Space Jam

When we left you at the end of last season, the Philharmonic had transplanted to the Park Avenue Armory for a spatial-music program headlined by Stockhausen’s Gruppen. But we’re not done exploring space. The new season’s opening concerts, September 19–22, will feature pianist Leif Ove Andsnes performing György Kurtág’s … quasi una fantasia … (opening bars pictured above), which places five instrumental groups around the hall.

“There is deliberate chaos and there is chaos that comes about by mistake,” Kurtág said. ”In the second movement of … quasi una fantasia … I was out to place chaos in space, in the hope that it would sound clearer.”

It Isn’t Over Yet!

There is still time to witness Philharmonic 360, the New York Philharmonic’s groundbreaking “concert in the round” at the Park Avenue Armory, streaming on medici.tv. The June 29–30 concerts resulted from Alan Gilbert’s vision that Park Avenue Armory would be just the setting and partner to pull off Stockhausen’s Gruppen and other works by Mozart, Ives, and Boulez, all calling for a most unusual positioning of player and audience member.

This video, shot with ten cameras, allows you to move around the space, giving you an even broader sense of perspective than those who were there!

Did you miss Philharmonic 360, the sold-out event that had everyone abuzz?

Were you one of the lucky attendees, but you’re itching to relive the experience? (Who could blame you?)

Is “see Gruppen performed” still on your bucket list?

You’re in luck. With footage captured by 10 strategically placed cameras, the Philharmonic produced a webcast of Philharmonic 360, which medici.tv begins streaming today at 2:00 p.m. EDT and which will be available for 90 days. 

Philharmonic 360 was co-produced by the Orchestra and the Park Avenue Armory.  Q2 Music will also stream audio of the concert July 10, 11, and 14. More info at q2music.org.

The luckiest audience in the world tonight will be at New York Philharmonic 360 performance at Park Avenue Armory in New York.
The highlight is Stockhasuen’s Gruppen for three orchestra; I say no more…

(Source: omnisound)

Backstage Pass

Take a glimpse at history in the making. This is a peek at the New York Philharmonic rehearsal of Stockhausen’s Gruppen, the three-orchestra centerpiece of Philharmonic 360, a co-presentation with Park Avenue Armory. The performances this Friday and Saturday mark the Philharmonic’s first at the Armory since 1882 and its first performance of Gruppen ever.

“ ‘Gruppen’ is known to be a masterpiece of my father.
I grew up with it. Have a wonderful performance. ”

— Kind words from Markus Stockhausen via email in anticipation of the New York Philharmonic’s performance of his father’s Gruppen as part of Philharmonic 360, a co-presentation with Park Avenue Armory.

Don’t Stare Too Long…

Your eyes might get stuck that way. Above is just one page of the score for Stockhausen’s massive, three-orchestra Gruppen. ”It’s a headache piece for three conductors,” Magnus Lindberg told the Wall Street Journal. Magnus, Alan Gilbert, and Matthias Pintscher have their work cut out for them next June 29 and 30, when they conduct the space (and vision?)-altering work.

Karlheinz Stockhausen „Gruppen|für 3 Orchester|Nr. 6“

© Copyright 1963 by Universal Edition (London) Ltd., London/UE 13673

Three for the Price of One

In rehearsal: Stockhausen’s Gruppen for Three Orchestras, premiered at the Rheinsaal in Cologne, Germany, on March 24, 1958. The Cologne Radio Orchestra played under the direction of Karlheinz Stockhausen (Orchestra 1, left), Bruno Maderna (Orchestra II, center), and Pierre Boulez (Orchestra, III, right).

Catch the New York Philharmonic’s performance of this landmark work under the direction of Music Director Alan Gilbert, Magnus Lindberg, and Matthias Pintscher on June 29, 30.

(Photo: Archive of the Stockhausen Foundation for Music - www.stockhausen.org)

We’ve Just Seen a Face …

…on the cover of the Beatles’s Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club album that we can’t forget. On this, Sir Paul McCartney’s 70th birthday, we’d like to point out the mug of Karlheinz Stockhausen — of whom McCartney was a great admirer — amid the crowd.

The Philharmonic performs Stockhausen’s Gruppen June 29–30 at the Park Avenue Armory. Music Director Alan Gilbert will get by with a little help from his friends Magnus Lindberg and Matthias Pintscher who will also be conducting the work for three orchestras.