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Argento Chamber Ensemble Performs US Premiere of Pierre Boulez's Improvisé pour le Dr. Kat Merkin Concert Hall

May. 01, 2009

On Tuesday, May 5, the Argento Chamber Ensemble, led by Music Director Michel Galante, performs the US premiere of Pierre Boulez' Improvisé pour le Dr. K. The performance is part of the 100th anniversary concert for Oliver Messiaen at New York City's Merkin Concert Hall entitled Birds of a Feather: Messiaen and His Legacy. The Stony Brook Contemporary Chamber Players and Face the Music also join Argento on stage in this concert featuring U.S. premieres by four of Messiaen's leading protégés. The Stonybrook Contemporary Chamber Players also perform Messiaen's Oiseaux Exotiques.

Improvisé pour le Dr. K, composed in 1969, was written in dedication to the revered music publisher Dr. Alfred A. Kalmus of Universal Edition, an avid proponent of contemporary music and the founder of both the Philharmonia Verlag and Universal Edition London. Dr. Kalmus was a trusted advisor and friend to a great number of composers, many of whom showed their appreciation by writing pieces for his 80th birthday celebration. The first performance of this collection of dedicatory works, titled A Garland for Dr. K, took place in London in 1969 at Queen Elizabeth Hall.

For precise ticketing information on Birds of a Feather: Messiaen and His Legacy at Merkin Concert Hall, please visit www.kaufman-center.org.

To learn more about the Argento Chamber Ensemble, go to www.argentomusic.org.

Pierre Boulez
Improvisé pour le Dr. K. (1969/2005)
for flute, clarinet, piano, viola and violoncello
4'

Oliver Messiaen
Oiseaux Exotiques (1955-1956)
2.1.4.1-2.1.0.0-perc
16'

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