This week: concerts in New York (April 28 – May 4, 2014)

Sequitur, Mivos Quartet, loadbang | Cutting Edge Concerts New Music Festival 2014

In the final concert of Victoria Bond’s Cutting Edge Concerts New Music Festival Sequitur performs the world premiere of Harold Meltzer’s (the group’s co-founder) Variations on a Summer Day based on the poems of Wallace Stevens. Following this, two contemporary music ensembles, Mivos Quartet and loadbang will perform world premieres of works written by and for each other’s groups: a “composer-performer swap.”
Monday, April 28 at 7:30 PM
Tickets $20, students $15
Leonard Nimoy Thalia at Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway, New York, NY
..:: Website

Olga Bell’s KRAI

Olga Bell gives the premiere of her piece KRAI, presented by New Amsterdam.
Monday, April 28 at 8 PM
Tickets $15 advance, $20 day of show
(Le) Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker Street, New York, NY
..:: Website

collected stories: memoir

Holder of this season’s Richard and Barbara Debs Composer’s Chair, David Lang serves as director in this culmination of his collected stories series. The program pairs the world premiere of Lang’s mystery sonatas with John Cage’s massive percussion piece that explores the relationship between sound and silence, as well as Cage’s Indeterminacy, a performance art piece where stories are recited from 90 randomly selected cue cards, each being read over the course of exactly one minute regardless of length.
Tuesday, April 29 at 6 PM
Tickets $34-$40
Carnegie Hall, Zankel Hall, 881 7th Ave, New York, NY
..:: Website

Ensemble ACJW

Ensemble ACJW performs at SubCulture.
Tuesday, April 29 at 7:30 PM
Tickets $15-$20
SubCulture, 45 Bleecker Street, Downstairs, New York, NY
..:: Website

Craig Leon

Craig Leon performs Nommos with the American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME).
Wednesday, April 30 at 8 PM
Tickets $13 advance, $15 day of show
(Le) Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker Street, New York, NY
..:: Website

Yarn/Wire/Currents 2

With a background in music theater and political satire, Burkhardt creates experimental works that fuse voice, drama, and extended instrumental techniques while Trapani’s electro-acoustic work draws on musical memories from New Orleans recast in a new light.
Thursday, May 1 at 8 PM
Tickets $10
ISSUE Project Room, 22 Boerum Place, Brooklyn, NY
..:: Website

Lainie Fefferman – Here I Am // Featuring Newspeak & Va Vocals

An oratorio in nine movements for three singers, clarinet, violin, cello, electric guitar, piano, percussion, and drum set, Lainie Fefferman’s Here I Am is a deeply personal meditation on nine perplexing but often ignored portions of the Hebrew Bible. The music, set to the Jewish Publication Society’s plain and literal English translation of the Hebrew text, uses disparate musical genres and techniques (power chords, dreamy minimalism, folk-balladry, and performance art) to recontextualize the familiar biblical narratives in fresh light. The verses chosen for Here I Am include: the laws expounded in the Book of Leviticus; Lot’s offering of his virgin daughters to the people of Sodom; Abraham’s haggling with the divine over how many innocent men are needed to save Sodom; and Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his own son to show his devotion. Written for ensembles Newspeak and Va Vocals (Martha Cluver, Mellissa Hughes, and Caroline Shaw), Here I Am is an exploration of Fefferman’s relationship with her Jewish identity as a composer and, also, as an ethical thinker in the world.
Thursday, May 1 at 8 PM
General Admission $20, Members/Students/Seniors $15, FREE for All Access Members
Roulette, 509 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, NY
..:: Website

Mystery Variations

In honor of the Sibelius Academy receiving the ASF Gold Medal this spring, celebrated Finnish cellist Anssi Karttunen presents the New York Premiere of Mystery Variations – a collection of 31 variations for solo cello by as many contemporary composers based on Italian composer Giuseppe Colombi’s (1635-1694) Chiacona per basso solo, one of the oldest known pieces for the cello.
Friday, May 2 at 5 PM
Free
Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue @ 38th Street | New York, NY
..:: Website

Marilyn Nonken: Voluptuous Virtuosity

Marilyn Nonken continues her series at Spectrum.
Friday, May 2 at 7:30 PM
Tickets $15, $10 students/seniors
Spectrum, 121 Ludlow Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY
..:: Website

Duo Gazzana

On an evening hosted by John Schaefer, guitarist Andrew McKenna Lee with members of The Knells perform three original works. In a partnership between Look & Listen and the ECM New Series label, Italy’s piano/violin Duo Gazzana makes its New York debut performing a Poulenc sonata. We also have pianist Jenny Lin joining us to perform works by György Ligeti, Uri Caine, Laura Kaminsky and Stephan Moore.
Friday, May 2 at 7:30 PM
Tickets $18
Robert Miller Gallery, 524 W. 26th Street, New York, NY
..:: Website

