In a unique two-part program, we focus on the boundless energy and output of composer-pianist Vijay Iyer (pronounced “VID-jay EYE-yer”). Recently awarded a 2013 MacArthur fellowship, a 2012 Doris Duke Performing Artist Award and an unprecedented “quintuple crown” in the 2012 Down Beat International Critics Poll, Vijay is a musician of “rigorous concept and glowing critical acclaim” (New York Times).

RADHE RADHE: Rites of Holi

Music by Vijay Iyer
Film by Prashant Bhargava 

With the International Contemporary Ensemble conducted by Steven Schick

Cory Smythe-Piano

Alice Teyssier - Flute

Joshua Rubin - Clarinet, Bass Clarinet

Rebekah Heller - Bassoon, Contrabassoon

Brandon Ridenour - Trumpet

Jennifer Curtis - Violin

Kyle Armbrust - Viola

Kivie Cahn-Lipman - Cello

Brian Ellingson - Bass

Ross Karre - Percussion

Inspired by the Holi festival, which is the Hindu “rite of spring” celebration, RADHE RADHE: Rites of Holi was one of the most brilliant and exciting commemorations of last year’s 100th anniversary of Igor Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. In collaboration with celebrated filmmaker Prashant Bhargava, Iyer has built an original piece upon the fundamental structure referenced by the famed Russian composer—but in an entirely new cultural framework. Performed by the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) and accompanied by lush video from Bhargava— including footage of the Holi festival in Mathura, a town in Uttar Pradesh, India— RADHE RADHE transports Stravinsky’s semi-mythological tale of mysterious primordial Russian rituals into an actual religious festival that takes place each spring.

Mutations I–X

For string quartet, piano and electronics

Vijay Iyer – piano, electronics

Miranda Cuckson – violin

MIchi Wiancko – violin

Kylr Armbrust – viola

Kivie Cahn-Lipman - cello

Mutations is Vijay Iyer’s first album as a leader for ECM, and a recording that will widen perceptions of the pianist-composer’s work. At its center is Mutations I-X, a composition scored for string quartet, piano, and electronics. A major piece built out of cells and fragments, it veers through many atmospheres. From moment-to-moment it is propulsive, enveloping, lyrical, luminescent, and strangely beautiful. Featuring a 10-part suite, it’s Iyer’s first release under a classical rubric, but using both standard notation and process-driven improvisation.