eighthblackbird PERFORMS WORKS BY ACCLAIMED CONTEMPORARY
COMPOSERS MAZZOLI, BOULEZ, GLASS, HUREL, ADÈS, AND HARTKE
ON MONDAY, JANUARY 31 AT 7:30 PM IN ZANKEL HALL
Carnegie Hall presents the innovative and acclaimed newmusic ensemble eighth blackbird on Monday, January 31 at 7:30 p.m. inZankel Hall. The group’s program features works by renowned living composers;including Missy Mazzoli’s Still Life with Avalanche; Pierre Boulez’s Dérive1; Philip Glass’s Music in Similar Motion; Philippe Hurel’s …àmesure; Thomas Adès’s Catch, Op. 4; and Stephen Hartke’s Meanwhile,Incidental Music to Imaginary Puppet Plays.
Commissioned by eighth blackbird, Missy Mazzoli’s Still Life with Avalancheis described by the composer as “…a pile of melodies collapsing in a chaotic freefall. The players’ layer bursts of sound over the static drones of harmonicas,sketching out a strange and evocative sonic landscape.” Pierre Boulez’s Dérive1 is a study in trills. Layer upon layer of fluttering instruments create adynamic, buzzing haze of ensemble sound that rises then falls, thickens thenclarifies, overwhelms then recedes. The work is one of a series based onharmonies derived from a musical spelling of Swiss conductor Paul Sacher's lastname.
Composed in 1969, Philip Glass’s Music in Similar Motion, in the wordsof the composer, “is a headlong rush of fast, steady, seemingly unstoppable,constantly revolving eighth notes, resulting in music that is stark, bald,repetitive, hypnotic.” The title of Philippe Hurel’s …à mesure is areference to the French expression "au fur et à mesure," which means"progressively" or "little by little." The piece is anunpredictable, constantly shifting kaleidoscope of textures and sounds thatstretches the ensemble to its technical limits.
Thomas Adès’s Catch, Op. 4, was written when the composer was 19 yearsold and takes listeners into the world of an English playground. Many stylesand sounds are thrown together in this piece: a waltz, a passacaglia, a child'staunt, which conjures the exuberant experimentation of childhood. StephenHartke’s Meanwhile, Incidental Music to Imaginary Puppet Plays wasco-commissioned by eighth blackbird and nominated for the 2008 Pulitzer Prizefor Music. It is one of several works of his that grew out of a long-standingfascination for various forms of Asian court and theater music.
eighth blackbird returns to Carnegie Hall this season on April 30 for the Musicof Steve Reich, an evening of music by the renowned composer paying tribute tothe composer on his 75th birthday, performed by some of the biggest ensemblesin contemporary music: Bang on a Can All-Stars, Kronos Quartet, and SoPercussion. eighth blackbird will perform Reich’s Pulitzer Prize-winning DoubleSextet and the New York premiere of 2 x 5, combining forces with theBang on a Can All-Stars for a special live version of both works, whichnormally utilize pre-recorded tracks during performances.
eighth blackbird
eighth blackbird is widely lauded for its unusual performing style—oftenplaying from memory with theatrical flair—and for its efforts to make new musicaccessible to wider audiences. Since its founding in 1996, the sextet hasactively commissioned and recorded new works. Recent commissions include aconcerto from Jennifer Higdon and pieces from Steve Reich, Mark-AnthonyTurnage, Steven Mackey, David Lang, Stephen Hartke, and Bruno Mantovani. Thegroup’s CD strange imaginary animals won two Grammy Awards in 2008,including one for Best Chamber Music Performance. Now celebrating its 15thseason, eighth blackbird showcases music by the two most recent PulitzerPrize-winning composers in its 2010–2011 recording and performing repertoire,featuring new and recent works (written for the ensemble) by both JenniferHigdon and Steve Reich. Also this season, the ensemble will curate and performin the Park Avenue Armory’s “Tune-In” contemporary music festival in New YorkCity. Other highlights include performances at Chicago’s Museum of ContemporaryArt; a tour of Higdon’s new concerto On a Wire; Reich festivals on bothsides of the Atlantic; a return to the Library of Congress for a concert thatincludes the world premiere of a new work by Stephen Hartke; and a new CDfeaturing Reich’s prize-winning Double Sextet on Nonesuch, which was releasedin September 2010. eighth blackbird was honored in 2007 with the American MusicCenter’s Trailblazer Award and a Meet The Composer Award, and the group’snumerous competition wins include the Grand Prize at the Concert Artists GuildInternational Competition and the Naumburg Chamber Music Award.
Program Information
Monday, January 31, 2011 at 7:30 p.m.
Zankel Hall
eighth blackbird
Tim Munro, Flute
Michael J. Maccaferri, Clarinet
Matt Albert, Violin and Viola
Nicholas Photinos, Cello
Matthew Duvall, Percussion
Lisa Kaplan, Piano
MISSY MAZZOLI Still Life with Avalanche
PIERRE BOULEZ Dérive 1
PHILIP GLASS Music in Similar Motion
PHILIPPE HUREL …à mesure
THOMAS ADÈS Catch, Op. 4
STEPHEN HARTKE Meanwhile, Incidental Music to Imaginary Puppet Plays
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