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Milton Babbitt is one of the world’s most preeminent living composers. He is a principal developer of postwar musical thought and expression, theory, and pedagogy in the United States, and his influence on American musical composition has been enormously significant. With his approval, we are happy to present this first look at his important masterwork.
Reviews: It would be hard to conjure up two more dissimilar bodies of late 20th century American music than those of Morton Feldman and Milton Babbitt - the one contemplative and elusive, the other frenetic and hyper-cerebral. Yet by juxtaposing their works for the same performing forces (clarinet and string quartet), this intriguing disc from New York's Phoenix Ensemble uncovers some telling connections, even if the contrasts are more overt. Feldman's 1983 work (titled "Clarinet and String Quartet") unfolds in a series of gentle sighing figures, almost like the breathing of a large, furry beast; Babbitt's Quintet, written in 1995-96, leavens its intricacy with plentiful nods to jazz. What binds the two pieces, perhaps surprisingly, is the gestural richness they share beneath their very different surfaces, and the way each of them forges a rhetorical style free from the prescriptions of tonality. The performances, led by clarinetist Mark Lieb, are at once tender and incisive. Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle
The Pheonix Ensemble does a brilliant job in capturing the specific character of such radically different pieces of music. The Babbitt, by the way, receives its premiere recording—one wonders why such an exhilarating piece was neglected for so long. Highly recommended. Art Lange, Fanfare Magazine
Feldman's "Clarinet and String Quartet" is filled with lush chordal voicing and beautiful, almost pastoral clarinet sections. The work makes for both a relaxing and uplifting listening experience. Babbitt's almost unknown "Quintet for Clarinet and String Quartet" is much denser, brimming with angular clarinet lines and deliciously dissonant string parts, which interact with a ballet ensemble's grace. The ensemble's dynamics and careful attention to timbre balance make even the subtlest interactions clearly perceptible. New music this accessible is a treat. Glen Hall, Exclaim.ca
The performances here are impeccable. Clarinetist Mark Lieb and members of the New York-based Phoenix Ensemble play with absolute commitment; their care in putting each of these pieces over with the intent to sell listeners on each composer's work is evident in the energy and nuance of their performances. Stephen Eddins, allmusic.com
The Phoenix Ensemble's commitment to these works is implicit; their intonation, precision and palpable enthusiasm is conveyed in each measure. Despite the seeming stylistic disparity of the two works, the album flows effortlessly. Troy Collins, AllAboutJazz.com
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ACCESS TO MUSIC
Community Residencies & Partnerships
In January of 2008 we began a partnership with the Sirovich Community Center located in the East Village of Manhattan. This facility serves a diverse New York City community in need of quality cultural offerings. We are presenting opera appreciation classes and a season of four chamber music concerts at this venue, and intend to work with them to offer further programming that will fit the particular needs of the facility and surrounding community. In 2009, we began a new partnership at the Center on the Square, near Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. In 2010, we will offer identical programming at Center on the Square and the Sirovich Community Center.
Upcoming Phoenix Ensemble concerts:
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Monday, May 10, 2010 1:30pm
Center on the Square
20 Washington Square North
Mozart: Clarinet Quintet K581
Henri Marteau: Clarinet Quintet
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Tuesday, May 11, 2010 1:30pm
Sirovich Community Center
331 East 12th Street (Manhattan)
Mozart: Clarinet Quintet K581
Henri Marteau: Clarinet Quintet
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Monday, August 16, 2010 1:30pm
Sirovich Community Center
331 East 12th Street (Manhattan)
Gerwhin: Preludes for Piano (arranged for clarinet and piano by James Cohn)
Adams: Gnarly Buttons
Copland: Sextet
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Wednesday, August 18, 2010 1:30pm
Center on the Square
20 Washington Sqaure North
Gerwhin: Preludes for Piano (arranged for clarinet and piano by James Cohn)
Adams: Gnarly Buttons
Copland: Sextet
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All of these concerts are free to the public.
Music for the Elderly Series
Ansonia Music Outreach and our Access to Music program continue to bring free classical music performances and music events to residents of nursing homes, senior centers, and senior care facilities in New York City, through our Music for the Elderly Series. In 2009 we presented 18 concerts at 16 facilities in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, and the Bronx.
COMPOSER WORKSHOP
The goals of our Composer Workshop are to give composers of merit the opportunity to create new works, to make accessible important music of our time, and to work on ways in which the particular musical style or message of new works can be communicated to a general audience, particularly young audiences. Our first commercial CD, featuring the Phoenix Ensemble and the chamber music of Jonathan Dawe, was released in August of 2006. The recording was produced by the label Furious Artisans and co-funded by the Aaron Copland Fund for Music. Information on the recording can be found at www.furiousartisans.com.
MUSIC FOR THE YOUNG
The mission of our Music for the Young program is to present innovative projects to young people that inspire interest in classical music and the arts, encourage creativity, and help make the arts an integral part of the school curriculum. Ansonia Music Outreach is now a contracted vendor with the New York City Department of Education, providing varied services designed to help implement their Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in the Arts, a new method of arts instruction for the city schools. During the 2007 – 2008 school year, we worked with several schools, providing ongoing group lessons, live concerts, student chamber music workshops, and varied services designed to help their music programs align with the guidelines and philosophy of the new Blueprint. The Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in the Arts is an important step forward in establishing the arts as an essential element in public education, and we want to play our part in making this initiative a success.
