The JACK Quartet in the PSNY Greenroom

by Ted Gordon on Nov. 10, 2014, 9:57 a.m.

It would be an understatement to say that the JACK Quartet is one of the most important string quartets today; they have commissioned and performed works by composers across genres, ages, and continents, all with virtuosic aplomb. We sat down with the quartet in our PSNY Greenroom, a special section on our website where performers have a chance to talk about the music that they love. (Check out our previous installments with Present Music and the Talea Ensemble.) 

From the thirty-six string quartets currently offered by PSNY, the JACK Quartet chose three that speak to them: Hannah Lash's Frayed, Alex Mincek's String Quartet No. 3 "lift - tilt - filter - split", and Gregory Spear's Buttonwood. All three of these works have been commissioned, premiered, or recorded by the JACK Quartet in the past five years. Check out recordings of JACK's picks in the playlist below, and hear more about their selections in JACK Quartet's Greenroom.  

A Far Cry Releases Recordings by Andrew Norman and Ted Hearne

by Jordan Rae Borg on Nov. 5, 2014, 11:46 a.m.

Boston-based string orchestra A Far Cry has released an exceptional new album – The Law of Mosaics – featuring the premiere recording of Andrew Norman’s string trio The Companion Guide to Rome along with Ted Hearne’s Law of Mosaics.



Of the The Companion Guide to Rome Andrew writes,

The music is, at different times and in different ways, informed by the proportions of the churches, the qualities of their surfaces, the patterns in their floors, the artwork on their walls, and the lives and legends of the saints whose names they bear.
 

The work, which was a Finalist for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize, was premiered by the Scharoun Ensemble in the Spring of 2010 at the American Academy in Rome, with the US premiere following on November 13, 2011 at the NOVA Chamber Chamber Music Series in Salt Lake City, UT. Check out a sample from the recording here:

Ted's piece Law of Mosaics works to take familiar music and original material and present it in a way that is unxpected and absent of context for an enaging and disorienting sonic phenomenon. The piece was inspired by David Shield's 2010 book, Reality Hunger: A Manifesto, what Ted calls a patchwork treatise on art and digital culture. From the book, "The law of mosaics: how to deal with parts in the absence of wholes." Have a listen to the fourth movement, Beats. 

Law of Mosaics is available now on the ensemble's label, Crier Records. 

Hannah Lash: New Monodrama, Works for Choreography

by Ted Gordon on Nov. 3, 2014, 10:01 a.m.

On Sunday, November 2nd, the audience at the Guggenheim Museum in New York witnessed a rare glimpse at new music and new choreography, "fresh out of the oven," by composers Hannah Lash, Ted Hearne, and Caroline Shaw. Curated by David Lang, with choreography by Pam Tanowitz, this performance, part of the Works and Process series, previewed a collaborative project between composers and choreographers, slated to be performed in February, 2015. Check out a recording of the event, including an interview with the composers and choreographer, here: 

Hannah Lash is no stranger to collaboration: her recent monodrama, Stoned Prince, has just been recorded by loadbang, and is slated to be released on November 5th on ANALOG Arts. Listen to an excerpt from the recording below: