METROPOLIS ENSEMBLE PRESENTS

BALLET PRISMATIQUE

Presenting various kinds of dance music from different periods, forming a kaleidoscopic ballet without stylistic limits, as part of In Visible Roads, Metropolis Ensemble x BLUEPRINTS Piano Festival

Sunday, April 21, 2019
1 Rivington Street / 2nd Floor (Buzzer #1) / New York, NY
4:30pm (doors) / 5:00pm (event)
Tickets: $15 general / $10 students / $100 festival pass / free for members

Photo credit: © Pedro Barbeito — James Webb I — 2013 — private collection Washington, D.C. (detail)

Pianists Vicky Chow, Mikael Darmanie, Qing Jiang, David Kaplan, and Dan Tepfer.

Dance music of all kinds, from Baroque to contemporary to improvisation, will form a kaleidoscopic ballet without stylistic limits. Includes works by Samuel Carl Adams, Timo Andres, J.S. Bach, Marcos Balter, Michael Brown, Molly Joyce, Gabriel Kahane, Oliver Knussen, Andrew Norman, Caroline Shaw, and Robert Schumann.

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BLUEPRINTS unites pianists from different musical genres for eclectic concerts that present traditional classical music alongside contemporary works (including premieres), jazz and free improvisation. Co-founded by Daniel Anastasio and Erika Dohi, these unusually varied programs are each inspired by an aesthetic theme or blueprint. In Visible Roads, co-created with Metropolis Ensemble, represents its first major artistic collaboration with another performing organization, with the goal of enriching the community of pianists, composers, and instrumentalists alike through creating and fostering new collaborative relationships.

Yamaha CF6 premium grand piano provided by Yamaha Artist Services New York.

CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS

Featured

VICKY CHOW / PIANO

With her expressive and nuanced interpretations of contemporary works, Canadian pianist Vicky Chow has been described as “brilliant” (New York Times), “new star of new music” (Los Angeles Times) and “one of our era’s most brilliant pianists” (Pitchfork)… READ MORE

MIKAEL DARMANIE / PIANO

As a soloist Mikael Darmanie has performed throughout the Americas, Europe, and the Caribbean. He has participated and won prizes in a number of regional and international competitions. Festival appearances have included High Peaks Festival, Pianofest… READ MORE

QING JIANG / PIANO

Praised by the New York Times as a “fiery musician” whose playing is “vigorous and passionate,” pianist Qing Jiang enjoys a diverse career in solo, chamber, contemporary music. She has appeared in Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Jordan Hall, Steinway Hall… READ MORE

DAVID KAPLAN / PIANO

David Kaplan, pianist, has been called “excellent and adventurous” by The New York Times, and praised by the Boston Globe for “grace and fire” at the keyboard. He has appeared as soloist with the Britten Sinfonia at London’s Barbican Centre, at Miami’s Arscht… READ MORE

DAN TEPFER / PIANO

Dan Tepfer has made a name for himself as a pianist-composer of wide-ranging ambition, individuality and drive — “a remarkable musician” in the words of the Washington Post and one “who refuses to set himself limits” in those of France’s Télérama. The New York… READ MORE

SAMUEL ADAMS / COMPOSER

Samuel Adams is a composer of acoustic and electroacoustic music. His work has been hailed as “mesmerizing” and “music of a composer with a personal voice and keen imagination” by The New York Times, “canny and assured” by… READ MORE

TIMO ANDRES / COMPOSER

Timo Andres is a composer and pianist who grew up in rural Connecticut and lives in Brooklyn, NY. A Nonesuch Records artist, his newest album of orchestral works, Home Stretch, has been hailed for... READ MORE

MARCOS BALTER / COMPOSER

Praised by The Chicago Tribune as "minutely crafted" and "utterly lovely," The New York Times as "whimsical" and "surreal," and The Washington Post as "dark and deeply poetic," the music of composer Marcos Balter (b.1974, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is at once emotionally… READ MORE

MICHAEL BROWN / COMPOSER

Michael Brown has been described as “one of the most refined of all pianist-composers” (International Piano) and “one of the leading figures in the current renaissance of performer-composers” (The New York Times). His unique artistry is reflected in his creative… READ MORE

MOLLY JOYCE / COMPOSER

Active as a composer and performer, Molly Joyce’s music has been described as one of "serene power" (New York Times), written to "superb effect" (The Wire), and “impassioned” (The Washington Post). Her works have been commissioned… READ MORE

GABRIEL KAHANE / COMPOSER

Gabriel Kahane is an American composer and singer-songwriter living in New York City. Kahane is the son of a psychologist mother and the concert pianist and conductor Jeffrey Kahane. He attended the New England Conservatory before transferring to Brown… READ MORE

OLIVER KNUSSEN / COMPOSER

Oliver Knussen was one of the world’s most eminent and influential composers, creating work of crystalline concision, complexity and richness. Born in 1952, he studied composition with John Lambert in London and Gunther Schuller at Tanglewood. He was… READ MORE

ANDREW NORMAN / COMPOSER

Andrew Norman is a Los Angeles-based composer of orchestral, chamber, and vocal music. Andrew’s work draws on an eclectic mix of sounds and notational practices from both the avant-garde and classical traditions. He is increasingly… READ MORE

CAROLINE SHAW / COMPOSER

Caroline Adelaide Shaw is a New York-based musician—vocalist, violinist, composer, and producer—who performs in solo and collaborative projects. She is the youngest recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Music, for Partita for 8 Voices... READ MORE

Ballet Prismatique

BALLET PRISMATIQUE

CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS