Full Description:

The evening showcases the pianist Joseph Kubera in Cage’s epic solos, Music of Changes and Concert for Piano and Orchestra, with Ostravská banda. Other soloists include Kotik in his flute solos from There is Singularly Nothing, Conrad Harris in Cage’s amazing and nearly impossible to perform Freeman Etudes, and Roscoe Mitchell, premiering Red Flower On A Bamboo Pole on soprano saxophone.

John Cage                 Concert for Piano and Orchestra (1957-58)
Petr Kotik                  There is Singularly Nothing (1971-73)
John Cage                 Freeman Etudes, Book IV (1981)
Roscoe Mitchell        Red Flower On A Bamboo Pole (2012)
John Cage                 Music of Changes (1951)

S.E.M. Ensemble has established itself as one of the distinguished ensembles for new music in the U.S., maintaining a continuous schedule of concerts in New York, touring annually in Europe and also performing in South America and Japan. New York Times has hailed SEM, “S.E.M. Ensemble represents the best of what is left of the experimental tradition.”

The Orchestra of the S.E.M. Ensemble & Ostravská banda
Joseph Kubera, Piano
Conrad Harris, Violin
Roscoe Mitchell, Saxophone
Petr Kotik, Flute & Conductor

Co-presented by Interpretations Series and Roulette.

This concert is presented as part of BEYOND CAGE, a festival focusing on John Cage's legacy in the music of our times, and running in New York City, October 22-November 7, 2012. For more information, visit: www.semensemble.org

Full Description:

The Orchestra of the S.E.M. Ensemble
Petr Kotik, Conductor
Thomas Buckner, Baritone
Muhal Richard Abrams Mergertone (2007)
Roscoe Mitchell Non-Cognitive Aspects of the City (2002-08) on text by Joseph Jarman
for Baritone and Orchestra
Petr Kotik Asymmetric Landing (2003)

Abrams (b. 1930), Mitchell (b. 1940) and Kotik (b. 1942) are composers and virtuoso performers who have been collaborating since the mid 1990s in creating and performing works for orchestra, often with a voice solo sung by Thomas Buckner. Both, Abrams and Mitchell will be present at the concert.

Mergertone was commissioned by the Ostrava Center for New Music and premiered at the opening concert of the Ostrava Days 2007 festival (www.ocnmh.cz) by the Janacek Philharmonic, Petr Kotik conductor. For the June 17th performance the composer scaled down the score to be performed by chamber orchestra.

Commissioned by Mutable Music for baritone Thomas Buckner, Petr Kotik and The Orchestra of the S.E.M. Ensemble, Non-Cognitive Aspects of the City was premiered at the Willow Place Auditorium (Brooklyn/NY) in February 2003 and received its European premiere later that year.
Asymmetric Landing is the second movement from the orchestral work Music in Two Movements. It has been premiered in April 2002 at Alice Tully Hall and performed several times in Europe and the US since.