So Percussion & Matmos collaborate - albums, shows, the Look & Listen Festival, music of Steve Reich, more

by Andrew Frisicano

Matmos and So Percussion at the Whitney, 2006 (via Matador)

New music quartet So Percussion and electronic duo Matmos (Drew Daniel and Martin Schmidt) are collaborating on a new record, Treasure State, set to come out July 13th (July 8th digitally) on Cantaloupe. They recorded the record at the SnowGhost Studios in Whitefish, Montana, where “San Francisco plunderphonicist Wobbly then chopped and edited the results on several tracks, and finally, with frequent interventions from Matmos’ M. C. Schmidt, ‘fifth’ So Percussion member and produced by Lawson White overdubbed extra elements, processed, and mixed the results.” The instruments used include ceramic planters, pails of water, aluminum beer cans and cactus needles – not totally surprising if you’ve seen their live show.

Matmos and So Percussion will be playing at (Le) Poisson Rouge on Wednesday, June 9th. Tickets are on sale now. A full tour tour for the groups will be announced soon.

Before then, So Percussion’s schedule includes an appearance at the Look & Listen Festival (which they play annually) on May 8th at Gary Snyder/Project Space (250 West 26th St). The other events for the three-day fest, details here, happen at Chelsea Art Museum. Tickets are on sale.

This summer, So Percussion will play on one night of Lincoln Center’s two-night “Complete Works of Edgard Varèse” program. They’ll join International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) to perform music by the highly influential composer (though Poème électronique will play itself). The second night features NY Philharmonic. Details on the program are below and tickets are on sale.

If that seems far off, in 2011 So Percussion will join Bang on a Can All-Stars, eighth blackbird and Kronos Quartet for a “Music of Steve Reich” concert at Carnegie Hall on April 30th. They’ll perform new works and2009 Pulitzer Prize winning Double Sextet.

As for Matmos, they perform at Mutek Music Fest in Montreal on June 2nd.

Album tracklist, all tour dates, and more info on the Look & Listen and Lincoln Center shows are below…

“Treasure State” tracklist
1. Treasure 4:04
2. Water 7:00
3. Needles 6:01
4. Cross 6:27
5. Shard 6:57
6. Swamp 6:59
7. Aluminum 7:03
8. Flame 4:35

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So Percussion – 2010 Tour Dates
Apr 29 & 30: Minneapolis, MN – The Southern Theater #
May 7 Fitchburg, MA – Fitchburg State College $
May 8 The Look and Listen Festival
May 13 Birmingham, AL Alabama Symphony Orchestra Classical Edge Series
Jul 19 The Lincoln Center Festival Alice Tully Hall %
# Reich’s Mallet Quartet plus premiere of a new work by Mary Ellen Childs
$ Imaginary City
% The Complete Works of Varese

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Matmos – 2010 Tour Dates
June 2 Mutek Festival in Montreal
June 9 – Le Poisson Rouge w/ SO Percussion, NYC

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2010 LOOK & LISTEN FESTIVAL

May 7 @ 8PM
Chelsea Art Museum, 556 West 22nd Street, NYC
Paintings by Jean Miotte
Hosted by John Schaefer (WNYC)
Look & Listen presents its first commission, a new work by Dr. Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez, written for prominent sextet eighth blackbird, along with performances by dynamic pianist Jade Simmons and the ever-exciting Jack Quartet, who will appear on WNYC’s Soundcheck, hosted by John Schaefer, on April 28 at 2 pm to discuss the Festival! Special guests include composers Caleb Burhans, John Corigliano, Hannah Lash, Missy Mizzoli, & Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez.

May 8 @ 8PM
Gary Snyder/Project Space, 250 West 26th Street, NYC
Paintings by Beatrice Mandelman
Hosted by Lara Pellegrinelli
The renowned foursome So Percussion returns for its 9th consecutive appearance at L & L. Joining So are the ebullient toy pianist Phyllis Chen and the sonorous, a capella group Meridionalis. Ambient music by Jason Treuting. Ms. Pellegrinelli interviews the evenings composers throughout the concert.

May 9 @ 3PM (Special Mother’s Day Event – mother’s admission free!)
Chelsea Art Museum, 556 West 22nd Street, NYC
Paintings by Jean Miotte
Hosted by Terrance McKnight (WQXR)
Sunday’s finale features the youthful sound and energy of Face the Music, elegant and alluring pianist Tanya Bannister, and the striking sounds of percussionist Eduardo Leandro. Ambient music by Odeya Nini. Mr. McKnight interviews the afternoon’s composers throughout the concert.

Complete Works of composer Edgard Varèse

July 19 and 20: The Festival presents the complete works of composer Edgard Varèse, “the father of electronic music,” over two nights–July 19 in Alice Tully Hall; July 20 in Avery Fisher Hall–featuring the New York Philharmonic led by its Music Director, Alan Gilbert; International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), led by Steven Schick, So Percussion; bass-baritone Alan Held; soprano Anu Komsi; Musica Sacra and the Oratorio Society (Kent Tritle, Chorus Master); and others.

