Ostravská banda in New York
Publikováno: 25.2.2014
3 x SEM & Ostravská banda
OSTRAVA DAYS IN NEW YORK
Wednesday, March 26, 8 p.m., Roulette, Brooklyn
CHRISTIAN WOLFF @ 80
Thursday, March 27, 7 p.m., Bohemian National Hall, NYC
CONCERT & PARTY
Thursday, March 27, 9 p.m., Bohemian National Hall, NYC
S.E.M. Ensemble & Ostravská banda, Petr Kotik, Conductor
OB Trio and String Noise
Christian Wolff, Philip Glass, Joseph Kubera, Daan
Vandewalle, Piano
Jon Gibson, Alex Mincek, Saxophone
Conrad Harris, Pauline Kim Harris, Violin
Kamala Sankaram, Jeffrey Gavett, Thomas Buckner, Voice
Special guest: George Lewis, Trombone
The S.E.M. Ensemble and Ostravská banda, under the direction
of Petr Kotik, presents three concerts celebrating composer Christian Wolff’s
80th birthday and the Ostrava Days Institute and Festival. Mostly self-taught
and working along such figures as John Cage, Merce Cunningham, Morton Feldman
and Frederic Rzewski, Christian Wolff made an important mark on the music of
our time. He has participated in all but one of the festivals since Ostrava
Days’ inception in 2011, and some of his most ambitious orchestral works were
composed for or performed there. Selected by Artforum as one of the Best of
2013 in Music, Ostrava Days is one of the largest international summer
new-music events, combining a three-week institute with a ten-day festival,
focusing on music for large ensembles. It includes 35 resident-students from
around the world, two resident orchestras, and resident composers and musicians
who participate in public performances. Besides Christian Wolff, Ostrava Days
2013 included, among others, Philip Glass, Peter Ablinger, Bernhard Lang, Petr
Kotik, Carola Bauckholt, Jon Gibson, Charlemagne Palestine, and Petr Cígler.
SEM x 3 will kick off at Roulette with Ostrava Days in New
York, Wednesday, March 26, 8 p.m., bringing together SEM with Ostrava Days’
resident chamber orchestra Ostravská banda to perform highlights from Ostrava
Days. Next to compositions by Christian Wolff and Petr Kotik, the concert will
feature two works by Czech composers – the American premieres of Martin
Smolka’s Autumn Thoughts and Petr Cígler’s Über das farbige Licht der
Doppelsterne – as well as Mirage for water-based percussion and strings by
Ostrava Days 2013 student-resident from Tehran, Idin Samimi Mofakham. The
evening will culminate in the performance of one of the most challenging pieces
of chamber music ever written, Gyorgy Ligeti’s Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano,
performed by OB Trio (Conrad Harris, violin; Daniel Costello, horn; and Daan
Vandewalle, piano).
On Thursday, March 27, 7 p.m., the celebration will continue
at Bohemian Hall (NYC) with Christian Wolff @ 80 – a concert featuring 37 Haiku,
one of Wolff’s major works, dedicated to Thomas Buckner, and large-ensemble
works composed for Ostravská banda. These will include Wolff’s Trust (2012),
Alex Mincek’s Subito No. 2 (2013), and Petr Kotík’s Nine + 1 (2013) – premiered
by the West German Radio in Cologne in 2013 – and Bernhard Lang’s Monadologie
XVII (2011), premiered in Ostrava in 2012. With the exception of 37 Haiku, all
the pieces on the program will receive their American premiere.
The 7 p.m. concert will be followed by Concert & Party
at 9 p.m. (also at Bohemian National Hall), combining informal performances by
Ostrava Days participants with a birthday party. The event will offer the
unique opportunity to experience such distinct personalities as composers Philip
Glass and Christian Wolff, pianists Joseph Kubera and Daan Vandewalle, along
with Jon Gibson, Alex Mincek, and Petr Kotik, performing their own music side
by side. The event will include the world premiere of Wolff’s Trio VI (flutist,
2 percussionists) as well as a 30-minute excerpt of Kotik’s Many Many Women,
one of Ostrava Days 2013’s highlights, performed by the S.E.M. Ensemble.
DETAILED PROGRAM FOR 3 X SEM AND OSTRAVSKÁ BANDA
Wednesday, March 26, 8 p.m.
>> OSTRAVA DAYS IN NEW YORK
Roulette, 509 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, NYC
S.E.M. Ensemble & Ostravská banda, Petr Kotik, Conductor
Kamala Sankaram, Soprano and Jeffrey Gavett, Baritone
String Noise (Conrad Harris, Pauline Kim Harris, Violins)
OB Trio (Conrad Harris, Violin; Daniel Costello, Horn; Daan
Vandewalle, Piano)
Special guest: George Lewis, Trombone
Petr Kotík: There is Singularly Nothing (1972/73)
Christian Wolff: For Six or Seven Players (Music for Merce Cunningham) (1959)
Martin Smolka: Autumn Thoughts * (2011)
Idin Samimi Mofakham: Mirage * (2012)
Iannis Xenakis: Mikka a Mikka “S” (1976)
Christian Wolff: Violin Duo for Petr (2011)
Petr Cígler: Über das farbige Licht der Doppelsterne * (2012)
György Ligeti: Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano (1982)
* American Premiere
Co-presented with Interpretations, the Czech Center New York
and City of Ostrava. Special thanks to Austrian Cultural Forum.
Thursday, March 27, 7 p.m.
>> CHRISTIAN WOLFF @ 80
Bohemian National Hall, 321 East 73rd Street, NYC
Free admission
Ostravská banda
& S.E.M. Ensemble, Petr Kotik,
Conductor
Thomas Buckner, Baritone
Christian Wolff: 37 Haiku (2003)
Bernhard Lang: Monadologie XVII * (2011)
Alex Mincek: Subito No. 2 * (2013)
Petr Kotík: Nine + 1 * (2013)
Christian Wolff: Trust * (2012)
* American Premiere
Co-presented with the Czech Center New York and City of
Ostrava. Special thanks to Austrian Cultural Forum.
Thursday, March 27, at 9 p.m.
>> CONCERT & PARTY
Bohemian National Hall, 321 East 73rd Street, NYC
S.E.M. Ensemble
Philip Glass, Joseph Kubera, Daan Vandewalle, and Christian
Wolff, Piano
Alex Mincek, Saxophone
Ian Antonio, Drum Set
Jon Gibson, Saxophone
John Cage: Music of Changes (2. věta)
Christian Wolff: Trio VI (pro flétnu a 2 perkuse) WORLD PREMIERE
Philip Glass: Etudes for Piano
Christian Wolff: Piano Miscellany
Alex Mincek: Nucleus
Frederic Rzewski: 3 Pieces 2011
Petr Kotik: Many Many Women (excerpt)
Jon Gibson: Down the Road
Christian Wolff: Nocturnes
Co-presented with the Czech Center New York.
