Composers Concordance Presents VARIATIONS
Featured compositions include Gene Pritsker's 'Friendly Variations', Lowell Liebermann's 'Variations on a Theme of Schubert, and more.
By: A.A. Cristi May. 17, 2022
On Thursday, June 9th at 7pm at Greenwich House, Composers Concordance presents a piano-based concert entitled 'Variations,' focusing on Variation Form, including the myriad ways it remains central to music composition in the 21st century.
Featured compositions include Gene Pritsker's 'Friendly Variations', Lowell Liebermann's 'Variations on a Theme of Schubert, Op. 100', Aaron Alter's 'Toccata-Variations on a Theme by Charlie Parker,' Christopher Vassiliades' 'Passacaglia Mystica', and Daniel Palkowski's 'Piano Variations'.
A certain musical form has remained so popular among composers that it seems almost synonymous with music composition itself. Variation Form's adherents have included virtually all of the renowned composers of every era, all of whom composed sets of variations, from J.S. Bach's 'Goldberg Variations' to Charles Ives' 'Variations on America.' Beyond the classical canon, much Jazz music is structured on a basic pattern of theme and variations, and artists frequently develop variations on themes by other composers. Prime examples would include Coleman Hawkins' 1939 recording of Johnny Green's 'Body and Soul,' in which Hawkins famously varied the melody from the outset; and Billy Strayhorn's 'Take the A Train,' based on the harmonic progression of Jimmy McHugh's 'Exactly Like You.' More recently, Pop music has become so replete with variation that fans, and even songwriters themselves, seem sometimes to forget who wrote what, leading to numerous disputes of authorship. Clearly, Variation Form itself has remained a constant, echoing what's been heard before, while driving music's evolutions.
The concert will also be live-streamed on the Composers Concordance Facebook page.
Composers Concordance - Variations
Thursday, June 9
7:00pm EST
Greenwich House
46 Barrow St
New York, NY 10014
$20 in advance $30 at the door
Composers:
Aaron Alter, Dan Cooper, Delilah Gutman, Kristjan Järvi, Mark Kostabi, Lowell Liebermann, Eugene W. McBride, Daniel Palkowski, Gene Pritsker, David Saperstein, David See, Christopher Vassiliades.
Performers:
Joan Forsyth, Jai Jeffryes, Taka Kigawa, Eugene W. McBride, Daniel Palkowski, David Saperstein, David See, Kathleen Supové, Christopher Vassiliades - piano,
Christina Kay - soprano.
Staying in rotation for 38 years in NYC is a rare feat. In the case of a new music presenting organization, it requires not only diligence and cognizance of achievements of the past but also an ethic of keeping one's ear to the ground for emerging stylistic and technological developments, as well as talented new composers on the scene. Composers Concordance, founded in 1984 by Joseph Pehrson and Patrick Hardish, advised by Otto Luening, strives to present contemporary music in innovative ways, with an emphasis on thematic programming. Directors Gene Pritsker and Dan Cooper co-curate the programs and lead the CompCord Ensemble, Chamber Orchestra, String Orchestra, and Big Band. Associate Directors are Milica Paranosic, Peter Jarvis, Debra Kaye, and Seth Boustead. Composers Concordance has also created a Naxos-distributed record label: Composers Concordance Records, co-directed by Peter Jarvis. Composers Concordance's overriding vision is to promote contemporary music, composers, and new works as a rightful and respected part of society. Good music performed and recorded well, pushing the boundaries of sound and composition.
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