Beethoven Today
International Beethoven Project 2011 Festival

Chicago Urban Art Society (CUAS)
2229 South Halsted Street
Chicago, IL
More Information

Just as composers struggled with writing ‘the symphony’ in a post-Beethovenian world, Helmut Lachenmann has similarly influenced and affected contemporary composition, raising significant issues about how to continue developing a style in the wake of a revolution. One might consider both composers as synthesizers of aspects of style they didn’t quite invent, but somehow brought together, to form something radical. And one will notice that, like late Beethoven, Donatoni is similarly nonlinear and uncompromising.

Helmut Lachenmann (b.1935): temA (1968) for flute, voice, and cello
Franco Donatoni (1927-2000): About (1975) for violin, viola and guitar

Professor Bad Trip

Pre-concert presentation by Now Listen at 6:30pm

Mayne Stage
1328 Morse Avenue
Chicago, IL
Tickets: $20 General Admission, $25 Reserved Seating,
$10 Student (Only at box office with Student ID)

Ensemble Dal Niente officially kicks off the 2011-12 season with the Chicago premiere of Fausto Romitelli’s psychedelic masterpiece Professor Bad Trip. The untamed, florescent sound world of Romitelli is paired with new, unusual arrangements of Italy’s foremost Renaissance avant-garde homicidal composer: Carlo Gesualdo.

Franco Donatoni (1927-2000): About (1975) for violin, viola and guitar
Gesualdo (1566-1613)/arr. Chris Fisher-Lochhead: Io parto e non piu dissi (1611/2011), arranged for ensemble
Fausto Romitelli (1963-2004): Professor Bad Trip, Lesson 1 (1998) for eight instruments and electronics
Gesualdo/arr. Fred Gifford: S’io non miro (1611/2011), arranged for ensemble
Fausto Romitelli: Professor Bad Trip, Lesson 2 (1999) for ten instruments
Gesualdo/arr. Fred Gifford: Merce, grido piangendo (1611/2011), arranged for electric guitar
Fausto Romitelli: Professor Bad Trip, Lesson 3 (2000) for ten instruments

Klänge suchen Menschen /
Sounds Seek People

Nichols Concert Hall
1490 Chicago Avenue
Evanston, IL
Tickets: $20 general/$10 students, available at the door.

featuring Scott Voyles, guest conductor

Internationally renowned conductor Scott Voyles leads the Nientes through a co-curated program featuring an incredibly wide range of sounds that, in essence, seek ears. The program features world premieres by three provocative, internationally-emerging composers, in addition to Chaya Czernowin’s newest ensemble piece and Enno Poppe’s rowdy, high-octane Salz which uses microtonally tuned keyboards in a gritty spectacle of sound that perfectly befits Dal Niente.

Chaya Czernowin (b.1957): Lovesong (2010) for flute, oboe, clarinet, percussion, piano, violin, viola and cello
Edgar Guzman (b1981): After Tomorrow (2011) for solo amplified saxophone (WORLD PREMIERE)
Kirsten Broberg (b.1979): Ethers (2011) for horn, cello, and percussion (WORLD PREMIERE)
Edward Hamel (b.1984): Countenance (2011) for alto flute, English horn, baritone sax, violin, viola, cello, bass (WORLD PREMIERE)
Enno Poppe (b.1969): Salz (2005) (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE) for flute, oboe, clarinet, saxophone, percussion, keyboard, violin, viola, and cello

UNRULY MUSIC – Fall Festival

Vogel Hall, Marcus Center for the Performing Arts
929 North Water Street
Milwaukee, WI
More Information

featuring Greg Beyer, percussion; Chris Wild, cello

Dal Niente presents its Milwaukee debut as a featured guest at UNRULY MUSIC, Milwaukee’s new music festival, in a program featuring the world premiere of a new quartet by Aaron Einbond.

