Berlin-based pianist Aki Takase has been performing for more than 40 years, and in that time she’s engaged with contemporary composition, spoken word, and even a turntablist—the trio Lok 03 includes her husband, fellow pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach, and their son, DJ Illvibe. But no matter where she roams, her playing is fundamentally rooted in […]
Tag: contemporary composition
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Spektral Quartet’s Experiments in Living upends the timeline to stake out a fresh vantage point
The through line of Spektral Quartet’s first studio release in four years, Experiments in Living, is that there is no through line—at least on the surface. The double album covers 150 years of history, from Brahms to living lions such as George Lewis, but rather than foist a chronological or thematic flow onto the recording, […]
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The generation-spanning Fountain of Time is an intriguing peek into Chicago new-music lab the Grossman Ensemble
The Grossman Ensemble could be thought of as a new-music incubator. The resident ensemble of the Chicago Center for Contemporary Composition (CCCC) at the University of Chicago, the 13-piece group—which comprises some of the best contemporary players in the city—rehearses extensively with composers over the course of several weeks. Some of their commissions emerge collaboratively […]
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Kieran Daly breaks down musical standards before rewriting them
The standard jazz repertoire is a selection of mid-20th-century popular songs and compositions that jazz musicians have long been expected to master in order to establish their bona fides. Though the canonization of these standards ensures that players know what to play and that listeners know what to expect, it also imposes an aesthetic center […]