Elliott Carter’s Concerto for Flute Reviewed

October 2, 2011 — Mike
Elliott Carter

From NYTimes.com:

Elliott Carter completed his Concerto for Flute and Ensemble in March 2008, back when he was only 99. The astonishingly prolific Mr. Carter is about 10 weeks shy of 103. Since he turned 100, he has written 14 works. He was at Alice Tully Hall on Wednesday night, when the flutist Patricia Spencer and the Mannes Orchestra, conducted by David Hayes, gave the New York premiere of his rhapsodic and brilliant 14-minute concerto. You can only imagine what it meant to Ms. Spencer and the gifted student players from Mannes College the New School for Music to perform the work in Mr. Carter’s presence.

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The Strange & Frightening World Of… The Thing

October 2, 2011 — Mike
Mats Gustafsson

From The Quietus:

Sweat dripping down his forehead, Mats Gustafsson grapples with his baritone saxophone, its monstrous valves belching out heavy riffs and high-pitched squalls. At his side, Ingebrit Håker Flaten wrestles with his double bass, exploring its percussive qualities as much as its harmonic range. Behind them, drummer Paal Nilssen-Love‘s arms are a blur, creating a whirlwind of polyrhythms as his bass drum pounds away in a metre of its own. Out of freewheeling improvisations emerge recognisable nuggets of rock riffage: Lightning Bolt, PJ Harvey, Black Sabbath‘s ‘Iron Man’.

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Newsbits

October 2, 2011 — Mike
Ikue Mori

Mark Polscher’s THE POMEGRANATE TREE, a 64-channel sound installation of electronic music and voices, will premiere 14th October 2011, 8pm at the State Museum of Egyptian Art, Munich/Germany.

We’re a little late on this one: the September Point of Departure is out.

And, speaking of web-zines, the latest issue of Monk Mink Pink Punk is also out.

The latest releases from New Braxton House are out: Trio (Wesleyan) 2005 and Quartet (Mannheim) 2010. Both are examples of Diamond Curtain Wall Music (improvisation with interactive electronics) using Falling River Music (graphic scores). So far, I’ve heard the former and it is just plain excellent.

ugEXPLODE has launched a blog.

ISIM Proposal Deadline Extension: The deadline for proposals for the 6th annual International Society for Improvised Music conference and festival has been extended to October 4. The event, to be held at William Patterson University in Wayne, New Jersey, February 16-19, 2012, will feature performances by leading improvising musicians. Keynote artists and performers will include Pyeng Threadgill and trio; David S. Ware and Muhammad Ali; Ikue Mori, Sylvie Courvoisier and Susie Ibarra; Mulgrew Miller; Robert Dick and Tom Buckner; Karl Berger with University of Michigan Creative Arts Orchestra.

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New Releases from Staubgold

October 2, 2011 — Mike

From Staubgold:

Spooky attraction from a distance – Sunflower sutra
Beautiful debut by Joseph Suchy and Juliana Venter

Jasmina maschina – Alphabet dream noise
A musical dreamland as yet unknown

Kammerflimmer kollektief – Teufelskamin

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