Aaron Einbond (b.1978): Post-Paleontology (2011) for contrabass clarinet, violin, piano, and percussion (WORLD PREMIERE)
Anton Webern (1883-1945): Quartett, Op. 22 (1928-1930) for clarinet, saxophone, violin, and piano
Giacinto Scelsi (1905-1988): Duo for Violin and Cello (1965)
Edgar Guzman (b.1981): After Tomorrow (2011) for solo amplified saxophone
Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001): Kottos (1977) for cello
Greg Beyer: Bahian Counterpoint (2002) for solo percussion, electronics, and video

Darmstadt Composition Workshop: Phase I

Lutkin Hall, Northwestern University
Evanston, IL

As part of its activities at the 46th Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik in Darmstadt, Germany, Ensemble Dal Niente will co-produce a composition workshop with composer Hans Thomalla and cellist Lucas Fels of the Arditti Quartet. The six composers selected for the project will descend upon Chicago in November 2011 for the first collaborative session to be held at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music.

The composers are:
Teresa Carrasco (Spain)
Santiago Diez-Fischer (Argentina/France)
Michael Duffy (USA)
Mauricio Pauly (Costa Rica/UK)
Christopher Trapani (USA)
Daniel Vezza (USA)

CREATE: with the University of Chicago Computer Music Studio

6:30pm Open Workshop
8:00pm Concert

Fulton Hall at the University of Chicago
5845 South Ellis Avenue
Chicago, IL
FREE admission

Dal Niente collaborates with seven young Chicago composers and the University of Chicago Computer Music Studio (Director: Howard Sandroff, Project Producer: Francisco Castillo Trigueros) in the creation and performance of new works that incorporate electronics. The composers come from various institutions throughout Chicagoland and illustrate the remarkable depth of Chicago’s young composers.

Francisco Castillo Trigueros (b.1983): New Work (2011) for violin, cello, and saxophone (WORLD PREMIERE)
Pablo Chin (b.1982): Retrato del Gran Pàjaro Feo (2011) for solo violin and electronics (WORLD PREMIERE)
Daniel R. Dehaan (b.1988): Da-sein (2011) for saxophone (WORLD PREMIERE)
Iddo Aharony (b.1978): New Work (2011) for solo cello and electronics (WORLD PREMIERE)
Tomas Gueglio (b.1980): New Work (2011) for oboe, violin, and cello (WORLD PREMIERE)
David Paha (b.1986): Kill Your Temple, Kill Your Design (2011) for solo oboe (WORLD PREMIERE)
Ben Hjertmann (b.1985): ;Kl_num'i Qdno Meldjh-Swo.pnjom (2011) for oboe and saxophone (WORLD PREMIERE)

This project is made possible by generous support from the University of Chicago Arts Council and additional support by the University of Chicago Department of Music.

Hard Music Hard Liquor

Mayne Stage
1328 Morse Avenue
Chicago, IL
Tickets: $20 General Admission, $25 Reserved Seating,
$10 Student (Only at box office with Student ID)

featuring Doyle Armbrust, viola; Alejandro Acierto, clarinet

Known for its fearless approach to difficult contemporary repertoire, Dal Niente throws several of its artists center stage in wild (yet classic?) soloistic displays of instrumental and vocal virtuosity, with two of Berio’s most remarkable sequenze and Ferneyhough’s 1988 chef-d'oeuvre. Presented in Chicago’s foremost “contemporary music club”, this event is open to audiences 18 years and older.

Luciano Berio (1925-2003): Sequenza III (1965) for female voice
Claude Vivier (1948-1983): Shiraz (1977) for piano
Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001): Kottos (1977) for cello
Georges Aperghis (b.1945): P.S. (2010) for saxophone (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE)
Luciano Berio (1925-2003): Sequenza VI (1967) for viola
Brian Ferneyhough (b.1943): La Chute d’Icare (1988) for solo clarinet, flute, oboe, piano, percussion, violin, cello, and bass

Buy Tickets

WILD + WULLIMAN: For Dal Niente

High Concept Laboratories
Chicago, Illinois
Tickets: a limited number of tickets will go on sale in December. Advanced sales only.

“The acclaimed string duo hosts a benefit concert at High Concept Laboratories to support Ensemble Dal Niente’s spring 2012 activities. Wild + Wulliman make their return with a daring program featuring classics by Scelsi and Reich, as well as new music by young international composers Eliza Brown and Stefan Prins. Tickets are limited and must be purchased in advance.”

Matthias Pintscher (b.1971): Study 1 for Treatise on the Veil (2004) for violin and cello
Stefan Prins (b.1979): Ensuite (2008/11) for cello (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE)
Eliza Brown (b.1985): Shaked Graces (2009/11) for cello and violin
Steve Reich (b.1936): Violin Phase (1967) for violin and tape
Giacinto Scelsi (1905-1988): Duo for violin and cello (1965)

Tickets

Regular $20.00 USD Student with ID $10.00 USD

Dal Niente Presents: J. Austin Wulliman, violin

Nichols Concert Hall
1490 Chicago Avenue
Evanston, IL
Tickets: $10 general, $5 students, available at the door

György Ligeti (1923-2006): Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano (1982)
Kaija Saariaho (b.1952): Nocturne (1994)
Megan Beugger: pulsation (2011) (World Premiere)
Pablo Chin (b.1982): new work (2011) for violin and electronics
Chris Fisher-Lochhead (b.1984): Water(l)ily (2011)
Augusta Read Thomas (b.1964): Dream Catcher (2008)
Chris Fisher-Lochhead (b.1984): Belles Letteres (World Premiere)

Proximity: Mark Andre

DePaul University Concert Hall
800 W. Belden Avenue
Chicago, IL
Tickets: $20 general/$10 students

featuring Winston Choi, piano; Mabel Kwan, piano; Greg Beyer, percussion

Mark Andre, a household name in European contemporary music yet massively underrepresented in North America, makes his first Chicago appearance in this co-curated program which features North American premieres of two ensemble pieces. Known for an experimental approach toward sound construction with spiritual and metaphysical underpinnings, his music is usually expansive with extreme near-silent virtuosity and provocative and complex sound worlds that, at times, draw expressive features from otherwise ordinary objects.

Mark Andre (b.1964): zu staub (2005) for flute, clarinet, piano, percussion, violin, viola, and cello (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE)
Mark Andre: durch (2004) for saxophone, percussion, and piano (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE)
Mark Andre: Contrapunctus (1998-99) for piano
Anton Webern (1883-1945): Quartett, Op. 22 (1928-1930) for clarinet, saxophone, violin, and piano
John Cage (1912-1992): Child of Tree (1975) for percussionist
John Cage: Sonata 14 & 15 (1948) for prepared piano

Lead support for this project comes from Goethe-Institut Chicago, the Cultural Service of the Consulate General of France in Chicago, and the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation.

UNRULY MUSIC – Spring Festival

Vogel Hall, Marcus Center for the Performing Arts
929 North Water Street
Milwaukee, WI
More Information

featuring Carrie Henneman Shaw, soprano

The desert is a place of raw extremes – the brightness of the sun on one hand, and the open silence on the other – but it also represents a place of solitude, untouched nature, and a time that both precedes and follows civilization. In September 2010, composer Hans Thomalla recorded sounds and images of the Mojave Desert and Death Valley, mining the desert locations sonically and visually to create a modular work based on those recordings: a cycle of “songs” for large instrumental ensemble, and solo voice.

Hans Thomalla (b.1975) and William Lamson (b.1977): The Brightest Form of Absence (2011) for soprano solo, large ensemble, & live electronics (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE)

Ensemble Dal Niente’s appearance at Unruly Music is partially supported by the Ernst von Siemens Foundation and Goethe-Institut Chicago.

Rohlen Residency at the University of Illinois

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Krannert Center for the Performing Arts
500 South Goodwin Avenue
Urbana, IL

featuring Jesse Langen, guitar; Scott Voyles, guest conductor

Dal Niente marks its first performance at the University of Illinois in a two-day residency which features a concert and collaborative sessions with student composers.

Philipp Blume (b.1972): Kennst Du das Land? (2011) for bass clarinet, violin, cello, and piano (WORLD PREMIERE)
Reynold Tharp (b. 1973): New Work (2011) for flute, violin, and viola (WORLD PREMIERE)
Fausto Romitelli (1963-2004): Trash TV Trance (2002) for electric guitar
Anton Webern (1883-1945): Quartett, Op. 22 (1928-30) for clarinet, tenor saxophone, violin, and piano
Georges Aperghis (b.1945): P.S. (2010) for soprano saxophone
Hans Thomalla (b.1975): Momentsmusicaux (2003/04) for flute, clarinet, piano, viola, and cello
Marcos Balter (b.1974): Growth (2010) for flute, clarinet, saxophone, electric guitar, piano, violin, viola, and cello

The Party
With Marino Formenti:
Pianist, Conductor, and Curator

Logan Square/Avondale Arts Center
2800 N Milwaukee Avenue 2nd Floor
Chicago, IL
Ticket information coming soon.

Pianist, conductor, and curator Marino Formenti has distinguished himself as one of the most compelling and original interpreters of his generation, particularly for his performances of contemporary music and for developing unusual and experimental concert formats. With Dal Niente, he will produce The Party, a communal experience that casts away some of the concert hall’s conventions in order to bring listeners together in a brand new way.

During The Party, people can sit where and how they want; they can stand, lie down, choose what to listen to at any particular moment, relax, move, talk, drink, eat… and they can listen to music together. The goal is to specifically create the conditions of individual freedom, ease, relaxation, and communication, in order to allow a maximally intense yet different kind of concentration. The Party is conceived for modern, individualistic human beings willing to be – and aware of being – an active part of this ‘global’ artistic event. Increasingly, we individuals are aware of the importance (more than ever in the age of the internet and electronic media) to meet each other and to experience art and music together. It is a new form to better fit the needs and qualities of a modern human being.

This event’s timeframe encompasses an entire evening and will have a perfect balance between music and intermissions in order that there be sufficient opportunities to socialize, interact, eat, and drink. The following program schedule is subject to change.

Lead support for The Party comes from the Italian Culture Institute Chicago.

Esplorazioni

Nichols Concert Hall
1490 Chicago Avenue
Evanston, IL
Tickets: $20 general/$10 students, available at the door

featuring Amanda DeBoer Bartlett, soprano; Mark Buchner, bass

Aaron Einbond’s work lies at the forefront of instrumental composition, field recording, noise, and technology, exhibiting an innovative approach to electronic music and near-silent instrumental virtuosity. His new piece is commissioned for Ensemble Dal Niente by the Fromm Music Foundation at Harvard University, and features the ensemble’s acclaimed soprano, Amanda DeBoer Bartlett, as soloist.

Georges Aperghis (b.1945): La Nuit en Tête (2000) for solo soprano and sextet
Salvatore Sciarrino (b.1947): Esplorazione del bianco (1986) for solo bass
Aaron Einbond (b.1978): New Work (2012) for soprano soloist, ten musicians, and electronics (WORLD PREMIERE)
Salvatore Sciarrino: Esplorazione del bianco II (1986) for flute, bass clarinet, guitar, and violin
Julian Anderson (b.1967): Khorovod (1994) for large ensemble

46th Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik

Darmstadt, Germany
More Information

featuring Ernesto Molinari, clarinet

The capstone of the 2011-12 season, Ensemble Dal Niente returns to the Darmstadt Summer Music Courses as Kranichsteiner Stipendienpriese winner in an intense program uniting two world premieres with two classics.

Featured Program: July 24, 2012

Evan Johnson (b.1980): die bewegung der augen (2012) for three soloists (oboe, baritone saxophone, violin) and ensemble (clarinet, viola, cello, guitar, piano, and percussion) (WORLD PREMIERE) [A Meet The Composer Commission]
Pablo Chin (b.1982): New Work (2012) for flute, oboe, clarinet, saxophone, guitar, piano, percussion, violin, viola, cello, and bass (WORLD PREMIERE)
Brian Ferneyhough (b.1943): La Chute D’Icare (1992) for solo clarinet, flute, oboe, piano, percussion, violin, cello, and bass
Salvatore Sciarrino (b.1947): Esplorazione del bianco II (1986) for flute, bass clarinet, guitar, and violin

Darmstadt Composition Workshop: Phase II
Performance – July 21, 2012

The ensemble will continue its work with Hans Thomalla, Lucas Fels, and the seven composers of the composition workshop, including intensive rehearsals and a planned performance featuring the world premieres of the workshop pieces.

[die bewegung der augen was commissioned through Meet The Composer’s Commissioning Music/USA program, which is made possible by generous support from the Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the Helen F. Whitaker Fund.]

This project is funded through support of USArtists International, a program of the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation in partnership with the National Endowment of the Arts.