Jan
19
with Lisel, Ashley Bathgate, Karl Larson & Brendon Randall-Myers
Thu January 19th, 2017
9:30PM
Main Space
Minimum Age: 18+
Doors Open: 9:15PM
Show Time: 9:30PM
Event Ticket: $15
Day of Show: $20
This January 19th concert at Manhattan’s Le Poisson Rouge presents a new arrangement of the devastating and sublime modern classic Death Speaks by David Lang alongside the premiere of Song Cycle by the Brooklyn-based, emerging composer Brooks Frederickson with text by singer/songwriter Ben Seretan. Both pieces will employ the same instrumentation which features Eliza Bagg’s unique soprano voice in a small amplified ensemble made up of Ashley Bathgate (cello), Karl Larson (piano), and Brendon Randall-Myers (electric guitar).
This concert marks the first outing for this on-the-rise ensemble that is made up of accomplished and diverse collaborators who perform regularly with new music mainstays Bang on a Can All-Stars, Roomful of Teeth, Ensemble Signal, Bearthoven, and Invisible Anatomy, as well the indie-pop band Pavo Pavo, and math-rock quartet Marateck. The group draws upon a wide variety of cultural influences and aesthetics to seek a more complex palette of colors, techniques, and expressive tools.
The concert pairs two song cycles for the small ensemble: the first, Brooks Frederickson’s Song Cycle, sets text by Ben Seretan in a slowly evolving post-minimalist journey. David Lang’s Death Speaks, originally written for an unconventional group of indie-rock darlings including Shara Worden and Bryce Dessner, has been called “schubertgaze” and a piece of “dolorous scope” by the NY Times. An aching realization of the figure of Death as she appears and speaks in Schubert lieder, the piece comes from what Pitchfork refers to as Lang’s musical “frozen wood,” bringing to life through “tangled figures” the “sound of modern, anxious thought.”
Ticketing Policy
TABLE SEATING POLICY Table seating for all seated shows is reserved exclusively for ticket holders who purchase “Table Seating” tickets. By purchasing a “Table Seating” ticket you agree to also purchase a minimum of two food and/or beverage items per person. Table seating is first come, first seated. Please arrive early for the best choice of available seats. Seating begins when doors open. Tables are communal so you may be seated with other patrons. We do not take table reservations.
A standing room area is available by the bar for all guests who purchase “Standing Room” tickets. Food and beverage can be purchased at the bar but there is no minimum purchase required in this area.
All tickets sales are final. No refund or credits.
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David Lang’s “Death Speaks” and Brooks Frederickson’s “Song Cycle”
Brooks Frederickson official site | Brooks Frederickson on Twitter
David Lang is one of the most highly-esteemed and performed American composers writing today. His works have been performed around the world in most of the great concert halls.
Lang’s simple song #3, written as part of his score for Paolo Sorrentino’s acclaimed film YOUTH, received many awards nominations in 2016, including the Academy Award and Golden Globe.
His the little match girl passion won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize in music. Based on a fable by Hans Christian Andersen and Lang’s own rewriting of the libretto to Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion, the recording of the piece was awarded a 2010 Grammy Award for Best Small Ensemble Performance. Lang has also been the recipient of the Rome Prize, Le Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, and Musical America’s 2013 Composer of the Year.
Lang’s tenure as 2013-14 Debs Chair Composer’s Chair at Carnegie Hall saw his critically-acclaimed festival, collected stories, showcase different modes of storytelling in music. This season Lang sees the premiere of his chamber opera Anatomy Theatre at LA Opera, the 4th annual performance of the little match girl passion to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the UK premieres of the national anthems with the London Symphony and mystery sonatas at Wigmore Hall, as well as residencies at the Strings of Autumn Festival in Prague, the Winnipeg New Music Festival, and Baldwin-Wallace College.
Lang’s music is used regularly for ballet and modern dance around the world by such choreographers as Twyla Tharp, Susan Marshall, Edouard Lock, and Benjamin Millepied, who choreographed a new piece by Lang for the LA Dance Project at BAM in 2014. Lang’s film work includes the score for Jonathan Parker’s (Untitled), the music for the award-winning documentary The Woodmans, and the string arrangements for Requiem for a Dream, performed by the Kronos Quartet. His music is also on the soundtrack for Paolo Sorrentino’s Oscar-winning La Grande Bellezza and the director’s upcoming film, Youth. In addition to his work as a composer is Professor of Composition at the Yale School of Music.
Lang is co-founder and co-artistic director of New York’s legendary music collective Bang on a Can. His music is published by Red Poppy Music (ASCAP) and is distributed worldwide by G. Schirmer, Inc.
Composer Brooks Frederickson writes patient music that is grounded in long lines of slowly evolving textures with understated rhythmic drive. As an active participant in Brooklyn’s vibrant contemporary music scene, he has worked with leading new music ensembles Sō Percussion, JACK Quartet, Bearthoven, Ensemble mise-en and with performers such as Vicky Chow, Nathan Schram, and Grace Fong. His music has been present as part of the Bang On A Can Marathon (2014), and the Contagious Sounds and Columbus // New York Exchange series. Interested in the interaction of movement and sound, he has also collaborated with the Spark Movement Collective and choreographer Annette Herwander.
