February 2009
63 posts
Karim Said wins London's first ever Enescu...
Remus Azoitei:
Jordanian-born pianist Karim Said, whose music inspired the film director Christopher Nupen to make the documentary Karim’s Journey, is the first winner of the Enescu Society scholarship granted by the Romanian Cultural Institute in London.
Remus, artistic director of the Enescu Society, was one of the judges on a panel that included Enescu’s biographer, Noel Malcolm.
As a...
Frank Gratkowski's Wake makes waves
Frank Gratkowski:
Jason Bivins praises the ‘energy and oddity’ of Wake, the latest outing by Frank, Chris Brown and William Winant.
Here’s Hayden Chisholm’s take on the matter:
Till Fellner's Beethoven marathon comes to the...
Till Fellner:
Till’s Beethoven marathon continues on the afternoon of 1 March at the Howland Center (“135+ years of culture”, boasts the unstable and slightly scary website) in Beacon, on the Hudson River. For tickets, call (1) 845 297-9243.
Three days later, on 4 March, Till’s at the Austrian Embassy in Washington –
(didn’t this forbidding building appear in the Coen brothers’ Burn Before...
The Plushmusic team get scientific and wire Adrian...
Fortunately all was well and we even learnt something in the process. Check out the interview on the Wellcome Collection’s site.
Composing and literature
Hayden Chisholm:
Whenever I embark on a longer composition like I am doing now for the opera in Venice I usually take a few books with me for inspiration and sanity. The ones I pulled out now happened to be the Drowned Book by the Father of Rumi, Artaud by Anne Thology, and The Little Prince in Armenian. These books have nothing to do with what I am writing but they keep me sane when my attempts...
A European shoe obsession
Hayden Chisholm:
I discovered another cultural difference between New Zealand and Europe the other day- or rather it dawned on me even though I have sensed it for a long time. Each time I take my 2yr old out I often let him run around bare feet- even on the beach or on the grass I still get funny looks from other featherless bipeds. They sometimes tell me to put something on, lest he catch a...
Whangamomona Hotel
Hayden Chisholm:
This is a piece I wrote for the Whangamomona Hotel in Taranaki- in a blistering burst of inspiration I named it “Whangamomona Hotel”. In times of evil, when below the dull roar of digital progress, nuclear energy is one of many spectres raising its ugly head again, it is consoling to return to places like Whangomomona, if only through sound. (btw, this is the map designating...
Hayden on the Kaum Quartet
Hayden Chisholm:
Last December we played a concert in the St Audeons church in Dublin with a new quartet consisting of four altos which we called christened the “Kaum Quartet”. The group evolved out of my workshop series in Greece and continued the microtonal explorations we started there. It was crisp and cold in Dublin during the rehearsals and I shot and cut my first portrait film for...
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A down-and-dirty literal English translation of...
“It´s a new kind of creative process and alchemy when I bring such different musicians together, listen to the results and then present them online. What joy!” The current possibilites of the internet seem to give Hayden Chisholm wings in his new roll as curator and festival director.
His partner, cellist Adrian Brendel, expains more: “It all grew out of the classics, though I...
New Rebecca Horn film
HaydenChisholm.net:
The Premiere of the new Rebecca Horn film in the La Fenice Theatre of Venice will take place end of May. Hayden is now composing a new score for this work which will run throughout the Venice Bianale. Early March he will performing as part of the International poetry festival in Dubai.
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Cologne Festival music remixed...
HaydenChisholm.net:
In the plane on the way to Spain I randomly extracted a few seconds from each of the concerts in Cologne and strung them together. It gives a good impression of the range of eclectica we shared over the weekend. Thanks to everyone for a magical time. Check back on Plushmusic soon to hear all the results. Airbourne Eclectica:
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Claudio & Lula Pena sing the crew to sleep…
Cellist Claudio Bohórquez and Lula Pena, mistress of fado, sing the crew to sleep…
Thanks for joining us, everyone.
EA
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Goodnight from the Loft, Cologne
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Plushmusic's Cologne Festival: looking back
We’ve just had a quick straw-poll in the recording booth – and without question, the highlight of the festival (so far) has been Goran Krivokapic’s extraordinary guitar recital, which spanned virtually the entire history of the instrument and refreshed some remarkable nineteenth-century virtuoso pieces.
Another highlight was the food! (Incredibly, Plushmusic founder Adrian Brendel...
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Rehearsals: pianist Simon Nabatov runs through a couple of numbers with Hayden Chisholm’s trio.
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Funny lot, these cellists… Adrian Brendel waits patiently for his turn with Claudio Bohórquez’s happy-making massager…
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Philip Zoubek's piano secrets
Violist Gareth Lubbe certainly put Philip Zoubek through his paces last night. Their improvisations had Philip – a skilled hand at prepared piano – practically crawling through the machinery of the Loft’s poor put-upon concert Yamaha. Afterwards our producer Matt Jolly took these under-the-lid shots of Philip’s stagecraft.
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Learning to blog backstage at Köln Loft
Claudio Bohórquez:
First of all, I would like to thank the wonderful Plushmusic team which has been so supportive to create the best energy to work creatively, focused and with a healthy sense of humour!
Today, I sit backstage and besides listening to the freshly-made recordings, I am also learning to become a blogger. It is a nice cozy foggy Sunday and am awaiting tonight’s last...
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Plushmusic's latest find: Lula Pena
Plushmusic Festival director Hayden Chisholm has just walked in, fresh from a rehearsal with the fado singer Lula Pena, who’s performing at the Loft tonight.
Lula Pena was born in Lisbon and taught herself guitar while listening to pop, rock, soul and jazz as well as traditional Portuguese music. At the age of 22 she moved to Barcelona, playing in many of the city’s jazz clubs. Her first...
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Phil Donkin touches bass with the Loft, Cologne
Asked what he thinks of bassist Phil Donkin, the jazz drummer Jochen Rückert takes a deep and trembling drag on his cigarette. ‘Phil? Phil is young. Really young He’s got all the fundamentals nailed down: he’s a proper, versatile bass player in the traditional sense. And then he has this whole experimental and progressive side to him that maybe you didn’t suspect at first....
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Nabatov remembers striking gold in New York
We haven’t heard much from our producer Matt Jolly in the last few hours. That’s because he’s been editing this interview with pianist Simon Nabatov, about the lost legacy of Herbie Nichols – a visionary New York composer, overshadowed in his lifetime by his friend and champion Thelonious Monk.
Simon played a blistering set of Nichols’ work on Friday night, inspiring...
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With Hayden Chisholm tonight: drummer Jochen...
Jochen’s appearance tonight at the Loft, Cologne is something of a homecoming. Jochen was born near this city in 1975, and started playing drums at age six on carnival parades, following the long processions with his tiny snare drum. In 1995 he moved to Brooklyn, his current home. Early on, he was dubbed ‘Billy the Kid’ by the New York scene for his ambidextrous technique. Jochen...
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Neo-cool jazz and new fado provide the climax to...
Tonight, saxophonist and Plushmusic founder Hayden Chisholm presents an eclectic evening of jazz, world and extemporised music.
Hayden’s trio kicks off the event at 8.30pm, with Phil Donkin on bass and Jochen Rückert on drums. The trio’s ‘neo-cool’ tag is a critic’s invention: a way to express their seemless and swinging approach to avant-garde technique....
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Gareth Lubbe's arrived at the Loft...
… with Rhani Krija, just in time for this afternoon’s recitals by Claudio Bohorquez and Goran Krivokapic.
Gareth, who’s playing later tonight, was born in 1976 in South Africa. He made his first orchestral violin debut in Johannesburg when he was nine years of age afterwhich he received numerous prizes at national and regional competitions. He also performed as pianist with...
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Introducing Rhani Krija...
Gareth Lubbe and Philip Zoubek are joined at the Loft at 8.30 tonight by percussionist Rhani Krija.
Rhani was born in Essaouira, Morocco, surrounded by the many different North African music styles on which his current musical work depends.
As a teenager he worked as a percussionist on the traditional Moroccan music scene, and soon earned a reputation for his grasp of Arabic, Andalusian,...
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Later today: Bohórquez's recital
Here’s Claudio playing Prokofiev’s Ballade at the Lockenhaus-Burg festival. Andrius Zlabys is the pianist.
We’ve just begun recording a run-through of his concert this afternoon. Here’s what we have to look forward to:
Benjamin Britten – Cello Suite No. 1, Op. 72 The 1960s were a turbulent decade for Britten: as well as writing a prodigious amount of chamber music,...
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'... but is he a pianist?' Introducing Philip...
With Gareth Lubbe tonight, the Plushmusic Festival welcomes Philip Zoubek, a prepared pianist.
No, we don’t mean that he’s learned the notes. What notes? Philip, who was born in 1978 in Tulln, Austria, is Europe’s most notorious aural magician, capable of turning any humble piano into a combined drum kit, theramin, zoo and car accident.
Look, maybe it’s easier just to...
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Plushmusic presents Goran Krivokapić
Here at the Loft in Cologne, we’re expecting the arrival of Goran Krivokapić – man described in a recent arts documentary as a ‘freak of nature’. We think they meant it kindly…
The Montenegran guitarist won the Petar Konjovic international guitar prize in Belgrade, in 1994. Seventeen more international competitions followed. He won them all.
Since 2006, Goran has been...
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Claudio Bohórquez arrives in Cologne
Look what the cat dragged in: here’s Claudio – the man who’s mere scales are bringing tears to the eyes of the Plushmusic Festival team (though last night’s 4.30am bedtime might have something to do with this…).
At 5pm, Claudio’s playing solo works for cello by Piazolla, Britten and Penderecki. Also on the bill we have solo guitar works by Rodrigo, Giuliani and...
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Introducing the Franz Hautzinger quartet...
Hayden Chisholm introduces tonight’s Plushmusic Festival set at the Loft, Cologne.
Franz Hautzinger, trumpet Hayden Chisholm, saxophone Dietmar Fuhr, bass John Schröder, drums
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Tonight at the Loft, Cologne: Hayden Chisholm,...
By way of introduction, here’s saxophonist and festival director Hayden Chisholm playing with Simon Nabatov last December at the Stadtgarten in Cologne. This was their first live programme of purely Brazilian music.
You can see more of their concert here.
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Tonight at the Loft, Cologne: Dietmar Fuhr, bass
A product of the Musikhochschule in Cologne, the bassist Dietmar Fuhr followed his studies with a prolongued stay in New York. Since then, countless projects have taken him across the world many times, from India to Ireland, from Italy to Russia. In his native Germany, he has played and recorded with leaders including Achim Kaufmann, Nils Wogram and Enrico Rava. Known for his big sound and...
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Tonight at the Loft, Cologne: John Schröder, drums
John Schröder was barely a teenager when the 16th German Jazz Festival came to town. The headliners were John McLaughlin, John Scofield and John Abercrombie. Then and there, John decided he wanted to be a jazz guitarist. He got more than his wish: described by regular collaborator Hayden Chisholm as ‘a freak of nature’, John is a gifted multi-instrumentalist, as comfortable at the...
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Tonight at the Loft, Cologne: Franz Hautzinger,...
Franz Hautzinger is not known for giving himself an easy time. His musical career – first inspired by a Hannibal Marvin Peterson concert – is littered with dead-ends and silences. He has reinvented himself many times: biographers beware.
Born in 1963, Franz studied Jazz at what is now the Art University in Graz from 1981 to 1983, until lip palsy forced him to take a six-year break from...
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Simon Nabatov: a portrait
Simon Nabatov is playing work by Herbie Nichols tonight at Plushmusic’s Cologne festival, Recently he recorded his debut program for Plushmusic, A Felicidade. This video portrait was shot by Hayden Chisholm during the recording:
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Music while we work – thanks to Root70
At LOFT, Cologne’s leading venue for new music, Plushmusic producer Matt Jolly and I are frantically ripping and cutting footage from the opening night of Plushmusic’s German launch festival. (That’s when we’re not lugging pieces of stage around, making coffee and losing the duck tape.) Over the next few hours we’ll introduce you to tonight’s performers, and...
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Herbie Nichols: 3 January 1919 - 12 April 1963
Tonight, Plushmusic cameras record Simon Nabatov’s tribute to fellow New Yorker Herbie Nichols…
“Do you know that I’ve never been written up? I read the magazines and I see write-ups on everybody. All kinds of guys have articles written on them, and I know that I must be better than some of those guys. I know some people who think I’m important, musically. Well I...
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Cologne Festival: Day Two
Tonight at LOFT in Cologne, pianist Simon Nabatov plays music by the jazz pianist and composer Herbie Nichols. Largely neglected during his lifetime, Nichols’ music has since been gaining champions in his native New York and across the world. And while Simon relaxes, Franz Hautzinger (pictured) leads a quartet of old friends through some new and surprising compositions.
So much for the...
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Nabatov hits the roof (well, the LOFT...)
Our five-day festival to launch Plushmusic.tv in Germany promised surprises, and – minutes before our first concert – here is the first. Jazz and chamber virtuoso Simon Nabatov has turned up at the LOFT to see tonight’s tribute to Mauricio Kagel – and he’s already chatting away to Paulo Alvarez about improvising a set to follow tonight’s programme.
Simon began his musical...
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Paulo Álvares completes tonight's trio at the LOFT
Born in Belo Horizonte, Paulo Álvares studied the piano under Caio Pagano at the University of São Paulo, and in Texas under Steven de Groote. From 1988 to 1990, thanks to a DAAD grant, he studied under Aloys Kontarsky in Köln, and after winning the Kranichsteiner music prize at the Darmstadt international course for new music in July 1990, he explored the relationship between the piano and live...
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Adrian Brendel discusses Kagel's 'purer' music
We’ve just grabbed a quick word with Adrian Brendel about tonight’s programme, which presents some of Mauricio Kagel’s more purely musical output.
MM51, a piece for piano and metronome from 1977, is bracketed by Kagel’s piano trios nos. 1 and 2. Kagel’s critical intelligence is much in evidence here: the way his absurdist and frankly comic techniques make us think...
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Claudia tackles Kagel in Köln
It’s high time we introduced the performers for this evening’s Kagel tribute. Born of Italian and Danish parentage, Claudia Ajmone-Marsan is equally at home as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral leader. A frequent performer in the world’s major music festivals, including Schleswig-Holstein, Aspen and Perth, Claudia has also toured Europe with the Cologne Chamber...