Contemporary Classics March 26, 2019 - Big Ears Festival Show 2

This is the second show featuring women composers and performers in the area of contemporary art music at the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville TN that ran from last Thursday through Sunday.

Brooklyn Rider presented a program called Healing Modes in which they intermixed Beethoven: Quartet No. 15 in A Minor, Op. 132 along with commissioned works by Reena Esmail, Gabriela Lena Frank, Matana Roberts, Caroline Shaw and Du Yun.  Brooklyn Rider interdigitated these new commissioned works on the theme of healing with the movements of the Beethoven for a spectacular work.   Of course we do not have recording of those newly commissioned works so let play some previous works by Reena Esmail, Gabriela Lena Frank, Caroline Shaw and Du Yun.

Also appearing in a solo performance as well as her role as the cellist in the American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME) was Clarice Jensen.   Here solo concert featured music from her album “For This From That Will Be Filled”

At a couple of the festival concerts by the International Contemporary Ensemble music by Anna Thorvaldsdottir was performed – not among them but a work that represents her well is Aequilibria

Another composer at the Big Ears festival was electro-acoustic composer Kara-Lis Coverdale.  I missed her performances so will represent her with her work “Grafts”.

A featured performer at the festival was violist Kim Kashkashian who performed along with pianist Robert Levin a program called Asturiana   based upon their album Asturiana - Songs from Spain and Argentina.


  • 8:02pm Caroline Shaw: Valencia by Jasper String Quartet on Unbound (Sono Luminus), 2017
  • 8:10pm Du Yun: Impeccable Quake by International Contemporary Ensemble & Ryan Nelson on Dinosaur Scar (Tundra), 2018
  • 8:22pm Gabriela Lena Frank: Adagio para Amantani by ALIAS Chamber Ensemble, Gabriela Lena Frank & Matt Walker on Frank: Hilo; Danza de los Saqsampillos; Adagio para Amantani; Quijotadas (Naxos), 2011
  • 8:35pm Reena Esmail: Teen Murti by ROCO on Visions Take Flight (Innova), 2018
  • 8:45pm Anna Thorvaldsdottir: Aequilibria by International Contemporary Ensemble & Steven Schick on AEQUA (Sono Luminus), 2018
  • 9:01pm Kara-Lis Coverdale: Grafts by Kara-Lis Coverdale on Grafts - EP (Boomkat Editions), 2017
  • 9:28pm Clarice Jensen: For This From That Will Be Filled (b) by Clarice Jensen on For This From That Will Be Filled (Miasmah ), 2018
  • 9:46pm 7 Canciones populares españolas: No. I-6 by Kim Kashkashian & Robert Levin on Asturiana - Songs from Spain and Argentina (ECM), 2007
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