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Photo by Joerg Grosse Geldermann
Theo Bleckmann
Berlin: Songs of Love and War, Peace and Exile
saturday–Sunday, November 16–17, 2013
Theo Bleckmann
Berlin: Songs of Love and War, Peace and Exile A Studio Classics: Songbook Series Event Sat • Nov 16, 2013 • 8PM Sun • Nov 17, 2013 • 2PM Vanderhoef Studio Theatre
Theo Bleckmann: voice Rob Schwimmer: piano/arrangements with
Friction Quartet Doug Machiz: cello Kevin Rogers: violin Otis Harriel: violin Taija Warbelow: viola Support for this performance provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
“Europe was created by history. America by philosophy.” —Margaret Thatcher (b. 1925)
G
erman-born American Theo Bleckmann sings of Berlin in its heyday and of its imminent demise, with songs of love and war, peace and exile, penned by Hanns Eisler, Kurt Weill, Bertold Brecht and others. Delivered with moving tenderness and care, Bleckmann, pianist Rob Schwimmer and the Friction String Quartet breathe delicate life into these classic, almost haiku-like songs. Arranged by Fumio Yasuda and Theo Bleckmann, these songs remind us of the immediacy and relevance of their personal and political implications, even today. In seemingly stark contrast to Berlin, songs from Bleckmann’s orchestral CD release Las Vegas Rhapsody are thrown into the darkness of Brecht, Eisler and Weill. The songs unfold through familiar show stoppers in dazzling arrangements by Yasuda; they reflect a search for illusion, escape and leaving behind all history and suffering. Berlin and Las Vegas: exile, escape and elation in a sonic experience of brittle beauty and fleeting happiness. Berlin and Las Vegas: exile, escape and elation in a sonic experience of brittle beauty and fleeting happiness.
THEO BLECKMANN
A singer and new music composer of eclectic tastes and prodigious gifts, Grammy-nominated Theo Bleckmann makes music that is accessibly sophisticated, unsentimentally emotional, and seriously playful. His work provokes the mind to wonder, but connects immediately with the heart. Singer. Bleckmann has released a series of gorgeous and irreverent albums on Winter & Winter, including recordings of Las Vegas standards, of Weimar art songs, and of popular “bar songs” (all with pianist Fumio Yasuda), a recording of newlyarranged songs by Charles Ives (with the improvisational jazz/ funk collective Kneebody), his Solos for Voice and Toys, where Bleckmann brought just his stunning vocal technique, his emotional commitment and his suitcase full of oddly evocative voice-altering gadgets to the project of recording delicate songs and poems alone at a monastery in the Swiss Alps. In his newest project Bleckmann takes on the songbook of the British pop recluse Kate Bush: Hello Earth! The Songs of Kate Bush was released in the U.S. in 2012 to great critical acclaim. A new album entitled Mother Goose Melodies (Winter & Winter) has just been released. His most current project, featuring harpist Zeena Parkins, is Songs In the Key Of D, a song cycle of music that deals with the delicate subject matter of death.
Collaborator. In addition to his work as a soloist, Bleckmann loves to mix it up with other musicians. He maintains an ongoing creative relationship with guitar phenomenon Ben Monder, generating a series of performances and a pair of albums that wreak beautiful havoc with standard expectations of jazz and rock. With John Hollenbeck and Gary Versace he makes up Refuge Trio, a project exploring and reinventing the work of popular singer-songwriters as well as generating provocative original work. He explores the classical repertoire in the context of jazz in his work with pianist/composer/arranger Uri Caine. Bleckmann has additionally collaborated with a remarkable roster of contemporary musicians and composers, including Laurie Anderson, Peter Eldridge, Philip Glass, Kate McGarry, Sheila Jordan, Luciana Souza, Michael Tilson Thomas, Kenny Wheeler, John Zorn, the Bang on a Can All-stars and, most prominently, Meredith Monk, with whom Bleckmann worked as a core ensemble member for 15 years. His uniquely flexible and colorful voice has also inspired compositions by, among others, Michael Gordon, David Lang, Ikue Mori, Kirk Nurock, Julia Wolfe and prominently, Phil Kline, who wrote three major song cycles for Bleckmann, Zippo Songs (2004), Locus Solus (2006) and Out Cold (2012), which premiered at BAM’s new Fischer