Wordless Music: Why You Should Go
I'm not the first person to talk about Ronen Givony's Wordless Music series (the most notable being the New Yorker), but I'm happy to add support to an event that merges the high art world of classical music with the pop art world of rock. Givony, who lives in Carroll Gardens, started the event while at the Chamber Music Society, but had to give up his job due to perceived conflicts by his employer. Perhaps we are the better for it (although he may be the poorer) because this year's lineup includes Mum, Beirut, Do Make Say Think, and a piece by Johnny Greenwood of Radiohead. And, then there's the classical side. Though I'm not as versed in the classical world, anytime anyone plays Bach's cello suites my heart goes melty. And there's an exciting U.S. debut: British composer Max Richter will perform in the states for the first time with a chamber ensemble and video projections. Tickets range from $15 to $29.99 and can be bought on the Wordless Music website.
Wordless Music
2007-08 Season
Thursday, September 20 (at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple) will be headlined by Beirut with support from Fifth Veil, a clarinet-and-string-quartet ensemble from the Bard Conservatory of Music that will perform composer Osvaldo Golijov's The Dreams and Prayers of Issac the Blind (1994), which combines Klezmer clarinet playing with classical string quartet writing.
Monday, September 24 (at the New York Society for Ethical Culture) will also be headlined by Beirut with support from the French cellist/electronic artist Colleen, as well as the pianist Katya Mihailova playing solo pieces by Chopin and Scriabin, followed by duos for piano and violin (with violinist Colin Jacobsen) by Arvo Pärt and Bela Bartók.
Friday, October 5 (at Good Shepherd Church) will be a showcase devoted in part to the Bedroom Community label in Iceland, with a large ensemble led by composer Nico Muhly and producer/electronic artist Valgeir Sigurdsson, best known to date for his work producing records by Bjork, Múm, and Bonnie "Prince" Billy. The show will open with music from Toronto musician Sandro Perri.
Friday, November 9 (at St. Paul the Apostle) will be headlined by Múm with support from Torngat, a horn/percussion/keyboard trio from Montreal with Pietro Amato from Bell Orchestre/Arcade Fire, along with the cellist Jihyun Kim performing one of Bach's solo cello suites and György Ligeti's sonata for solo cello.
Saturday, November 10 (at SEC) will again be headlined by Múm, with support from Hauschka, a German pianist and composer on the Fat Cat label, as well as Bing and Ruth, a rotating "ambient orchestra" of ten or more instrumentalists and vocalists, mainly living in Brooklyn. Bing and Ruth's set will open with a brief solo piano program by bandleader, composer, and pianist David Moore, who will perform a selection of Bach's Goldberg Variations.
Wednesday, November 28 (at Good Shepherd Church) will feature the U.S. concert debut of British composer Max Richter, who will perform with a full chamber ensemble and video projections. Also performing will be Ghostly International ambient/electronic composer Cepia and pianist Assaff Weisman, performing solo piano music by Joseph Haydn and Olivier Messiaen.
Wednesday & Thursday, January 16 & 17 (at St. Paul the Apostle) will feature a full Wordless Music Orchestra led by conductor Brad Lubman, performing a program of works exploring the subjects of religion, technology, and modernity, including the U.S. premiere of Jonny Greenwood's (of Radiohead) Popcorn Superhet Receiver for string orchestra, as well as music by John Adams and Gavin Bryars.
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the wordless series is by far one of the best ways to see music in new york. inexpensive tickets, an intimate setting for great musicians, and the opportunity to learn something new. a little bit of the sacred seems to leach out from the architecture and into the music, musicians, and fortunate ears.