Unburied secrets.
Hank Shteamer has the scoop on a most unexpected reunion, plus recommended musical events for the week ahead.
For eight days now I’ve been mostly under house arrest, grappling with the cold from hell. I’ve barely left the house, let alone attended any performances I might tell you about. I’m especially disappointed to have missed Frontera, an evening-length dance piece choreographer Dana Gingras and Animals of Distinction presented at my workplace over the weekend, in large part because the played-live-onstage score by Montréal band Fly Pan Am—a weirdly effective mix of post-rock, minimalism, Krautrock, and just a touch of black metal, available on the Constellation label—surely must rip, live. The run was just two nights; c’est la vie.
Since I have nothing new of my own for you to read today, I’ll direct you instead to a delectable deep-dive telling of how Samsara, the new album by PainKiller – the groundbreaking, earth-rumbling grind-dub-ambient trio of John Zorn, Bill Laswell, and Mick Harris – came to be. The circumstances were unlikely, to say the least, and Hank gets all the right voices in the mix.
Truly, this is the reunion we didn’t know we needed right now until it happened. It’s exciting to know the group’s second album, The Equinox, is already completed, with a third in the planning stages already. Kudos to The New York Times for taking on Hank’s story; here’s a gift link. Hank has added a bit more context on Dark Forces Swing. (Note that while the article says Samsara is out this Friday, Amazon and other e-tailers now list it as a Nov. 29 release.)
The Night After Night Watch.
Concerts listed in Eastern Standard Time.
NOTAFLOF = no one turned away for lack of funds.
13
Krakauer & Tagg
Baruch Performing Arts Center
55 Lexington Ave., Midtown East
Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 7pm; $35, students $20
ovationtix.com
David Krakauer and Kathleen Tagg, a multifaceted duo of improvising composers, present a characteristically wide-ranging set of works for clarinet and piano, ranging from Debussy to Kinan Azmeh and John Zorn, alongside jazz and klezmer standards and original pieces.
Pacifica Quartet
92NY
1395 Lexington Ave., Upper East Side
Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 7:30pm; $40–$60, livestream $25
92ny.org
George Crumb’s Black Angels, a Vietnam War protest that retains its disquieting power, is the centerpiece of a thoughtful Pacifica Quartet program that also includes Samuel Barber’s String Quartet in B minor (with the breathtaking Adagio for Strings in its original form) and Antonín Dvořák’s String Quartet No. 12 (“American”). Livestream tickets are available for those unable to attend in person.
Zeena Parkins
Glass Box Theatre, The New School
55 W. 13th St., Greenwich Village
Wednesday, Nov. 13–Saturday, Nov. 16 at 8:30pm; $20 cash only
thestonenyc.com
The singular improvising harpist, keyboardist, and composer Zeena Parkins comes to The New School for a wide-ranging Stone series of musical encounters, starting on Wednesday with a trio featuring trumpeter Nate Wooley and laptop magician Ikue Mori. Parkins spars with drummer Brian Chase on Thursday, and improvises with Brandon Lopez on bass and Cecilia Lopez on electronics Friday. Saturday’s grand finale reunites Parkins with longtime creative partner Fred Frith for an original composition, Truth Suite, and further spontaneity.
14
JACK Quartet
Mannes School of Music
The Auditorium at 66 West 12th Street; Greenwich Village
Thursday, Nov. 14 at 7:30pm; free admission, RSVP recommended
event.newschool.edu
Just days after their 92nd Street Y appearance, the tireless JACK Quartet comes downtown to Mannes for a program titled “Modern Medieval,” exploring medieval works with their pungent tunings and embedded mysteries, in modern arrangements by violinist Christopher Otto. Original works by Otto and fellow JACK violinist Austin Wulliman, as well as Vicente Atria, Taylor Brook, and Juri Seo, complete a generous program.
