A piece of American music seldom stays fresh, even surprising, to succeeding generations of audiences. Datedness sets in so quickly, while nostalgia takes a long time to show up.

George Crumb’s “Black Angels” is an exception.

Written almost 40 years ago during the height of the Vietnam War, “Black Angels” is scored for electric string quartet and is subtitled “Thirteen Images from the Dark Land.” The score is structured on theories of numerology and includes references to Schubert’s “Death and the Maiden” and the “Dies Irae” theme from Gregorian chant.

In 1972, Time magazine named the debut LP of “Black Angels” as “Avant Garde Record of the Year.” A CD recording by the Kronos Quartet made it a hit again in 1990. And this weekend, Bang on a Can places it as the centerpiece of a full day at MASS MoCA celebrating the music of George Crumb, who lives in West Virginia and turned 80 last fall.

Composer David Lang, a co-founder of Bang on a Can, will lead a discussion and performance of Crumb’s music in the afternoon. The evening event features performances of “Black Angels” as well as the trio, “Vox Balaenae” (voice of the whale) and a series of madrigals to poems of Federico Garcia Lorca. More than a concert, it will also include live video by Jim Findlay.

A New York City visual artist, filmmaker and performer, Findlay has worked extensively with Bang on a Can on various theatrical happenings and comes to the music of Crumb with a typical sense of wonder and excitement.

“This was music you could blow people’s heads off with,” says Findlay, recalling his first encounter with “Black Angels” during the early ’90s. “It’s classical music, with classical instrumentation and serious intent, but it wasn’t repetitive and had a level of noise and the aggressiveness that I could relate to. This was like rock with violins!”

The new project has allowed Findlay a wider exposure to Crumb’s music and its inherent theatricality. For example, Crumb’s score to “Vox Balaenae” says that the performers should wear masks and perform under blue lighting.

“We’re going take that one step further and make a full stage environment,” says Findlay. He’ll be controlling three video cameras during the performance, but adds that more specifics of the show will be worked out during the week prior to the performance, during Bang on a Can’s annual summer residency in the galleries of MASS MoCA.

Asked whether the war-resistance roots of “Black Angels” might come into play, Findlay turns to a more contemporary struggle.

“With ‘Vox Balaenae,’ I’m having trouble getting away from the BP disaster,” he says. “I’m creating this black-and-white world and think about oil and water and all the things that are dying. It’s the kind of topicality that in classic art is transferable, but it’s always better when the audience makes that connection themselves. I trust it’s in the music.”

Bang on a Can presents
George Crumb Celebration
Mass MoCA, North Adams, Mass
July 25, 2010

Bang on a Can is dedicated to the forefront of contemporary music but the organization is still respectful of its elders. Concerts have often featured music from way back in the 1980s.

Saturday night’s program at Mass MoCA was practically ancient history with five pieces dating from 1965 through 1971by George Crumb.  The American composer, who turned 80 last fall, helped create the musical avant garde and these works are full of what’s called extended instrumental techniques, like singing into the flute, bowing on the bridge of a double bass, and strumming on the inside of the piano.  Tuned wine goblets and occasional whispers and shouts from the players were also part of the mix.

Over the years such stuff has become rather cliched, especially in the hands of lesser composers.  Yet the whole program was performed with great dignity and professionalism by the 17 musicians. Most appeared to be in the early to mid-20s.

The pieces were mostly trios and quartets, yet there were no set changes nor breaks between pieces.  Jim Findlay organized the staging and from a corner of the stage he created a live video backdrop.  His grainy, black and white images were mostly close ups of various rotating objects. They lent a cool reverence to the proceedings.  The only technical flaw in the night was a persistent noise floor from the amplification system.

The most startling and varied piece was the string quartet “Black Angels.”  Apart from all that the players had to do, including play gongs and wine glasses, the piece also traversed a world of styles, including a couple of hushed but jolting references to early music.  Did Crumb foreshadow postmodernism?

