Alex Mincek at the Avant Music Festival

by Ted Gordon on Feb. 19, 2014, 3:05 p.m.

On February 28th, New York's Avant Music Festival presents an evening of premieres and recent works for percussion and saxophone by Alex Mincek, featuring Mincek on saxophone, Ian Antonio on percussion, Greg Chudzik on bass, as well as members of Talujon percussion ensemble. The program includes four works: V (2012), Nucleus (2007), Out of Thin Air (2013), and the world premiere of Trio (2014). Many more of Mincek's works for small ensembles are available through PSNY, including Stems for solo piano, now available in print. 

In 2013, Mincek won the Herb Alpert Award, awarded by the Herb Alpert Foundation and CalArts; now he heads to CalArts for a residency, culminating with a portrait concert in early March. Check out a recording of Nucleus on his 2011 CD on Carrier Records: 

Mivos Quartet Performs Mincek and Franzson

by Ted Gordon on Nov. 25, 2013, 11:47 a.m.

November has been a great month for new CD releases-- just in time for holiday gifts. (Who wouldn't want a new CD of new music?) In addition to the debut album by The Living Earth Show, which we previously wrote about, Carrier Records has released "Reappearances" by the Mivos Quartet performing works by Alex Mincek, Davið Brynjar Franzson, Wolfgang Rihm and Felipe Lara. 

On this new album, Mivos, whose consistently masterful performance of contemporary repertoire has brought them to the forefront of the new music scene, perform Mincek's String Quartet No. 3 ("lift - tilt - filter - split"), as well as Franzson's On Repetition and Reappearances, both available from PSNY. Mincek's quartet can also be heard performed by the Wet Ink Ensemble from a 2011 album, also on Carrier. Check out a video of Mivos performing Franzson's work in October 2013:

Mivos may be one of the busier string quartets in New York right now, having also recently released a full-length album of works by Patrick Higgins, but they still find time to perform live; they will play an album release concert on December 19th at the DiMenna Center in New York, also featuring a new work by Scott Wollschleger. 

Alex Mincek, "For Petr Kotik"

by Ted Gordon on Sept. 16, 2013, 11:40 a.m.

Earlier in the summer we reported on "the summer of Alex Mincek"; and in the beginning of the concert season, we're pleased to report that we have another new work availably by Mincek, "For Petr Kotik." Composed in dedication for Kotik, composer and leader of the S.E.M. Ensemble, this four-minute work for violin and piano finds striking commonalities between Mincek's and Kotik's aesthetics. Check out a sample here: