#conor hanick

[adrianoesteves]

[mxdwn]

ALBUM REVIEW: Sufjan Stevens, Timo Andres & Conor Hanick – Reflections

https://music.mxdwn.com/2023/05/28/reviews/album-review-sufjan-stevens-timo-andres-conor-hanick-reflections/

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Sufjan Stevens, Timo Andres, & Conor Hanick - Ekstasis [Live Performance Video]

[adrianoesteves]

[noiselessmusic]

Sufjan Stevens, Timo Andres e Conor Hanick- "Ekstasis"

Confira "Ekstasis" canção instrumental de Sufjan Stevens e interpretada por Timo Andres e Conor Hanick, dando uma amostra do novo álbum instrumental de Stevens.

Sufjan Stevens prometeu dar um tempo na música, mas não desapareceu. O cantor compôs uma série de canções instrumentais para um balé, e as composições estarão no próximo álbum Reflections. A primeira canção revelada é “Ekstasis” e tem na interpretação os músicos Timo Andres e Conor Hanick. Um vídeo bem bonito de Timo Andres e Conor Hanick performando a canção no espaço para artistas da Yamaha…

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[metropolisensemble-blog]

Dreamscapes Review: "A Powerhouse Rendition"

Joshua Kosman from the San Francisco Chronicle hails the new Metropolis Ensemble album, Dreamscapes, and its "welcome lyricism and grace." Here's an excerpt from his review:

"The year-old Violin Concerto that leads off the disc boasts a certain winsome charm, especially in the fluid performance of soloist Kristin Lee....the final Piano Concerto, in a powerhouse rendition featuring soloist Conor Hanick. Here at last is music of dramatic urgency and depth, in which Fung draws on ideas from gamelan while also adding plenty of her own original material – clangorous, dissonant harmonies, off-kilter rhythms and a sense of wild unpredictability."

Read the complete review...

[metropolisensemble-blog]

Dreamscapes: New Metropolis Album of Works by Vivian Fung

On September 25, Naxos is releasing Dreamscapes, an album of works by Metropolis composer Vivian Fung, performed by violinist Kristin Lee, pianist Conor Hanick, and the Metropolis Ensemble. I called up Vivian to chat about the upcoming CD release, her recent Guggenheim Award, and other topics that came up along the way. Here’s a transcript of our conversation. CAC: Last September, we talked about the intense week of recording that led up to the premiere of your Violin Concerto with Kristin Lee at Renderings. Now that everything’s settled down, do you have any comments on the whole experience in retrospect? VF: The premiere was fantastic, and for me it was really meaningful because of the forging of relationships with Conor and Kristin. I’ve since composed another piece for Conor and Kristin called Birdsong for Violin and Piano. Kristin and I are also talking about other projects, and there are plans for other performances of the Violin Concerto in different cities in 2013-14. From the piano and violin concerti, I’ve come to really appreciate the dynamic of collaborating with a performer—not only just handing over the score to the someone, but really writing a piece for a performer. It’s a special synergy, you’re getting behind the performer and the energy that the performer brings to his or her playing. From there, I build a piece with that in mind, and the piece winds up being tailor-made for those performers. I really cherish those projects when they occur.    CAC: How did you wind up choosing these pieces—the Violin Concerto, Glimpses, and Dreamscapes—to go on the CD? VF: I met Andrew about five years ago and we started talking about doing a project together, and what came first was the Dreamscapes Piano Concerto. During rehearsal, Kristin, who was the concertmaster of Metropolis during that time, came up to me and said, “Wouldn’t it be great to have a piece for me?” Then it coalesced and a few years later, the Violin Concerto happened. The actual timing of the two concerti was a bit under to make an album, so that’s where Glimpses came in. Glimpses is a work for prepared piano whose first movement “Kotekan” inspired material for the piano concerto. Jenny Lin, the pianist who premiered Glimpses, suggested that I make it longer. So I got to thinking about that, and it worked out that the Piano Concerto was an ideal project to develop that initial seed. When it came to the ordering, it was a natural fit for the Violin Concerto to go first, and then Glimpses, which is a snapshot of what will come in the Piano Concerto, which ends the CD.   CAC: So what else is coming up for you and Metropolis? VF: Metropolis is doing a concert in October [Music for Voice] of a work by Berlioz called Les nuits d'été (The Summer Nights). Andrew has asked me to do an arrangement of that piece for Metropolis.   CAC: What projects are you working on for the Guggenheim? [Note: Vivian was just selected to be a 2012 Guggenheim fellow, among 10 other composers.] VF: I did a project called Yunnan Folk Songs in 2011 with a new music ensemble in Chicago—I chose folk songs from minority regions of Yunnan province that are not ethnically related to China at all, and then did re-compositions of those songs. I was fascinated by recordings that I got from a professor at the Yunnan Art Institute, so I went there to work with him in March for three weeks. We went on a road trip to visit some of the minority groups in remote regions deep in the mountains, got to know some of the groups, and recorded them singing and dancing for us. I want to go back and do more of that fieldwork with the idea in 5 or 10 years of turning that material into an opera.   CAC: As an Asian-American speaking to an Asian-Canadian, I’m interested in your ability to embrace this distinct Asian voice as a composer, since I know it can be a real struggle to identify strongly with one culture or another for those of us who grow up outside of the “Motherland.” As the Asian sound is such an important element of your music, how do you reconcile this cultural identity problem?  VF: When I went to China, it was kind of strange; the professor introduced me to the villagers, and they did a double take because they couldn’t understand—‘Americans are supposed to by blond and white, you look Chinese.’ For them to see someone who looks like one of them but doesn’t relate culturally to them at all was very strange. In some ways, it’s like you don’t belong anywhere, but then in others, it’s very freeing. You can choose the identity that you associate with or that inspires you. It’s positive in the sense that I can go in and take what I need, and then keep a certain distance from it so I have a different perspective. For our generation, it’s very much a part of us—where do we fit in, where do we belong. There’s not an easy answer, but through my work, it really does bring up a lot, and I can address it in my music in a more complete way.   CAC: Do you see your career continuing on this “Asian” trajectory? I try not to have this become a cliché. Ultimately, it has to be natural, it has to ignite that inspiration and creative process. If I’m not drawn to it, then it doesn’t matter if it’s Asian. Of course, the Asian sensibility is part of my DNA, so it goes hand in hand. But that’s not to say that I just seek out whatever’ s Asian, because that just becomes artificial. If you listen to my music, it’s not overtly Asian because of the fact that I grew up here. It’s a very different aesthetic than someone who grew up in Asia—he or she would have a very different take on the Asian aesthetic and what that music sounds like. So in that sense, what does it mean to be Asian and have something be inspired by Asian music? There isn’t really a simple answer.    Many thanks to Vivian Fung for sharing her thoughts with us. Metropolis is having a CD release concert for her new album, Dreamscapes, at the Americas Society on October 1. Also, look out for our Music for Voice concert at (Le) Poisson Rouge on October 23 and 24, where Metropolis Ensemble will perform another Vivian Fung premiere.

[metropolisensemble-blog]

Celebrating the June Wu Artists Fund

[caption id="attachment_861" align="alignright" width="150" caption="June Wu, Metropolis board member and patron, at the Glimpses concert with Artistic Director Andrew Cyr."][/caption] Last year, the June K. M. Wu Artists Fund was established to honor Metropolis Ensemble board member, June Wu, and her vision and passionate dedication to our young performing artists. The Fund helped Metropolis launch a new Resident Artist Series, supported two studio recordings at Tanglewood with NAXOS and Nonesuch Records, and continued our mission to emerge the next generation of outstanding composers and musicians. As Metropolis embarks on several exciting new projects supported by the Wu Artists Fund, including the creation of our own record label, launching new albums and concerts, and expanding the Resident Artist Series, we wanted to reflect on the past year through the eyes of some of the artists who benefited from these generous gifts. [caption id="attachment_847" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Timothy Andres - pianist and composer"][/caption] Timothy Andres: An Ambitious New Album

My work with Metropolis last year was a continuation of a scheme Andrew Cyr and I had been formulating since 2008. At first, it resulted in the concert Home Stretch in the spring of 2010; now it has evolved into the production of a CD. The album is centered around my piano concerto Home Stretch, bookended by my "re-composition" of Mozart's Coronation concerto and my Paraphrase on Themes of Brian Eno, which were both Metropolis commissions. A recording is not just a concrete item to be sold, or a promotional tool, but an artifact of our musical culture at a specific time. These artifacts can be much more powerful than a one-off concert, which by nature has limited reach and duration. A recording is a commitment, a way of saying 'this is what we feel most strongly about, and we need to share it as widely as possible'. The scope of this recording project is ambitious, especially for a group as young as Metropolis; recording an orchestra is simply a very time-consuming and expensive proposition. Such propositions are dependent on people like June Wu, who understands the importance of such projects, shares our ambitions, and helps both things come to fruition. I will always be grateful to June not just for helping me in my career, which is small in the scheme of things, but for helping my entire field.

[caption id="attachment_848" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Bridget Kibbey - harpist and composer"][/caption] Bridget Kibbey: One Woman Tour-de-Force

Over the course of three years, I conceived a project entitled Music Box in which composers - all born abroad and recent immigrants to the United States and mostly living in New York City - wrote solo works for the harp based on folk music from their native country. Metropolis presented the project in January. It was a powerful personal journey, because it allowed me to showcase some of my own arrangements and explore multiple genres of harp-writing in a single evening. What was most helpful was working alongside Metropolis to give this project the "kick-off" the composers deserved. Many in the audience at each sold-out concert had never heard a full solo harp program. It was incredibly satisfying to perform these new fun, eclectic works for such enthusiastic guests. I also walked away from the concerts with high-definition video and fabulous audio to show other interested presenters. I'm happy to say that I will be presenting the project next season in other venues in the United States as a result!

[caption id="attachment_849" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Kristin Lee - violinist"][/caption] Kristin Lee: From Bali to the Studio and Beyond

In 2010, I joined composer Vivian Fung on a trip to Bali to understand where her ideas came from in her music. It was remarkable to visit these communities filled with gamelan music and a tangible artistic energy. It gave me an entirely new perspective on living and breathing art every day. Vivian was inspired by our trip and wrote a new Violin Concerto that we premiered at Renderings last fall with Metropolis. From there, we recorded the work at Tanglewood with the extraordinary help of audio engineer Tim Martin and the whole Metropolis gang. Professionally it really means everything to have my first recording on a major label, NAXOS, which wouldn't be possible without June's help and the Fund. Premiering a concerto takes money to support the commission, book the beautiful concert space at Angel Orensanz Center, and bring in the audience. As a result, I performed Vivian's cadenza on WQXR Cafe Concerts and Metropolis received a lot of publicity. It was a huge leap in every way. As a musician, this new work written specifically for me opened new doors for commission projects with other composers and the opportunity to build programs around innovative pieces. I'm looking forward to working with Andrew Cyr and Metropolis to produce new projects for the Resident Artist Series.

[caption id="attachment_857" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Conor Hanick - pianist"][/caption] Conor Hanick: Teamwork and Remarkable Opportunity

In the past year, I premiered Ray Lustig's beautiful vocal work Compose Thyself from Renderings, recorded works by Ryan Francis with the superlative Kristin Lee, and, perhaps most significantly, participated not only in Timothy Andres' new recording on Nonesuch, but also recorded world premiere recordings of Vivian Fung's Glimpses for prepared piano and her titanic piano concerto called Dreamscapes, both supported by the Wu Fund. I'm indebted to June for her generous and unparalleled support of Metropolis. These remarkable projects simply wouldn't happen without her, and it's hard to adequately thank her for giving us such remarkable opportunities through the Fund. Metropolis Ensemble afforded me some of the most extraordinary and artistically rewarding experiences of my career. It's touching to be offered opportunities like this and hard to overstate what a privilege its been to be associated with the ensemble. Vivian's recording is a great example: it's a professional boon to having a widely-released commercial recording of such high quality. I am humbled to be listed alongside Andrew, Vivian, Kristin, and others. These were experiences that for me will continue to inform my musical activities and serve as benchmarks for artistic quality.