2012 Composer’s Commission: Benet Casablancas 2012: The Foundation for Iberian Music proudly announces that Benet Casablancas has been chosen for the 2012 Composer’s Commission. In theme with the Tania León’s 2011 Composer’s Commission, his musical piece will celebrate the Centennial of Xavier Montsalvatge (1912-2012), one of the most prominent figures in the Catalan music scene in the 20th century. Additionally, this composition contributes to a series of activities dedicated to Xavier Montsalvatge that will take place in different cities, including but not limited to New York, Barcelona, and Madrid.
Fundación Juan March: Digital Collection of Spanish Music 29 November, 2011: The Fundación Juan March in Madrid has updated its digital collection of Spanish music. The catalogue includes a searchable archive of concerts, composers, performers, scores, and more. For more information and to access this website, click here. This information is also available in the Foundation for Iberian Music’s Web Library for Iberian Music.
Listen to the Discussion about Silent Music 15 November, 2011: Listen to the audio recordings of the book release and panel discussion for Silent Music: Medieval Song and the Construction of History in Eighteenth-Century Spain by Susan Boynton. The recording is available on the Foundation for Iberian Music’s Audio Archive. The speakers in the recording include introductory remarks by Barbara Dobbs Mackenzie, moderated by director Antoni Pizà, and the discussion of the book with Susan Boynton, Walter Clark, Don Michael Randel, and Suzanne Ryan.
Tirant Lo Blanch: Performance by the Capella de Ministrers 1 November, 2011: As part of the Music in Midtown series, the Capella de Ministrers gave a concert titled “The Travels of Tirant Lo Blanch: Music and Chivalric Splendor.” Director Carles Magraner and the Capella de Ministrers performed in Elebash Recital Hall. Below are some of the photos from the event.
Inside the Music: Salvador Brotons 22 October, 2011: The Foundation for Iberian Music presents the first seminar in the new series “Inside the Music.” The series features guest composers, who in a lively discussion with students, present close readings of their musical works. For the first seminar in the series, the Foundation has invited internationally renowned composer Salvador Brotons. Saturday October 22, 2011 10 am – 4 pm, Room 3491 The Graduate Center 365 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10016 Free and open to the public A light breakfast and lunch will be provided Salvador Brotons’ compositions to be covered in the seminar: Concert per a orquestra i cobla Esquitxos d’aigua salada Sextet mixta Simfonia No. 5 Mundus noster Sonata flauta Stabat mater IV Stabat mater VII Trombone concerto III, IV, V http://brookcenter.gc.cuny.edu/wp-content/uploads/01-Mixed-Sextet-Mov.-1.mp3 Born in Barcelona, Salvador Brotons studied at the Barcelona Conservatory of Music, graduating in flute, composition, and orchestral conducting. He later earned his Doctorate in Music from Florida State University. At the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya (ESMUC) he taught orchestral conducting and composition. In addition to his numerous award-winning compositions, Brotons has served as a conductor for orchestras around the world—Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra of South Africa, Wuppertal Symphony Orchestra of Germany, etc.—and is currently the principal conductor and artistic director of the Orquestra Simfònica de Balears Ciutat de Palma. For reservations for the seminar: emmy.williamson@gmail.com
Vancouver New Music Festival 2011 Focuses on Xenakis Oct 20-22, 2011: This year’s Vancouver New Music Festival will focus on Iannis Xenakis. The festival features three nights of concerts devoted to Xenakis, with performances by New York’s JACK Quartet, Montreal-based clarinetist and improviser Lori Freedman, Vancouver’s Fringe Percussion, and more. Sharon Kanach, director of the Xenakis Project of the Americas, and Xenakis scholar James Harley will provide an introduction to each night’s concerts. In addition, XPA is partnering with the Canadian Music Centre to bring the exhibition “Iannis Xenakis: Composer, Architect, Visionary” to Vancouver from September 30 to October 18. For more information, please visit the Vancouver New Music Festival website.
Call for papers: “Xenakis’ Electroacoustic Music,” Université Paris 8 May 23-25, 2012: Xenakis’ electroacoustic works are relatively few in his whole production, but they are very important. Indeed, most of them – from Diamorphoses through to S.709: Concret PH, Bohor, Persepolis, Polytope de Cluny, La Légende d’Eer, Mycènes alpha, Voyage absolu des Unari vers Andromède, Gendy3… – punctuate the history of electroacoustic music as masterpieces full of originality and innovation. Besides, Xenakis worked both on musique concrète and with electronic music techniques, covering both fields of what is called electroacoustic music. Moreover, his polytopes, where technology plays a major role, are pioneer realizations in the history of multimedia art. As they are composed at important moments of Xenakis’ evolution, these electroacoustic works can also be analyzed to understand the various aspects of his musical, theoretical, aesthetic and interdisciplinary thought: research on noise, granular theory, experimentations on spatialization, inter-artistic realizations… It is also important to notice the fact that these works have a strong relationship with his instrumental music (for instance, there are many affinities between La Légende d’Eer and the orchestral work Jonchaies). This symposium wishes to gather researchers from all around the world – well-known specialists of Xenakis’ music or young researchers –, to analyze his electroacoustic music. Proposals of papers should include an abstract of 600 to 1000 words (additional to a bibliography) and a short CV. They should be sent before the 1th of January 2012 to Makis.Solomos@univ-paris8.fr . For complete details, please see the attached PDF document: CallXenakis .
