Celebrating 90 Years: Christian Wolff

Saturday, March 9th at 7pm, ISSUE celebrates legendary pianist and composer Christian Wolff’s 90th birthday at Judson Memorial Church in Greenwich Village. The event will feature performances of chamber works spanning from 1950 to present day, plus a new world premiere by Wolff himself. 

Ten “compositional ideas''–specifically referencing his multi-movement piece Burdocks (1970-71)–will be interpreted by the renowned String Noise Sounds quartet with Conrad Harris & Pauline Kim Harris (violin/objects), Jessie Cox (drums/cymbals), and Samuel Yulsman (piano/synths). Centering variant harmonic techniques in a collection of elusive and pervasive forms emblematic of Wolff’s compositional approach, the project brings together a younger generation of performers to synthesize these compositional methodologies, featuring guest musicians David Behrman (electronics/violin), Laura Cocks (flute), David Cossin (percussion), Felix Fan (cello), John King (guitar/electronics), Joseph Kubera (piano), Ikue Mori (electronics), Marilyn Nonken (piano), Kevin Ramsay (daxophone/electronics), and Lucie Vítková (accordion/harmonica).

PROGRAM:

7PM

Duo for Violins (1950)

For Piano I (1952)

Bread and Roses (1976) for Solo Violin

Death of Mother Jones (1977) for Solo Violin

Cello Cello Variations, "Hallelujah, I'm A Bum!" (1978) for Solo Cello

Stardust Piece 1 (1984) for Cello and Piano

Piano Trio (1985)

For Morty (1987) for Glockenspiel/Vibraphone and Piano

Duo 8 (2008) for Violin and Cello

Small Duos for Violinists (2021)

8:45PM Intermission

9PM

Cold Spring (1981) for 2 Violins and Vibraphone/Glockenspiel by Steven Swartz **

Ghost Swifts (2024) by String Noise Sounds *

What If? (2024) for 2-20 Musicians *

Improvisation by Christian Wolff & Ikue Mori

CW90 (2024) by David Behrman *

BURDOCKS (1970-71)

* World Premiere

** NYC Premiere

Conrad Harris, in partnership with Pauline Kim Harris (who perform as violin duo String Noise), have become closely acquainted with Wolff’s work through their collaboration on A Complete Anthology of Solo and Duo Violin Pieces. This intergenerational celebration provides ISSUE the unique opportunity to introduce historic work to new audiences and contexts.

Judson Memorial Church is deeply engaged with the local community, and in partnership with ISSUE, will plan a variety of outreach initiatives with the artists. With a commitment to accessibility, the organizations will coordinate outreach to students and other members of the congregation in order to engage with the artists around their work. More details to be announced.

All participating artist bios can be found here.