The three female vocalists were especially impressive.  Mezzo Sonya Knussen and soprano Delea Shand soloed in what Crumb called his “Madrigals,” with Spanish poetry by Lorca.  Both singers maintained a dead-on surety of pitch and attractive tone. This was even while delivering some swooping and percussive vocal affects and performing with nontraditional accompaniments.

Also poised and accurate was Amanda DeBoer the soprano in “Lux Aeterna,” which was a surprisingly moving conclusion to the evening. The quintet included two percussionist who got a world of weird rattling sounds from their tympani and other apparatus.  There was also a guitarist and a bass flute player, who both sat on the floor.  The single image on the video was a candle flame.

Originally appeared in the Times Union.

This Saturday night, pianist Pedja Muzijevic will present a program wildly varied enough to be described as mavericky.

Along with Schumann’s “Carnaval” and some little sonatas by Scarlatti, there will be transcriptions of Wager and Strauss and sampling of mid-century Americans like Henry Cowell, Morton Feldman and John Cage.

“It’s a natural combination, wouldn’t you say?” deadpans the Bosnian-born pianist who’s lived in New York since the mid-80s.

A few years ago Muzijevic made a CD of Cage’s “Sonatas and Interludes” interspersed with material from the Baroque through modern eras.  Alexander Platt, director of The Maverick, invited Muzijevic to try something similar this summer.  But that Cage piece is written for the “prepared” piano – a grand piano with nuts, bolts, rubber bands and other hardware items attached onto the strings to create a rattling and ringing sound.

Muzijevic has recreated the CD in concert but having two pianos, one prepared and one standard, wasn’t feasible on the small Maverick stage.  Instead, he came up with a smorgasbord for the first half and will offer the Schumann after intermission.

While most pianists who plumb such depths of contemporary repertoire are specialists in it, Muzijevic sees it as all as part of a large continuum.

“I’m just as happy playing a Mozart concert as a Philip Glass piece,” says Muzijevic.  “I like to put things together because they’re so different. Hopefully it makes us hear each piece better and clearer.”

Among Muzijevic’s selections for Saturday, there are some historic connections to the Ulster County locale.  The program includes “Fabric” and “Floating” by the late Henry Cowell.  An enfant terrible during his youth, Cowell became famous in the 1920s for reaching inside the piano to strum and strike its strings in pieces like “The Banshee.”

Cowell did calm down as he aged and Muzijevic has chosen some relatively traditional selections from his large catalog. The composer died in 1965 after having spent his late years in the village of Shady, about four miles outside Woodstock. His wife Sidney resided there until her death in 1995.

Cowell’s daring at the piano set the stage for the work of his pupil, John Cage, whose influence as a musical visionary and artistic philosopher remains strong almost 20 years after his death.  Besides the sometimes-scorned prepared piano, Cage’s most notorious work is titled “four minutes and 33 seconds” or 4’33”.

Structured in three movements, the piece consists of silence.

It can be “performed” on any instrument, and the musician is instructed to sit still and allow the audience to listen.  Though Cage wrote a book called “Silence,” an encounter with 4’33” is anything but silent.  Instead, it reinforces his notion that all sound can be considered music.

4’33” premiered at The Maverick on August 29, 1952. The pianist was Anthony Tudor.  Rather than hearing air conditioning systems and distant traffic noises, as can happen in a “silent” concert hall, the audience heard the sounds of nature.  By bringing the piece back to The Maverick, Muzijevic is presenting an historical recreation of its premiere.

“To this day, the most avant garde figures in any category are John Cage and Merce Cunningham,” says the pianist. (Cage’s companion was the choreographer Merce Cunningham, who died July 26 last year.) “Has anyone ever come so close to that freedom of expression and wonderment and discomfort?  And is there anything more discomforting than silence.”

Maverick audiences will find out, again, on Saturday.

Originally appeared in the Times Union.

In his latest piece, “Estancia,” choreographer Christopher Wheeldon directs members of the New York City Ballet to buck and bray like wild colts. The piece opens Saturday’s annual gala at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.

“It’s a cowboy ballet, set on a ranch in Argentina,” says Wheeldon, who will be on hand for the performance.  Acknowledging that a western theme isn’t exactly new to ballet, he says the piece is more reminiscent of Agnes de Mille’s “Rodeo” than Balanchine’s “Western Symphony.”

“It’s a simple boy-meets-girl story,” continues Wheeldon, who cast Tiler Peck and Tyler Angle in the leads.  “The estancia (ranch) is run by a strong country girl and she’s not interested in his city ways. He wins her over by wrangling a wild horse and they fall in love.”

“Estancia” premiered on May 29 in New York as part of the company’s spring season, which carried the title “Architecture of Dance.”  Another recently premiered ballet, Alexei Ratmansky’s “Namouna” completes the Saturday night program.

City Ballet’s architecture theme honors the 50th anniversary of Lincoln Center as well as the recent renovation of the David H. Koch Theatre (formerly the New York State Theatre).  Company director Peter Martins brought in the celebrity architect Santiago Calatrava to design sets for a batch of new ballets.

The Spanish-born Calatrava is known for soaring steel structures and Wheeldon probably had those in mind when he originally chose music by Stravinsky for his new piece.  But Calatrava’s final contribution is actually a naturalistic painted backdrop.

“I could tell he wasn’t comfortable with the Stravinsky when I played it for him,” recalls Wheeldon of their first meeting.  Soon after, Wheeldon headed in a new direction with music by the late Argentinean composer Alberto Ginastera.  In a happy coincidence, the 1941 ballet score, titled “Estancia,” was written for George Balanchine, who never got around to choreographing it.

“When I came back and played the Ginastera, there was more of a spark in Calatrava’s eye,” says Wheeldon.  “We talked about his paintings and thought it could be interesting to show another aspect of his art.”

“Estancia” marks Wheeldon’s return to City Ballet, just two years after he left a plum position as its resident choreographer.  During his tenure, he created the effervescent hits “Carnival of the Animals” and “An American in Paris,” as well as more moody choreographic explorations like “After the Rain” which will be revived next Thursday night at SPAC.

Wheeldon departed from City Ballet to found and run his own ballet, “Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company,” which drew on dancers from City Ballet and other troupes to perform short seasons in New York, London, and Vail. But in February of this year, Wheeldon resigned from his own company, citing difficulties with the management, which plans to continue operating without him or his name.

“It was sad that it came to an end but it was a rich experience,” he says. “I learned an incredible amount about managing dancers and the commitment involved in running an arts organization.”

As for returning to City Ballet, Wheeldon says, “I was kind of nervous to be back but it was actually one of the easiest choreographic experiences I’ve had.”

Wheeldon’s history with City Ballet began in 1993 when he joined the corps de ballet at age 19. He was promoted to the rank of soloist five years later and retired as a dancer in 2000 to focus exclusively on choreography.

Now, without any administrative burdens, he’s back to just being a choreographer and some prestigious commissions are ahead.  Coming up are new versions of “Sleeping Beauty” for the Royal Danish Ballet in Copenhagen and “Alice in Wonderland” for the Royal Ballet in London.  Future works for City Ballet are also being discussed, though Wheeldon won’t have any official capacity with the company.

“Sometimes City Ballet’s schedule felt hectic,” says Wheeldon. “But it’s very much about making the work. There’s the studio and you have 30 to 35 dancers just waiting for you. It will always be home for me.”

Originally appeared in the Times Union.

The performers have already recorded the work and Eighth Blackbird will perform it soon with the eight other orchestras that participated in the commission, including the Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Toronto symphonies.

