The International Contemporary Ensemble Enthralls Denver

The International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) recently presented a superbly performed concert of diverse, effective new music to an enthusiastic Denver audience. It was easily one of the finest new music concerts I've heard in the Denver-Boulder region over the last 40 years.

L to R: Claire Chase, Jacob Greenberg, Michael Nicolas

The concert opened with Toru Takemitsu's delicate, evocative, relaxing (one might say "mellow") Rain Spell, intended, the composer writes, "to realize the magical image and the gradation in coloration of the rain in a small-scale ensemble." This was followed by Halcyon for clarinet and string trio, a recent (2011) work from another Japanese composer, Dai Fujikura, who has been championed by ICE. Fujikura is clearly a distinctive voice, and the topnotch performance was highlighted by the refined, elegant playing of clarinetist Joshua Rubin.

Though Elliott Carter is not always my cup of tea, I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy his short, attractive Bariolage (1992) for harp. Of course, having the idiomatically written work receive a virtuoso performance by Bridget Kibbey certainly helped.

Another virtuoso, the ICE captain and excellent flutist Claire Chase, was featured in Kaija Saariaho's Terrestre (2002), a resetting of the second movement of her Aile du songe flute concerto. It's an attractive piece, wherein the flutist adds various vocalizations to her instrumental sounds.

Magnus Lindberg's Steamboat Bill, Jr. was indeed inspired by the eponymous, wonderful Buster Keaton film. The piece has lots of activity and was beautifully played, but wasn't particularly compelling to me. I'm more a fan of his big orchestral works.

The prodigious chameleon John Zorn composed his string trio Walpurgisnacht initially based on Webern's string trio. Here, the edgy, experimental Zorn uses almost completely conventional, straightforward techniques, and the work could be viewed as a second cousin, twice removed, of Webern. I liked it.

The concert concluded with Crumb's classic Vox Balaenae. The mask-less, sensitive performance included playing inside-the-piano by Jacob Greenberg, who altered the string sounds by applying Mr. Crumb's very own shot-glass.

It's not every day one of the country's top new music ensembles, headed by a MacArthur "Genius" grant recipient, appears in this area, and the audience responded with a standing ovation. Such events in the Mile-High city are rare and most welcome. The concert, held in the 1,000-seat Newman Center, was sold out. Major kudos to the Friends of Chamber Music for programming ICE. One hopes for more.

WNYC's John Schaefer Features "Polka From The Fringe" on New Sounds

WNYC's John Schaefer recently featured Guy Klucevsek's "Polka From The Fringe" re-release from Starkland on his popular New Sounds show, revealing interesting background and insights from Guy about this unusual project and airing numerous pieces. John recalls "I loved these albums the first time around," noting that "Polka From The Fringe topped my Top Ten for the year." He adds, "It's great to have those albums, which have long been out of print, back as a single 2-CD set." John introduces this show:

"Accordionist and composer Guy Klucevsek stops by for a visit, on the occasion of the reissue of 'Polka From the Fringe,' 29 previously out-of-print tracks for accordion by Klucevsek and 27 other composers.  With titles like Lois V Vierk's 'Attack Cat Polka,' or Elliott Sharp's jolt of punk in 'Happy Chappie Polka,' there's a bit of playful wackiness to the collection, yet also some loveliness -  like William Duckworth's 'Polking Around' and Peter Garland's 'Club Nada Polka.'

"For this New Sounds, hear music for the project by Carl Finch (of Brave Combo - the 'nuclear polka band' out of Denton, TX), the hilarious contribution from Fred Frith - 'The Disinformation Polka,' as well as music by Klucevsek himself, 'The Grass, it is Blue.' "

Other composers heard include Guy de Bievre, Bobby Previte, Mary Jane Leach, Tom Cora, Robin Holcomb, and Bill Obrecht. Here's the full show:

John has hosted New Sounds ("The No. 1 radio show for the Global Village" - Billboard) since 1982, and WNYC has the largest public radio audience in the United States. His diverse guests have included David Byrne, Meredith Monk, and Ravi Shankar.

The shows echoes some other enthusiastic responses to the release. At Sequenza 21, Jay Batzner wrote:

"This double-disc set is a heck of a lot of fun... What I really love about the disc is, well, everything I suppose. You can tell that the composers had a good time writing these pieces... full of joy, pleasure, and talent."

Frank Oteri at New Music Box remarks:

"The music turns on a dime from track to track [from] sheer loveliness [to] relentless experimentalism [to] out and out zaniness... the next time someone comes up to you claiming to be able to define new music, tell him or her to listen to these recordings."

Two other Guy Klucevsek releases can be found in Starkland's catalog: "Transylvanian Softwear" (awarded a "Recording of Special Merit" at Stereo Review) and "Free Range Accordion" (with music from Burt Bacharach, Lars Hollmer, Aaron Jay Kernis, Jerome Kitzke, Klucevsek, Stephen Montague, Somei Satoh, and Lois V Vierk).

Guy Klucevsek “Polka From the Fringe” Release Announced by Starkland

A major project from leading new music accordionist Guy Klucevsek, out-of-print for nearly two decades, will be re-released on October 16, 2012 by Starkland, in its most comprehensive edition yet.

For his original “Polka From The Fringe” undertaking, Klucevsek commissioned over two-dozen two-steps, resulting in highly diverse music from a wide variety of composers.

[L to R] Bill Ruyle, John King, Guy Klucevsek,
David Garland, David Hofstra 

The new Starkland double-CD release offers 29 polka pieces, ranging from Elliot Sharp’s punk-infused Happy Chappie Polka, Fred Frith’s humorous The Disinformation Polka, and John King’s slyly political song about a one-legged polka, to Carl Finch’s (of Brave Combo) beautiful Prairie Dogs, William Obrecht’s witty Guy, Won’t You Play Your Accordion?, and Dick Connette’s poignant Wild Goose.

In addition to Klucevsek, other composers include: Mary Ellen Childs, Anthony Coleman, Tom Cora, Guy De Bievre, William Duckworth, Steve Elson, David Garland, Peter Garland, Daniel Goode, Rolf Groesbeck, Robin Holcomb, Phillip Johnston, Joseph Kasinskas, Aaron Jay Kernis, Mary Jane Leach, David Mahler, Bobby Previte, Bill Ruyle, Carl Stone, Lois V Vierk, and Peter Zummo.

Once chosen as the Best Recordings of the Year by WNYC's John Schaefer, the original two CDs disappeared not long after their release (the Japanese label went out of business), and the general public had little chance to discover this exceptional music.

Guy's debut of these widely diverse polkas won "a raucous standing ovation at a downtown Philadelphia night club" at New Music America, writes organizer Joe Franklin, adding that Guy's concert "was one of the true highlights” and “as memorable a New Music America event as any during the festival's 11-year history.”

Starkland’s 24-page booklet includes the complete lyrics, updated commentary from Klucevsek, and an Introduction freshly penned by New York Downtown veteran Elliott Sharp, who recalls that “ ‘Polka From The Fringe’ met with immediate popular response – an undercurrent of sly humor seemed to permeate the music, and audiences came away thrilled and excited both by Guy’s fantastic playing and the sheer audaciousness of this innovative undertaking.”

Klucevsek’s concerts featuring these works at the Brooklyn Academy of Music were enthusiastically praised by Kyle Gann in the Village Voice:

“BAM finally unearths a real gem: Guy Klucevsek, one of New York’s most imaginative, least pretentious composer/performers. Thanks to his expertise and activism, the accordion has become a staple of with-it avant-garde ensembles, and the collection of polkas he’s commissioned – and called ‘Polka From the Fringe’ – makes a fun and very revealing snapshot of new music in the ’80s.”

In Japan, the worthiness of Klucevsek’s ambitious project attracted the attention of noted composer Toru Takemitsu, who personally invited Klucevsek and his polka band to participate in Takemitsu’s Music Today festival.

Starkland’s previous two Klucevsek CDs received impressive kudos. "Transylvanian Softwear" was awarded a “Recording of Special Merit” from Stereo Review, and "Free Range Accordion" was deemed “a funny, rich, and meaningful expression of this great American squeezeboxer's brilliance” (Santa Barbara Independent).

About Guy Klucevsek

Guy Klucevsek is one of the world’s most versatile and highly-respected accordionists. He has performed and/or recorded with Laurie Anderson, Bang On a Can, Anthony Braxton, Dave Douglas, Bill Frisell, Kepa Junkera, the Kronos Quartet, Natalie Merchant, Present Music, Relâche, Zeitgeist, and John Zorn. Klucevsek is the recipient of a 2010 United States Artists Collins Fellowship, an unrestricted $50,000 award given annually to “America's finest artists.”

About Starkland 

Starkland’s previous recordings have received over 200 favorable reviews, including those in The New York Times, Gramophone, Stereophile, The New Yorker, Los Angeles Times, Billboard, Washington Post, Sound & Vision, New York Magazine, UK’s The Wire, Canada’s Musicworks, and France’s Revue & Corrigée. The label’s releases have been featured on such national radio programs as NPR’s All Things Considered and Weekend Edition. Other recordings present Charles Amirkhanian, Tod Dockstader, Paul Dresher, Ethel Quartet, Aaron Jay Kernis, Phil Kline, Guy Klucevsek, Kronos Quartet, Keeril Makan, Meredith Monk, Pauline Oliveros, Todd Reynolds, Turtle Island String Quartet, John Zorn, more.

Under the direction of “one-man army” Thomas Steenland, Starkland has also commissioned over two hours of high-resolution surround-sound music from thirteen prominent new-music composers, a commitment likely unequaled by any other label.