ADORNO BLOG

2007-07-02T11:36:00.000-07:00

ADORNO Ensemble with

Soprano Lucy Shelton in April

It was a delight for us to work with Lucy Shelton this past April, in which we performed at Santa Clara University, Stanford, and our favorite venue, Varnish Fine Art and Wine Bar. You can hear the Varnish concert on our Gallery Sessions Radio Show. We also spent the week with children shows in which we performed the Ugly Duckling to children in Pacifica and Palo Alto. All of us were extremely impressed and inspired by Lucy's musicianship, integrity, and her warm, embracing personality. In May of 2008, we will premiere a work written for Lucy and ADORNO by composer Gabriela Lena Frank. The work will be song settings of Pablo Neruda to be performed at the San Francisco de Young Museum. We'll also rejoin Dr. John Felstiner (from our Gallery Sessions Radio Show), who is Stanford professor of English and award-winning translator and writer of Pablo Neruda. If you enjoyed our April Radio Show, you'll especially love our up-coming project at de Young which will tie in the museum's ongoing Latin American art exhibit. We look forward to more inspiring performances with Lucy!

If you have ideas or thoughts on our Radio Show, let us know.

Post a comment below.

2007-07-02T10:45:00.000-07:00

Lucy and Bill rehearse the Ugly Duckling by Jon Deak Part I

Lucy and Keisuke rehearse Oliver Knussen's Whitman Settings

Mike and Lucy rehearse Morton Feldman's

"4 Songs to e.e. cummings"

2007-04-03T18:27:00.000-07:00

ADORNO at the Quad Cities

in Iowa and Illinois

March 19-24, 2007

ADORNO spent one week in the Quad Cities in Iowa/Illinois through a wonderful program held by Quad City Arts. We visited several places that included grade schools, communities, and colleges. Many of the kids were already making visits to the local orchestra, as they demonstrated their knowledge of composers and performance practice. We performed Ned Rorem's String Quartet No. 4 which is based on ten works of painter Pablo Picasso. The music was presented with a slide show of the works with an integrated discussion on how the music related to each painting or drawing. Students had some very creative and individual responses to the music. We were all very impressed with each school. With as many as 500 children in each performance, they all seemed very well-adapted for concert going. We hope that they will attend more concerts in the future! We finished our tour of the Quad Cities with a final concert at the Capitol Theater, where we performed an all-American contemporary program with works by Derek Bermel, Andrew Imbrie, Ned Rorem, and Ernest Bloch.

At Moline Highscool in Illinois

Taking a break in between shows at Largomarchino's,

an old confectionary store in downtown Moline.

Some of the best chocolate easter eggs

and milk shakes we've ever had.

Arriving at the First United Methodist Church for a noontime concert.

ADORNO performing at Black Hawk College

2007-04-03T17:49:00.000-07:00

Quad City Arts housed us in The Lodge in Bettendorf. Generously donated by the hotel in support of visiting artists, The Lodge is a medieval faux German castle lodge complete with paintings and other early European-like ornaments AND a moat! We have all witnessed the eyes from the various portraits following us around the hotel.

In the Lodge lobby

Not venturing too far from our Lodge, because we had early morning shows everyday during the week, we discovered an Old Chicago restaurant across the street. Also discovered their addictive trivia TV game. ADORNO played against heavy hitters such as Toyota, Porn, and our biggest nemesis, ZOG! We have NO idea who these people are, but we were able to win a few games (when no one else was there...)

At Old Chicago

Where do people in Quad Cities eat? Probably at home mostly... but we found a wonderful Lebanese restaurant in Davenport called the Phoenician Cafe. We HIGHLY recommend this place. A small family run restaurant that makes incredible lamb and beef, hummus, and the freshest pita bread (flat bread?) ever. Apparently not enough people know about this place!

If you ever find yourself in the Quad Cities,

be sure to check them out.

The Phoenician Cafe

The Lodge is used for various purposes,

including conventions and other gatherings.

I think that the National Clockmakers convention visited?

However, we drove back in one night to see this:

(we have no idea what this means)

Towards the end of our week, we performed for an insurance company, The Modern Woodmen of America. A wonderful audience to play for, we were happy to perform a live concert to these very thoughtful and fine people. MWA has been a large supporter for the arts, and we really appreciate it!

Playing for the Modern Woodmen of America

2007-04-03T17:24:00.000-07:00

ADORNO members setting up for the final concert at

the Capitol Theater in Davenport, IA.

The Capitol Theater in Davenport is a historical movie house. From what we understand, all the fixtures are all original from the 1920's. It is a beautiful theater in terrible need of repair. You can still see the old glamour of the traditional movie house with its pipe organ and piano, and incredible facades. The day before our concert, it was raining and the theater's roof began to leak. Water stains were on the stage, and plaster fell from the ceiling before and during the concert. If there is a theater that should be saved, it really should be the Capitol.

Keisuke's dream piano...

2007-02-27T11:17:00.000-08:00

ADORNO with composer

Derek Bermel Feb. 10-16

ADORNO spent a week with composer Derek Bermel in concerts and workshops at the Jazzschool, Varnish Fine Art, Gallery One San Francisco, and Santa Clara University. We had a great time with the kids at the Jazzschool, in which the students got to hear ADORNO up close in performance of works by Derek. Varnish Fine Art drew in a fun crowd with our guest host, Sarah Cahill, and despite the muzak pumping around the Embarcadero, ADORNO's event at Gallery One SF had audiences and passersby peeking in through the gallery windows perhaps wondering if we were the new installation piece. Our Santa Clara concert was especially a treat as we were able to include a fine work by composer and new SCU faculty Joel Friedman called Elastic Band. ADORNO will be continuously working with Joel in finishing his terrific piece for clarinet, string quartet, and percussion. More on Joel, soon to come!

If you've been to our events,

or if you enjoyed listening to our podcast,

post a comment below!

ADORNO at the Jazzschool

ADORNO at Gallery One SF at the Embarcadero

2006-12-14T09:42:00.000-08:00

Boxes, Planes, and Spinoffs
Recorded live on October 18, 2006 at Varnish Fine Art Gallery in San Francisco, the program brings director Cynthia Mei in conversation with composer Dan Becker and Stephen Tramontozzi. Dan talks about his work, Point, Lines, and Planes, an early string quartet in which the last movement requires the performers to improvise off of a graph (see below) and Steve speaks about his experiences in writing Choir Boxes, a work originally written for double basses and cellos.

Concert Program:
Charles Wuorinen Spinoff for violin, double bass, and conga drums
Dan Becker Points, Lines, and Planes for string quartet
Stephen Tramontozzi Choir Boxes
for 2 violins, viola, cello, double bass, clarinet, piano, percussion

Dan Becker's String Quartet fourth movement

2006-12-13T18:48:00.000-08:00

ADORNO performing Spinoff

Dan Speaks with ADORNO director Cynthia Mei

ADORNO performing Points, Lines, and Planes

2006-12-12T20:54:00.000-08:00

Dan Becker explains the fourth movement.

Dan and Steve

ADORNO performs Choir Boxes

2006-05-08T20:45:00.000-07:00

The Avant-garde and Beyond
Gallery Sessions May 6

ADORNO's first Gallery Sessions podcast with radio host Todd Spencer and special guest composer Gabriela Lena Frank features “The Avant-garde and Beyond”. The concert begins with the estranged, avant-garde music of Arnold Schoenberg and visits the many ways composers have departed from this highly influential movement in music history. With a live performance that also includes works by Isang Yun, Derek Bermel, and Ms. Frank, ADORNO presents an engaging and animated evening of contemporary music. See below for the slides discussed and photos taken from the show. This Gallery Sessions was recorded May 6, 2006 7pm at Varnish Fine Art in San Francisco.Share your thoughts on multiculturalism and art or discuss the future of new music! The members of ADORNO, host Todd Spencer, and composer Gabriela Lena Frank will respond to your messages.

Part 1 (47:15) Arnold Schoenberg and Isang Yun - Gabriela discusses her thoughts on Schoenberg.
Part 2 (51:03) Gabriela Frank and Derek Bermel - Gabriela demonstrates her piece, Leyendas: an Andean Walkabout.

Gabriela Frank and Todd Spencer in conversation
Director Cynthia Mei SpeakingADORNO performing Leyendas

2006-05-07T19:34:00.000-07:00

Schoenberg NY Times 1913 and

Kandinsky Impressions from 1911

Schoenberg NYTimes review 1913Kandinsky's Sketch 1 from Schoenberg's concert
Kandinsky's Sketch 2
Kandinsky's Final "Impressions III" 1911