Higdon and Spano in rehearsal

“On a Wire begins with the six musicians gathered around the open-lidded piano, most of them ‘bowing’ the interior strings with horsehair to eerie, almost electronic-music effect. As the concerto evolves into a full-blown orchestral work, the musicians have their own virtuosic solo moments, none alike in temperament, some dense and excited, others like philosophical soliloquies.”  – David Patrick Sterns in lengthy and thoughtful story in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

“The concerto is pure Higdon, with jaunty rhythms that evoke Copland’s Americana at the beginning and end, contrasted in the middle by a tender, fragrant lyricism. Marimba flutters sounded like a breeze passing through a bamboo forest.  Many of Higdon’s fans are waiting for her to cross an artistic threshold and turn out a masterpiece. With emotions kept in reserve, ‘On a Wire’ isn’t there yet.” – Pierre Ruhe, Access Atlanta, reviewing the concert which also included a premiere by Michael Gandolfi.

Eighth Blackbird

BY THE WAY: Since this posting went up, representatives of Eight Blackbird emailed to say hey and inform that two of its members – violinist Matt Albert and clarinetist Michael J. MacCaferri – just happen to be gay.

Previously on MyBigGayEars:

Higdon Wins Pulitzer Prize for Violin Concerto (April 2010)

Jennifer Higdon Comes Out on Top (August 2009)

The 86-year old Philip Spooner spoke to a committee of the state legislature in Maine on April 22, 2009:

Here’s Dunphy’s musical setting “What Do You Think I Fought For At Omaha Beach?” performed by the Simon Carrington Chamber Singers on May 30, 2010, at Blessed Sacrament Church in Kansas City, KS:

The piece received the first Simon Carrington Chamber Singers Composition Award, selected from a pool of over 100 submissions, from over 70 composers, hailing from 10 different countries.  In addition to having the piece premiered by the Simon Carrington Chamber Singers, Dunphy also received a cash prize.

Dunphy, by the way, is straight (married to a man, according to her Facebook page).  A graduate of West Chester University, she studied there with Robert Maggio.

AP:  An annual $150,000 prize has been established by the foundation of Tony-winning playwright-director Arthur Laurents and partner Tom Hatcher. The Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award will be given for an unproduced, full-length play of social relevance by an emerging American playwright. The prize includes a $50,000 cash award for the selected playwright and a $100,000 grant for production costs of the play’s premiere at a nonprofit theater.

The foundation said Thursday it’s the first major award for playwrighting to be named in honor of a gay couple. The 92-year-old Laurents wrote the books for “Gypsy” and “West Side Story.” Hatcher was Laurents’ partner of 52 years. The actor and real estate developer died in 2006.

Submissions from invited applicants will be accepted June 15 to Sept. 15. The first award recipient will be notified March 15.

According to tax filings, the Laurents/Hatcher Foundation is based in Riverhead, NY and had approximately $5.6 million in assets in 2008.

Laurents’ generosity brings to mind Aaron Copland, who left his copyrights to a foundation that supports American music. The Aaron Copland Fund for Music has been giving grants totaling about $2 million annually for almost 20 years now.  In a recent interview, former Copland Fund president John Harbison said that the income flows primarily from just four pieces of music.  The late Virgil Thomson, another “bachelor composer” (no direct family heirs), also established a foundation with his will. But his music and writing never had the same kind of popular success as did that of Laurents and Copland.

He died in Williston Vermont on May 30 at age 76.

Make my grave shape of heart so like a flower be free aired and handsome felt.
Grave root pillow, tung up from grave & wigle at blown up clowd.
Ear turnes close to underlayer of green felt moss & sound
of rain dribble thru this layer
down to the roots that will tickle my ear.
Hay grave, my toes need cutting so file away in sound curve or
Garbage grave, way above my head, blood will soon
trickle into my ear –
no choice but the grave, so cat & sheep are daisey turned.
Train will tug my grave, my breath hueing gentil vapor between weel & track
So kitten string & ball, jumpe over this mound so gently & cutely
So my toe can curl & become a snail & go curiousely on its  way.

1958 NYC

The above comes from CLEAN ASSHOLE POEMS & SMILING VEGETABLE SONGS (1978, City Lights Books), which I found (first edition!) in a used porn shop in the Castro a few years ago.  Here’s the copy from the back cover:

First harvest of 1958-1978 eternal decades’ poetry by Peter Orlovsky, born July 8, 1933, in the vanished Women’s Infirmary in Lower East Side N.Y. Sometime ambulance Attendant, farmer, house cleaner, skilkscreen handyman, newsboy, Postal Clerk & instructor at Kerouac School of Poetics, he was discharged from Military after telling government psychiatrist, “An army is an army against love.” witness of the ’50s San Francisco Poetry Renaissance, he was portrayed by Jack Kerouac as hospital nurse saint Simon Darlovsky among Desolation Angels, learned driving speech from Neal Cassady & taught heart in return, partook of psychedelic revolution a pillar of strength with Timothy Leary & Charles Olson, companioned Kerouac & William Burroughs in Tanger, was one of the first American poets to make modern passage to India in early ’60s accompanying Gary Snyder & Allen Ginsbrg, studied Sarod, Banjo & Guitar, read poetry in Chicago & at Harvard Columbia Princeton Yale & New York’s St. Marks Poetry Project, survived Speed & Junk Hells, sang in jail at anti-war protest & political convention occasions, was published in historic Beatitude & Don Allen Anthologies of New American Poetry, played Self in early underground Robert Frank Movies, travelled with Dylan Rolling Thunder Review, farmed solitary upstate New York ten years organic & herculean, fed and nursed decades of poetry families. An experienced Buddhist sitter & Vajrayana meditation practitioner, his Dharma name is “Ocean of Generosity.” After 20 years of shy genius this first poem book’s published on earth.

Allen Ginsberg
Aug. 27, 1978

Above shot is from the upcoming film “Howl” featuring Aaron Tveit as Orlovsky and James Franco as Ginsberg.

Fort Worth Texas might be the most conservative area of the country after Orange County California.

Seven people were arrested for drunkenness, though numerous reports say that the individuals were pulled from the crowd randomly and violently.  A 26-year old man was hospitalized with head injuries.

The event occurred on the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in New York.

Reports from Dallas Voice on the arrests and the ensuing investigations and protests:  7/1/09, 7/16/09, 8/7/09, 8/20/09, 10/30/09, 12/30/09

Meanwhile…

The one of the city’s premiere arts organizations, the Fort Worth Opera is gay, gay, gay.

And that’s not a redundancy. Just look at what they’re putting on stage.

In 2008 FWO presented the first full American staging of the operatic version of Tony Kushner’s landmark “Angels in America,” composed by Peter Eotvos.  A concurrent series of events throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area was titled: “More Life: The Art & Science of AIDS.”

Ava Pine and David Adam Moore, Fort Worth Opera

And on Saturday night the Fort Worth Opera presents the world premiere of Jorge Martin’s “Before Night Falls,” based on the autobiography of Reinaldo Arenas. The gay Cuban writer died of AIDS in 1990 at age 47.  His memoir was published in English in 1993. A 2000 film version was directed by Julian Schnabel and starred Javier Bardem, who was nominated for an Academy Award.

Here’s composer Jorge Martin – a gay Cuban American who lives in Vermont – talking about writing an opera about a gay Cuban:

Other coverage:  Opera News: “Long Night of the Soul” by Adam Wasserman.

Synposis, biographies, background in FWO’s newsletter “Libretto”

“Before Night Falls” runs for two performances (May 29, June 6) in repertoire with the Fort Worth Opera’s other 2010 productions, “Don Giovani” (May 30, June 4) and “The Elixir of Love” (May 28, June 5).  Look for a review on this site after the June 6 performance.

Wes Mason as Reinaldo Arenas, Fort Worth Opera

Previously on MyBigGayEars:
Darren K. Woods, Administrative star and “turn around master”