Avant Music News

Bargemusic (Friday through Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday) This floating concert hall is one of the best places to enjoy chamber music in New York. The weekend kicks off with a “Here and Now” new-music program on Friday, featuring the ensemble counter)induction performing works by Charles Wuorinen, Mario Davidovsky, Milton Babbitt, Louis Karchin and Douglas Boyce. On Thursday a “Here and Now” program features the pianist Timothy Andres playing premieres by Jacob Cooper and Ted Hearne. On Saturday and Sunday the violinist Mark Peskanov, the cellist Edward Arron and the pianist Jeewon Park perform Haydn, Arensky and Dvorak. At 8 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Thursday and at 3 p.m. Sunday, Bargemusic, Fulton Ferry Landing, next to the Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn , (718) 624-2083, bargemusic.org; $35; $30 for 65+; $15 for students. (Vivien Schweitzer)

Either/Or (Friday) This restlessly inquisitive new-music group continues its sixth annual spring festival with a lively mix of pieces by European mavericks: some well established (Giacinto Scelsi, Luigi Nono, Horatiu Radulescu), others emerging (Erin Gee, Raphaël Cendo). At 8 p.m., the Kitchen, 512 West 19th Street, Chelsea , (866) 777-8932, thekitchen.org; $12. (Steve Smith)

Musicircus (Saturday and Sunday) The latest downtown Manhattan presenter to pack its bags and head to Brooklyn, Roulette is in the process of financing and refurbishing its new space, a former Art Deco theater. This weekend, as part of the Atlantic Avenue Artwalk, Roulette opens its new house for Cage-inspired simultaneous performances by adventurous instrumentalists, singers, rappers and more. At 1 p.m., New Roulette, 509 Atlantic Avenue at Third Avenue, Brooklyn , roulette.org; free. (Smith)

Larry Polansky and Christian Wolff (Saturday) These veteran experimental composers, both also active as instrumentalists and improvisers, offer a tag-team evening: Mr. Wolff plays in Mr. Polansky’s ensemble during the early set, with roles reversing for the late set. Common to both shows are the bassist Robert Black and the percussionist Doug Perkins. At 8 and 10 p.m., the Stone, Avenue C and Second Street, East Village , thestonenyc.com; $10 per set. (Smith)

Prism Quartet (Friday) Based in New York and Philadelphia, this bold ensemble has set the standard for contemporary-classical saxophone quartets with its rhythmic acuity and elegant sound. This Friday’s program is devoted entirely to new pieces, by David Rakowski, Lisa Bielawa, Perry Goldstein, Matthew Levy (a quartet member) and Cara Haxo (the winner of the quartet’s annual young composer award). At 7:30 p.m., Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theater, Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway, at 95th Street, (212) 864-5400, symphonyspace.org; $20, students and 65+ $15. (Smith)

Talea Ensemble and Ensemble Linea (Saturday) The Talea Ensemble, a vital part of the New York contemporary-classical scene, plays host to a French ensemble of similarly progressive inclinations: Ensemble Linea, formed in 1997 and based in Strasbourg. Linea offers Gérard Grisey’s “Talea” as its calling card; Talea performs Charles Wuorinen’s “Percussion Duo”; and members from both groups mingle in premieres by Frédéric Durieux, Florent Motsch and Anthony Cheung. At 7:30 p.m., Rose Studio, Rose Building, 165 West 65th Street, Lincoln Center , taleaensemble.org; $15; $10 students and 65+. (Smith)

Tribeca New Music Festival (Sunday and Thursday) This adventurous festival continues on Sunday in Brooklyn with the Anti-Depressant duo (comprising the pianist Kathleen Supové and the violinist Jennifer Choi) and two violinist-composers: Gregor Huebner and Jonathan Zalben. The program features their works for violin and electronics and pieces by Erkki-Sven Tuur and Orlando Jacinto Garcia. On Thursday the party moves to Chelsea, where the Gyan Riley Ensemble will play new works. On Sunday at 8 p.m. at Galapagos, 16 Main Street, at Water Street, Dumbo, Brooklyn, (718) 222-8500, galapagosartspace.com, $15, or $10 for students. On Thursday at 8 p.m., the Cell, 338 West 23rd Street, Chelsea , brownpapertickets.com; $20. (Schweitzer)