The New York Andalus Ensemble Concert 16 November 2011: The New York Andalus Ensemble performs a free concert at the CUNY Graduate Center in the beautiful Elebash Recital Hall. The ensemble performs music from the historical traditions in the Maghreb (Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia) and the Iberian Peninsula. Directed by Rachid Halihal, coordinated by Samuel R. Thomas (Ph.D Candidate in Ethnomusicology at the Graduate Center), and co-sponsored by the Foundation for Iberian Music, the New York Andalus Ensemble is open to the public and has an extremely diverse membership. This large ensemble includes a choir of vocalists and a multitude of instrumentalists, combining irreverent songs of love with songs of deep spirituality. More information to follow. The New York Andalus Ensemble November 16, 2011 — 7:30pm Elebash Recital Hall 365 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10016
Mompou Seminar Fall 2011: Music as a Cultural Weapon 24 September 2011: The Foundation for Iberian Music and the Mompou Chair present the 2011 Fall Seminar “Music as a Cultural Weapon: Fighting for Ethnic Identities in Spain from Cançó to Rock and Rap (1960-2010).” Professor Sílvia Martínez from la Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya (la ESMUC) and Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona will lead an interactive seminar with discussions, lecture, and listening examples. September 24, 2011 10 am – 4 pm Graduate Center 365 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10016 Room 3491 Free and open to the public Breakfast and lunch provided The seminar examines the relationship between popular music and ethnic identity through the historical example of Catalonians in Spain. By comparing two historical moments – the end of the 1960s and the beginning of the 1990s – the seminar aims to highlight the ways groups use musical expression as a way of transmitting a sense of belonging. Particular to this example, the Catalan language is an important element for the Catalonian identity and is central to the seminar’s discussion of the sociopolitical movements of the time. This case presents a model for studying the relationship between musical expressions, socio-economic conditions of a musical scene, and the potential of consolidation of an ethnic identity, which can be compared with other American and international cases. Some topics to be covered in the seminar: • Many musical bands share stages and audiences although their messages are inconsistent and incompatible with each other • The songs’ language (Catalan, Spanish or English) is a more defining element for genre than strict musical features • Although radical musical genres (heavy metal, rap) exist, bands refuse to be constrained by genre definitions • There is a certain lack of lyric-based song genres (rap, ballads, flamenco song) Readings: Cohen, Sara. “Sounding out the City: Music and the Sensuous Production of Place.” Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers. 20/4 (1995), 434-446. Eriksen, Thomas. “Ethnicity versus Nationalism.” Journal of Peace Research 28/3 (1991), 263-278. Fouce, Héctor. “Emociones en lugar de soluciones. Música popular, intelectuales y cambio político en la España de la Transición .” TRANS 12 (2008). Van Lew, Maria. “The Scent of Catalan Rock: Els Pets’ Ideology and the Rock and Roll Industry.” Popular Music. 12/3 (1993), 245-261. For reservations to the seminar: emmy.williamson@gmail.com
The Travels of Tirant Lo Blanch: Music and Chivalric Splendor 20 October, 2011: The Foundation for Iberian Music, as part of its Mompou Chair events, presents “The Travels of Tirant Lo Blanch” a concert by the Capella de Ministrers sponsored by Institut Ramon Llull. The concert is part of the music series Music in Midtown at the CUNY Graduate Center. In addition, Conductor Carles Magraner and the Capella de Ministrers will perform “Tirant Lo Blanch” as a special concert for patrons of the Metropolitan Museum of Art on October 19. Tirant Lo Blanch (Tirant the White) is a novel by the Valencian knight Joanot Martorell published in 1490. Martorell’s romance is an epic about a knight who helps protect the Byzantine Empire from the invading the Ottoman Turks. Miguel de Cervantes cites this book as the most important piece of literature that influenced him to write Don Quixote. ”Es la novela total. Novela de caballerías fantastica, histórica, social, erótica, psicológica: todas esas cosas a la vez y ninguna de ellas exclusivamente.” “It is the whole novel. It’s a fantastic, social, erotic, psychological tale of chivalry: all of those things at the same time and none of these exclusively.” –Mario Vargas Llosa (Nobel Prize 2010). More information to follow. Thursday 20 October, 2011 Elebash Recital Hall, 1 pm The Graduate Center 365 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10016 For tickets and more information, click here or call 212-868-4444. This concert is supported by the Institut Ramon Llull and is part of the Catalan Days Festival