo violin: virtuosic performance. “Cerebus” (2010) was for brass with Peter Evans, trumpet; David Taylor, bass trombone; Marcus Rojas, tuba and was a strange one not because of the use of many extended techniques — coughing, growling, sucking, blowing, whistling in the instruments and the use of a variety of mutes but because it sounded circusy much of the time. Oh well. Zorn’s entitled to romp and play, right? After intermission which included an amusing conversation on stage between Zorn and Fred Sherry, where Zorn emphasized that he wants the paper score to inspire the performers as he is inspired by the new batch of players like ICE, JACK, Signal, Brooklyn Riders. The concert’s final piece was “A Rebours” (2010), a New York premiere. Fred Sherry solo cello with an ensemble of 10 performers including three percussionists; Brad Ludman conducting. Then on to the surprise of the evening. At 11pm at St. Paul’s Chapel John Zorn performed solo on organ. The joint was packed and we heard all sorts of music, showing off not only his performance and composing talents but also the multitude of textures available on the organ from bird chirps to thunderous rolls. Another fascinating evening of music. I’ll miss NY.

Steve Smith’s NYTimes review

BAM

Brooklyn Academy of Music

6 pm
Iconic Artist Talk Trevor Carlson, moderator with Daniel Arsham, stage design; Gavin Bryars, composer, performer; Paul Kaiser, media/set design; Patricia Lent,Cunningham Dance Co.

These pre-performance talks are very helpful and interesting as I didn’t know the history of the Company. For one, I learned that Gavin Bryars has a very good and wry sense of humor.

7:30 The Legacy Tour

I don’t mean to be overly effusive but . . . this was one of the most beautiful performances I have ever experienced. It was glorious. The first piece was “Second Hand” (1970). It was sparse with no redundancy whatsoever. Robert Swinton began with spare movements; the stage was bare, and the music was solo piano beautifully performed by David Behrman. The other dancers joined in but remained minimal rather than lavish. The costumes, designed by Jasper Johns, were tights of complementary colors each different but, as we could see only during the final bows, related and blended with each other. The second piece was “Biped” (1999). Music by Gavin Bryar who performed on double bass and synthesizer along with Loren Dempster – cello, John King – electric guitar, Takehisa Kosugi – violin and percussion. The costumes by Suzanne Gallo, the decor by Paul Kaiser and Shelley Eshkar, and lighting by Aaron Copp. I mention all the collaborators as, to me, the performance was truly awesome because of these components. The dancers performed behind a scrim upon which beautiful images were projected: light beams, circles and, best of all, line sketches of dancers who filled the scrim vertically and moved across the stage. I shouldn’t admit this but it brought tears to my eyes and that doesn’t happen so often. Robert Irwin and Van Gogh can have the same effect on me. Once again, I wish I had more descriptive powers. This was a night I will not forget: pure beauty.

St. Ann's Warehouse

I read a great review in the NYTimes http://nyti.ms/sxLKH3 of this play and decided it was one I couldn’t miss. That was wise of me. I had never been to St. Ann’s Warehouse before and was impressed with the venue. It’s a big space with riser seating which is always good as big tall people usually sit right in front of me and with risers this doesn’t matter. The play was written and directed by Enda Walsh, an Irishman and was co-produced by the Galway Arts Festival Production and Landmark Productions and this production was the American Premiere. The composer of the very good and effective music is Donnacha Dennehy of the Crash Ensemble in Dublin. The solo performer was Cillian Murphy (with recorded voices of his mother, Edel and a few other characters). The entire stage was used, side to side and top to bottom. It looked like a huge warehouse with small settings of home kitchen, workspace and a cemetery with crosses made of soda cans. The story was of Thomas Magill, an innocent and desperate young man trying to be good and moral by finding God and spreading The Word. He was mocked by his neighbors, hit on by a waitress and lost his mind. We see this madness begin when he can’t turn off the singing, “Everybody Loves Somebody” by Doris Day. Who wouldn’t go mad over that? The barking dogs, the vision of an angel, the mocking neighbors all serve as a catalyst for his descent. I found the entire production fascinating.

