Issue 6
The tri-annual newsletter of RED LIGHT NEW MUSIC
A Word from the Red Light Directors The 2009/2010 season ended with a bang at the fabulous concert dedicated to the composer Nils Vigeland. As a professor at the Manhattan School of Music, Nils has had a tremendous influence over the musical lives of the four Red Light codirectors, all of whom studied with him. We were so happy to be able to present this concert in his honor. You can read a brief play-by-play on page three. Also, check out the article below, which tells you how to get your hands on a copy of Original Tradition, the Red Light publication that accompanied this event. Co-edited by Vincent Raikhel and Liam Robinson, this limited edition book is a unique portrait of an influential musician and teacher. Planning of our next season has been well under way for some time, and we are pleased to announce our 2010/2011 Season Opener, Between Classical and New, Variations on a Theme. at Symphony Space on September 20th, 2010. Red Light presents variations on a theme of classical music. Each piece questions the nature and identity of what is still referred to as “classical.” What does it mean to write classical music in the twenty-first century? What does it mean to perform it?
Original Tradition: The Influence of Nils Vigeland Composer and Teacher Available on the “News” page at redlightnewmusic.org Paperback: $35, plus shipping
Summer/Fall 2010
The Red Light Ensemble presents Salavatore Sciarrino’s arrangements of Monteverdi in Le Voci Sottovetro and brand new arrangements of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 9 by Red Light composers Vincent Raikhel, Liam Robinson, and Scott Between Classical and New, Wollschleger. The work feaVariations on a Theme Monday, Septmber, 20th, 8pm tures Yegor Shevtsov (see Leonard Nemoy Thalia page 2 for a Performer Spotat Symphony Space light) on piano. Shevtsov also 2537 Broadway, at 95th St. takes the lead in Liam RobinManhattan son’s Chamber Concerto, a $15/$10 students and seniors lively work written for the ensemble. Rounding out the program is Charlie Wilmoth’s Red Light, first premiered during the Red Light Ensemble’s residency at the University of California, San Diego (see page 3 for more on that). We hope you will join us for this truly rousing concert! And, be sure to look for updates on our website as the rest of the season takes shape. Sincerely, The Red Light Directors
New Publication Available Through Our Website Red Light is proud to present Original Tradition, a brand new collection of writings, drawings, and compositions honoring the 60th birthday of composer Nils Vigeland. The book features contributions from 15 musicians who have worked with Vigeland throughout his career and was released at a concert honoring him and his music at Symphony Space on May 4th (see pg. 3). A limited number of books are still available for purchase on our website. Order yours today!
Performer Spotlight: Yegor Shevtsov
Composer Spotlight: Reiko Füting
Q: Can you highlight the difference between performing new music as opposed to regular classical music? What remains the same if anything? The main focus in working on a new piece by a living composer, whether or not I have a personal contact with that person, is to communicate the aesthetic profile of the composition. By aesthetic profile here, I mean a set of priorities that comprise a given piece. Those priorities could be steadiness of pulse, minute gradations of timbre and phrasing, pitch and rhythmic accuracy, dramatic content, formal organization, dynamic nuances and so on. Because of such a wide variety of languages that composers of today use, and because of increasing morphing and fusing of musical languages, I believe setting a clear set of priorities is necessary when working on a piece, as well as when performing it for an audience who is not only unfamiliar with that piece, but also with that composer's language(s). It absolutely does not mean, however, that whatever is on the lowest tier of priorities gets thrown under the bus; on the contrary, it must be subordinate to whatever I perceive to be most important in capturing the aesthetic profile. When working with established, common-practice music (which for me definitely includes many composers such as Boulez or Schoenberg, who are still relatively exotic fare to many performers), because of a certain degree of crystallization of the musical language and, as a result of that, because of audience's (perceived) familiarity with it, the priorities are harder to set, they become more a set of 'requirements' for a successful performance of a given composition. Ironically, however, that's where one's own ingrained priorities come to play the biggest role. In any established composition, some performers will favor color, some – formal clarity, some – dramatic contrasts, etc. That is harder to pull off in uncharted musical waters; you have to be more of a chameleon. Q: What interests you in performing the works of composers who you know and work with? How is the result different from performing pieces in which you have no contact to the composer? While the result might not be all that different in actual performance, working with a composer I know personally gives me a sense of responsibility. It also offers an opportunity to participate in a creative process, when there is a feedback system between the composer and performer. Things get tried, discarded, modified, expanded, condensed, and it is exhilarating for any performer to play such an active role in this process. Finally, learning about a given composer's priorities and concerns opens one's mind to the inherent possibilities of a piece or even a gesture, and that is always a wonderful discovery.
Q: What prompts your desire to create music? To write music is a natural means of expression for me. I have been composing since I was eight years old, and I did not write my first piece because of an assignment or a suggestion. In a general sense, it is difficult for me to say why I write music as opposed to another medium. But it is possible to pinpoint specific intentions and inspirations, which cover a wide variety of concrete and abstract as well as musical and extra-musical aspects. And it is becoming more and more clear to me that writing music is closely related to my fascination with time. Q: What role does your heritage play in your creative process? I think heritage plays a major role in every creative process. The question is to what extent that aspect is one of awareness or not. Living in an environment that is different from the one I grew up in and that shaped me, I am naturally conscious of the cultural differences between my surroundings and myself. That is also true for the differences between my present and my past. These differences create a tension, which I am very aware of, and which reveal themselves in my music. Q: How do you think your teachers have effected your music? Extensively. Both Jörg Herchet (with whom I studied at the conservatory in Dresden) and Nils Vigeland (who was my teacher at the Manhattan School of Music) have had an enormous impact on me, and therefore my music. If I had to name one important aspect, I would say that both composers made me aware of the far -ranging complexity of a musical composition that goes way beyond the mere text and the relationship of the musical material involved. It is as if through them I have become aware of the many dimensions that exist within a piece of music, way beyond the surface. Q: To what extent do you think the environment you live in effects your music? I try to be an alert member of my environment as much as possible. I am interested in all kinds of details, both on a larger and a smaller scale. Therefore, it is natural that my music reflects my environment. If I would live in a different environment, my music would be different. I might not be aware of many aspects, but the diversity of life in New York definitely reveals itself in my music, may it be in agreement or in disagreement.
Yegor Shevtsov, originally from Ukraine, is a pianist living in New York City and a member of the Red Light Ensemble since its inception.
Reiko Füting is a German composer and pianist living in New York City. He is currently the Chair of the Theory Department at the Manhattan School of Music and a member of Composition Faculty. He has mentored many of Red Light’s composers and performers and has contributed his compositional and pianistic skills to several Red Light concerts. Red Light New Music is a 501(c)3 non-profit co-directed by Christopher Cerrone, Vincent Raikhel, Liam Robinson, and Scott Wollschleger. The Red Light Ensemble is Natacha Diels (flute), Eileen Mack (clarinet), Kevin Sims (percussion), Yegor Shevtsov (piano), Caroline Shaw (violin), Erin Wight (viola), John Popham (cello), and Ted Hearne (conductor).
Highlights from the Winter/Spring
Thank you to our generous family of donors!
San Diego and Los Angeles
Directors’ Circle ($2,500-$4,999) Amphion Foundation Meet the Composer/JP Morgan Chase New York State Council for the Arts Commissioners’ Circle ($1,000-$2,499) Aaron Copland Fund for Music Foundation for Contemporary Arts Benefactors’ Circle ($500-$999) Caroline Chen Gloria Coruzzi & Doublas Daly Michael and Rose M. Emanuele Tania Lanfer Puffin Foundation Alexander Raikhel Natasha Raikhel Jane Blameuser and Brock Robinson Charlie Wilmoth David Andrew Wightman
This past January the Red Light Ensemble embarked on our first California tour. The tour included an extensive residency at the University of California, San Diego and a concert at The Wulf an experimental LA venue, directed by former Red Light violinist Erik KM Clark. Red Light, along with the help of a Meet the Composer grant, commissioned six new ensemble works from UCSD composers, Charlie Wilmoth, Dan Tacke, Carolyn Chen, David Wightman, Tania Lanfer and Vincent Raikhel. The Red Light Ensemble premiered these new works at the Conrad Prebys Music Center on January 21st. In LA, we performed new works by local composers, Mark So and Michael Winter alongside works by Red Light composers Christopher Cerrone, Liam Robinson, and Scott Wollschleger.
Switzerland On March 13th the Red Light Ensemble performed at the USINESONORE FESTIVAL in MallerayBevilard, Switzerland. The ensemble showcased works by Xenakis, Cage and Feldman alongside works by Red Light composers Vincent Raikhel and Scott Wollschleger. Also on the program was The Merry Frolics of Satan, a film by French special effects pioneer Goerge Méliès that the Red Light composers scored with brand new Satie orchestrations. During the residency the Red Light Ensemble members joined other musicians in the festival for a performance of Steve Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians. Red Light was honored to be a part of the festival, and would like to thank Julian Annoni and Olivier Membrez, the festival’s directors, for inviting us.
Nils Vigeland at 60 On May 4, 2010, Red Light New Music presented a concert devoted to Nils Vigeland, a teacher and mentor to the directors of Red Light New Music. Performing to a standing room audience at Symphony Space in Manhattan, the concert featured a brand new thirty minute work by Vigeland entitled keep it (red) light alongside two other works by Vigeland: reading for violin and piano (written for Red Light in 2005) and Ives Music I, a piece for violin, cello, and piano. The concert also featured music by Vigeland’s teacher Morton Feldman, and four new arrangements of songs by Charles Ives, arranged by Christopher Cerrone, Vincent Raikhel, Liam Robinson, and Scott Wollschleger.
Sponsors’ Circle ($250-$499) The Appleton Family Dax de la Monta Grant and Meredith Robinson Scott Wollschleger Joanne Chory & Steven Worland Patrons’ Circle ($100-$249) Leslie & Erik Andresen Rosalie Bulger Buzzi Lisa & Michael Ceriello Barbara & Ben Cerrone Federico & Rebecca Cerrone Reiko Fueting Carol B. Levin Denise Melato Gerard and Geraldine Melato Bill Sims Richard and Norine Sims Shelly Cryer & Michael Stern Janet Struckley Nils Vigeland Ann & Dave Wollschleger
Friends’ Circle ($10-$99) Josephine Arduini Joan Asher Patty Bullock Joseph Carvelli Karen and Bill Franke Pamela Green Chuck & Valerie Hashim Clarice Hearne Jordan Kuspa Elizabeth Lord Mary Marino Mary Jo Melato Esther Palermo Olga Palermo Jim & Diane Robertson Jean Rohe The Sementilli Fanily Robert and Rosemary Sieffert To learn how to become a Red Light donor, go to redlightnewmusic.org and click on “support.”