Cal Performances presents a Composer Portrait: Conlon Nancarrow, featuring Alarm Will Sound
Alfred Hertz Memorial Concert Hall,
U.C. Berkeley, 101 Cross-Sproul Path, Berkeley, CA 94704 USA
3:00 PM, Sunday, March 11, 2007

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2007 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2007 event list! ☸ On to the next event!

{set begins around 3:05 or so}

1. Conlon Nancarrow (1912–1997): Study for Player Piano No. 6 (arr. Yvar Mikhashoff)
2. Nancarrow: Study for Player Piano No. 2A (arr. Gavin Chuck)
3. Nancarrow: String Quartet No. 1 (1945)
4. Nancarrow: Sonatina for Piano (1941)
5. Nancarrow: Piece No. 1 for Small Orchestra (1943)
   {set ends around 3:45 or so}

{set begins around 4:05 or so}

1. Nancarrow: Three Movements for Chamber Orchestra (1993) (transcribed from the piano rolls by Carlos Sandoval)
2. Nancarrow: Septet (1940)
3. Johannes Ciconia (1370–1412): Le Ray Au Soleyl (arr. Gavin Chuck)
4. Nancarrow: Study for Player Piano No. 3A, Boogie-Woogie Suite (arr. Derek Bermel)
   {show ends around 4:40 PM}

• Miles Brown: bass, percussion;
• Caleb Burhans: violin, electric guitar, percussion, vocals;
• Michael Clayville: trombone;
• Dennis DeSantis: percussion;
• Stefan Freund: cello;
• Michael Harley: bassoon, percussion, piano;
• Jessica Johnson: flute;
• Bill Kalinkos: clarinet, saxophone, keyboards;
• Jacqueline Leclair: oboe, English horn;
• Payton MacDonald: percussion;
• Matthew Marks: horn ;
• John Orfe: keyboards;
• Courtney Orlando: violin, vocals;
• Jason Price: trumpet;
• John Pickford Richards: viola;
• Kate Sheeran: horn;
• Elisabeth Stimpert: clarinet, bass clarinet, saxophone.
  
  
• Gavin Chuck: managing director;
• Nigel Maister: staging director;
• Alan Pierson: conductor, artistic director;
• Dave Polato: production manager;
• Kate Sheeran: personnel manager.

I got turned on to Conlon Nancarrow by KPFA and Charles Amirkhanian's broadcasts of Nancarrow's amazing piano pieces at some point in the mid 1990's. Seeing as much of Nancarrow's work was created for player piano, I had very little expectation of ever seeing a performance of his music.

When this showed up on the Cal Performances calendar, I was might interested … but try as I might, I couldn't convince anyone else to join me. I guess Nancarrow's music is way out towards the edge of tradition, and most folks don't find it as appealing as I do.

My vague recollection is that CalPerfs offered a pre-performance talk earlier in the afternoon, which took place at the Faculty Club across the way from Hertz Hall. If I can turn up my collection of 2007 ephemera, I suppose I might have lecture notes or other evidence to share from that related event at some point in the future.

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2007 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2007 event list! ☸ On to the next event!