Honoring Bill Dixon (Friday) Bill Dixon, who died last year at 84, was a composer and trumpeter of imposing singularity and a figure of historical consequence in the postwar jazz avant-garde. This concert, organized by the Festival of New Trumpet Music, features several of his former collaborators, including the cornetist-trumpeters Taylor Ho Bynum, Rob Mazurek and Stephen Haynes, each of whom has created new music for the occasion. At 7 p.m., Rubin Museum of Art, 150 West 17th Street, Chelsea , (212) 620-5000, rmanyc.org, fontmusic.org; $20; $5, students; $16.20, members. (Chinen)

Wadada Leo Smith Golden Quartet (Sunday) This aggressive but often lyrical working band, led by the trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, presents the premiere of “Ten Freedom Summers” — a three-part suite inspired by the civil rights movement, which Mr. Smith, born in Mississippi in 1941, experienced firsthand. The group, with Angelica Sanchez on piano, John Lindberg on bass and Pheeroan akLaff on drums, performs under the auspices of the Festival of New Trumpet Music and with support from Chamber Music America. At 7:30 p.m. Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker Street, near Thompson Street, Greenwich Village , (212) 505-3474, lepoissonrouge.com; $22 day of show, $18 in advance, $15 for students. (Chinen)

Vision Festival (Sunday through Thursday) This sprawling avant-garde festival enlists dozens of improvising artists, in working groups and novel configurations. Its centerpiece event, on Wednesday, features the German free-jazz saxophonist Peter Brötzmann in three different instrumental settings. Other highlights include a Sunday-night tribute to Marion Brown and Billy Bang, featuring D. D. Jackson on piano and Hamiet Bluiett on baritone saxophone; a Tuesday-night brass showcase presented in concert with the Festival of New Trumpet Music; and a group spearheaded by the saxophonist Kidd Jordan, with Mr. Bluiett and others, on Thursday night. From 6 p.m. Sunday and from 7 p.m. on the other nights; see visionfestival.org for a full schedule. (Through June 11.) Abrons Arts Center, 466 Grand Street, at Pitt Street, Lower East Side , (212) 598-0400; $30 per day, $20 for students, or $140 for festival pass. (Chinen)

FRI. 6/3, 8 PM – Lullabies for Fallen Empires – lush indie chamber orchestra led by Richard Webb

SAT. 6/4, 8 PM – John Teske performs new works for double bass, with Maria Scherer Wilson and Beth Fleenor

THU. 6/9 – Bad Luck, yet another CD release party by this young out drum ‘n sax duo

FRI. 6/10 – Nonsequitur presents electroacoustic music with Jim Haynes & Brendan Murray (San Francisco/Boston) + Steven M. Miller (Singapore)

THU. 6/16 – Hanna Benn presents new choral music

FRI. 6/17 – Seattle composer Jay Hamilton

SAT. 6/18 – Seattle composer Brad Sherman

FRI. 6/24 – Paul Rucker, cello

SAT. 6/25 – Seattle Pianist Collective

At the Holland Festival, founded in 1947, Bertels has worked with artists such as multi-instrumentalist and Faith No More frontman Mike Patton and installation artist-composer Heiner Goebbels. He says both could find a place in a Sydney program, schedules and fees permitting.

He says he is interested in programs that juxtapose modern and traditional Western art forms with those of non-Western cultures. He mentions a Holland Festival event that combined music by Xenakis with that of experimental Icelandic group Mum. The audience for one made a discovery in the other.