Musikfabrik parades new Partch instruments in slapstick tragedy

By Jacob Slattery, 26 July 2015

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Reviewed at New York City Center, New York City on 23 July 2015

Partch, Delusion of the Fury

Harry Partch, Conductor

Ensemble Musikfabrik

Klaus Grünberg, Set Designer

Florence von Gerkan, Costume Designer

Heiner Goebbels, Director

Upload questions the meaning of life... and of opera

Kurt Gottschalk, 22nd March

Does opera have room for film? And live video? Multiple screens and advertorials? And allusions to onscreen identity and cyber-immortality?

*****

Ensemble Musikfabrik in Berlin

Stephen Crowe, 18th September

An evening of frivolousness and solemnity.

****1

Partch UK Premiere creates a Surreal Sunday Experience

Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres, 23rd February

In the world of concert music, it is a rare privilege to witness the first ever performance of an instrument in Britain, let alone a whole host that have been specifically created for a piece of music. A stage full of weird and wonderful creations took over the Colston Hall for one of the most surreal concerts I have ever attended.

****1

The terror of games: RIAS Chamber Choir and Ensemble musikFabrik at Musikfest Berlin

Dan Wang, 14th September

If there were a gold medal for programming at Musikfest Berlin, it would go to last night’s concert with the RIAS Chamber Choir, Ensemble musikFabrik, and a host of other musicians, gathered under the baton of James Wood.

****1

Edinburgh International Festival: Ensemble musikFabrik's tribute to Frank Zappa

Alan Coady, 28th August

What drew John Cage and Frank Zappa into the same programme was their mutual admiration of Edgard Varèse, at its most striking in their use of percussion. Somehow I feel Cage would have been delighted to be the one out of step with an otherwise perfectly symmetrical programme. Flanking the interval were performances of Varèse’s Ionisation (1929–31).

****1

A piece of infinity with Michaels Reise um die Erde at Lincoln Center Festival

Rebecca Lentjes, 18th July

My preparations for a Thursday evening trip to Lincoln Center: studying the super-formula of Stockhausen’s 29-hour opera project, entitled Licht; choosing an outfit in the perfect shade of cerulean; girding myself for a panic attack similar to the one I experienced the last time I witnessed a section from Licht (Oktophonie).

*****

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Jacob Slattery

Jacob is a musician and raconteur based out of New York City. As a writer, he operates an online arts and culture blog with the goal of providing momentum for community-based arts projects in NYC. As an oboist, Jacob has performed internationally with orchestras from Vienna to Seoul. Born and raised in the lake-ridden, gopher empire of Minnesota, Jacob received a dual-degree in Music Performance and Marketing from Augsburg College in Minneapolis. His blog can be found here.

Ensemble Musikfabrik parades new Partch instruments in slapstick tragedy