David Lam, Tiger

Graduate Acting Program NYU Tisch School of the Arts

Whitney Hunter, the Choreographer and my friend, invited me to this production at the Atlas Theater. It was a grad student production and very well done indeed. It was the story of a Tiger Mom (who demands “It’s simple, just do as I say”), her kids and their friends during the last year of high school and then, during the second act, later on in life. I was impressed by the sets, the costumes which were varied and lavish. I wish I could have snapped more photos but didn’t dare.

The music was effective and the dance and movement was great, particularly Andrew Hovelson who played the role of “the old fashioned traveling salesman” but dressed like one of those metal painted mime/statues seen in the parks. He portrayed emotion without moving like a human. All the actors did a stellar job with their roles showing the humor and angst of growing up (does it ever end?). I am so lucky to have new friends in NY who introduce me to music, art, dance, theater I wouldn’t know otherwise. Thank you.

Ensemble Moto Perpetuo

DiMenna Center at the Baryshnikov Art Center

It was a special night. As a San Diegan and UCSD Music graduate, I was thrilled to learn that UCSD Music Department’s Anna Thorvaldsdottir and Philippe Manoury compositions were being performed. Anna just received her Doctorate and Philippe is a composition professor. As the audience entered, EMP musicians were spaced around the room playing “Collective Improvisation 1 for Chamber Orchestra and 4 Laptops.” It was created by Nicholas Nelson and Amir Shpilman with bits from this evenings compositions to pay tribute to the composers Manoury, Jason Eckardt and Thorvaldsdottir. A nice way to welcome the audience to this lovely venue. The opening piece was “Trespass for Solo Piano and Chamber Ensemble” (2006) by Jason Eckardt. I enjoyed the quiet piano solo section a lot. The NY Premiere of Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s “Hrim” (2011) was next. I have listened to this gorgeous piece many times on “Rhizoma,” her debut album (2011) with music performed by the Caput Ensemble, the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, and Justin DeHart (UCSD pianist). First, let me say, that so far everything I know about Iceland is wonderful (see Oct. 1-11 on my blog), and this includes the musicians. The “Hrim” liner notes say, “The Icelandic title refers to the gradual growth of crystals, a notion paralleled in the piece not only by the frosty shimmer of individual sounds, but also in the ways these sounds cling together as clusters of activity outlining moments of greater structural importance and as threads of memory echoing throughout the work’s duration.” I couldn’t have said it better myself! Beautiful shimmering is exactly what it did and who doesn’t love that especially when includes drama enhanced by oboe and strings. A fashion aside: Anna wore a stylish red and black dress which reminded me of the big hall at Harpa Music Center in Iceland which is red and black symbolizing volcanos. www.annathorvalds.com. I have long been an admirer of Philippe Manoury but have heard only two of his compositions performed live, “En Echo” for voice and live electronics and “Partita 1” for viola and live electronics. This night was the US Premiere of a larger ensemble piece, “Instants Pluriels” (2008). There were two ensembles facing away from each other, each with a conductor, Mahir Cetiz and Nicholas DeMaison. Seven musicians in one and eight in the other with little duplicate instrumentation; there was a violin and percussion in each ensemble, the rest consisted of different instruments. The music each ensemble played was different but deliciously synced up at various points; the music was intricate without chaos. Another mesmerizing piece by Monsieur Manoury. He was in Paris and sorry not to be able to attend. This was a favorite evening of music. Anna, her husband, Hrafn Ásgeirsson, and I met the next day for lunch and talked about music, philosophy (his forte), and wonderful Iceland.

Works and guests

Michel Gentile, flute; Daniel Kelly, piano; Rob Garcia, drums.

