Events

Past Event

Argento Chamber Ensemble

March 12, 2008 - May 7, 2008
7:00 PM
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Music by Berio, Carter, Francesconi and Sciarrino

The Spring 2008 concert series at Columbia University’s Italian Academy will present three concerts by the Argento Chamber Ensemble performing contemporary music by American and European composers. The concerts will feature World Premieres by Helmut Lachenman and the Ensemble’s conductor Michel Galante. 

The Argento Chamber Ensemble is the performance arm of the Argento New Music Project. Consisting of nine dedicated members, the ensemble regularly expands to perform and record chamber orchestra works of up to thirty musicians, and has established a reputation for delivering unforgettable performances. The Ensemble has toured widely in the US and abroad in festivals including the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, the International Festival of Spectral Music in Istanbul, Turkey, the American Festival of Microtonal Music in New York, Sounds French Festival in New York, The Kilkenny Arts Festival, Ireland, the International Festival of Electro-acoustic music, Shanghai. Tours to Asia and the Middle East included collaborations with non-Western musicians such as singer Kani Karaça.

The group has worked closely with leading composers such as Pierre Boulez, Tania Leon, Tristan Murail, Elliott Carter, Philippe Hurel, Gerard Pesson, Joshua Fineberg and Philippe Leroux, and has collaborated with younger emerging composers internationally and at leading universities such as Columbia, Princeton, and Stony Brook. The Ensemble’s first recording, featuring the music of Tristan Murail, was released in January of 2007 on the AEON label with distribution through Harmonia Mundi. The recording immediately received critical acclaim worldwide. Recordings of Philippe Hurel and Alexandre Lunsqui are all slated for release in the 2008–2009 season. The Ensemble has also recorded surround sound installation works, and has produced a complete video and audio recording of Arnold Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire for online education.

Argento’s reputation has been the result of its long history as a chamber ensemble since 2000, demanding technical preparation, and a probing interpretive commitment to the music. Independent of commercial endeavors, the Ensemble relies on the hard work of its musicians and board members. Michel Galante has performed as principal, guest, and assistant conductor with orchestras and ensembles in the US, Canada, and Europe. He is a doctoral candidate in composition at Columbia University. His composition awards include Hertz, Fulbright, and Mellon fellowships, and prizes from ASCAP and the Composer’s Guild.

The programs for the spring season concerts will be as follows:

Giacinto Scelsi - Xnoybis for solo violin (1964)

Valerio Sannicandro - Constructa for septet (2007) (US Premiere)

Helmut Lachenman - Dal Niente

Lachenman - Mouvement (vor der Erstarrung) for chamber orchestra (1983/1984/2008)
(2008 version World Premiere)

Giacinto Scelsi - Suite for flute and clarinet

Salvatore Sciarrino - 3 Notturni

Elliot Carter - Triple Duo

Ivan Fedele - XONEX

Michael Klingbeil - Signals

Luciano Berio - O King

Luciano Berio - Luftklavier

Elliot Carter - Esprit Rude / Esprit Doux

Luca Francesconi - Riti Neurali for violin and chamber ensemble

Salvatore Sciarrino - Introduzione all'Oscuro

Michel Galante - New Work for ensemble

Arthur Kampela - Bridges for solo viola

Keeril Makan - New Work for solo piano

Press 

"a group of exceptional freelance musicians....launch a three-concert series at Columbia University's stately Italian Academy....you're compelled to come back for more"
From Time Out New York listing of Mar 12, 2008, Concert Series Argento Chamber Ensemble playing Lachenmann, Scelsi, Sannicandro and others
Read more: reprintoriginal web page