Posted on April 19, 2013 1:02 pm by Ron Blessinger
Tags | Blog | Asian Music Now | 12-13 season
Thirteen years ago, I came upon across an article in the New York Times which described the incredible story of the first class of music students to graduate from the Beijing Conservatory, post-Cultural Revolution. Thousands applied, only a few hundred were admitted, and those graduates have since conquered the musical world, most notably recently with the Pulitzer Prize for composition being awarded to Zhou Long.
Their stories are… Learn More » »
Posted on February 28, 2013 8:53 am by Ron Blessinger
Tags | Blog | When Michael meets Julia | 12-13 season
“I started taking piano lessons in Nicaragua. I know my parents used to take me to this teacher and it was classic. I used to call her “la bruja” which means “the witch.” She would slap my hands with the ruler and I would be terrified to go to my piano lesson. It’s exactly the opposite of the piano lessons you want to give your child. But I really loved music and when we moved to Miami and I continued with my piano lessons, I figured… Learn More » »
Posted on February 25, 2013 4:34 pm by Ron Blessinger
Tags | Blog | When Michael meets Julia | 12-13 season
Julia Wolfe’s music lives on the extremes….with enough energy to power a major city. I love the edginess, the challenge to the instrumentalist to push beyond comfort zones to achieve ecstatic moments. The three pieces by Julia on our concerts this week could not be more different in instrumentation (bagpiper, violin/piano duo, 8 string basses), but all share an ecstatic quality, that surge of energy that thrills. It’s not music for the… Learn More » »
Posted on February 13, 2013 5:46 pm by Ron Blessinger
Tags | Blog | When Michael meets Julia | 12-13 season
Three friends get together in a NYC coffee shop and make a list of everything they hate about concerts. An audacious plan is hatched…strip away formalities and conventions via a marathon concert of new music, a showcase for new ideas and brilliant performers….thus was Bang-on-a-Can born. The story of how co-founders Michael Gordon, Julia Wolfe, and David Lang took matters into their own hands and set the new music world afire is… Learn More » »
Posted on December 14, 2012 2:23 pm by Ron Blessinger
Tags | Blog | 12-13 season
Pushing the envelope....a concept in mathematics, popularized by Tom Wolfe in The Right Stuff…aeronautical slang for going beyond commonly accepted boundaries.
In music, our ‘envelopes’ are often constructed out of traditions and performance practices that can lead us so far from the original spirit of the music as to make it safe and…..predictable.
No! It doesn’t have to be that way! You understand why we don’t have to… Learn More » »
Posted on November 8, 2012 4:08 pm by Ron Blessinger
Tags | Blog | Reich-analia | 12-13 season
Two days before Reich-analia redux! So late on posting for this concert, but better late than never!
We love Steve Reich, obviously. Bringing him here was one of the first things I did as Artistic Director, 12 years ago, a visit that was captured by the brilliant Tom D’Antoni in this ArtBeat piece:
http://youtu.be/QzaUUINr4b8
This time, we feature two works that are new to us….guitar master Dan Balmer will start the show with Electric… Learn More » »
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