Friday, November 11, 2005
[NEW MUSIC EVENT] Beyond the Past - 11.12.05 - Austin, Texas
I'm very excited to invite you to this show. For over two years the Austin New Music Co-op has been building obsolete noise-instruments (intonarumori) based on the very minimal documentation left behind by Luigi Russolo. We have been writing new pieces for the intonarumori over the last several months.
Our works will be performed with a good deal of fanfare at Ballet Austin tomorrow night. Very few people have ever even heard these instruments; most of those who have are now deceased. I promise an exciting, challenging, rewarding evening that will be like nothing you've ever heard before.
Alex
--
AUSTIN NEW MUSIC CO-OP PRESENTS:
BEYOND THE PAST: NEW MUSIC FOR EXTINCT INSTRUMENTS
In an ambitious program more than two years in the making, the Austin
New Music Co-op will resurrect innovative instruments designed at the
turn of the century (the 20th century, that is) for an exciting
concert of new music. Modeled after the inventions of Luigi Russolo,
these hand-crafted instruments will be premiered alongside other
traditional instruments in eight new works by member composers of the
NMC. This combination performance, art exhibit, and history lesson is
a rare opportunity to experience "futuristic" sounds of the past.
NMC PRESENTS: BEYOND THE PAST: NEW MUSIC FOR EXTINCT INSTRUMENTS
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 8PM
BALLET AUSTIN ACADEMY (3002 GUADALUPE ST)
TICKETS: $12 IN ADVANCE AT WATERLOO RECORDS
$15 AT THE DOOR, $10 STUDENTS AT THE DOOR
Detailed information and press photos on the NMC web site at:
(http://www.newmusiccoop.org/upcoming/)
How did artists of the past view music of the future? And what would
that music sound like today? One group of musicians and composers in
Austin seeks answers to these questions in the concert hall and the
carpentry shop. Led by Sarah Norris, the New Music Co-op has used
scant historical evidence and rare recordings to recreate the
"intonarumori," ('noise instruments' in Italian) a series of
instruments invented in the early 1900s by bombastic Italian Futurist
composer Luigi Russolo. The intonarumori were meant to elevate the
environmental sounds of an emerging urban world to a high art, with
suggestively named models like the "roarer," "crackler," and
"gurgler." Our all-volunteer group has been designing and building
from scratch for over two years, and will present a concert of
original new music for these lost and forgotten instruments on
November 12. This concert presents a unique intersection of art and
music, history and modernity.
About the 'Beyond the Past' Project
At the heart of the New Music Co-op's new project is the act of
re-creation. Re-creating these instruments, however, presents a
number of unique challenges. Though praised by composers like Ravel
and Stravinski in their time, none of the original instruments or
their design plans remain. Further, Russolo's descriptions of his
instruments are intentionally vague because he feared design
imitations. As a result, the New Music Co-op has worked from only
Russolo's descriptions, the few remaining recordings, and rigorous
testing to piece together its own designs for the intonarumori.
Because of the project's intuitive, design-intensive nature, progress
has been hard-won. However, under the leadership of project manager
Sarah Norris and the skillful eye of carpenter Kirk Laktas, the many
months of challenging work have produced a brand new set of roarers,
rubbers, cracklers, and gurglers. With the addition of the Co-op's
new compositions for the instruments, this presentation will be a
unique marriage of concert, art exhibit, and history lesson.
About the 'Futurists'
The Futurists' world is one that is at once familiar and foreign to
the modern eye. In early 20th century Italy, cars, machines, and
factories were exciting innovations that promised great things for
humanity. Accordingly, the Futurists wished to shake audiences from
their sleepy appreciation of old world fineries, and to jolt them
into relishing the beauty of the new, urban sounds around them. As
Russolo said in his treatise, The Art of Noise:
"We Futurists have deeply loved and enjoyed the harmonies of the
great masters. For many years Beethoven and Wagner shook our nerves
and hearts. Now we are satiated and we find far more enjoyment in the
combination of the noises of trams, backfiring motors, carriages and
bawling crowds than in rehearsing, for example, the 'Eroica' or the
'Pastoral.'"
This emphasis on sound as music presents one of the earliest
outcroppings of the 20th century avant-garde, and foreshadows the
much later work of John Cage. Absurdist Futurist performance was a
great influence on Dada, and the movement shared its forceful visual
depictions of motion with Futurism in Russia, Cubism, and even the
work of Marcel Duchamp.
About Austin New Music Co-op
The New Music Co-op is a community of composers and performers from
the Austin area dedicated to increasing awareness and understanding
of new music. Since 2001, the NMC has presented a wide range of
innovative and compelling new works and created a unique environment
for collaboration and the free exchange of musical ideas. Notable
New Music Co-op concerts have included John Cage's Songbooks, Pauline
Oliveros' Four Meditations for Orchestra (with the composer in
attendance), a three-day series of the works of the New York School,
and Terry Riley's In C. New Music Co-op members come from highly
diverse backgrounds, from classical performance to electronic music
to formal composition to rock bands. The group runs by consensus,
and gains its strength from its members' varied experiences and
interests. The New Music Co-op is proud to announce that is now a
501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and all donations to the group are
tax-deductible.
