LIVE CONCERT SPOTLIGHT: November 21 & 23

Posted on November 20, 2014 by maestrobeats

David Bazan and the Passenger String Quartet

David Bazan is a Seattle singer-songwriter best known as the creative force behind Pedro the Lion, a local indie-rock band which broke up in 2006 when Bazan went solo. However, this weekend Bazan is joining forces with a new type of band: the Passenger String Quartet.

The Passenger String Quartet is a neoclassical Northwestern ensemble dedicated to playing avant-garde, experimental new works. The group recently collaborated with Bazan to create an album full of all new studio recordings of Pedro the Lion and Bazan solo songs. For the past couple months, Bazan and the quartet have been touring in support of the album, titled “David Bazan + Passenger String Quartet Volume 1.”

After a long series of sold-out shows across the U.S., this weekend Bazan and the Passenger String Quartet are bringing the tour back home with a performance at Seattle’s own Neptune Theatre. The show is this Friday, Nov. 21. Doors open at 8 p.m. and the performance begins at 9 p.m.

TangleTown Trio Presents “Night of the Living Composers”

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Halloween may be over, but that doesn’t mean you can’t indulge in a spooky, spoofy musical performance every once in a while. This weekend TangleTown Trio is presenting “Night of the Living Composers.” A most unusual performance, the concert features the works of several contemporary, living composers.

TangleTown Trio is a local ensemble composed of mezzo-soprano and composer Sarah Mattox, violinist and violist Jo Nardolillo, and pianist Judith Cohen. The group specializes in classical music inspired by different genres of American music, including jazz, folk, and theatre.

For this weekend’s performance, they are tackling the works of many local living composers, including Christophe Chagnard, Bern Herbolsheimer, Carol Sams, Randolph Hokanson, and several others. The concert features but one dead composer—see if you can tell which one is the ghost.

“Night of the Living Composers” is this Sunday, Nov. 23 at the Columbia City Theater. Doors open at 5 p.m. and the performance begins at 5:30 p.m.

The Piano Trio: Classic to Contemporary

Over the centuries, the piano trio has grown to include an extraordinarily large and diverse repertoire, securing a name for itself as a staple component of chamber music. This weekend, violinist Michael Jinsoo, cellist David Requiro, and pianist Christina Valdes are celebrating that vast and vibrant repertoire with a performance titled “The Piano Trio: Classic to Contemporary.”

The program features piano trios ranging from the passionate, poignant Beethoven to the experimental, aleatoric Ives. The concert will also feature trios by Brahms and Garcia, rounding out a program of exceptional chamber works from throughout history.

The concert is this Sunday, Nov. 23 at Cornish’s PONCHO Hall at 7 p.m.

LIVE CONCERT SPOTLIGHT: November 13 & 15

Posted on November 13, 2014 by maestrobeats

by Maggie Molloy

This week’s multihued, multidisciplinary music events blur the line between music and other artistic mediums.

The Frank Agency and Nonsequitur Present “People. Make. Awesome.”

[Paris Hurley]

Music and movement are mixing this Thursday at a multidisciplinary performance experience. The Frank Agency and Nonsequitur have teamed up to present a new interdisciplinary art project titled “People. Make. Awesome.”—a three-part series of artistic pairings exploring different aspects of sound.

This week’s event explores the space between sound and movement, pairing local composers with local dancers and performance artists. The featured artists are multidisciplinary dance artist Ezra Dickinson, multi-instrumentalist and composer Chris Credit, dance artist Karin Stevens, composer and pianist Michael Owcharuk, performance artist Paris Hurley, and composer and vocalist Hanna Benn.

With so many different types of artists and artistic mediums, the performance possibilities are endless—but one thing’s for certain: it will be awesome.

“People. Make. Awesome.” will take place this Thursday, Nov. 13 at 8 p.m. in the Chapel Performance Space at the Good Shepherd Center in Wallingford.

Anthony de Mare Presents “Liaisons: Re-Imagining Sondheim from the Piano”

For decades Stephen Sondheim has dominated the theatre stage with his music and lyrics in classics like “Sweeney Todd,” “Into the Woods,” and “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.” However, his works have never graced the concert hall—until now.

“Liaisons: Re-Imagining Sondheim from the Piano” is a commissioning and concert project which celebrates and reimagines Sondheim’s music through unique contemporary music performances of his works. Conceived by renowned concert pianist Anthony de Mare, the project features Sondheim’s music reimagined by influential contemporary composers Steve Reich, Nico Muhly, Daniel Bernard Roumain, Adam Guettel, Mason Bates, Ethan Iverson, and countless others.

De Mare, who specializes in contemporary music, has performed these works throughout the U.S. This week, he is bringing the best of Sondheim to Seattle.

The performance will take place at the Cornish Playhouse at Seattle Center this Thursday, Nov. 13 at 8 p.m.

Seattle Modern Orchestra Presents “Electro-Colors”

Seattle Modern Orchestra is putting pigment into pitches this weekend at their 2014-2015 season opener titled “Electro-Colors.” The performance features a colorful program with a broad spectrum of compositions.

The concert is the U.S. premiere of American composer Huck Hodge’s “Alêtheia” for large ensemble, a vibrant and dramatic composition which won the International Society for Contemporary Music’s League of Composers Competition earlier this year. The event will also feature Hodge’s “Zeremonie.”

The multihued program also features a composition by Pierre Boulez, one of the most influential avant-garde composers of the 20^th century. Boulez’s “Dérive 1” radiates with rich colors and melodies, creating a vivid rainbow of textures and timbres.

Seattle Modern Orchestra musicians will also perform a work by French spectralist composer Tristan Murail. The piece, titled “Treize couleurs du soleil couchant” (“Thirteen Colors of Sundown”), transports its listeners into a fascinating exploration of sound and color.