Brooklyn Conservatory of Music

This is a monthly series presented by Connections Works who invite different musical guests to join them each month.
The first time I have been to this venue and it works well: good stage, wood floors, seats about 60-80 people. The compositions were mostly by each of the performers, opening with “Kim” by Marty and ending with “Fiasco” by Paul Motion, in his honor. During intermission Daniel led an interview and Q&A with Marty and Jerome where they talked about their history from 1973 when they were students at New England Conservatory. As just part of their history, both played with Julius Hemphill, Jerome played with Sonny Rollins for 13 years and Marty with Andrew Hill for 5 year. The music this night was just what I needed: a time to just sit back and enjoy. The musicians even smiled too.

Marc Ducret

Trio of Marc Ducret, guitar; Tim Berne, sax; Gerald Cleaver, drums

I was particularly looking forward to this concert because of Marc Ducret’s participation who I had not heard live before. Stephane Berland, of Ayler Records, and I have become email friends and he sent me some of Marc’s CDs. I was not disappointed. Marc played guitar with great technique, imagination and style, some of which I had never before heard. Tim and Gerald played with their usual excellence.

Brooklyn Lights

BAM Howard Gilman Opera House

Here was a dance/theater performance that was terrific, had a serious story to tell but was also fun. There was an interesting and informative pre-performance talk with Paul Lazar, Annie-B Parson Co-Directors – Parson is also the Choreographer – and Anne Carson, translator of “Alkestis” written by Euripides in 438 BC. Since I know nothing about Greek Mythology, the talk was very helpful. Lazar, when asked about the name “Supernatural Wives,” he said truthfully that it was for marketing purposes as Greek Tragedy is not always a big draw! One of the quotes I liked, or at least took notice, is “We are all debts owed to Death.” This is a mythic tale of King Admetos who avoids death by arranging to send a surrogate to die in his place. His wife, Alkestis, volunteers for the assignment; hence the drama unfolds. The panelists talked about psychological and mythical differences and how Euripides leaves one in the midst of life questions and how the severe and relentless shifts between comedy and tragedy are portrayed throughout the performance. The performance opened with Big Music, rock and roll-like; the women in pants and the men in skirts — off to a good start. The cast consisted of 3 women and 3 men. The role of King is performed by Molly Hickok so messing with gender roles seemed part of the play. I was impressed and entertained by the whole deal: the acting, the dancing, the story, the costumes, the videos and the music, some of which was our BoaC guy, David Lang. He does such interesting work, including the music for one of my favorite movies, “Untitled.” Hercules makes an impressive appearance loudly playing a drum set, flexing his big muscles and being oh so manly (and funny too). Chris Giarmo, one of the dancers was also a fabulous singer. In the notes it mentions he is also in Muhly’s new opera, “Dark Sisters” and is working on his first album which I plan to buy. Overall a good night. Love those.

Joyce Theater

I really wanted to like this dance performance by Choreographer Martha Clarke and Playwright Alfred Uhry mainly because my friend Whitney Hunter was one of the dancers and I was his guest this evening. I saw the Tero Saarinen Dancers perform their magnificent performance, “Borrowed Light,” also about Shakers so it was hard, no impossible, not to compare the two performances. Both companies had Shaker traditional spirituals sung a cappella music, for instance, “A Gift to be Simple.” However, Saarinen’s singers were the Boston Oratorio and Clarke’s were the dancers. The Clarke costumes were boring while Saarinen’s were long black cape-like outfits which whirled gloriously. http://www.terosaarinen.com/en/works/all_creations/ Saarinen’s piece showed beauty along with the simplicity.

My biggest complaint with Angel Reapers was conceptual. Often during this performance, the Shakers were made to seem down-right crazy and really portrayed only suffering and strife. Now I am not at all religious but I do think that the Shakers, the Quakers and the Mennonites were/are peace loving people and there was more to their lives than angst. One happy spot was where Whitney portrayed his character’s worship by a joyful dance, the only joyful movement of the night. Another interesting, I guess, minute was when three of the male dancers appeared on stage naked except for their boots. Why, I have no idea, but then again male dancer’s booty is nice to see.