Sala: (Le) Poisson Rouge, Nueva York

It was, very much, Kigawa’s recital – not Boulez’, not Ligeti’s. The force of personality might have gotten in the way had the flair on pianoforte not been so strong. 

Combining seasoned chamber musicians, new works, and a cabaret-style venue, Hotel Elefant performed musical narratives ranging from horseback riding in Northern Iran to the public suicide of a Pennsylvanian State Treasurer. 

Violinist Pekka Kuusisto and composer Nico Muhly performed at (Le) Poisson Rouge, with music by Bach, Pärt, Glass, and Muhly.

Nils Frahm and Dawn of Midi delivered an enchanting, dramatic pair of sets at (Le) Poisson Rouge.

It can be difficult to focus on the music at (Le) Poisson Rouge, a venue “serving art and alcohol” on Bleecker Street in New York. During any of their widely varied avant-garde and new music sets, you will hear forks clinking against plates and see waiters striding across the space to deliver drinks to the audience members, seated around tables or at the bar.

In keeping with the theme of Tuesday’s (Le) Poisson Rouge concert entitled “Do Something Different”, I will diverge from the ordinary by opening with the evening’s closing remark: “This is opera in New York City today!”Opera Singers Initiative founder Anna Lee excitedly delivered this terse eight-word proclamation on the venue’s dimly-lit stage, where she was joined by vocalists from Opera Singers

On Sunday evening the JACK Quartet, seemingly ubiquitous in new music circles, performed an enlightening array of musical styles at (Le) Poisson Rouge, joined by rising young cellist Joshua Roman. The thoughtful programming was almost as chronologically diverse as it could have been.

Jennifer Koh and Ensemble LPR helped celebrate the five-year anniversary of (Le) Poisson Rouge Friday night, with a lively program of works by John Zorn, Charles Wuorinen and Ludwig van Beethoven. The club-like atmosphere of LPR was in full swing before the show began, waiters ferrying salads and glasses of wine as percussionists adjusted their instruments on stage under colored blooms of light.