Eclectic Bands | Composers Concordance

The SNAP Saxophone Quartet will perform an organic combination of classical, jazz, world music, and pop, often set against the framework of group improvisation, with original compositions by Nicholas Biello – soprano saxophone, Andrew Gould – alto saxophone, Paul Jones – tenor saxophone, and Sam Dillon – baritone saxophone. The Matt Herskowitz Trio, featuring Matt Herskowitz – piano, Mat Fieldes – bass, and David Rozenblatt – drums, will perform several of Herskowitz’s original cross-genre compositions, as well as unique arrangements of Bach, Chopin and Prokofiev. For the finale, quartet and trio will combine for a newly-arranged suite for septet by Gene Pritsker, Dan Cooper, and Milica Paranosic.
Friday, May 2 at 8 PM
Tickets $15
Klavierhaus, 211 West 58th Street, New York, NY
..:: Website

John King: Born into Flames featuring The Chutneys

John King continues his series at Spectrum.
Friday, May 2 at 8:45 PM
Tickets $15, $10 students/seniors
Spectrum, 121 Ludlow Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY
..:: Website

Pleiades | Veggetti, Kato and Nakamura

Italian choreographer Luca Veggetti, known for his international projects, premieres his latest piece Pleiades at Japan Society.A collaborative work with distinguished Japanese artists, percussionist Kuniko Kato and former soloist with Jiří Kylián’s Nederlands Dans Theater Megumi Nakamura, Pleiades stems from the choreographic possibilities offered by Pléiades, a mesmerizing score by Greek composer Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001) for a sextet of mixed percussion. On stage, Kato plays along and against herself while Nakamura, adopting a similar strategy, dances with her projected double, and a universe is kept in balance by the synergy, dialogue and counterpoint of the musical and choreographic actions.
Friday, May 2 and Saturday, May 3 at 7:30 PM
Tickets $30/$24 Japan Society members
Japan Society, 333 East 47th Street New York, NY
..:: Website

Brother Brother

This program will feature a full production of EiO co-founder Aaron Siegel’s evening length opera, Brother Brother directed by Mallory Catlett, with designs by Mimi Lien and performances by Mantra Percussion and Cadillac Moon Ensemble under the musical direction of David Bloom. This 90-minute opera, which has been in development with Experiments in Opera for the last two seasons, explores the relationship between Orville and Wilbur Wright following their first flights in 1903.
Friday, May 2 and Saturday, May 3 at 8 PM
Tickets $20
Playhouse at Abrons Art Center, 466 Grand Street, New York, NY
..:: Website

Crossfade Series on composer-performers, hosted by Matt Marks

Featuring Angelica Negron and ensemble et al.
Saturday, May 3 at 7:30 PM
Tickets $15, $10 students/seniors
Spectrum, 121 Ludlow Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY
..:: Website

Iktus Percussion Presents

Iktus Percussion is pleased to announce the 2014 installment of The Firehouse New Music Series. One of the featured highlights of our concert season, Iktus will host some of New York City’s most cutting edge, diverse, and electrifying experimental new music ensembles and performers. This event will feature: TIGUE, The [kāj] Ensemble, and What Where.
Saturday, May 3 at 8 PM
Tickets $10
The Firehouse Space, 246 Frost St., Brooklyn, NY
..:: Website

Canons and Song | Music For Contemplation

Craig Shepard and Mark Broschinsky (trombones) frame reflective silences with songs and cannons, featuring Orlando di Lasso, Sequuntur Cantiones (sine textu), Larry Polansky, Christian Music, Anastassis Philippakopoulos, Song (for trombone), Song 6, Mark Broschinsky, somewhere far off, pass on and on, and Jack Callahan, substantia absolute infinita.
Saturday, May 3 at 8:05 PM
Tickets $15, $75 season pass
Church of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary, 259 North 5th St, Brooklyn, NY
..:: Website

Soundscapes

Cornelius Dufallo and Patrick Derivaz are very happy to have Shelley Burgon as a guest artist for the fifth installment of their Soundscapes Series at Spectrum.
Sunday, May 4 at 7 PM
Tickets $15, $10 students/seniors
Spectrum, 121 Ludlow Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY
..:: Website

Roomful of Teeth | Five Boroughs Music Festival

The program will feature works by Elliot Cole, Judd Greenstein, Sarah Kirkland Snider, and Missy Mazzoli, as well as a selection from Caroline Shaw’s 2013 Pulitzer Prize winning Partita.
Sunday, May 4 at 7 PM
Tickets $22.50-$45
Galapagos Art Space, 16 Main Street, Brooklyn, NY
..:: Website

Fjóla Evans and Alex Weiser

The concert will include recent works commissioned by the ensemble Bearthoven comprised of Matt Evans, Karl Larson, and Pat Swoboda. Charlotte Mundy Karl Larson to perform Weiser’s recent pensive song cycle Marks. Maya Bennardo and Hannah Levinson of violin and viola duo andPlay, will join the bill to premiere a piece recently written for them by Fjóla. Fjóla will also premiere a work from her solo-cello and electronics project, FJÓLÆ, and both composers will present string quartets originally composed for the JACK quartet, performed on the occasion by a selection of outstanding musicians.
Sunday, May 4 at 8 PM
Tickets $10
Firehouse Space, 246 Frost St, Brooklyn, NY
..:: Website