Varèse: (R)evolution, PART I
July 19 at 8 p.m.
International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE)
Steven Schick, conductor
So Percussion
Anu Komsi, soprano
Alan Held, bass baritone
Mikka Rännäli, piano
Jonathan Golove and Natasha Farny, cello theremins
Claire Chase, flute
Musica Sacra
Kent Tritle, chorus master
Program:
Poème Électronique (1957-1958); no musicians
Un Grand Sommeil Noir (1906)
Hyperprism (1923)
Offrandes (1921)
Integrales (1925)
Ecuatorial (1933-1934) for bass-baritone solo
Dance for Burgess (1949)
Étude pour Espace (1947, arrangement by Prof. Chou Wen-Chung 2009)
Density 21.5 (1936) for flute solo
Déserts (1949-1954)
One hour; one intermission
Alice Tully Hall, Starr Theater, 65th Street and Broadway Tickets: $30, 40

Varèse: (R)evolution PART II
July 20 at 8 p.m.
New York Philharmonic
Alan Gilbert, conductor and music director
Anu Komsi, soprano
Oratorio Society
Kent Tritle, chorus master
Program
Ionisation (1930-1931)
Octandre (1923)
Tuning up (1947, arr. Chou Wen-Chung 1989)
20
Arcana (1927, revision 1960)
Nocturnal (1961)
Amériques (1929)
One hour, 45 minutes; one intermission
Avery Fisher Hall, 65th Street and Broadway Tickets: $30, 40, 50

More info on Varèse program

Music Director Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic and the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), led by Steven Schick, will perform the complete works of influential 20th century composer Edgard Varèse over two nights when Lincoln Center Festival 2010 presents Varèse: (R)evolution on July 19 and 20. The soprano soloist for both programs is Anu Komsi, whose last Festival appearance was in George Benjamin’s Into the Little Hill in 2007.
Franco-American composer Edgard Varèse (1883-1965) was a unique character in the progressive classical music scene, extracting the urban sounds of New York and reinventing them on stage. Often called the “father of electronic music,” he completed just under three hours of music in his lifetime. He coined the term “organized sound,” and wrote scores that greatly emphasized timbre and rhythm. His grouping together of these parts led to an entirely new kind of music, which included new instruments and electronic sounds.

Varèse: (R)evolution Part I, on July 19 in Alice Tully Hall, features Steven Schick and ICE, joined by So Percussion, soprano Anu Komsi, bass baritone Alan Held, pianist Mikka Rännäli, cello thereminists Jonathan Golove and Natasha Farny, flutist Claire Chase, and Musica Sacra (Kent Tritle, Chorus Master) in a performance of works for smaller forces and chamber ensembles, including such seminal compositions as Density for 21.5 for solo flute and Étude pour Espace, which was completed by his student, Chou Wen-Chung). Also on the program: Poème Électronique (multi-channel tape, no musicians); Un Grand Sommeil Noir; Hyperprism; Offrandes; Integrales; Ecuatorial for bass-baritone; Dance for Burgess; and Déserts.
The following evening, July 20, for Part II in Avery Fisher Hall, Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic will be joined by Miss Komsi and the Oratorio Society (Kent Tritle, Chorus Master) for a performance of Varèse’s brilliant orchestral works: Tuning up; Arcana; Nocturnal; and Amériques; as well as Ionisation for percussion and piano and Octandre for eight players.

Music of Steve Reich at Carnegie Hall in 2011

Saturday, April 30, 2011 at 8:00 PM
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
Music of Steve Reich
Bang on a Can All-Stars
·· Robert Black, Bass
·· David Cossin, Percussion
·· Lisa Moore, Piano
·· Mark Stewart, Electric Guitar
·· Wendy Sutter, Cello
·· Evan Ziporyn, Clarinets
·· Andrew Cotton, Sound Engineer
eighth blackbird
·· Tim Munro, Flute
·· Michael J. Maccaferri, Clarinet
·· Matt Albert, Violin and Viola
·· Nicholas Photinos, Cello
·· Matthew Duvall, Percussion
·· Lisa Kaplan, Piano
Kronos Quartet
·· David Harrington, Violin
·· John Sherba, Violin
·· Hank Dutt, Viola
·· Jeffrey Zeigler, Cello
So Percussion
·· Eric Beach
·· Josh Quillen
·· Adam Sliwinski
·· Jason Treuting
STEVE REICH
Mallet Quartet (NY Premiere)
STEVE REICH
2 x 5 (NY Premiere)
STEVE REICH
Double Sextet
STEVE REICH
New Work for Live and Pre-Recorded String Quartet (NY Premiere, co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall)