Past Events

Leftfield British electronics producer Mark Fell presents a tonal mix of extended duration including new and unreleased works by himself as well as references to the various traditions that have informed his practice, establishing a dialogue between techno, the American minimalists and tonal spectralism.

ISSUE & Antholgy team up for an eclectic/electric evening with Jason Lescalleet, one of America’s most dedicated sound artists. Lescalleet commissioned 13 artists to create videos for the 13 tracks on the first disc of "Songs About Nothing", tonight features the audio-visual album plus shorts by collaborators.

The US Premiere of Evan Calder Williams' film "Violent X" features a live improvised soundtrack by Tokyo-based Taku Unami with Williams, joining a work of pulp and radical history to early instances of cinema narration and accompaniment. In a second set, Unami collaborates with Eugene Thacker and Jarrod Fowler.

ISSUE and WSB100 present a celebration of the legacy of William S. Burroughs during the 100th anniversary of the writer's birth. Actor, director, and writer Steve Buscemi and composer/multi-instrumentalist Elliott Sharp collaborate, creating a collage of sound and words from texts by William Burroughs.

Catherine Christer Hennix appears alongside her Berlin-based just intonation ensemble Chora(s)san Time-Court Mirage as part of Ultima. In their first-ever US performance the group premieres Blues Alif Lam MimM, intended to reveal the blues' origins in the eastern musical traditions of raga and maqam musics.

Berlin-based Danish sound artist Jacob Kirkegaard presents Faust and other works by the pioneering electronic musician Else Marie Pade (not present). Acclaimed piano/percussion quartet Yarn/WIre perform works by composers Øyvind Torvund, Simon Steen-Andersen and Anna Thorvaldsdottir/Sigurdur Gudjonsson.

Radical Danish artist Henning Christiansen’s performance work "Requiem of Art (NYC) Fluxorum Organum" receives its first NY presentation, in a new interpretation developed by Anton Lukoszevieze, who leads the superb Ne(x)tworks ensemble. The program includes works by Arne Nordheim, Shelley Burgon and Kristin Norderval.

An afternoon concert pairs solo piano performances by the young Finnish musician Antti Tolvi and acclaimed composer/performer Lubomyr Melnyk, architect of the Continuous Music method. Both venture far outside the classical tradition, sharing an emphasis on the instrument's capacity for extended harmony and overtone.

Ultima closes with attention turned to composer Arne Nordheim. Acclaimed Nordic group Serena-Maneesh & vocal ensemble perform Somnambulism, a tribute to Nordheim's musical spirit. His "Flashing" is performed by outstanding accordionist Frode Haltli, alongside works by Magnar Åm, Aldo Clementi, and Hans Abrahamsen.

An evening of anecdotes and admiration celebrates the life and work of Muriel Spark in anticipation of a forthcoming collection of her essays and 8 republished novels (New Directions). With authors and editors Barbara Epler, Maud Newton, Sadie Stein, Emily Stokes and Thessaly LaForce with moderator Michael Barron.

Yarn/Wire/Currents continues with premieres of newly commissioned works for piano/percussion quartet Yarn/Wire by Christopher Trapani and Pete Swanson. Trapani explores the concept of stopping time, Swanson, in his second collaboration with the ensemble, forays into the intersection of electronic and acoustic sound.

Berlin-based Danish sound artist Jacob Kirkegaard presents ISFALD, a recent immersive solo soundwork. The piece features the sounds of ice, recorded with underwater microphones at the Ilulissat icefjord and with vibration sensors at the melting glaciers of Kangerlussuaq, Greenland in June 2013.