New York Philharmonic
David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center
10 Lincoln Center Plaza; Upper West Side
Thursday, Nov. 14 & Saturday, Nov. 16 at 7:30pm; $71–$143
nyphil.org
Composer John Adams conducts the local premiere of Lost Coast, an ingenious cello concerto Gabriella Smith composed for her longtime friend and collaborator, cellist Gabriel Cabezas. (I previously covered an earlier version of this remarkable piece for NPR Music, here, and wrote the program notes for this Philharmonic premiere.) Arvo Pärt’s Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten, Aaron Copland’s Quiet City, and Adams’s own City Noir complete the program. An enticing related program, featuring chamber music by Adams, Smith, Anthony Cheung, Dylan Mattingly, and Andrew Norman, will be held on Sunday, Nov. 17 at 7:30pm at the Museum of Modern Art; admission is free with registration, here.
15
Marilyn Nonken
DiMenna Center for Classical Music
450 W. 37th St., Midtown West
Friday, Nov. 15 at 7:30pm; $25
eventbrite.com
Marilyn Nonken, a supremely assured, stylish interpreter of contemporary piano works, presents “Piano 360,” a program of immersive electroacoustic music by Elizabeth Hoffman, Ellen Fishman, and Natasha Barrett, a “remastered” Alvin Lucier classic, and accounts of two milestone spectralist works: Hugues Dufourt’s Meeresstille and Jonathan Harvey’s Tombeau de Messiaen.
16
Moons
Fridman Gallery
169 Bowery; Greenwich Village
Saturday, Nov. 16 at 8pm; $20, students $15
fridmangallery.com
Four performing composers – singer-accordionist Judith Berkson, flutist Christine Tavolacci, clarinetist Katie Porter, and cellist Laura Cetilia—celebrate the arrival of a self-titled debut album by their collective quartet, Moons. The group specializes in meditative music rendered unearthly through altered tunings, uncommon intervals, fleeting gestures, and uncommonly close listening.
17
Theresa Wong
Roulette
509 Atlantic Ave.; Brooklyn
Sunday, Nov. 17 at 8pm; $30, advance $25, seniors and students $20
roulette.org
Improvising cellist, vocalist, composer, and transmedia artist Theresa Wong presents Fluency of Trees, a solo performance meant to strip down the act of making music alone with a cello to essential elements and properties of wood, rosin, breath, friction, and breath.
18
Prism Quartet
Christ and St. Stephen’s Church
120 W. 69th St.; Upper West Side
Monday, Nov. 18 at 7pm; $10–$35 (pay what you wish)
prismquartet.com
The trailblazing saxophone foursome Prism Quartet presents MACHINE, a program of new and recent music by Augusta Read Thomas, Bill Ryan, Renee Baker, Julius Eastman, and Aaron Nichols.
Sun Dogs
BAM Howard Gilman Opera House
30 Lafayette Ave.; Brooklyn
Monday, Nov. 18 & Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 7:30pm; $34–$85
bam.org
Originally conceived by curatorial catalyst Liquid Music for the Cincinnati Symphony, Sun Dogs brings together three combinations of filmmakers and composers – Rafiq Bhatia with Apichatpong Weerasethakul; Devonté Hynes with Mati Diop & Manon Lutanie; and Arooj Aftab & Daniel Wohl with Josephine Decker – for a multidisciplinary event fusing new visions with live sounds. Alarm Will Sound plays the original scores in arrangements newly made for this tour. And, as an added bonus, use the code SUNDOGS21 when you order online to receive two tickets for the price of one.
[Mandatory disclosure: BAM is my current employer.]
19
Riyawa Ensemble
Elebash Hall, CUNY Graduate Center
365 Fifth Ave.; Midtown East
Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 7:30pm; free admission
www.gc.cuny.edu
Riyawa Ensemble, a chamber group that specializes in modern Middle Eastern classical music, presents the local premiere of Kareem Roustom’s Palestinian Songs and Dances, a mix of Palestinian folk sources with contemporary-classical elements. Works by Kinan Azmeh, Sami Seif, and Bushra El-Turk complete the program, which will be streamed live for those who can’t attend.
More vital directories of new-music destinations:
Find even more events in Night After Night Watch: The Master List, here.
Photographs by Steve Smith, except where indicated.