Yarn/Wire/Currents, a new and ongoing collaboration of ISSUE and the acclaimed piano and percussion quartet Yarn/Wire, continues with the premieres of newly commissioned works for the ensemble by Christopher Trapani and Pete Swanson.
Christopher Trapani's new piece, Writing Against Time, inspired by Micahel Clune's book of the same name, is about "stopping time"— the sensation of suspension in enveloping present, prolonging the wonder and enchantment of a new aesthetic discovery. The piece unfolds as a long single line, always pulling forward, never referring back to earlier moments. There is repetition and variation, but no development— an emphasis instead on surface details and transformations in color. Interacting with electronics, repeated patterns and irrational rhythms create an intricate, colorful collage that draws on a range of disparate sources.
Following Yarn/Wire's dynamic 2012 collaboration at ISSUE with electronic/noise musician Pete Swanson, the pairing returns for another foray into the intersection of electronic and acoustic sound in another new collaborative work premiering tonight.
At 7:15pm Christopher Trapani and Author Michael Clune present a Pre-Concert Talk.
Michael Clune's book Writing Against Time explores the techniques various writers have exploited to evoke the sensation of "stopped time". Inspired by Clune's work, Christopher Trapani extends these ideas to the musical realm in his new work. The two will discuss their collaboration and thoughts about "stopping time" in music and literature in this unique pre-concert event.
"Time seems to slow when we perceive something for the first time. The moment of perception swells; the 'fraction of time' expands... a gap opens between the time of the clock and neurobiological time... In such moments we get a glimpse of the splendor of eternal life, of unfading color, unerased sensation. But these dilations don't last. What if they could?"
Yarn/Wire is a chamber quartet specializing in the performance of 21st century music. A unique instrumental combination of two percussionists (Ian Antonio & Russell Greenberg) and two pianists (Laura Barger & Ning Yu) allows Yarn/Wire to interface with both traditional performance practice and emergent stylistic trends with ease. Founded in 2005, Yarn/Wire is admired for its "spellbinding virtuosity" (Time Out NY) and the energy and precision it brings to performances of today's most exciting music. Yarn/Wire were ISSUE Project Room Artist-In-Residence in 2012.
Brooklyn-based Pete Swanson has become best known as a pioneering figure in the noise scene’s invasion and deconstruction of techno, through blistering live performances and solo releases on Software and Type. Swanson created music for the destroyed outer edges of the dance floor, where waves of distortion and deafening sound are anchored with machine-driven beats. His music career began as one half of the now-defunct Yellow Swans, a prolific noise duo that built its legend on dozens of extreme albums.
Christopher Trapani was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He has studied composition with Bernard Rands, Julian Anderson, Philippe Leroux, and poetry under Helen Vendler. Prizes include the 2007 Gaudeamus Prize and his music has been programmed in festivals including the Venice Biennale, Ultraschall Festival in Berlin, Musica Nova Helsinki, IRCAM’s ManiFeste and Festival Agora. Current projects include a new orchestral work for the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and a commission for the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and Festival Présences. Christopher is currently a doctoral fellow at Columbia University and lives in New York.
Yarn/Wire/Currents brings newly commissioned experimental works to ISSUE Project Room. Each concert features two pieces written for the percussion and keyboard quartet Yarn/Wire for an assemblage of acoustic, modified, electronic, and handmade instruments. Yarn/Wire/Currents presents the result of close collaborations between the group and an international array of composers to explore the intersections of live performance, installation, technology, and music theater. The Series continues in the Fall of 2014 with works by Ann Cleare, Chiyoko Szlavnics, and Øyvind Torvund.
