Travel Music, Microtones, and Modern Opera: New Music for November

Posted on November 1, 2019 by maestrobeats

Second Inversion and the Live Music Project create a monthly calendar featuring contemporary classical, cross-genre, and experimental performances in Seattle, the Eastside, Tacoma, and places in between!

If you’d like to be included on this list, please submit your event to the Live Music Project at least six weeks prior to the event and tag it with “new music.”

November-2019-New-Music-Flyer

Wayward Music Series
Concerts of contemporary composition, free improvisation, electroacoustic music, and sonic experiments. Coming up: acoustic portraits, immersive winds, sonic geometry, and “unofficial music.”
Various days, 7:30/8pm, Good Shepherd Chapel | $5-$15

Emerald City Music: ‘In the Dark’
Get lost in the dark as Emerald City Music performs the spine-tingling music of Georg Friedrich Haas in total pitch-black darkness. The hour-long string quartet, titled “In iij Noct,” features the four musicians stationed in the four corners of the venue, surrounding the audience and immersing them in Haas’s haunting aleatoric score.
Fri, 11/1, 8pm & 10:30pm, 415 Westlake | $45
Sat, 11/2, 7:30pm, Washington Center for the Performing Arts (Olympia) | $28-$43

Seattle Modern Orchestra: Norwegian Odyssé
The mystic sounds of Norway come alive in this concert featuring five U.S. premieres by Norwegian composers, including Rebecka Sofia Ahvenniemi’s chilling The child who became invisible for soprano, percussion, and electronics and Knut Vaage’s epic Odyssé for sinfonietta.
Sun, 11/3, 1:30pm, National Nordic Museum | $10-$30

Music of Remembrance: Passage
While a political prisoner at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp in the 1940s, Aleksander Kulisiewicz dared to write poetry and music right under the noses of his Nazi captors. Hear composer Paul Schoenfield’s Pulitzer-nominated setting of Kulisiewicz’s biting poetry, plus world premieres by Ryuichi Sakamoto and Shinji Eshima.
Sun, 11/3, 4pm, Nordstrom Recital Hall | $30-$55

Seattle Symphony: Kate Soper in Recital
The line between live and pre-recorded sound begins to blur in Kate Soper’s immersive recital of original works for voice and electronics. Joined by sound artist Sam Pluta, Soper mines the expressive potential of the human voice.
Sun, 11/3, 6pm, Octave 9 | $25

Gamelan Pacifica: Vocal Music of Central Java
Drums, metallophones, and a wide array of tuned gongs are among the instruments you’ll see onstage during a traditional Javanese gamelan performance. Since 1980, Gamelan Pacifica has been performing traditional and contemporary gamelan music with dance, theater, and puppetry. For this performance, they’re joined by Javanese artists Ki Midiyanto and Heni Savitri.
Sun, 11/3, 7pm, PONCHO Concert Hall | $5-$20

Seattle Symphony: Chick Corea Plays ‘Rhapsody in Blue’
Twenty-two-time Grammy-winning jazz pianist Chick Corea teams up with the Seattle Symphony for Gershwin’s iconic Rhapsody in Blue, plus a performance of his own original Piano Concerto No. 1.
Wed, 11/6, 7:30pm, Benaroya Hall | $62-$82

Meany Center: Danish String Quartet
Completed in the year before his death, Shostakovich’s final string quartet is an introspective meditation on mortality. The Danish String Quartet performs this moving work alongside music of Bach and Beethoven.
Thurs, 11/7, 7:30pm, Meany Theater | $41-$49

Cappella Romana: Kastalsky Requiem
As Europe descended into the chaos of World War I, Alexander Kastalsky began composing his haunting Requiem to commemorate the allied soldiers who had fallen. Epic in scale and scope, the work receives its Northwest premiere under the baton of guest conductor Steven Fox.
Fri, 11/8, 7:30pm, St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church | $32-$52

Seattle Symphony: Angelique Poteat Cello Concerto
Seattle-based clarinetist and composer Angelique Poteat turns her attention to the cello in a new concerto which receives its premiere by Efe Baltacıgil and the Seattle Symphony.
11/14-11/16, Various times, Benaroya Hall | $24-$134

Seattle Opera presents *The Falling & the Rising*. Photo by Ziggy Mack.

Seattle Opera: The Falling & The Rising
Interviews with active-duty soldiers and veterans formed the basis of this new chamber opera by composer Zach Redler and librettist Jerre Dye. Tracing a soldier’s journey through a battle explosion and a medically-induced coma, the opera seeks to shine a light on often untold stories of service and sacrifice.
11/15-11/24, Various times, Seattle Opera Center | $35-$45

Harry Partch Ensemble: Final UW Concerts
Two chances remain to hear the inimitable handmade instruments of Harry Partch before the collection’s residency at UW concludes. On Thursday, director Charles Corey and his cast of local musicians perform Partch’s sprawling And On The Seventh Day Petals Fell In Petaluma, selections from his haunting Eleven Intrusions, and more. On Friday, the Partch Ensemble teams up with UW Percussion for another program of ear-expanding works.
Thurs, 11/21, 7:30pm, Meany Hall Studio Theater | $10
Fri, 11/22, 7:30pm, Meany Studio Theatre | $10

The Harry Partch Instrumentarium concludes its residency at UW this November.

Seattle Symphony: ‘The Rite of Spring’
It’s a piece that needs no introduction: Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring has been the stuff of classical music legend ever since its riot-inducing premiere in 1913. This earthshaking ballet about the pagan sacrifice of a virgin dancing herself to death is expertly paired with Scriabin’s The Poem of Ecstasy.
Thurs, 11/21, 7:30pm, Benaroya Hall | $24-$134
Sat, 11/23, 8pm, Benaroya Hall | $24-$134

Gabriel Kahane: ‘Book of Travelers’
A train ride across the country provided ample time and inspiration for composer and multi-instrumentalist Gabriel Kahane to craft a musical diary of America. He performs selections from his Book of Travelers alongside wide-ranging songs from his other albums.
Sat, 11/23, 8pm, Meany Theater | $31-$39

Paco Díez: Music from Northern Spain
Born into a family of farm workers in the heart of Castille, singer and multi-instrumentalist Paco Díez grew up steeped in the folk music, traditions, and histories of his homeland. Widely considered one of the most important champions of Judeo-Spanish music today, Díez is joined by his students in a performance of Sephardic and Castilian folk music.
Tues, 11/26, 7:30pm, UW Brechemin Auditorium | Free

ALBUM REVIEW: ‘Celesta’ by Michael Jon Fink

Posted on October 22, 2019 by maestrobeats

by Peter Tracy

Even at their most outgoing, instruments like the celesta tend to hide in larger ensembles, coming out of the texture for little moments here and there. Perhaps this is because the celesta tends to be a quiet instrument: its tuned metal bars give off a delicate ring that is subtle and long lasting, but won’t compete with a horn section or timpani.

On his latest album, appropriately titled Celesta, Los Angeles-based composer Michael Jon Fink moves the instrument to center stage. Rather than burying the instrument in a larger ensemble, Fink applies his sparse, tranquil, and quietly mysterious musical language to this often-overlooked instrument, creating what is among the largest ever collections of music for solo celesta.

Comprised of twelve short pieces performed by the composer, this is an album in which less is more. Ranging from under one minute long to just over six, the pieces as a whole form something of an arc, at times melancholic, joyful, nostalgic, or pensive, but always quiet and spacious.

This suite of sorts begins with “Call,” a gently lilting melody over bell-like arpeggiations that is reminiscent of a tune from an ancient music box. “Cold Pastoral” features two lines in sparse counterpoint, with a simple and repetitive, yet slowly varying melodic phrase that brings to mind a lake frozen in the dead of winter. The pensive stillness takes on a nostalgic tone in “Bells,” with pentatonic melodies that twinkle like a wind chime. “From the Singing River” turns things in a more mysterious direction, with little melodic variations that seems to circle around without ever arriving at their final destination.

The following two pieces, “First Star, Last Star” and “Post-Impression” continue this trend, tending toward pensive arpeggiated melodies with plenty of space to let the instrument’s soft tones reverberate. By “Ruins,” things have settled into a meditative trance, with the title helping to inspire a feeling of something that has been lost to the past. Slightly more active pieces follow, with the tenuously hopeful “Sunless” incorporating some of the lower notes of the five-octave celesta and the eerie “Nocturne for the Three Times” drifting through incredibly sparse and atmospheric textures.