The performance will take place this Saturday, Nov. 15 in the Chapel Performance Space at the Good Shepherd Center in Wallingford. There will be a pre-concert presentation at 7:30 p.m. and the concert begins at 8 p.m.

NEW VIDEOS: ETHEL

Posted on November 11, 2014 by maestrobeats

ETHEL is not your ordinary string quartet – don’t expect them to perform Mozart or Haydn, though I’m sure it would be brilliant if they did! In short… ETHEL rocks. They focus primarily on the works of modern composers and have worked closely with Julia Wolfe, Osvaldo Golijov, Jacob TV, Phil Kline and collaborated with artists from Kaki King to David Byrne to Gutbucket to Robert Mirabal to Bang on a Can.

ETHEL was recently in the Northwest and graciously stopped by our studios for a fun video session! Here’s one of our favorites.

Check out the other four offerings on our video page and listen below to the full audio session!

NEW CONCERT RECORDING: Seattle Symphony [untitled]

Posted on November 7, 2014 by maestrobeats

Photo credit: Brandon Patoc

If you weren’t able to make it to the Benaroya Hall for the first Seattle Symphony [untitled] concert of the season, we have a throwback in the form of Ligeti’s String Quartet No.1 for you!

Elisa Barston & Mikhail Shmidt, violins; Mara Gearman, viola; Walter Gray, cello

If you’re unfamiliar with the [untitled] series, take note: three times per season, the concerts move out of the main hall at Benaroya and into the lobby. The atmosphere is casual, the concertgoers younger than your average concert, the music is all modern, and the shows start at 10pm. You can perch above from the balcony level, sit in chairs on the ground level, even on the floor if you prefer. Standing up and walking around is okay end even encouraged, to explore the different vantage points. This is one of many ways the Seattle Symphony has proved itself to be an innovative, forward-thinking force in the world of classical music and the results are great. It was great to see a packed house for the October show!

The next two [untitled] concerts of the season are on Friday, February 13 featuring a string quartet by John Adams and Friday, May 1, featuring a world premiere by Trimpin.

LIVE CONCERT SPOTLIGHT: November 7, 8, 9

Posted on November 6, 2014 by maestrobeats

by Maggie Molloy

Club Shostakovich Celebrates 50^th Anniversary of String Quartets No. 9 and 10

Come lift a glass to Dmitri Shostakovich this weekend as Trio Pardalote celebrates the 50^th anniversary his 9^th and 10^th String Quartets. Though the pieces originally premiered in Moscow in 1964, Trio Pardalote is recreating this historic event a little closer to home.

The trio—composed of violinist Victoria Parker, violist Heather Bentley, and cellist Rowena Hammill—will be joined by violinists Blayne Barnes, Natasha Bazhanov, Artur Girsky, and Mikhail Shmidt to present Shostakovich’s 8^th, 9^th, and 10^th String Quartets. Guests are invited to enjoy the drama and passion of some of Shostakovich’s most exciting string compositions, which were written during a time of great political unrest in the Soviet Union.

The performance will be followed by a late night jazz set with Quartet Royale featuring pianist Wayne Horvitz, vocalist Jimmie Herrod, bassist Geoff Harper, and drummer Eric Eagle.

The performance will take place at the Royal Room this Friday, Nov. 7 at 8 p.m.

Seattle Rock Orchestra Presents a Police Tribute

2012.02.18: Zach Davidson (w/ Seattle Rock Orchestra) @ The Moor

It’s been nearly 30 years since the critically acclaimed British rock band the Police broke up, but none of us could ever forget classics like “Roxanne” and “Every Breath You Take.” Instead of early awaiting another sold-out reunion tour, you can catch some of your favorite Police tunes this weekend when Seattle Rock Orchestra presents a Police tribute night at the Moore Theatre.

It’s everything you love about the punky 80s power quartet, except for expanded into a 50+ piece orchestra featuring vocalists David Terry, Erin Austin, Andrew Vait, and Annie Janzter. Come witness as some of Seattle’s top classically-trained musicians pay tribute to one of the greatest punk, reggae, jazz-infused rock bands the 80s had to offer.

Renowned Seattle folk artist Naomi Wachira is the opening act. A Kenyan-born musician who grew up singing gospel in a traveling family band, her music is deeply influenced by both her African roots as well as her experience living in the Pacific Northwest.

The performance will take place this Saturday, Nov. 8 at the Moore Theatre. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the performance begins at 8 p.m.

Music of Remembrance Presents Schoenberg’s “Verklärte Nacht”

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This weekend marks the 76^th anniversary of the tragic Kristallnacht, a massacre against Jews throughout Germany and Austria carried out by Nazi military forces. In honor of the those innocent civilians who lost their lives in these devastating attacks, Music of Remembrance is presenting a performance of Arnold Schoenberg’s “Verklärte Nacht” (“Transfigured Night”), a tender and romantic string sextet.The performance will also be the world premiere of Spectrum Dance Theater choreographer Donald Byrd’s new dances for the enchanting piece.

“Verklärte Nacht” was inspired by Richard Dehmel’s poem of the same name, which tells the story of a woman and her lover walking through a shadowy forest on a moonlit night. The woman confesses to her lover that she is pregnant with another man’s baby, and her lover accepts and forgives her. Schoenberg’s composition captures the grave sorrow of the woman’s confession, the calm and thoughtful reflection of her lover, and the bright, hopeful acceptance of her secret.

The concert will also feature works by Dutch composers under Nazi occupation as well as a medley of songs from cabaret shows staged by prisoners at Terezin, a ghetto and concentration camp in the Czech Republic during World War II.

The performance will take place at Benaroya Hall this Sunday, Nov. 9 at 4 p.m.