Event
Hauschka//Peter Gregson//Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra//Alistair MacDonald @ Oran Mor
Hauschka: http://www.myspace.com/hauschka
Peter Gregson: http://petergregson.co.uk/
Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra: http://glasgowimprovisersorchestra.com/
Alistair MacDonald: http://www.alistairmacdonald.co.uk
Hauschka
Foreign Landscapes
Hauschka's striking third album for FatCat's 130701 imprint sees the pianist / composer making ambitious advances on his critically-acclaimed previous work. Stepping out from his established niche as a gifted and engaging 'prepared piano' player, he boldly extends his repertoire, resetting his music within a rich orchestral score. Nine of the album's twelve tracks feature a 12-piece string and wind ensemble from San Francisco's Magik*Magik Orchestra, alongside Volker Bertelmann's own prepared piano. Dynamic, brimming with character and colour, 'Foreign Landscapes' retains its author's distictive musical voice and leads the listener through a beautifully balanced collection, moving from delicate solo piano lyricism to a propulsive, robust minimalism. Now dark and intimate, now playful, now driving, the ensemble's fleshed-out instrumentation enables Hauschka to bring his exuberant versatility to a vital new level. With 'Foreign Landscapes', Hauschka stretches for - and reaches - stunning new realms.
Hauschka is the alias of Dusseldorf-based Volker Bertelmann, who signed to FatCat's 130701 post-classical imprint in 2007. Having studied classical piano for ten years, his work as Hauschka is based upon an exploration of the possibilities of the 'prepared' piano. Creatively undermining the preconceived idea of the piano as a pure-toned, perfected instrument waiting for a gifted virtuoso to play on it, Bertelmann instead modifies it by placing an assortment of material (gaffa tape, kitchen foil, felt wedges, bottle tops, ping pong balls, guitar string, etc) within its innards. What results are vivid, unconventional pieces made in a spirit of playful research-enthusiasm. As precised by Mojo magazine, "The sounds Bertlemann creates with(in) a piano are nothing short of astonishing."Two well-received albums (2007's 'Room To Expand' and 2008's 'Ferndorf') backed by an engaging series of live shows have seen the artist's profile steadily rise. Where the previous album comprised mostly solo piano recordings (with a few electronic and instrumental overdubs), 'Ferndorf' was a far more expansive album, also featuring a string duo, enabling an increased solidity. 'Foreign Landscapes' marks the next big step forwards.
Having initially been accompanied by the Magik*Magik Orchestra at a concert in their home town, Volker admired the way they responded to his music and soon formed the idea to transpose his predominantly piano-based music into a richer, more expansive sound-world. He began writing music for strings, clarinets and trombones in December 2008, and a completed score was recorded with the orchestra by Ian Pellicci at Tiny Telephone Studio in San Francisco in January 2010.
Where Hauschka's breakthrough previous album, 'Ferndorf', was conceptually anchored by childhood memories and the rural village in which he grew up, the music on 'Foreign Landscapes' is framed by travel and seeks a sense of grounding via snapshots of a shifting series of diverse locations visited in a period of continual touring around the world. Within this constant recent rootlessness, the discovery of and attachment to these places marks them out as little islands of comfort or interest, locations that have left an enduring impression.
..."Ferndorf is a sweet and spirited adventure in postoral(pseudo)glitch that tracks back to Eric Satie and Ralph Vaughn Williams and is exquisitly suggestive of the rainy countryside where Hauschka grew up." Mojo
"Ferndorf is the sort of record that can brighten any room." - Pitchfork
Peter Gregson: http://www.petergregson.co.uk
Peter will be playing the music of Steve Reich, Max Richter, Johann Johannsson as well as some of his own work
"...at the forefront of the new music scene..." The New Yorker
"...he has the world at his fingertips..." The Scotsman
Born in Edinburgh in 1987, Peter Gregson is a cellist and pioneer of contemporary music. He has performed widely in the UK and the US, at venues ranging from The Royal Albert Hall, London to The Ingleby Gallery in Edinburgh; from the Twitter Offices in San Francisco to Le Poisson Rouge, New York.
Peter's innovative approach to integrating cutting edge technology and contemporary music has led to collaborations with Tod Machover, Microsoft Labs and many other developers and artists, along with invitations to speak and perform at technology and media conferences around the world.
His work has been recognised with the 2008 Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Award for music and with membership to the Courvoisier Future 500. Peter is also the 2010/11 Creative in Residence at The Hospital Club, London, where he curates his year long series, alt_classical.
Peter was commissioned by Bowers & Wilkins and Real World in 2009 to produce Terminal, an album of contemporary cello music. Subsequently, his music has been used in installations including The Secret Garden Party and The Courvoisier Revolutionary Spirit Festival, as well as commissions to create live soundtracks with visual artist Jamie Shaw at The Future Gallery and for ENO and Punchdrunk's staging of The Werewolf of London. Peter recently collaborated with Kidkanevil to create a track for Red Bull and is currently working on an album to mark the end of his Hospital Club residency, collaborating with producer Guy Sigsworth, with the release planned for early 2011.
Selected performances for 2010/11 include the MIT Media Lab, The Roundhouse, The Future Gallery, The 92nd St Y, The Lab Gallery, The Queen's Hall, An Tobar, Le Poisson Rouge, The Lemon Tree, Faster than Sound Residency, Excite! Turin, TED x Music, Kings Place.
Peter Gregson plays a Colin Irving acoustic cello, a custom five string Eric Jensen electric cello and is an Apogee Electronics Artist. His music is published by Mute Song and released on cabinbaggage.
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LocationOran Mor
128 Byres Road
Glasgow
United Kingdom
Categories
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: No |
| Wheelchair Accessible: No |
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