Industry News
Two New Commissions by Michael Gordon to Be Premiered by the Kronos Quartet
New York, NY --
This October, musical pioneer and Bang on a Can co-founder Michael Gordon’s two latest works will be featured in a series of performances in the northeast. The premiere of Clouded Yellow, a string quartet co-commissioned by the eminent Kronos Quartet and Dartmouth College, will take place in a performance by Kronos at Dartmouth on October 2. Friday, October 8 sees the world premiere of an as-yet-untitled piece for string quartet and chorus by Kronos and the New York City-based Young People's Chorus at Le Poisson Rouge. Finally, Clouded Yellow will receive its New York City premiere at Le Poisson Rouge on October 9.
These two new pieces mark the third and fourth commissions that Gordon has written for the Kronos Quartet, following his prior works Potassium and The Sad Park (which examines 9/11 through the eyes of child witnesses), both of which combined classical instruments with electronic elements to reinvigorate the chamber music experience. Gordon has also written for the Young People's Chorus previously. His first commission for the choir, of which Gordon’s daughter is a member, Every Stop on the F Train, cleverly matched choral music to the New York subway map. The Young People’s Chorus of New York City brings the art of performance to racially, religiously, and socio-economically diverse children, focusing on musical excellence and community.
Additionally, Gordon's Weather 1 will be featured in a showcase performance alongside works by Bang on a Can co-founders David Lang and Julia Wolfe as part of the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Green Umbrella series. The performance, which takes place on October 19, features the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group, under the direction of Jeffrey Milarsky.
Michael Gordon's music merges subtle rhythmic invention with incredible power embodying, in the words of The New Yorker's Alex Ross, "the fury of punk rock, the nervous brilliance of free jazz and the intransigence of classical modernism." Over the past 25 years, Gordon has produced a strikingly diverse body of work, ranging from large-scale pieces for high-energy ensembles to major orchestral commissions to works conceived specifically for the recording studio. Transcending categorization, this music represents the collision of mysterious introspection and brutal directness. Gordon has been commissioned by Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, the BBC Proms, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Settembre Musica, the Holland Music Festival, the Dresden Festival and the Sydney 2000 Olympic Arts Festival, among others. His music has been performed at the Kennedy Center, Theatre De La Ville, Barbican Centre, Oper Bonn, Kolner Philharmonie and the Southbank Centre. The recipient of multiple awards and grants, Gordon has been honored by the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His recordings include Weather (Nonesuch), Light is Calling (Nonesuch), Decasia (Cantaloupe), (purgatorio) POPOPERA (Cantaloupe), Van Gogh (Cantaloupe), Trance (Argo/Cantaloupe), and Big Noise from Nicaragua (CRI). Gordon's music is published by Red Poppy (ASCAP) and distributed worldwide by G. Schirmer. Formed in 1983 as The Michael Gordon Philharmonic and renamed The Michael Gordon Band in 2000, Gordon's own ensemble performed across Europe and the United States at venues as diverse as Alice Tully Hall and the punk mecca CBGB, on the Contemporary Music Network Tour and at the Almeida Festival in London.
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For more information about Michael Gordon or to schedule an interview, please address all inquiries to:
Amanda Ameer
First Chair Promotion
e. amanda@firstchairpromo.com
ph. 212.368.5949
This October, musical pioneer and Bang on a Can co-founder Michael Gordon’s two latest works will be featured in a series of performances in the northeast. The premiere of Clouded Yellow, a string quartet co-commissioned by the eminent Kronos Quartet and Dartmouth College, will take place in a performance by Kronos at Dartmouth on October 2. Friday, October 8 sees the world premiere of an as-yet-untitled piece for string quartet and chorus by Kronos and the New York City-based Young People's Chorus at Le Poisson Rouge. Finally, Clouded Yellow will receive its New York City premiere at Le Poisson Rouge on October 9.
These two new pieces mark the third and fourth commissions that Gordon has written for the Kronos Quartet, following his prior works Potassium and The Sad Park (which examines 9/11 through the eyes of child witnesses), both of which combined classical instruments with electronic elements to reinvigorate the chamber music experience. Gordon has also written for the Young People's Chorus previously. His first commission for the choir, of which Gordon’s daughter is a member, Every Stop on the F Train, cleverly matched choral music to the New York subway map. The Young People’s Chorus of New York City brings the art of performance to racially, religiously, and socio-economically diverse children, focusing on musical excellence and community.
Additionally, Gordon's Weather 1 will be featured in a showcase performance alongside works by Bang on a Can co-founders David Lang and Julia Wolfe as part of the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Green Umbrella series. The performance, which takes place on October 19, features the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group, under the direction of Jeffrey Milarsky.
Michael Gordon's music merges subtle rhythmic invention with incredible power embodying, in the words of The New Yorker's Alex Ross, "the fury of punk rock, the nervous brilliance of free jazz and the intransigence of classical modernism." Over the past 25 years, Gordon has produced a strikingly diverse body of work, ranging from large-scale pieces for high-energy ensembles to major orchestral commissions to works conceived specifically for the recording studio. Transcending categorization, this music represents the collision of mysterious introspection and brutal directness. Gordon has been commissioned by Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, the BBC Proms, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Settembre Musica, the Holland Music Festival, the Dresden Festival and the Sydney 2000 Olympic Arts Festival, among others. His music has been performed at the Kennedy Center, Theatre De La Ville, Barbican Centre, Oper Bonn, Kolner Philharmonie and the Southbank Centre. The recipient of multiple awards and grants, Gordon has been honored by the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His recordings include Weather (Nonesuch), Light is Calling (Nonesuch), Decasia (Cantaloupe), (purgatorio) POPOPERA (Cantaloupe), Van Gogh (Cantaloupe), Trance (Argo/Cantaloupe), and Big Noise from Nicaragua (CRI). Gordon's music is published by Red Poppy (ASCAP) and distributed worldwide by G. Schirmer. Formed in 1983 as The Michael Gordon Philharmonic and renamed The Michael Gordon Band in 2000, Gordon's own ensemble performed across Europe and the United States at venues as diverse as Alice Tully Hall and the punk mecca CBGB, on the Contemporary Music Network Tour and at the Almeida Festival in London.
###
For more information about Michael Gordon or to schedule an interview, please address all inquiries to:
Amanda Ameer
First Chair Promotion
e. amanda@firstchairpromo.com
ph. 212.368.5949
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