Building in 2012. Composer. Bleckmann’s joyous, mischievous sensibility also manifest in his compositional work, which leaves listeners feeling as if their usual chair had been moved over a few inches when they weren’t looking—familiar things look fresh and strange again for a moment. He has composed for a range of instruments from piano, violin and kalimba to chimes, Glockenspiel, toy microphone and sewing machines, setting exquisite poems by Zumi, Emily Dickinson, and Kurt Schwitters as well as building ineffable soundscapes with just his voice and a loop pedal. He created an evening of original work for voice and the JACK String Quartet, commissioned by the Slought Foundation. Mad Genius. Bleckmann’s approach to music and performance is unusual and provocative. His taste for risk-taking, coupled with rigorous technique, is clear in his unusual and varied ability as a sound improviser—an ability which is sufficiently in demand that he was commissioned to create the space alien language for Steven Spielberg’s Men in Black. Bleckmann confesses to a love affair with performance art that informs his playful approach to music-making. Concerned that all senses be honored, he crafts each aspect of stage presentation (including expressive physicality and fabulous clothing choices) to create a context that completes and highlights the music. His thoughtfulness and articulacy about music and performance have led to recognition in unusual quarters, including a Fresh Air interview with Terry Gross and an article on vocal technique solicited for John Zorn’s Arcana series, Volume III. Bleckmann’s adventurous and extravagantly beautiful choices have led his work to be described as “from another planet” (New York Times), as “magical, futuristic,” (AllAboutJazz), “limitless” (Citypaper, Philadelphia) “transcendent” (Village Voice) and “brilliant” (New York Magazine), and left one critic wondering, “does he eat people food?” (AllAboutJazz). He has a gift for creating sounds listeners have never heard before, but pine to hear again. Bleckmann’s recent accolades include NPR’s 2012 Top 10 Jazz Albums of the Year for Hello Earth! The Songs of Kate Bush, third place for Best Vocalist in the 2012 Rhapsody Poll of 119 critics (formerly hosted by the Village Voice), Boston Phoenix’s “Best Jazz Acts” of 2012 for Hello Earth! The Songs of Kate Bush and WQXR’s Operavore “Best Opera of 2012” for Out Cold by Phil Kline. In 2010,
Bleckmann received the prestigious JAZZ ECHO award from the Deutsche Phono-Akademie in his native Germany and also appeared on the David Letterman show with Laurie Anderson
Rob Schwimmer is a composer-pianist and thereminist who has performed and recorded throughout the world. His compositions have been featured in theater, television series and movies, documentaries and feature films including the Academy Award Winners Freeheld and Dear Diary. His recent solo CD Beyond The Sky was hailed as “Extraordinary” in Gramophone and as “Shaping up to be the finest solo piano CD of the year” in All About Jazz. Rob is a founding member of the highly acclaimed Polygraph Lounge music and comedy duo with multi-instrumentalist Mark Stewart. Schwimmer has worked and played with Simon and Garfunkel (most recently at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary show where he was the featured theremin soloist on “The Boxer”), Wayne Shorter, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Bobby McFerrin, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Willie Nelson, Adam Guettel, Chaka Khan, Laurie Anderson, Bette Midler, T-Bone Walker, Sam Rivers, Marc Shaiman, The Klezmatics, Matthew Barney, Ang Lee, Bela Fleck, David Krakauer, Mary Cleere Haran, Maria Schneider, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kepa Junkera, Marshall Brickman, Michel Gondry, Josh Groban, Christian Marclay, Queen Latifah, Dispatch, Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks, The Philistines Jr, Mabou Mines, Geoffrey Holder, John Cale, Steve Buscemi, Theo Bleckmann, Annette Peacock, John Stubblefield, Burt Bacharach, Edie Brickell, Iva Bittova, Arif Mardin, Teo Macero, Hal Willner, Vernon Reid, The Everly Brothers, Ethel, The Roches, Anjani Thomas, Kurt Vonnegut, Odetta, James Emery, Drepung Loseling Tibetan Monks, Joseph Jarman, Alwin Nikolai/ Murray Louis Dance Company, Henry Jaglom, Talujon Percussion Quartet, Fred Anderson, Marc Ribot, C&C Music Factory and Sammy Davis Jr.
