Michael Gordon Premiers Popopera
06/18/08
Cantaloupe co-founder Michael Gordon's new piece, titled Popopera, will be performed live June 19th at the Holland Festival in Amsterdam. The multi-guitar piece was written for dance company Emio Greco (the members of which are all non-guitarists). The piece will be performed in various cities throughout Europe for the remainder of 2008. Specific dates, times, and venues can be seen on the tours page.
In addition to live performance, Popopera will be released by Cantaloupe Records exclusively for Cantaloupe Club members. Popopera will also be available for purchase digitally.
Tristan Perich Profiled in Village Voice
06/13/08
Tristan Perich was recently profiled in New York alt-weekly the Village Voice. Explaining the aesthetic, technological, and musical concepts behind One-Bit Music, the profile features quotes from Perich and others, including Bang On A Can co-founder Michael Gordon, who stated that Tristan's "music...is really good and has its own innovative implications...Tristan realizes all three parts of the invention - concept, tech, and music - himself in an amazing way." Heavy kudos!
The piece also mentions other Perich compositions, such as "Active Field" (which debuted at the Whitney) and "All Possible Paths" (written for the Bang On A Can All-Stars)....click here to continue
So Percussion Featured in Steve Reich Video on Pitchfork.tv
06/03/08
Cantaloupe recording artists So Percussion can be seen in a recent Pitchfork.tv video about Steve Reich. Centering on Reich's musical background, the influence of African rhythm and repetition on his work, and his seminal composition Drumming, the video features interviews with Reich, Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore, and So Percussion's Jason Treuting as well as footage of So Percussion performing Reich's piece in Austin during the 2008 SxSW Festival. Click the link below to read more on So Percussion's interpretation of Drumming. To watch the video, simply click "play."
So Percussion's Steve Reich - Drumming (CA21026)
NYC Bang on a Can Marathon Round-Up
06/02/08
Now that the press has gone home and recovered from the twelve-hour Bang on a Can Marathon, positive coverage of the event has begun to appear online. Secret Society thoroughly covered the event while offering much praise for Alarm Will Sound's take on Harrison Birtwistle's Carmen Arcadiae Mechanicae Perpetuum and The Beatle's Revolution #9.
New Yorker critic Alex Ross was largely sidelined due to illness that forced him to miss much of the concert. Instead, he directs his readers to the New York Times, where Steven Smith covers Dan Deacon's performance as well as Owen Pallett's collaboration with the Bang on a Can All-Stars....click here to continue
New York Bang on a Can Marathon This Weekend
05/30/08
The New York City Bang on a Can Marathon takes place this weekend at the World Financial Center Winter Garden. The schedule for the marathon, which begins Saturday (5/31) at 6:00 pm and runs through Sunday (6/1), can be viewed here.
Iva Bittova Wins Best Actress at Film Festival
05/10/08
Polymath and Cantaloupe recording artist Iva Bittova was recently awarded Best Actress at the Syracuse International Film Festival for her role in Little Girl Blue directed by Alice Nellis.
The film, about "the inner longings and internal
fantasies of Julie (played by Bittova)," won the Czech equivalent of the Academy Award for Best Film last year. Bittova was also awarded the Best Actress Award by the Slovakian Film and Television Academy for her role in the film.
John Luther Adams Featured in The New Yorker
05/09/08
John Luther Adams was profiled in this week's issue of The New Yorker by classical music critic and The Rest is Noise author Alex Ross.
The article highlights Adams' background and work as well as his relationship with Alaska, where he has lived for 30 years.
Toby Twining: Brewing Controversy and Eurydice
05/08/08
Toby Twining's rendition of Karlheinz Stockhausen's "Stimmung" at the World Financial Center Winter Garden made news in the New York Times last week. Stockhausen, who died in December, has remained a controversial figure within the classical community for his comments regarding the World Trade Center attacks. He called 9/11 "the greatest work of art that is possible in the whole cosmos." Apparently, many felt that Twining's performance of Stockhausen's piece was inappropriate due to the Winter Garden's location near Ground Zero. Others maintain that Stockhausen's comments were taken out of context. Whatever.
Music blog Sequenza 21 shares our feelings here at Cantaloupe, writing "I know the cable channels love to gin up this phony controversy crap, but the New York Times[?]" Oh, the Times......click here to continue
Bang on a Can Marathon NYC Marathon 5/31 and 6/1
05/07/08
The annual New York City Bang on a Can Marathon will begin at 6 p.m. on May 31 at the World Financial Center Winter Garden in lower Manhattan.
The long list of works to be performed over the twelve-hour marathon will include pieces by John Luther Adams, The Beatles, Harrison Birtwistle, Caleb Burhans, Chaya Czernowin, Donnacha Dennehy, Arnold Dreyblatt, Sivan Cohen Elias, Brian Eno, Michael Gordon, Annie Gosfield, Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen, Karsh Kale, David Lang, Lukas Ligeti, Steve Reich, Terry Riley, Ruben Seroussi, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Julia Wolfe, Bora Yoon, Pamela Z, and Evan Ziporyn.
Featured performers will include such artists as Alarm Will Sound, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Caleb Burhans, Hartt Basses, Contact Contemporary Music, Crash Ensemble, Karsh Kale, Lisa Moore, Ensemble Nikel, Signal, So Percussion, Toby Twining Music, Bora Yoon, Young People's Chorus of NYC, and Pamela Z.
More information will be posted leading up to the festival in the upcoming month.
Arnold Dreyblatt to Release Resonant Relations
05/02/08
Composer Arnold Dreyblatt will release his new album Resonant Relations on Cantaloupe Records. A release date still has yet to be set, but the recording will be available before its commercial release at the New York City Bang on a Can Marathon on May 31st.
Tracklisting for Resonant Relations:
1. Resonant Relations
2. Twentyfive Chords in Twentyfive in Ninety Four Variations
In the meantime, you can watch the interview with Arnold as he explains his "excited strings bass" technique.
