New Music on Tap

Contemporary European composers take the spotlight at the Philharmonic’s CONTACT! concerts April 5-6 at the Metropolitan Museum and Symphony Space. But could it be they were also tempted by the chance to raise a free glass of beer from our friends at the Brooklyn Brewery? After all, the NYC brew was introduced to the European market earlier this year.

Grab a complimentary glass and find out for yourself as the composers and musicians will be on hand for the post-concert reception.

Music Director Alan Gilbert conducts the U.S. Premieres of Gougalōn by Korean-born Unsuk Chin, who now lives in Germany; Danish Poul Ruders’s Oboe Concerto, featuring Principal Oboe Liang Wang; Backdraft, a New York Philharmonic Co-Commission by France’s Yann Robin; plus the New York Premiere of Vaporized Tivoli by Sweden’s Anders Hillborg.

(photo: Linda Hervieux, New York Times)

Drum Roll, Please!

It’s Associate Principal Percussion Daniel Druckman’s birthday today! 

Dan’s roots to the Philharmonic stretch back to when his father, eminent composer Jacob Druckman, served as the Philharmonic’s Composer-in-Residence in 1982. “I went to a lot of contemporary music concerts growing up,” Dan said in 2004. “So it was natural for me to want to explore unusual music and unusual instruments.”

Continuing this line of distinguished musicians is Dan’s daughter, Holly Druckman, who is currently studying music and conducting. Pictured here are Dan and Holly at our December 2012 CONTACT! concert, which featured Jacob Druckman’s Counterpoise. 

Many happy returns, Dan!

“And Then It Hit Me…”

Fresh off the New York Premiere of his piece Try on the Philharmonic’s  CONTACT! new-music series, composer Andrew Norman sat down to compile a Playlist for WQXR’s Mixtapes. After much deliberation over the assignment, he says, “It hit me: why not assemble a playlist from the pieces that have knocked my socks off on first listening.”

Hear the results when Mixtapes streams on Q2 Music tomorrow at 3:00 p.m.

Whether you missed it or want to relive it, you can make CONTACT! with Andy Akiho, Andrew Norman, Jude Vaclavik, and Jacob Druckman. Q2 Music is streaming the concerts on Friday, December 28 at 3 p.m. and Saturday, December 29 at 10 a.m. For the next month, you can hear the concert (either in its entirety or by individual piece) here.

And be sure to check out the New York Times review, which paraphrases Mae West, evokes the image of a viola being “stretched on a medieval rack,” and says of Vaclavik’s SHOCK WAVES, ”Impressive as the barbarous rumble and roil could be, what impressed most was Mr. Vaclavik’s feeling for proportion and resolution; no effect outlasted its efficacy.”

Tell us your favorite: Iconic New Yorker

Jude Vaclavik: ”William Schuman is an iconic New Yorker, and one of my heroes. He was a first-rate composer — one of America’s greatest symphonists — and was an administrator who molded the classical music landscape of New York City as President of Juilliard and Lincoln Center. He is among the rarest breeds to be an exceptional administrator and prize-winning creative artist.”

Andy Akiho: “Martin Scorsese”

Christopher Rouse: “Paul Simon”

Check back throughout the week to learn more CONTACT! composer faves and learn more about the upcoming premieres at nyphil.org/contact.

This Friday marks the first performance of this season’s CONTACT! series, featuring world and New York premieres by composers with ties to New York City, conducted by a Brooklynite and curated by our New York-based Composer-in-Residence. So we couldn’t resist the opportunity to ask these artists about their New York favorites, and will be posting them here throughout the week.

Care to challenge any of their opinions? Come meet the artists in person – and hear their pieces – this Friday, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Saturday, at Symphony Space. On the program is the World Premieres of two Philharmonic commissions, Andy Akiho’s Oscillate and Jude Vaclavik’s SHOCK WAVES; the New York Premiere of Andrew Norman’s Try; and the ensemble version of Counterpoise by Jacob Druckman, all led by Jayce Ogren in his Philharmonic debut. The concerts are followed by a free reception sponsored by Brooklyn Brewery – the perfect end to a New York night. Don’t fuggetaboutit!

Tell Us Your Favorite: New York Moment or Memory

Christopher Rouse: ”As a young ‘un, travelling down to Greenwich Village and brazenly knocking on Edgard Varese’s door. He was my hero, he was home, he was gracious, and I was in heaven. Professionally, the first time the Philharmonic played something of mine: “The Infernal Machine”, in 1984. For me, it was my first performance by THE NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC…when you’re young, the orchestra deserve caps. (And they still do.)”

Jude Vaclavik: “My wife and I moved from New York for a short period of time, and were homesick for the city. One of my favorite New York memories was driving through the Lincoln Tunnel in a moving truck and feeling at home again.” 

Andy Akiho: “I could get in trouble or be too embarrassed if I say…”

“It makes me happy if I write crazy scales or harmonies, but my mom could still listen and enjoy it”

Percussionist and composer Andy Akiho discusses how he started playing the steel pan, and how he feels about making his debut as a composer with the New York Philharmonic, in this article for The New Jersey Star-Ledger.

Catch the World Premiere of Akiho’s Oscillate this Friday, December 21, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, or Saturday, December 22, at Symphony Space, as part of CONTACT!, the Philharmonic’s new-music series. 

Meanwhile, listen to some of his steel pan music here. 

New York Contacts

What’s it like to have a new composition premiered by the Philharmonic? Sean Shepherd knows first hand, and in this month’s Playbill, he talks to three emerging New York-based composers whose works will be performed this Friday and Saturday in the CONTACT! new-music series. 

Read his interviews here.

“ Can coffee be art? ”

— 

Conductor Jayce Ogren definitely thinks so. The New York transplant ranks Blue Bottle Coffee first in his top city picks list for NYC-Arts, along with Le Poisson Rouge, BAM, Juilliard, and the Miller Theatre.

“To the right of the espresso counter at the Chelsea location is a minimalist temple of coffee paradise,” says the admitted foodie from the coffee-obsessed Pacific Northwest. “Nel-drip and vacuum-brewed coffee await with homemade brioche toast and blackberry jam.” 

Ogren makes his Philharmonic debut in a CONTACT! program on December 21 and 22 that’s all about new music by New York composers.