Upcoming recording projects include a his “steroidally hard-driving, rock-influenced” (NY Times) piece Undertoad on Cantaloupe Records coming out in Spring 2017, as well as his first solo album Small Works that will be released in fall of the same year.
As an advocate for education and community, Brooks is on the faculty at the Special Music School where he teaches both theory and composition. In addition, he facilitates the annual Composer-Performer Speed Dating session at the New Music Gathering.
Lisel
Eliza Bagg official site | Eliza Bagg on Twitter
Lisel is a recording project of Eliza Bagg.
Photo Credit: Emmanuel Olunkwa
Ashley Bathgate
Ashley Bathgate official site | Ashley Bathgate on Facebook | Ashley Bathgate on Twitter | Ashley Bathgate on Instagram | Ashley Bathgate on YouTube
American cellist Ashley Bathgate has been described as an “eloquent new music interpreter” (New York Times) and “a glorious cellist” (Washington Post) who combines “bittersweet lyricism along with ferocious chops” (New York Magazine). Her “impish ferocity”, “rich tone” and “imaginative phrasing” (New York Times) have made her one of the most sought after performers of her time. The desire to create a dynamic energy exchange with her audience and build upon the ensuing chemistry is a pillar of Bathgate’s philosophy as a performer. Her affinity to dynamism drives Bathgate to venture into previously uncharted areas of ground-breaking sounds and techniques, breaking the mold of a cello’s traditionally perceived voice. Collaborators and fans alike describe her vitality as nothing short of remarkable and magical for all who are involved. Bathgate is a member of the award winning, internationally acclaimed sextet, Bang on a Can All-Stars, the chamber music group HOWL and is also a founding member of TwoSense, a duo with pianist Lisa Moore, and Bonjour, a low-strung, percussive quintet. In 2014 Bathgate premiered a new Cello Concerto by Australian composer Kate Moore with the ASKO|Schönberg ensemble at the Gaudeamus Festival in Utrecht, NL. Subsequently she recorded an album of Moore’s works for solo cello, entitled Stories For Ocean Shells, which was released as her debut solo album on Cantaloupe Music. In 2015 she also gave the world premiere of What Moves You, a collaborative performance project with jookin’ dance sensation Lil Buck at the Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, NC. Most recently, Bathgate commissioned the composer collective Sleeping Giant to write her a six-movement suite for solo cello entitled “ASH”, which was premiered in 2016. Both ASH and her latest album, 8 Track, featuring new multitrack works by Alex Weiser and Emily Cooley as well as a new version of Steve Reich’s Cello Counterpoint, will be commercially released this coming season. Bathgate’s radio/television appearances include performances on BBC Radio 3, WKCR, WMHT, WQXR’s Meet the Composer podcast with Nadia Sirota, NPR’s Performance Today, WYNC’s New Sounds Live, SiriusXM, Late Night and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Her recorded work can be found on Albany Records, Cantaloupe Music, Innova Recordings, La-La Land Records, Naxos, Nonesuch, Starkland and Uffda Records. Originally from Saratoga Springs, NY, Bathgate began her cello studies with the late Rudolf Doblin, principal cellist and assistant music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic in the 1950’s. After his passing, she resumed her tutelage with Ann Alton at Skidmore College. From there she continued on to study at Bard College with Luis Garcia-Renart (B.M.) and then at the Yale University School of Music with renowned cellist, Aldo Parisot (M.M. & A.D). Bathgate resides in New York City. (www.ashleybathgate.com)
Karl Larson
Brooklyn based pianist Karl Larson is a specialist in the music of our time. Consistently presenting adventurous programs, Karl has premiered many solo and chamber works by notable composers including David Rakowski, Ken Thomson, Scott Wollschleger, Robert Honstein, Chris Cerrone, and David Lang.
A sought after collaborator, Larson has worked with many notable musicians from around the country, and has been featured on a number of highly regarded new music series including the Bang on a Can Marathon, the MATA Festival, and many more. Larson is also a founding member of Bearthoven and the curator of the Permutations NYC Concert Series.
Brendon Randall-Myers
Brendon Randall-Myers official site | Brendon Randall-Myers on Twitter
Brendon Randall-Myers is a Brooklyn-based composer and guitarist, and the co-founder of composer/performer ensemble Invisible Anatomy and complex noise rock band Marateck. Praised as “fiercely aggressive but endlessly compelling” (The San Francisco Chronicle) and “a compositional tour de force” (San Francisco Classical Voice), his music amplifies the raw physical and emotional power of bodies creating sound. As a composer, he has received commissions from the Jerome Fund for New Music, the Tang Museum at Skidmore College, the Guitar Foundation of America, and Roulette, and collaborated with performers such as the Bang on a Can All-Stars, the Omaha Symphony, Friction Quartet, and guitarist Jack Sanders. As a guitarist, he has appeared with The Glenn Branca Ensemble, Ensemble Signal, and Dither Quartet; on the Beijing Modern Music Festival, Ellnora Guitar Festival, and Lincoln Center Out of Doors. Brendon grew up home-schooled in rural West Virginia, and holds degrees from Pomona College and the Yale School of Music.