“Softly Yellowed Moon” is equally enigmatic, with two lines providing melody and harmony that wind their way down into the longest piece on the album, “Triptych.” Loosely divided into three parts, the piece begins with a quietly wandering melody over a left-hand ostinato before moving into what is the most openly joyful music of the album. Eventually, the music reaches an almost animated conclusion featuring crescendos in tight harmony and the celesta sounding more bell-like than ever. The appropriately named “After the End,” then, seems to question this borderline excitement, leaving us with a somber and unsettlingly harmonized reflection.

Still, the album avoids drawing a clear conclusion. Is there a story here in the space between the notes, or are we just meant to reflect on the round tones of the celesta as they fade into silence? Each piece feels like a small and crystalline world of its own, inviting the listener to discover their own meaning for themselves.

Floating Through ‘Triadic Memories’: Jesse Myers on the Music of Morton Feldman

Posted on October 15, 2019 by maestrobeats

by Maggie Molloy

It’s easy to lose track of time amid the sparse tones of Morton Feldman’s Triadic Memories. The 90-minute solo piano work lends itself well to meditation—which is exactly the idea behind pianist Jesse Myers’ October 25 performance at the Good Shepherd Chapel. He invites audience members to slow down, grab a pillow and get lost in its softly sprawling sounds.

In this in-studio interview, Myers talks with us about the music of Morton Feldman, the magic of sensory amplification, and what it feels like to float in sound.

Audio engineering by Nikhil Sarma. Music in this interview is from Feldman’s Triadic Memories, performed and recorded by Jesse Myers.
For more information on his October 25 performance, click here.

NW Focus LIVE: Jesse Myers | Friday, Oct. 11, 8pm

Posted on October 8, 2019 by maestrobeats

by Peter Tracy

Photo by James Holt. Jesse Myers performs LIVE on KING FM on Friday, Oct. 11 at 8pm.

Whether he’s playing the prepared piano music of John Cage or creating immersive audio-visual experiences at the Good Shepherd Center, Jesse Myers is a pianist who is always up for a challenge.

As a performer with wide-ranging interests, Myers frequently performs music that expands the piano in some way—sometimes through live electronics or even lighting design. He is equally interested in performing more traditional repertoire in unusual contexts, such as pairing the music of Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, and Cage. Later this month, you can catch him tackling Morton Feldman’s sparse yet monumental Triadic Memories, a performance that continues his project of exploring new repertoire and pushing the boundaries of his instrument.

And this weekend, you can hear him perform LIVE on Classical KING FM. Tune in for NW Focus LIVE on Friday, Oct. 11 at 8pm as Myers performs a characteristically broad range of music, including Beat Furrer’s mysterious and atmospheric “Voicelessness: The Snow Has No Voice,” Christopher Cerrone’s tribute to the New York nightscape titled “Hoyt-Schemerhorn,” and more familiar works by Rachmaninoff, Philip Glass, and John Adams.

Jesse Myers performs LIVE on Classical KING FM on Friday, Oct. 11 at 8pm. Click here to tune in.

Triptych, Triadic Memories, and Other Can’t-Miss October Concerts

Posted on October 2, 2019 by maestrobeats

by Maggie Molloy

If you’d like to be included on this list, please submit your event to the Live Music Project at least six weeks prior to the event and tag it with “new music.”

New-Music-Flyer-October-2019

Wayward Music Series
Concerts of contemporary composition, free improvisation, electroacoustic music, and sonic experiments. Coming up: minimalism, meditation, and sound mosaics.
Various days, 7:30/8pm, Good Shepherd Chapel | $5-$15

Pacific Northwest Ballet performs Carmina Burana. Photo by Angela Sterling.

PNB: ‘Carmina Burana’
A 2,500-pound golden wheel spins above 100 dancers, musicians, and singers in Pacific Northwest Ballet’s production of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana (with choreography by Kent Stowell). It’s paired with the equally epic Agon, a legendary collaboration between George Balanchine and Igor Stravinsky.
10/3-10/6, Various times, McCaw Hall | $37-$190

Philharmonia Northwest: Songs of Life
An ensemble of Tibetan singing bowls and strings accompany Sheila Silver’s new concerto for French horn and Alpenhorn, performed by Ann Ellsworth with Philharmonia Northwest. Amy Beach’s magnificent “Gaelic” Symphony and Emily Doolittle’s majestic “Reedbird” complete the program.
Sun, 10/6, 2:30pm, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church (Seattle) | $15-$25

Earshot Jazz Festival: The Westerlies
The Seattle-bred, New York-based brass quartet returns home to perform original tunes and eclectic arrangements in the Earshot Jazz Festival, opening for the Gerald Clayton Quartet.
Tues, 10/8, 7pm, The Triple Door | $10-$37

Roomful of Teeth performs Bryce Dessner’s *Triptych*.

