Lots to look forward to this year: Premieres of Ben Johnston’s music, an exciting (unreleased) schedule at Microfest, new videos and recordings, lots of John Cage centenary celebrations/performances, and the Kepler Quartet rehearsing and recording the last in the cycle of Ben’s string quartets, Nos. 6, 7, 8.
NY Times review of String Quartets nos. 1, 5, and 10
Published in February 22nd, 2011
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Here is Steve Smith’s flattering New York Times review of the new recordings by the Kepler Quartet of Ben Johnston’s String Quartets Nos. 1, 5, and 10.
First Reviews are in for Ben Johnston’s String Quartets Nos. 1, 5, and 10
Published in February 17th, 2011
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And they are quite positive:
Frank Oteri’s piece for New Music Box can be found here.
Another review from the blogosphere is here.
String Quartets 1, 5, and 10 NOW ON CD!
Published in January 20th, 2011
The Kepler Quartet’s new album featuring premiere recordings of Ben Johnston’s 1st, 5th, and 10th String Quartets is available now on New World Records.
Thanks to the quartet members: Sharan Leventhal, Eric Segnitz, Brek Renzelman, and Karl Lavine, for all the sacrifice and hard work they put in to make these amazing recordings of this beautiful [...]
Happy Birthday, Ben
Published in March 18th, 2010
Our dear Ben Johnston has just celebrated his 84th birthday this week. Ben has been a constant to me as a dear friend, inspiring mentor, challenging teacher, and willing collaborator, and I was happy to be able to see him for the occasion of a colloquium held in his honor at Wright State University this [...]
Upcoming concert in New York…
Published in November 11th, 2009
It was just announced that the opening concert of next season for the League of Composers will feature Ben Johnston’s String Quartet No. 4:
On Sunday, February 28, 2010 (3 PM), the Chamber Players of the League perform at New York’s intimate Tenri Cultural Institute. The inimitable ensemble of New York freelancers present a program featuring [...]
String Quartet No. 9 in Brooklyn!
Published in October 28th, 2009
The American Modern Ensemble is performing Ben Johnston’s String Quartet No. 9 next Tuesday November 3, 2009, at the Galapagos Art Space at 16 Main Street, Brooklyn, NY. The piece is part of a program called m&ms (microtones & minimalism) which also features works by fellow composers Philip Glass, Ingram Marshall, Steve Reich and Spencer Topel.
Ben will be [...]
Quintet for Groups in Donaueschingen and Berlin
Published in November 3rd, 2008
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Premiered in 1967 by the St. Louis Symphony orchestra, Eleazar DeCarvalho conducting, Quintet for Groups emerged an imperfect and highly controversial work whose compositional basis, related to but distinctly different from Stockhausen’s Gruppen ( which at that time I had never heard nor seen) was using a large group (the entire orchestra) as the interaction [...]
Quintet for Groups
Published in October 22nd, 2008
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The following is an essay written for the festival about Ben and “Quintet for Groups” by Marc Sabat, who was the guiding force in bringing about this performance.
Ben Johnston’s “Quintet for Groups”
by Marc Sabat (2008)
Some years ago I remember asking James Tenney about his experience with Harry Partch. I recall him telling me at [...]
Ben Johnston in Germany
Published in October 22nd, 2008
Ben’s piece “Quintet for Groups” was just performed at a sold out concert at the Donaueschinger Musiktage in Germany last Sunday. This was the European premiere of the piece and only the third time it has ever been performed (the other two were in St. Louis 40 years ago).
Read more about the about the world’s oldest [...]