TIME OUT Critic’s Pick http://www.timeout.com/newyork/music/the-firehouse-space-2-piano-festival-1
The pianists performing over the course of the weekend represent some of the many diverse, outstanding players in the city including: Steven Beck, Owen Carter, Julia Den Boer, Melinda Faylor, Monika Haar, Olivier Herbert-Bouchard, Eric Huebner, David Hughes, Sunny Knable, Kristin Samadi, Zi Liang, Andrea Lodge, Stephen Olsen, Vasudevan Panicker, Manon Hutton-DeWys, Kristin Samadi, Sandra Sprecher, Adam Tendler, Sophie Zhang, Derin Oge along with Percussionsist Joe Tucker and Ellery Trafford
TFHS presents a combination of classic 20th century literature for 2 pianos such as Stravinsky, Adams, Bartok, Berio, Reich, Glass and a rare interpretation of Felman’s Ixion along side new 21st century works from composers George, Dicke, Knable, Sprecher and Andres. The culmination of the final concert on June 21 will be a telematic performance of the stunning Icelandic hymn Kolbeinn Turnason and Torkell Sigurbjörnsson’s “Heyr Himna Smiour” ”Heyr Himna Smiður”, meaning “Hear, Smith of the Heavens”, is a popular hymn, its text written in the 13th Century by Icelandic Chieftain Kolbeinn Turnason. Roughly seven centuries later, the poem was set to music by Torkell Sigurbjörnsson and is now widely performed in many instrumental arrangements.
The performers will include a vocal group, bowed vibraphones and bowed pianos at the space. It will also be telecast on a large screen outside the firehouse for passers by during the MMNY night. The bowed piano part will be on a video feed shown on the screen outside as the vibes and vocalists perform live outside. Simultaneously they will be also on a video feed shown inside the space. Some of the many participants for the hymn are: Julia Den Boer, Melinda Faylor, Olivier Herbert-Bouchard, Kristin Samadi, Andrea Lodge, Kristin Samadi, Sandra Sprecher, Adam Tendler, Sophie Zhang, Jay Source, Kitty Brazelton, Danica Borisavljevic, Manon Hutton-DeWys along with Percussionsist Joe Tucker and Ellery Trafford. Vocalists include: Anastasia Rege, Tais Szilagi, and Jorge Quezada AND our Tech genius will be Michael Ricca
Schedule - June 20 at 4:00 PM
Whitney George: Circles played by Melinda Faylor and David Hughes
Ian Dicke: DÈja played by Melinda Faylor, David Hughes, Kristin SamadI, Zi Liang
Sunny Knable: Bartok in Brooklyn played by Sunny Knable and Kristin Samadi
Scott Ordway: Snow Elegy played by David Hughes, Melinda Faylor
John Adams: Hallelujah Junction and Fearful Symmetries played by Vasudevan Panicker and Owen Carter
June 20 at 7:30 PM
Luciano Berio: Lineaplayed by Manon Hutton-DeWys and Melinda Faylor, Joe Tucker and Ellery Trafford
Bela Bartok: Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion played by Manon Hutton-DeWys and Stephen Olsen, Joe Tucker and Ellery Trafford
Philip Glass: Four Movements for Two Pianos played by Steven Beck and Eric Huebner
Igor Stravinsky: Concerto for Two Pianos played by Steven Beck and Eric Huebner
June 21 at 7:30 PM
Steve Reich: Piano Phase played by Andrea Lodge and Julia Den Boer
Sandra Sprecher: Break Out played by Adam Tendler and Sandra Sprecher
Morton Feldman: Ixion played by Adam Tendler and Sandra Sprecher
Timo Andres “Shy and Mighty played by Sophie Zhang and Olivier Herbert-Bouchard
8:30 PM Kolbeinn Turnason and Torkell Sigurbjörnsson’s “Heyr Himna Smiour” a Telematic Performance in Collaboration with MMNY
