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CHARLES WUORINEN
One of the few composers who continue to ardently embrace serialism
as a technique of musical organization. His use of consonant intervals
and lively pulse-driven energy gives his work a spontaneity that
belies its compositional rigor. His best known work, Reliquary for
Igor Stravinsky, resulted from a 1975 commission to realize a piece
from fragments that Stravinsky left at his death. On February 21,
we will perform his Piano Quintet.
PETER ALEXANDER
A native of England, he has lived in the American Northeast
for the past 20 years. One finds in his music the same rhythmic
drive as that of his former teacher, Charles Wuorinen. With help
from the Mary Flagler Cary Foundation, we commissioned his Trio
for cello, piano and vibraphone, which will be premiered on February
21.
CARLTON WILKINSON
Composer, keyboardist and energetic promoter of new music.
He was a cofounder of the acclaimed Trenton Avant Garde Festival.
On February 21, Diva Goodfriend-Koven (see profile) will perform
his Les femmes armees, an electric work that stretches the capabilities
of the flute to the limit.
JAMES TENNEY
An experimentalist composer whose individual approach to harmony
gives his music its unique sound. His "harmonic language"
is not derived from such Western traditional concepts as dominant
seventh chords and key relationships. Rather, it starts from such
first principles as overtone relationships. We played his Cognate
Canons in 1997 and will perform his Seegersong and Diaphonic Toccata
on June 5.
TOM JOHNSON
American composer who has lived for the past 20 years in Paris.
His music could be described as hyper-minimalist, his pieces being
economical in the extreme. He often creates excitement and anticipation
through the shifting juxtaposition of a handful of pitches, as evidenced
in his most famous work, The Four Note Opera.. On June 5, we will
play his La vie est si courte for eight players.
JOAN LA BARBARA
Singer and composer renowned for her pioneering exploration
of vocal technique. In performance, she often deploys a vast arsenal
of musical sounds-everything from cantabile melodies to glottal
percussive noises. On August 21, she will join us in a revised and
extended version of her strikingly beautiful Snowbird's Dance, Into
the Light.
LOU HARRISION
West coast composer whose use of Eastern modality and alternative
tuning systems give his music an exotic beauty. Together with John
Cage in the 30's, he revolutionized percussion music in this country,
incorporating into his pieces such "found object" instruments
as brake drums and flower pots. On August 21, Locrian pianist Emily
Wong will perform his recent Sonata for Piano.
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