World premieres by Evan Johnson, Mario Diaz de Leon, Marcelo Toledo

The International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) will work with student composers and performers, and present two concerts featuring works by ICElab composers Felipe Lara, Marcos Balter, and Mario Diaz de Leon, alongside New York composers John Zorn, Elliott Carter and John Cage.

February 20, 2013

Elliott Carter: Esprit Rude/Esprit Doux, for flute and clarinet (1985)
John Adams: Road Movies, for violin and piano (1995)
Dai Fujikura: Calling, for bassoon (2011)
Mario Diaz de Leon: The Soul is the Arena, for bass clarinet and electronics (2010)
Alexandre Lunsqui: Topografia de Um Caminho Andado, for bass flute and electronics (2001)
Felipe Lara: New Work, for 2 flutes (2013)
Lisa Coons: MESH, for voice, flute, guitar, bassoon, tuba, percussion, and dancers (2012)
Pierre Boulez: Sonatine, for flute and piano (1946)
John Zorn: The Tempest, for clarinet and flute (2012)

The International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) will bring an eclectic mix of eight musicians to Denver's brilliant "Friends of Chamber Music" series for an evening featuring some of the best chamber music of our time. This remarkably varied program spans a huge range from Toru Takemitsu's atmospheric Rain Spell to Magnus Lindberg's raucous Steamboat Bill Jr. based on the film by Buster Keaton. George Crumb's Vox Balaenae, based on early recordings of whale songs, is a gem of American chamber music and one of the classic pieces of ICE's repertoire. It is featured on Bridge Record's Complete Crumb Edition.

Program:

Toru Takemitsu: Rain Spell (雨の呪文), for flute, clarinet, harp, piano and vibraphone
Dai Fuijikura: Halcyon, for clarinet, violin, viola, and cello
Kaija Saariaho: Terrestre, for flute, violin, cello, harp, and percussion
John Zorn: Walpurgisnacht, for violin, viola, and cello
George Crumb: Vox Balaenae, for flute, cello, and piano
Magnus Lindberg: Steamboat Bill Jr., for clarinet and cello

Working closely with ICE musicians, Carla Kihlstedt has created a song cycle entitled At Night We Walk in Circles and Are Consumed By Fire, based on dreams and their mirror on waking lives. Her Facebook group documents the collaborative development of this extraordinary piece and invites contributions of dreams and ideas from her fans. She is a violinist, composer, and bandleader of groups including Sleepytime Gorilla Museum.

Praised by the New York Times for her “delightful quirkiness matched with interpretive sensitivity,” pianist, performance artist, and ICElab 2011 composer Phyllis Chen has become a trailblazer in performing original multimedia compositions using toy pianos, electronics and video and works by prominent contemporary composers. Her evening-length ICElab cycle, Chimers, uses sounds, video and electronics to create landscapes that reflect on themes of the popular symbols of the present, and the power of nostalgia for things past.

Program:

Phyllis Chen:Chimers, for toy piano, flute, clarinet, piano, and violin (2011)
Carla Kihlstedt: At Night We Walk in Circles and Are Consumed by Fire, for flute, clarinet, bassoon, guitar, 2 violin, percussion, piano, harp (2012)

Claire Chase and Eric Lamb, flutes, perform dynamic works for two flutes at Trinity Wall Street. Featuring music by ICElab composers Marcos Balter, Mario Diaz de Leon, and Felipe Lara, along with works by Telemann and Takemitsu.

G.P. Telemann: Canonic Sonata No. 1
Toru Takemitsu: Masque for two flutes
G.P. Telemann: Canonic Sonata No. 2
Mario Diaz de Leon: Altar of Two Serpents (two alto flutes)
G.P. Telemann: Canonic Sonata No. 3
W.F. Bach: Duo Sonata in F Major
G.P. Telemann: Canonic Sonata No. 4
Marcos Balter: Edgewater (alto and bass flutes)
G.P. Telemann: Canonic Sonata No. 5
Felipe Lara: new work (two flutes)
G.P. Telemann: Canonic Sonata No. 6

International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE)
Rebekah Heller, solo bassoon
Christian Knapp, conductor

Sofia Gubaidulina has earned her place among the great living composers. Her singular sound is characterized by a love of unusual sonorities and a deep-seated belief in the mystical properties of music. Quietly encouraged by Shostakovich to boldly pursue what the Soviet establishment perceived as the “wrong course” musically, she fled to Germany, where she cultivated her passion for the avant-garde. This program—her second Portrait at Miller—traces her evolution before and after her relocation to Hamburg, with several solo works as well as larger spiritual tours-des-forces.

Program:
Meditation on the Bach Chorale, “Vor deinen Thron tret' ich hiermit,” for harpsichord and string quartet (1993)
Trio, for violin, viola, and cello (1989)
Concerto for bassoon and low strings (1975)
Concordanza, for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, percussion, violin, viola, cello, and bass (1971)