--
Our works will be performed with a good deal of fanfare at Ballet Austin tomorrow night. Very few people have ever even heard these instruments; most of those who have are now deceased. I promise an exciting, challenging, rewarding evening that will be like nothing you've ever heard before.
Alex
--
AUSTIN NEW MUSIC CO-OP PRESENTS:
BEYOND THE PAST: NEW MUSIC FOR EXTINCT INSTRUMENTS
In an ambitious program more than two years in the making, the Austin
New Music Co-op will resurrect innovative instruments designed at the
turn of the century (the 20th century, that is) for an exciting
concert of new music. Modeled after the inventions of Luigi Russolo,
these hand-crafted instruments will be premiered alongside other
traditional instruments in eight new works by member composers of the
NMC. This combination performance, art exhibit, and history lesson is
a rare opportunity to experience "futuristic" sounds of the past.
NMC PRESENTS: BEYOND THE PAST: NEW MUSIC FOR EXTINCT INSTRUMENTS
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 8PM
BALLET AUSTIN ACADEMY (3002 GUADALUPE ST)
TICKETS: $12 IN ADVANCE AT WATERLOO RECORDS
$15 AT THE DOOR, $10 STUDENTS AT THE DOOR
Detailed information and press photos on the NMC web site at:
(http://www.newmusiccoop.org/upcoming/)
How did artists of the past view music of the future? And what would
that music sound like today? One group of musicians and composers in
Austin seeks answers to these questions in the concert hall and the
carpentry shop. Led by Sarah Norris, the New Music Co-op has used
scant historical evidence and rare recordings to recreate the
"intonarumori," ('noise instruments' in Italian) a series of
instruments invented in the early 1900s by bombastic Italian Futurist
composer Luigi Russolo. The intonarumori were meant to elevate the
environmental sounds of an emerging urban world to a high art, with
suggestively named models like the "roarer," "crackler," and
"gurgler." Our all-volunteer group has been designing and building
from scratch for over two years, and will present a concert of
original new music for these lost and forgotten instruments on
November 12. This concert presents a unique intersection of art and
music, history and modernity.
About the 'Beyond the Past' Project
At the heart of the New Music Co-op's new project is the act of
re-creation. Re-creating these instruments, however, presents a
number of unique challenges. Though praised by composers like Ravel
and Stravinski in their time, none of the original instruments or
their design plans remain. Further, Russolo's descriptions of his
instruments are intentionally vague because he feared design
imitations. As a result, the New Music Co-op has worked from only
Russolo's descriptions, the few remaining recordings, and rigorous
testing to piece together its own designs for the intonarumori.
Because of the project's intuitive, design-intensive nature, progress
has been hard-won. However, under the leadership of project manager
Sarah Norris and the skillful eye of carpenter Kirk Laktas, the many
months of challenging work have produced a brand new set of roarers,
rubbers, cracklers, and gurglers. With the addition of the Co-op's
new compositions for the instruments, this presentation will be a
unique marriage of concert, art exhibit, and history lesson.
About the 'Futurists'
The Futurists' world is one that is at once familiar and foreign to
the modern eye. In early 20th century Italy, cars, machines, and
factories were exciting innovations that promised great things for
humanity. Accordingly, the Futurists wished to shake audiences from
their sleepy appreciation of old world fineries, and to jolt them
into relishing the beauty of the new, urban sounds around them. As
Russolo said in his treatise, The Art of Noise:
"We Futurists have deeply loved and enjoyed the harmonies of the
great masters. For many years Beethoven and Wagner shook our nerves
and hearts. Now we are satiated and we find far more enjoyment in the
combination of the noises of trams, backfiring motors, carriages and
bawling crowds than in rehearsing, for example, the 'Eroica' or the
'Pastoral.'"
This emphasis on sound as music presents one of the earliest
outcroppings of the 20th century avant-garde, and foreshadows the
much later work of John Cage. Absurdist Futurist performance was a
great influence on Dada, and the movement shared its forceful visual
depictions of motion with Futurism in Russia, Cubism, and even the
work of Marcel Duchamp.
About Austin New Music Co-op
The New Music Co-op is a community of composers and performers from
the Austin area dedicated to increasing awareness and understanding
of new music. Since 2001, the NMC has presented a wide range of
innovative and compelling new works and created a unique environment
for collaboration and the free exchange of musical ideas. Notable
New Music Co-op concerts have included John Cage's Songbooks, Pauline
Oliveros' Four Meditations for Orchestra (with the composer in
attendance), a three-day series of the works of the New York School,
and Terry Riley's In C. New Music Co-op members come from highly
diverse backgrounds, from classical performance to electronic music
to formal composition to rock bands. The group runs by consensus,
and gains its strength from its members' varied experiences and
interests. The New Music Co-op is proud to announce that is now a
501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and all donations to the group are
tax-deductible.
--
