Time: 8:00pm
Location: MacPhail Center for Music, 501 2nd Street South
Program titled “Contemplations” features music by Olivier Messiaen and Frederic Rzewski
Twin Cities-based pianist Matthew McCright will perform a program titled “Contemplations” on Friday, November 14, at 8 p.m. The performance will take place at Antonello Hall at MacPhail Center for Music, located at 501 South 2nd Street in Minneapolis. Tickets for the performance are $20 general admission/ $10 students/ $5 for MacPhail students and will be available at the door.
The program features music by Olivier Messiaen and Frederic Rzewski (pronounced zheff-skee), both considered titans of the 20th century and known for their large scale piano works and distinct musical styles. Messiaen’s “Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus” (20 Contemplations of the Infant Jesus) evokes the composer’s own contemplations of the vastness of creation as represented in the birth of infant Jesus. McCright will perform a large selection of these vignettes that encompass various piano innovations such as rapid cascades of chords, extreme dynamics, color-based harmony and melody that Messiaen included in this monumental work. The second half of the program will feature the epic “North American Ballads” by Rzewski. Based on the protest music of the 20th century labor movement, the four ballads offer a powerful glimpse into the collective social consciousness of American history. Utilizing improvisation, jazz, minimalism and a collage of virtuosic piano effects —complete with a pianistic-cotton mill, which requires the pianist to use his entire body to execute—the piece is a feast for the ears and the eyes. “North American Ballads” is considered a seminal work in the lexicon of contemporary music.
“The pieces on this program are not simple piano pieces in a bland style such as a sonata or prelude, but rather explore ideas that are transcendent and require an element of physicality and virtuosity by the performer,” said McCright. “Both of these pieces are mammoth works and among the pinnacles of piano repertoire—very palatable and pleasing to the audience.”
McCright will also lead a master class and workshop with MacPhail students on Sunday, November 16, at 2 p.m. This event takes place in Room 126 at MacPhail. Tickets are available for $5 for the general public and are free to MacPhail students.
About Matthew McCright
American pianist Matthew McCright has performed extensively throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the South Pacific as piano soloist and chamber musician. He has thrilled audiences and critics alike with imaginative programming that places the greatest piano repertoire alongside the music of today’s most innovative risk-takers. McCright currently resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota, teaches privately in the Twin Cities, and is a member of the piano faculty of Carleton College. He maintains an active performing schedule as one of the most sought after pianists of his generation in contemporary music. He has premiered numerous new pieces, many written for him, and has collaborated with such composers as Pauline Oliveros, Terry Riley, Augusta Read Thomas, Paul Dresher, Michael Gordon, Mary Ellen Childs, Julia Wolfe, Mark Anthony Turnage, Alvin Lucier, and Judith Lang Zaimont among many others.
An accomplished recording artist, McCright has released 4 solo recordings: 3 albums on innova Records (Second Childhood, A Waltz through Vapor, and Blender) and a 2011 release of the piano works of Gene Gutchë on Centaur Records. An upcoming release on Albany Records of the piano music of Olivier Messiaen is planned for 2015.
McCright’s festival participation includes Bang on a Can at MassMOCA, Printing House Festival of New Music (Dublin), Late Music Festival (UK), SEAMUS, Hampden-Sydney Chamber Music Festival, Kodály Institute, Perilous Night, Fringe, Bridge, Spark Festival of Electronic Music, Festival of Lakes, Seward Arts, Duquesne University’s Summer Music Institute, Music 2000, CCM Village Opening, and Minnesota Composers Alliance, as well as programs for the American Composers Forum across the country. He has been featured in articles in the NewMusicBox, Tutti, and Voice magazines and in radio broadcasts across the globe. He has performed in collaboration with a variety of ensembles including Ensemble 61, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, dal niente, Wild and Wulliman, La Bonne Chanson, Gypsy Hocket, Renegade Ensemble, Zeitgeist, Taipei Trio, Balkanicus, New Sound, New Century Piano Duo, Dixie Five, Composer’s Ensemble, Westminster Triptych, WC Jazz Ensemble, and with countless other chamber music groups. Since 2009, he regularly performs internationally with flutist Linda Chatterton.
McCright completed his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Piano Performance from the University of Minnesota, Master of Music Degree in Piano from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati and earned his Bachelor of Music Degree in Piano Performance, Magna Cum Laude, from Westminster College. His past teachers include Lydia Artymiw, Lisa Moore, Nancy Zipay DeSalvo and Richard Morris. For more information please visit: www.matthewmccright.org. Press photos are available for download at the websit
About MacPhail Center for Music
MacPhail Center for Music is one of the nation’s oldest and largest community-based non-profit organizations committed to transforming lives and communities through exceptional music learning. MacPhail has a 107-year history of excellence, promoting life-long learning and building long-term relationships between students and teachers. Each year, MacPhail serves more than 12,000 students of all ages and abilities at locations in Minneapolis, White Bear Lake, Chanhassen, Apple Valley and Live Online as well as 80 community partnerships throughout Minnesota. MacPhail provides access to music learning by breaking down geographic, socio-economic and perception barriers that prevent people from experiencing the joy of music making and learning. www.macphail.org
Matthew McCright is a fiscal year 2014 recipient of an Artist Initiative grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Minnesota State Legislature; and by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
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