Bryce Dessner: ‘Triptych’ ft. Roomful of Teeth
Thirty years after Robert Mapplethorpe’s death, his controversial photographs remain radical and subversive. In this multimedia tribute featuring music by Bryce Dessner, poetry by Essex Hemphill and Patti Smith, and performances by the inimitable Roomful of Teeth, Mapplethorpe’s visceral images are displayed in unprecedented drama and scale. Click here for 15% off tickets.
Wed, 10/9, 8pm, The Moore Theatre | $42-$72

Seattle Symphony: Olga Neuwirth Premiere
Clattering typewriters and muted trumpets add texture to the backdrop of Olga Neuwirth’s kaleidoscopic new flute concerto Aello. It’s performed by Claire Chase with the Seattle Symphony alongside music of Mozart and Bach.
Thurs, 10/10, 7:30pm, Benaroya Hall | $24-$134
Sat, 10/12, 8pm, Benaroya Hall | $24-$134

Seattle Symphony: Density 2036
Claire Chase is working on a new body of repertoire for solo flute. In fact, she’s commissioning one new piece for her instrument every year until 2036, which marks the centennial of Edgard Varèse’s groundbreaking flute composition Density 21.5. Hear her perform selections from the project in the immersive new Octave 9 space.
Fri, 10/11, 7:30pm, Octave 9 | $25

Amy Denio: ‘Truth is Up for Grabs’
Current events, the politics of war, and the poetry of Pablo Neruda are among the inspirations behind composer and multi-instrumentalist Amy Denio’s chamber suite Truth is Up for Grabs. See it performed live alongside an expansive video production by James Drage.
Fri-Sat, 10/11-10/12, 8pm, Good Shepherd Chapel | $5-$25

Ladies Musical Club: Contemporary Korean Composers
Two Korean artists, soprano Ki-Jung Jun and pianist Hannah Cho, breathe life into songs and piano solos celebrating the vibrant and diverse voices of contemporary Korean composers.
Mon, 10/14, 7:30pm, University House (Wallingford) | Free

Earshot Jazz Festival: Seattle Modern Orchestra
This ear-expanding collaboration brings together a cast of all-stars from Seattle’s jazz and classical scenes to perform sprawling works by Anthony Braxton, George Lewis, and more. Plus, new premieres by saxophonist Darius Jones and pianist Wayne Horvitz.
Tues, 10/15, 7:30pm, Town Hall | $10-$23

Max Richter ft. Grace Davidson and ACME
Hovering above a collection of keyboards and synthesizers, Max Richter builds electroacoustic sound worlds that are as introspective as they are immersive. For this concert, he performs them with soprano Grace Davidson and musicians of the American Contemporary Music Ensemble. Click here for 15% off tickets.
Wed, 10/16, 7:30pm, The Moore Theatre | $26-$76

Earshot Jazz Festival: Clarice Assad
Drawing inspiration from classical, jazz, and Brazilian music, Clarice Assad performs original solo works for piano and voice, plus wide-ranging works for string quartet featuring local musicians.
Fri, 10/18, 8pm, Good Shepherd Chapel | $5-$20

The Esoterics: Honesty
Truth, lies, and unanswered questions are among the themes tying together this concert of wide-ranging works by Ted Hearne, Julia Wolfe, and more. Four world premiere commissions by this year’s POLYPHONOS Competition winners round out the program.
10/18-10/20, Various times and locations | $15-$22

Seattle Symphony: [untitled] 1
Brass instruments sparkle and shine in this late-night concert featuring old and new works for french horn, trumpet, tuba, and timpani.
Fri, 10/18, 10pm, Benaroya Hall Lobby | $15

Pianist Jesse Myers performs Morton Feldman’s *Triadic Memories*.

Jesse Myers: Feldman’s ‘Triadic Memories’
It’s easy to lose track of time amid the sparse tones of Morton Feldman’s Triadic Memories. The 90-minute work lends itself well to meditation—which is exactly the idea behind pianist Jesse Myers’ upcoming performance. Grab a pillow and get lost in its softly sprawling sounds.
Fri, 10/25, 8pm, Good Shepherd Chapel | $10-$15