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Brooklyn Festival
Something’s brewing in Brooklyn and, like fin de siècle Vienna or the Downtown Manhattan scene of the 1970s, it’s changing the face of music by blurring the lines between classical and popular, between rock and experimental, and between the concert hall and the nightclub. It’s a neighborhood that’s crackling with enough creative energy to demand attention and, with world premieres of new works by composers like Tyondai Braxton and Ted Hearne and collaborative performances by Cameron Carpenter, Sufjan Stevens, Bryce Dessner & Nico Muhly, The Antlers and more, the LA Phil’s Brooklyn Festival offers a view across the East River into what’s become New York’s most dynamic borough.
Tue APR 16 8pm
Green Umbrella
Brooklyn’s experimental scene has produced some genre-bending mixtures of popular songs and ensemble works. Recent examples by a variety of Brooklyn-based composers will be conducted by the Brooklyn Philharmonic’s celebrated new artistic director, Alan Pierson.
Artists:
- LA Phil New Music Group
- Alan Pierson, conductor
- Tyondai Braxton, guitar
Program:
- SAMUEL ADAMS: Tension Studies
- MARKS: Strip Mall (world premiere, LA Phil co-commission) [This piece uses adult language.]
- BRAXTON: Central Market (West Coast premiere)
Thu & Sat APR 18 & 20 8pm
Sun APR 21 2pm
Cameron Carpenter Plays Copland
Our Brooklyn Festival goes old-school with Copland’s Organ Symphony, which he wrote for his teacher Nadia Boulanger to play with the Boston Symphony under Koussevitzky. “You hear rhythms that would not have been there if I had not been born and raised in Brooklyn,” the composer wrote about its proto-jazzy Scherzo.
Artists:
- Los Angeles Philharmonic
- Joshua Weilerstein, conductor
- Cameron Carpenter, organ
Program:
- CERRONE: Invisible Overture
- HEARNE: Stem (world premiere, LA Phil and Brooklyn Philharmonic co-commission)
- LASH: Hush
- COPLAND: Organ Symphony
Fri APR 19 8pm
The Antlers • Chairlift
From the lo-fi bedroom recordings of singer/guitarist Peter Silberman to the electronic-minded aquatic soundscapes of their 2012 EP Undersea, The Antlers create music that keeps moving forward, expansive and entrancing. Chairlift’s kaleidoscopic pop layers tones from manic to brooding, from pastoral to anthemic.
Media sponsor: 89.9 KCRW
Sun APR 21 7:30pm
Organ Recital: Cameron Carpenter
This virtuoso composer-performer, unique among keyboardists, has generated a level of acclaim, exposure, and controversy unprecedented for an organist. He will announce his program from the stage, including some collaborative works with Brooklyn-based composers.
Mon APR 22 8pm
Planetarium
Sufjan Stevens • Bryce Dessner • Nico Muhly
With the West Coast premiere of Planetarium, The National’s Bryce Dessner, singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens, and composer Nico Muhly come together to consider the cosmos. For the first half, a string quartet performs each artist’s classically informed compositions. In the second half, Stevens’ voice anchors a planet-by-planet song cycle that melds the collaborators’ distinct creative contributions into a harmonic whole. The cycle unfolds against the backdrop of a giant orb that morphs to reflect the characteristics of the sphere being celebrated.
Media sponsor: 89.9 KCRW
Other Brooklyn Festival concerts:
- wild Up: Wed APR 17 8pm at REDCAT
- Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra: Concertos-Handel & Mozart: Sat APR 20 8pm at Alex Theatre
- Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra: Concertos-Handel & Mozart: Sun APR 21 8pm at Royce Hall
