“Stylized yet sensual… the highlight of the festival was Christopher Cerrone’s “In a Grove,” a haunting psychological thriller with a libretto by Stephanie Fleischmann.”
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New York Times
“A vividly immersive thriller... not a word or note is without purpose, and both are captured, if not enhanced, in this richly produced recording.”
In addition to Ligeti himself, the program includes established figures like Molly Joyce and Nina Young as well as an intriguing coterie of up-and-coming compositional talents.
In A Grove is vividly produced… not a mere document of the premiere, but a creation of its own, carefully considered for the studio… commanding attention until the end.
Samora Pinderhughes’ Grief mixes gospel harmonies, simmering post-hip-hop instrumentals and wounded balladry, the music shudders with outrage and vision.
Pinderhughes has become a virtuoso at turning the experience of living in community inside-out, revealing all its personal detail and tension, and giving voice to registers of pain that are commonly shared but not often articulated.
At the end of the first movement, a mournful lullaby gives way to brutal sounds and scenes from the genocide.
Fans of this electronic and orchestral specialist have been waiting for the next big statement. And here it is... Tyondai Braxton in full command of his art.
Timo Andres’ piece, which features the cellist Inbal Segev performing with the Metropolis Ensemble, is based on John Vanderlyn’s “Panoramic View of the Palace and Gardens of Versailles” (1818-19), a massive painting on nearly 2,000 square feet of canvas that requires its own circular gallery in the Met’s American Wing.
Jon Pareles from The New York Times reviewed The Roots performance at The Public Theater on May 13, 2014, featuring Metropolis Ensemble conducted by Andrew Cyr, D.D. Jackson, Jeremy Ellis, Craig Harris, Rahzel, and Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson. Here are a few excerpts from the article:
“Conundrum, provocation, history lesson, ritual, chamber recital, jazz concert, elegy — the Roots’ performance at the Public Theater on Tuesday night was decidedly not a standard kickoff for a hip-hop album. That was clear when, near the beginning of the show, balloon animals were dropped onto the stage, covering it knee-deep; for the rest of the performance, each entrance and exit was accompanied by balloons popping underfoot like gunshots. Dozens of nooses also hung overhead.
The musicians weren’t the same Roots band seen regularly on NBC’s “Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.” They included the Metropolis Ensemble — the conductor Andrew Cyr, a string quartet and four singers — and the jazz pianist D. D. Jackson, who wrote dramatic, somberly dissonant arrangements for the ensemble. Mr. Jackson also hurled crashing free-jazz clusters and tremolos in a duet with Questlove on drums. Jeremy Ellis tapped out some two-handed workouts from a sampler, and near the beginning of the concert, there was a primordial drone from Craig Harris on didgeridoo, joined by the percussive vocals of Rahzel, a pioneering beatboxer. Two male dancers also appeared, break dancing amid the balloons.
It was a miscellany of grim tidings and stubborn determination, of sounds both earthy and avant-garde, of bitter realities and electronic hallucinations… This performance wasn’t the rollout of a consumer product; it was joining a cultural continuum."
The musicians weren’t the same Roots band seen regularly on NBC’s “Tonight” show with Jimmy Fallon. They included the Metropolis Ensemble — the conductor Andrew Cyr, a string quartet and four singers — and the jazz pianist D. D. Jackson, who wrote dramatic, somberly dissonant arrangements for the ensemble.
Avner Dorman’s music works its magic by melding far-flung influences and making them sound natural together.
Avner Dorman writes with an omnivorous eclecticism that makes his music on Concertos both accessible and impossible to pigeonhole.