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| Nicolas Horvath, Pianist with the score to “Delinquent Spirit of a Drowned City” |
Early this year, I was honored to be part of this amazing event which saw my composition, "Delinquent Spirit of a Drowned City", first performed in Paris by Nicolas Horvath, have it's US Debut at Carnegie Hall on January 9, 2015.
The program was unique : the world premiere by a single pianist of all the 20 Philip Glass Etudes, alongside with world premieres from composers such as Alvin Curran, Jaan Rääts, Régis Campo, Tom Sora, Michael Black, Eve Beglarian, and Lawrence Ball.
Nicolas is a brilliant pianist with a vision for programming that is rarely found. His innovative performance on New Years Eve (December 31, 2014) in Kiev lasted for 22 hours and included all of the Glass Homages.
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| “Delinquent Spirit of a Drowned City” for Solo Piano |
“Delinquent Spirit of a
Drowned City” for Solo Piano
U.S. Premiere by Nicolas
Horvath
January 9, 2015
Carnegie Hall
New York, NY
Produced by New York Artists Management
Jasna Popovic
Bil Smith Composer
Co-Conspirators: Jhenna Marche, Siyang Gong
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| Carnegie Hall Concert Announcement |
From The New Yorker...
"In December of 2012, a prodigious Monacan pianist named
Nicolas Horvath gave a performance in Tokyo that lasted thirty-five hours. It
was his eighth solo presentation of “Vexations.” “No food or drink for three
days before the Vexations,” he explained to his fans in the comments section of
his YouTube channel, where he posts six- and nine-hour
segments of his marathon performances. Responding to a newcomer, he
said, “28 hours is pretty nice indeed but alone it is very hard. Pain starts
past 6 hours; Madness starts past 12 hours; Hell starts past 20 hours!”
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The score: Four (4)
independent pages, 27.5” X 17.5” on boards; three (3) transparencies, 17.5” X
3.35”, Performance Notes book, portfolio enclosure and oil on canvas 46” X 31”
(integument).
This work is inspired by
Philip Glass’ “The Light.” Glass composed this work in 1987 to
celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Michelson-Morley experiment, whose data,
failed to demonstrate their hypothesis, but led to discoveries about special relativity
and the speed of light; and ultimately, the impact on light and color.
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| Enclosure for Score |
The
compositional structure is based on W.V.O. Quine’s theories of holophrastic
indeterminacy, or “…indeterminacy of musical performance translation.” This is one of two kinds of indeterminacy of
performance interpretation to appear in his writings.
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| Colophon and Performance Notes |
According to Quine, “There is more than one
correct method of interpreting (translating) notations where the two
interpreters differ not merely in the meanings attributed to the sub-sentential
parts of sounds but also in the net import of the whole composition.”
It is holophrastic indeterminacy that underlies
Quine’s argument against synonymy, the basis of his objections to Rudolf
Carnap’s analytic/synthetic distinction.
The
pianist is empowered, yet restricted by the presence of textual references and
neologisms, inferred tablature (transparencies) and direct tablature (found on
the far right side of the four (4) large pages of the score).
The
focus on combinatorial tablatures and tactical notational systems represent my interest in the efforts my musical allegory
makes to affect change while grappling with the notion of radical—whether as a
self-identification or a prescribed moniker, or both—and the mutations of disruption,
authority, activism, and ethos that take place. I am curious about the actuality of innate
constructions determining one’s aesthetic and sociopsychic passion and sense of
agency.
“Delinquent Spirit” is a platform for investigating
intentionality and the rapport I have to documentary or archival forms—a
fragile and volatile place for both the object and subject. Authenticating experiences through new musical
representations quickly impresses a contemporary psychological form of
recognition. Within these mediated forms of cognition, music establishes a
further expanded dimensional presence. Ultimately, it is challenging to
understand this work as a completed form or even as a record—it is something
that is permeable and flexible.
Biography: Bil Smith, Composer
Bil Smith is a composer, instrumentalist and
neologist. His work has been programmed
by leading contemporary music ensembles and his scores have been published and
exhibited in art galleries throughout the world.
Bil’s
compositions have been performed by specialist ensembles and soloists including
members of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Moderne, The Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, St. Petersberg
Philharmonic Orchestra, Kyushu Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic
Orchestra. Schoenberg Ensemble Amsterdam, Ensemble Gelade, Qingdao Symphony
Orchestra, Dresden Philharmonic, and Oslo Sinfonietta.
Early in his career as a jazz
trumpeter, he performed with the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, Anthony
Braxton, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Gary Burton, Steve Lacy, Lester Bowie, Kevin
Eubanks, Quincy Jones, Max Roach and Michael Gibbs.
As a Neologist, Smith founded
Addison Whitney, a consultancy dedicated to creating brand identities for
global companies and organizations.
Deeply rooted in the etymology and linguistic foundations of words,
Smith created a dynamic new system of word generation, which led to the
creation of the brands Viagra (Pfizer), Outlook (Microsoft), Escalade
(Cadillac), Xbox (Microsoft), Lexapro (Forest Labs), Element (Honda), Advair
(GSK) and Access (Microsoft). He has
been responsible for the creation of more than 1100 brand names globally since
1991.
He identifies himself as an
inter-disciplinarian composer, incorporating combinatorial techniques including
neologisms, prose, painting, sculpture, drawing and combustion, as well as
traditional elements of music composition to his work.
Nicolas Horvath, Piano. Carnegie Hall. January 9, 2015
Complete program :
Philip GLASS : Etudes 1 to 10
Jeroen van VEEN (hol) : Hommage for Philip Glass (USA premiere) Frédérick MARTIN (fr) : Glass in Mirror (USA premiere) Konstastin YASKOV (by) : Moonlight Sonata for Philip Glass (WP)Stéphane DELPLACE (fr) :Hommage à Glass (USA premiere) William SUSMAN (usa) : 1937 (USA premiere) Andre Vindu BANGAMBULA (cd) : Homage to P. Glass (WP)Eve BEGLARIAN (usa) : Enough Holes (WP)Tom SORA (de) : Glassplitter (WP)Tom CHIU (tw): laborets version 2.0 (USA premiere) Sergio CERVETTI (uy) : Intergalactic Tango (WP)Régis CAMPO (fr) : Smiley !(WP)Jaan RÄÄTS (ee) : (WP)
Intermission
Bil SMITH (usa): Delinquent Spirit of a Drowned City (USA premiere) Paul WEHAGE (usa) : Early Morning:New York Skyline (USA premiere) Michael Vincent WALLER (usa) : Pasticcio per meno è più (WP)Alp DURMAZ (tr) : Bustling (WP)Gilad HOCHMAN (il) : Broken Glass (USA premiere) Ehsan SABOOHI (ira) : Where is the friend’s house? (USA premiere) Lawrence BALL (uk) : Glass Ball Game (WP)Paul A. EPSTEIN (usa) : Changes 6.1 (WP) Alvin CURRAN (usa) : The Glass Octave (WP)Michael BLAKE (za) : Shard (WP)Victoria Vita POLEVA (ukr) : NULL (USA premiere) Mamoru FUJIEDA (jp) : Gamelan Cherry (USA premiere)
Philip GLASS : Etudes 11 to 20
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