Friction Quartet Friction Quartet, recipient of the 2012 Berkeley Piano Club Emerging Artist Award, has established a reputation for edgy programming and exhilarating performance. Ever since Friction Quartet’s performance at the 2012 Hot Air Music Festival, Friction has been inundated with requests from composers to perform their new works for the string quartet medium. Recent performances include La Belle Vie Concert Series at the Legion of Honor, Hot Air After Party at Hotel Utah Saloon and Creating Enlightened Society Festival at Craneway Pavillion. The 2013–14 season will be jam packed with world premieres, cutting edge collaborations and thrilling performances of classic repertoire. In October, Friction, in collaboration with GarrettMoulton Productions and Dan Becker, will present A Show of Hands, a site-specific work that will blur the lines between composition, instrumental performance and dance. November will feature the unvieling of Transmediation, a ground-breaking exploration of composer-performer-audience interaction through technology and series of new works by Daniel Felsenfeld, Noah Luna and Rafael Hernandez. Friction will make their Old First Concerts debut and give world premiere performances of new works by Ian Dicke, Gabriella Smith and Brendon Randall-Myers. Through artistic collaboration in varied mediums, the commissioning of new works, crossing into genres outside of classical music, adding movement to performances and
incorporating mixed media Friction Quartet creates a progressive and inviting concert atmosphere that attracts audiences of all ages and interests. Community improvement and education are crucial elements to our mission; free public performance and outreach in struggling communities and schools builds and sustains a vibrant
culture, while broadening future audiences of classical music. Doug Machiz A native of Washington, D.C., cellist Doug Machiz resides in San Francisco where he is a founding member and the cellist of Friction Quartet, one of the premier new music ensembles in the Bay Area of California. While beginning his cello studies at the late age of 14, he won a position in the prestigious Maryland Classic Youth Philharmonic by age 15. At 17, he was performing with the world renowned Philadelphia Youth Orchestra, and touring Italy with the West Chester University Orchestra. During this year, he also performed with the National Festival Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. After only 4 years of study, Machiz was awarded a scholarship to study with Mike Reynolds of the Muir Quartet at the Boston University School of Music, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Cello Performance. He went on to earn a master’s degree from University of Texas, Austin under the tutelage of Bion Tsang, and a Professional Studies Diploma from the San Francisco Conservatory where he studied with Jennifer Culp. Machiz has performed chamber music throughout Europe, Canada and the United States. While at the University of Texas at Austin, he studied with the Miro Quartet as part of their intensive quartet seminar. He also attended the Miro’s summer quartet program on full scholarship at the Sunflower Music Festival. Machiz attended the Castleman Quartet Programs, Bowdoin International Music Festival and the Tuckamore Chamber Music Festival in Newfoundland, Canada on a scholarship. He participated in the Fontainebleau Conservatoire Americain in France and the Zephyr International Chamber Music Course and Festival in Italy.
Kevin Rogers As a young violinist, works of composers such as Penderecki, Boulez and Berio captivated Kevin Rogers long before his first exposure to even a complete Beethoven Symphony, setting the groundwork for his passionate career in contemporary classical music. He is the founding violinist/violist of Nonsemble6, a contemporary Pierrot Ensemble based in San Francisco. As part of this group he has performed at the Astoria Music Festival as guests-artists-residence, at Universities throughout the country, in unorthodox venues through Classical Revolution SF, and at the Kennedy Center. Rogers began his solo career at 16 in South Carolina. His most recent solo performances have included the Lou Harrison Violin Concerto at the Hot Air Music Festival in San Francisco, and a premier of Manly Romero’s concerto for two violins and two trumpets titled “Doppelgaenger” with the Blue Print Series under the Baton of Nicole Paiement. Rogers recently graduated from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music with a master’s degree in Violin Performance. While there he received the award for Violin in New Music, and the award for Violin in the String departments. He studied with Bettina Mussumeli and worked closely with Jennifer Culp, Jodi Levitz and Mark Sokol. Having grown up on a farm, you can occasionally hear him slip into a southern accent after many hours of practicing or in moments of excitement
Otis Harriel Violinist Otis Harriel will earn his bachelor’s degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in Spring 2013. He began his studies with Rob Diggins in his hometown of Arcata, CA. Under his teacher’s guidance he began performing with many local orchestras and chamber ensembles including the Eureka Symphony and Humboldt State Symphony. He attended the California AllState Symphony Festival, Sequoia Chamber Music Workshop, Idyllwild Chamber Music Program, Sphinx Academy of Music and Mendocino Music Festival. Currently, Harriel studies with Wei He at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He has participated in master classes with the first violinist of the Shanghai Quartet, Weigang Li, William van der Sloot and Pinchas Zukerman. He has a passion for both new music and chamber music, but his passion for the works of Haydn is greatest.
Taija Warbelow Taija Warbelow has made a name for herself as a promising young violist of her generation. She has participated in prestigious summer festivals like Encore School for Strings, and the Zephyr International Chamber Music Festival. She studied in the Juilliard Pre-College and at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music with the renowned Jodi Levitz.
FUMIO YASUDA Tokyo born pianist/composer/arranger Fumio Yasuda has worked in concert and film music for over three decades. In 1995, he began his musical collaboration with Japan’s most famous photographer, Nobuyoshi Araki in his series of Arakinema, which has been performed world-wide. Yasuda has released several CD on the German label Winter & Winter, among them Heavenly Blue, Kakyoku (Flower Songs), Im Zauber von Verdi (Charmed by Verdi), Schumann’s Bar Music, Death Sentiment, Der Kastanienball, and his two collaborations with Theo Bleckmann, Berlin and Las Vegas Rhapsody. Yasuda has performed at the Schleswig-Holstein Festival, the Stanser Musiktage, among others, and recently scored two feature length movies Help me Eros and Wild Cherries that were shown at the Tokyo, Vancouver, Bangkok, and Venice Film Festivals.