Category Archives: Blog
(Re)Acquainted
About this time a couple years ago, Talea was getting ready to perform a portrait concert of Boulez’s works at Miller Theatre. Boulez had been with us for the few rehearsals leading up to the performance and we were honored to have David Robertson, conductor of St. Louis Symphony and former music director of Ensemble Continue Reading »
SYNCHRONICITIES: Anthony Cheung
Your new work, SynchroniCities is a play on words; you’ve turned it into a compound word: time and place. I understand you took field recordings in different locations and worked them into the piece. What inspired you to do this? And can you describe the processes involved in incorporating these recordings? I was interested Continue Reading »
SYNCHRONICITIES: George Lewis
Columbia Professor, legendary trombonist, improvisor and scholar George Lewis speaks a bit about his new work for Talea and about his compositional approach. Talea will be premiering your work, Mnemosis, on December 14th. What was the point of departure for this piece? Mnemosis draws inspiration from Continue Reading »
SYNCHRONICITIES: Steve Lehman
Composer, saxophonist Steve Lehman fields questions about his work and his upcoming piece, Khalid. Can you talk a bit about how you found yourself choosing to study music composition first at Wesleyan while concurrently at the Hartt School of Music and then later at Columbia? What attracted you to these institutions? Well, my parents Continue Reading »
SYNCHRONICITIES: Christopher Trapani
Composer Christopher Trapani talks about his new work, Waterlines, written for Talea and funded by an American Composers Forum Jerome Foundation commissioning grant. You were born and raised in New Orleans and it is clear that the rich sonic tapestry of blues and jazz is an important element that you draw from in your Continue Reading »
torsion: transparent variation
Looking back on last night’s concert at Wien Modern and looking forward to tomorrow’s concert at Contempuls, Talea bassoonist talks about learning Olga Neuwirth’s torsion: transparent variation for solo bassoon and ensemble. When I first received my part to Olga Neuwirth’s torsion: transparent variation for solo bassoon and ensemble, I quickly realized the amount of Continue Reading »
Ca tourne ca bloque
Hear an excerpt of Ondřej Adámek’s Ca tourne ca bloque and read what Talea intern, Zach Seely, says about Adámek’s fascinating music. Come hear the US Premiere of Ca tourne ca bloque on September 21st at the Bohemian National Hall. [Audio clip: view full post to listen] I am always excited when introduced to a composer’s Continue Reading »
Recording Romitelli
July 31, 2012! Talea Record Release on Tzadik Anamorphosis: Music by Fausto Romitelli Read what Beth Weisser says about her experience in working on the new disc. In March of this year, Talea traveled to EMPAC to record works by one of our favorite composers, Fausto Romitelli. Recording is something that comes with the territory of Continue Reading »
James Dillon: New York Triptych
In anticipation of the world premiere of James Dillon’s New York Triptych, Talea cellist and Dillon-veteran Chris Gross talks about his experience in learning Dillon’s music. Come hear the world premiere on July 16, at the Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt Practicing your own part of a new work is kind of like studying an elephant by Continue Reading »
Persephassa at Storm King
Of all of the music we play that makes reference to nature, it is the work of Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001) that for me most clearly suggests natural phenomena in their manner of operation and capacity for overwhelming power. The Greek born Xenakis was a trained and practicing architect, engineer, mathematician, music theorist, and not least Continue Reading »
Gala 2012
If you missed Talea Gala 2012, you can catch a glimpse of the festivities here! Stay tuned for announcements about Talea Gala 2013!
Listening to Gérard Grisey’s Talea
Come hear Talea play Grisey’s Talea this Friday April 20th at the DiMenna Center! Talea friend and wonderful music journalist, Bruce Hodges, shares his insight on listening to this spectral masterpiece and Talea’s namesake. In Latin, “talea” means “cutting,” and in Gérard Grisey’s Talea, an initial idea is gradually excised—elements removed and others taking their Continue Reading »
A Tribute to Fausto Romitelli
As we gear up for a week of recording Fausto Romitelli’s music at EMPAC, get to know Fausto through some beautiful tributes written by his friends and family. We were fortunate to have gathered these for a concert back in April 2010, and happy to share them again here with our e-fans! Riccardo Nova: Composer Continue Reading »
Thomalla’s Capriccio
We are excited to premiere a brand new work by Hans Thomalla. Come hear Capriccio on March 9th! Read what Talea’s Artistic Director, Anthony Cheung, and Hans had to say about it recently. AC: Many of your works reference historical genres pieces of the past, particularly the early 19th Century. Titles such as “Character pieces,” Continue Reading »
