PSNY Composers at the Tanglewood Festival of Contemporary Music

by Ted Gordon on July 11, 2014, 10:21 a.m.

The Festival of Contemporary Music at Tanglewood is one of the highlights of the national concert season, regularly featuring stunning performances and premieres of the most exciting and provoking new music from contemporary composers. This year the festival comes a bit early, though we can't complain! PSNY composers can be found on nearly every program throughout the 5-day festival, which features chamber music, theatrical works, and orchestral works. 

Starting things off on Thursday is Fred Lerdahl's  Wake, for soprano and chamber ensemble; on Saturday, Keeril Makan's  2, Hannah Lash's  Friction, Pressure, Impact, and Anthony Cheung's  Roundabouts will be performed on the same program. Sunday morning sees the world premiere of Bernard Rands' Folk Songs, and later in the evening Kate Soper's  Helen Enfettered, a theatrical work. 

And for those in the Northeast this weekend, don't miss the latest production of Tobias Picker's  An American Tragedy at Glimmerglass, running from July 20th to August 24th. The vocal score for this work is available from PSNY, in case you want to follow along from the house. 

Tobias Picker on Tzadik Records

by Ted Gordon on April 1, 2014, 2:13 p.m.

Tobias Picker, one of America's strongest composers of the 20th and 21st-centuries, has just released a new CD on John Zorn's Tzadik label, with performances by Sarah Rothenberg and the Brentano Quartet as well as members of the JACK Quartet, the Talea Ensemble, and many more. "Invisible Lilacs: Chamber Music 1976-2011," Picker's entry into Tzadik's "Composer Series", contains striking and authoratative recordings of several of his chamber works spanning four decades, inlcuding Sextet No. 2 ("Halle's Ravine"), available on PSNY, and Nova, soon to be available from PSNY. The CD also includes recordings of Picker's Piano Quintet ("Live Oaks"), and Invisible Lilacs for violin and piano, both available through Hal Leonard. Check out a video documentary of the recording process below! 

Tobias Picker's "Invisible Lilacs: Chamber Music 1976-2011" is available now from iTunes, Amazon, and most retailers. 

Two-Piano Works from Tobias Picker & Timo Andres

by Ted Gordon on March 4, 2014, 4:10 p.m.

Spring is in full swing, and for the past four years that means that the Ecstatic Music Festival is well underway in New York. This year, Timo Andres presents a new song cycle, "Work Songs", to be performed by Gabriel Kahane, Ted Hearne, Becca Stevens, Nathan Koci, & Andres himself. Be sure to check out the concert on March 19th, co-presented by WNYC's New Sounds!

If that doesn't satisfy your Timo fix, we have two more of his works now available from PSNY: his re-composition of Mozart's "Coronation Concerto", which he brilliantly premiered with the Metropolis Ensemble, and his concert-length, two-piano work, Shy and Mighty, which he released as an album on Nonesuch Records. 

Another two-piano work that pianists should not miss is Tobias Picker's Keys to the City, commissioned by the City of New York in commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Brooklyn Bridge. Originally a piano concerto, Picker premiered the two-piano version in 1996. This work has been recorded on Chandos and Wergo. Check out an excerpt of the two-piano version here, performed by Picker and Ursula Oppens: