The Manhattan Sinfonietta was founded as the
Columbia Sinfonietta in the spring of 2000
by
Fred
Lerdahl,
Jeffrey
Milarsky,
Tristan Murail, and Joshua Fineberg, with
the support of Columbia University’s Alice
M. Ditson Fund and Fritz Reiner Center for
Contemporary Music. A series of concerts
entitled “New Music for a New Century” was
held at Merkin Concert Hall and Weill
Recital Hall, about which the New York Times
wrote: “Thrilling occasions in contemporary
music are bound to be rare. Monday evening
brought one of them…”
From its inception, the Sinfonietta has aimed
to present eclectic and intriguing programs of
contemporary music in New York City. In the
late 20th Century, as opportunities for
invention and innovation in the orchestral
medium became few and far between, composers
turned increasingly to the so-called
"sinfonietta" ensemble, larger in scope and
possibility than a typical chamber ensemble,
but more intimate and less tradition-bound than
the orchestra. Many composers were encouraged
by adventurous musicians and groups such as the
Ensemble InterContemporain of Paris, the
Ensemble Modern of Frankfurt, and the London
Sinfonietta. Soon, a whole repertoire of works
for this enhanced large chamber ensemble
emerged, often integrating soloists,
electronics, and other multimedia. While
ensembles of this nature are well-known
throughout Europe, they remain underrepresented
in the US, and the Manhattan Sinfonietta aims
to help fill such a role.
Past
projects include a collaboration with IRCAM
(Institut de Recherche et Coordination
Acoustique/Musique) at Miller Theatre in May
2006 (using Harvard University's Hydra Speaker
Orchestra), a concert of new works for ensemble
and live electronics by American composers, and
the New York premiere of the first three parts
of Gérard Grisey's cycle, Les espaces
acoustiques. In addition to performing works by
acknowledged masters such as Olivier Messiaen
and György Kurtag, the Sinfonietta often works
with younger composers who are beginning to
make their voices heard, and the ensemble
performs a concert every season of new works by
students in Columbia University's doctoral
composition program.
As the Columbia Sinfonietta becomes the
Manhattan Sinfonietta this season, it remains
committed to providing audiences with same
exciting programming and performances they have
come to expect, while broadening the scope of
its activities and widening its visibility.
Upcoming events this season include a weekend
honoring two iconoclasts of American music,
James Tenney and Milton Babbitt, February 9-10,
2008 at Merkin Hall. Please
sign up now
to receive email announcements and updates.
Previous Seasons
2007-2008 Season
~ Fall 2007 ~
Wolfgang
Rihm's Jagden und Formen
Thursday,
October 18, 2007, 8:00pm
Miller Theatre, at Columbia University
as a part of the Composer Portraits
series
With a huge and variegated artistic output,
Wolfgang Rihm (b. 1952) of Germany is one of
the world’s most sought-after composers. His
music propels listeners on a frenzied
ride—at
once relentless and fascinating. Jagden und
Formen, his most-acclaimed masterpiece to date,
is a not-to-be-missed
experience.
2006-2007 Season
Concert 1:
American
Electronics
March
10, 2007, Miller Theatre,
8:00pm
We installed a state-of-the-art surround
listening environment in Miller Theatre, where
the Sinfonietta rehearsed for four days leading
up to a concert of cutting edge works for
electronics and ensemble featuring a program of
all New York and American premieres by American
composers.
Noel Zahler - Concerto (2003) for clarinet,
interactive electronics and chamber orchestra
Ronal Bruce Smith - Flux (1994) for ensemble
and computer
Roger Reynolds - The Angel of Death (2001) for
chamber orchestra, solo piano, and 6-channel
computer sound
Concert 2:
March
23, 2007, Merkin Concert Hall,
8:00pm
World premieres by four Columbia DMA candidates
Carl Christian Bettendorf - Inner Life (2007)
for ensemble
Michel Galante - Watercolors (2007) for
ensemble
Paul Damian Hogan - Cosmic Pianola: Friday
Night, Saturday Morning (2007) for ensemble
Todd Tarantino - Traffic (2007) for ensemble
2005-2006 Season
Special Concert:
A
Portrait of George Edwards
December 15th,
2005, Miller Theatre, 8pm
The concert covered a broad range of Edwards’s
works, including solo piano (“Czeched Swing”
and “Suave Mari Mango”), songs (“Two Songs from
“A Mirth but open'd””), chamber music (“Horn
Trio”), and pieces for larger instrumental
ensembles (“Venetian Swell” and “The Isle is
Full of Noises”). The event also included the
World Premiere of a new work for solo piano.
Concert 1:
world
premieres by four Columbia DMA candidates
February 13th,
2006, Merkin Concert Hall,
8pm
Joshua Cody - New work for ensemble
James Fei - Rodez
Alexander Lunsqui - Spira Mondana
Keith A. Moore - Radial
Concert 2:
March
23rd,
2006, Merkin Concert Hall,
8pm
Augusta
Read Thomas - Six Etudes for solo piano (World
premiere of nos. 5 & 6)
Elliott Gyger - A Garden for Orpheus for 8
players (US premiere of the complete work)
Salvatore Sciarrino - Appendice alla perfezione
for 14 bells (Tom Kolor, percussion)
Gérard Grisey - Stèle for 2 bass drums (Tom
Kolor and Jeffrey Milarsky, percussion)
George Edwards - The Isle is Full of Noises for
ensemble
Concert 3:
IRCAM
in America
May 6th,
2006, Miller Theatre, 8pm
This concert was part of the
IRCAM@Columbia
pedagogical and musical festival, featuring
works by French and American composers who've
worked at IRCAM. It represents only the second
time IRCAM has collaborated in America with New
York-based Ensembles, and it also gave special
emphasis to American composers who have worked
at IRCAM.
Joshua Fineberg - Empreintes for 14 instruments
and live electronics
Tristan Murail - Pour adoucir le cours du temps
for 19 players and electronics – US Premiere
Rand Steiger - Ecosphère for 16 instruments and
live electronics
IRCAM in America 2006
overview of concerts and related events
Concerts on May 6th
and May 7th
2006 in Miller Theatre
The Columbia Sinfonietta and Argento Chamber
Ensemble performed pieces from the IRCAM
repertoire, written by both French and American
composers, which were all linked by their
engagement with instrumental timbre. The
Columbia Sinfonietta’s concert focused on large
ensemble works that are almost impossible to
perform in America, and Argento’s concert
focused on works for medium-sized groups with
high levels of interactivity.
These concerts featured a world premiere by
American composer Joshua Fineberg, and American
premieres of works by Tristan Murail and
Philippe Leroux, Michael Jarrell, and American
composer Rand Steiger. All of the works were
either produced at IRCAM or with IRCAM’s
technology.
The concerts represented a real collaboration:
each ensemble produced its own concert; IRCAM
provided an engineer and two musical assistants
for the entire rehearsal period to assure the
electronic aspects of the works; Columbia
University’s Computer Music Center (CMC)
contributed equipment, space, and personnel;
and Harvard University’s HUSEAC studio loaned
their HYDRA multi-channel speaker orchestra for
sound reproduction in Miller Theatre. We rented
Miller Theatre for a weeklong rehearsal period
during which the electronics remained
configured.
Free Conference Open to the Public
On Friday May 5, 2006, we held a series of
lectures and demonstrations, ending with a
round-table discussion and question panel.
These events were free and open to the public.
They were aimed at a broad segment of the
musical public and took place at Columbia
University. We made a special effort to attract
a wide cross-section of students from the
eastern part of the United States.
Open Rehearsals with
Composer/Musical-Assistant Demonstrations in
Miller Theatre
Rehearsals for all events were open to any
composition students or performers who wished
to attend, with periodic sessions organized
with the composers and musical assistants to
help demonstrate how the pieces work.
2004-2005
Season
Concert 1:
February
13th,
2005, Merkin Concert Hall,
8pm
Eric Chasalow - Trios Espaces du Son (2004) for
piano, percussion and computer sounds
US
Premiere
Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez - voici le bateau pour
les calanques (2000) for string quartet and
piano
David Rakowski - Sesso e Violenza (1995-96) for
seven instruments
Michael Finnissy - Himoni (1979) for solo
percussion
Tom Kolor, percussion
Olivier Messiaen - Oiseaux Exotiques (1955-56)
for piano and 19 instruments
Steve
Gosling, piano
Concert 2:
April
11th,
2005, Merkin Concert Hall,
8pm
Fred Lerdahl - Time After Time (2000) for 6
instruments
Marcelo Toledo - Resplandecencias de la nada
(2001) for 7 instruments
Josh Levine - Glimpses (1986/rev.1988) for
flute, viola and guitar
Gyorgi Kurtag - Messages of the late Miss R.V.
Troussova, op. 17 (1976-1980) for soprano and
14 instruments
Susan
Naruki soprano
A BRIEF HISTORY
© Manhattan Sinfonietta, 2007
