RIP Suzanne Fiol

October 7, 2009 — Mike

Sad news on the passing of the founder of the ISSUE Project Room:

It is with great heartbreak and sorrow that ISSUE Project Room announces the passing of our founder, artistic director, and driving force, Suzanne Fiol. Born on May 9, 1960, Suzanne died at 1:05 pm on Monday, October 5, 2009, after fighting a courageous and inspiring battle against cancer. Suzanne passed peacefully surrounded by loved ones at New York Presbyterian Hospital. Our hearts go out to her daughter Sarah, her sister Nancy, and her parents Lawrence and Arlene Perlstein and her partner Anthony Coleman.

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Axiom – Clearing Musical Hurdles With Poise and Flair

October 7, 2009 — Mike

NYTimes.com reviews this recent performance.

You might wonder, then, why Axiom — a bright, versatile young ensemble formed by students at the Juilliard School in 2005 — chose four toothy examples of latter-day modernism for its season-opening concert at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater on Monday night. The program, conducted by Jeffrey Milarsky, included Mario Davidovsky’s “Flashbacks,” Harrison Birtwistle’s “Secret Theater” and “Three Settings of Celan,” and — the relative pop hit of the bunch — Gyorgy Ligeti’s Chamber Concerto.

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October Point of Departure

October 7, 2009 — Mike

Bill Shoemaker’s Point of Departure has a new issue out.

Page One: a column by Bill Shoemaker
What’s New?: The PoD Roundtable
A Fickle Sonance: a column by Art Lange
The Book Cooks: The Philosophy of Improvisation by Gary Peters (The University of Chicago Press; Chicago, London)
Digging: The Afro-American Soul of American Classical Music, by Amiri Baraka (University of California Press)
Far Cry: a column by Brian Morton
Moment’s Notice: Reviews of Recent Recordings
Ezz-thetics: a column by Stuart Broomer
Travellin’ Light: Jamie Saft
Future Shock: a column by Kevin Patton

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Upcoming Wayward Music Shows

October 7, 2009 — Mike

From Seattle’s Wayward Music:

THIS WEEK:

WED. 10/7, 7:30 PM – Subtext Reading Series presents David Buuck & Joel Felix

SAT. 10/9, 8 PM – EQ Lateral Ensemble, eclectic electronic chamber music

SAT. 10/10, 8 PM – DX ARTS presents Nicolas Varchausky and his Speaker Performing Kiosk, electro-acoustic

COMING UP:

THU. 10/15 – WA Composers Forum presents flautist Richard Craig performing music by Munakata, Bång, Lindwall, Ferneyhough, Dillon & Stewart

FRI. 10/16 – Paul Hoskin, 80-minute solo contrabass clarinet improvisation

SAT. 10/17, 8 PM – Jesse Canterbury, new music for small improvising ensemble: Jesse Canterbury (clarinet/bass clarinet), Tiffany Lin (piano), Brian Cobb (bass), Paul Kikuchi (drums & percussion).

MON. 10/19, 7:30 PM – Earshot Jazz Festival presents 3rd Man, with Han Bennink (percussion), Michael Moore (sax), Will Holshouser (accordion)

THU. 10/22, 8 PM – Nonsequitur presents Louisville pianist Rachel Grimes (of the band Rachel’s) + Seattle electronic cellist Gretchen Nicole Yanover

SAT. 10/24, 8 PM – Earshot Jazz Fest + Nonsequitur present Phantom Orchard (Zeena Parkins, harp & Ikue Mori, laptop) + Peggy Lee, cello & Saadet Türköz, voice

TUE. 10/27, 7:30 – Earshot Jazz Fest + Nonsequitur present WA Composers Orchestra, performing music by Robin Holcomb, Tom Varner, and Wayne Horvitz

THU. 10/29, 7:30 – Earshot Jazz Festival presents Tom Varner Tentet + Andy Clausen & Sjenka

MON. 11/2, 7:30 – Earshot Jazz Festival & Polestar present Achim Kaufmann (piano), Frank Gratkowski (alto saxophone & clarinets), and Wilbert de Joode (bass)

THU. 11/5 – WA Composers Forum presents Nu:BC, contemporary chamber ensemble from Canada

FRI. 11/6 – Seattle Composers’ Salon

SAT. 11/7 – Earshot Jazz Festival presents Hans Koch (solo bass clarinet) and Paul Kikuchi’s Portable Sanctuary (w/ Stuart Dempster, Alex Vittum, Jesse Olsen)

THU. 11/12 – Andrew Boscardin’s Zubatto Syndicate

FRI. 11/13 – Paul Rucker, cello

SAT. 11/14 – Neil Welch, saxophone

TUE. 11/17 – Oana Rusu Tomei, piano & friends

SAT. 11/21 – Nonsequitur presents Alaskan composer John Luther Adams, with percussionist Steven Schick and pianist Cristina Valdes

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Dusted Reviews

October 7, 2009 — Mike

From Dusted:

Artist: Evangelista
Album: Prince of Truth
Label: Constellation
Review date: Oct. 6, 2009

Artist: Harris Eisenstadt
Album: Canada Day
Label: Clean Feed
Review date: Sep. 30, 2009

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New Work by a Speedy Elliott Carter

October 7, 2009 — Mike

NYTimes.com discusses a recent interview with Elliott Carter about his new compositions.

Now that hardly a month goes by without a new work by Elliott Carter, a listener could easily forget that in former times Mr. Carter spent years writing each piece. If he had been this prolific four decades ago, when he was 60, his catalog would probably rival that of Liszt or Villa-Lobos.

With his 101st birthday approaching in December, Mr. Carter still has projects in mind. In a freewheeling interview with the cellist Fred Sherry during a Works & Process concert at the Guggenheim Museum on Monday evening, he discussed his current one: a woodwind quintet in which all the parts are written with instrumental doublings, so that the five musicians will play 10 instruments.

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