Composers Concordance: Variations
Free (Online: Free | In person: $20 in advance, $30 at the door)
- Joan Forsyth, piano
- Jai Jeffryes, piano
- Taka Kigawa, piano
- Eugene McBride, piano
- Daniel Palkowski, piano
- David Saperstein, piano
- David See, piano
- Kathleen Supové, piano
- Christopher Vassiliades, piano
- Christina Kay, soprano
Dan Cooper — Selected works
Delilah Gutman — Selected works
Kristjan Järvi — Selected works
Mark Kostabi — Selected works
Lowell Liebermann — Variations on a Theme of Schubert, Op. 100
Eugene McBride — Selected works
Daniel Palkowski — Piano Variations
Gene Pritsker — Friendly Variations
David Saperstein — Selected works
David See — Selected works
Christopher Vassiliades — Passacaglia Mystica
On Thursday, June 9th at 7pm Eastern at Greenwich House, Composers Concordance presents a piano-based concert entitled Variations, focusing on Variation Form, including the myriad ways it remains central to music composition in the 21st Century.
Featured compositions include Gene Pritsker's Friendly Variations, Lowell Liebermann's Variations on a Theme of Schubert, Op. 100, Aaron Alter's Toccata-Variations on a Theme by Charlie Parker, Christopher Vassiliades' Passacaglia Mystica, and Daniel Palkowski's Piano Variations.
A certain musical form has remained so popular among composers that it seems almost synonymous with music composition itself. Variation Form's adherents have included virtually all of the renowned composers of every era, all of whom composed sets of variations, from J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations to Charles Ives' Variations on America. Beyond the classical canon, much jazz music is structured on a basic pattern of theme and variations, and artists frequently develop variations on themes by other composers. Prime examples would include Coleman Hawkins' 1939 recording of Johnny Green's Body and Soul, in which Hawkins famously varied the melody from the outset; and Billy Strayhorn's Take the A Train, based on the harmonic progression of Jimmy McHugh's Exactly Like You. More recently, Pop music has become so replete with variation that fans, and even songwriters themselves, seem sometimes to forget who wrote what, leading to numerous disputes of authorship. Clearly, Variation Form itself has remained a constant, echoing what’s been heard before, while driving music's evolutions.
The concert will also be live-streamed on the Composers Concordance Facebook page.
About Composers Concordance
Staying in rotation for 40 years in NYC is a rare feat. In the case of a new music presenting organization, it requires not only diligence and cognizance of achievements of the past but also an ethic of keeping one's ear to the ground for emerging stylistic and technological developments, as well as talented new composers on the scene.
Composers Concordance, founded in 1984 by Joseph Pehrson and Patrick Hardish, advised by Otto Luening, strives to present contemporary music in innovative ways, with an emphasis on thematic programming. Directors Gene Pritsker and Dan Cooper co-curate the programs and lead the CompCord Ensemble, Chamber Orchestra, String Orchestra, and Big Band. Associate Directors are Milica Paranosic, Peter Jarvis, Debra Kaye, and Seth Boustead.
Composers Concordance has also created a Naxos-distributed record label: Composers Concordance Records, co-directed by Peter Jarvis. Composers Concordance's overriding vision is to promote contemporary music, composers, and new works as a rightful and respected part of society. Good music performed and recorded well, pushing the boundaries of sound and composition.
http://www.composersconcordance.comAbout Joan Forsyth, piano
About Jai Jeffryes, piano
About Taka Kigawa, piano
About Daniel Palkowski, piano
About Kathleen Supové, piano
In May 2012, Kathleen Supové received the John Cage Award from ASCAP for “the artistry and passion with which she performs, commissions, records, and champions the music of our time.” Kathleen Supové is one of America’s most acclaimed and versatile new music pianists, continually redefining the pianist/keyboardist/performance artist in today’s world. Ms. Supové presents solo concerts under the moniker THE EXPLODING PIANO. A striking presence onstage, she has performed with computers, boxing gloves, robots, and laptop orchestra.
Recent projects include two solo CDs: "The Debussy Effect," on New Focus Recordings (La Barbara-Clark-Marks-Felsenfeld-Woolf-Gosfield-Cooper), the result of a multi-composer commissioning project; and "Eye to Ivory" (Childs-Woolf-Barash-Didkovsky-Naphtali), with vocalizing, extended techniques, Yamaha Disklavier, and noise-based effects.
http://www.supove.com/