Abstract Expressions at the Clark Institute
September 23, 2017 @ 1:00pm
Clark Art Institute
225 South Street
Williamstown, MA 01267
Reservations required for Parts I & IV
In celebration of No Rules: Helen Frankenthaler Woodcuts and As in Nature: Helen Frankenthaler Paintings, the Clark presents “Abstract Expressions,” focusing on the aural history of the abstract expressionism period. The program features the music of American composers performed in various locations on the Clark’s campus. Parts I and IV are ticketed events; parts II and III are free.
Part I, 1–2 pm: International Contemporary Ensemble Chamber Concert
Soprano Tony Arnold, members of ICE, and conductor David Fulmer perform Arnold Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire and Pauline Oliveros’s Earth Ears (fresh from performing this piece at the Lincoln Center Mostly Mozart Festival). “...Every ‘icicle,’ as its members are affectionately called, possesses the requisite killer instinct to tackle virtuosic new music.” (New York Times)
Tickets: $20 ($18 members)
Michael Conforti Pavilion
Part II, 2–4 pm: Piano Concert
Pianist Conor Hanick performs Morton Feldman’s Triadic Memories and a composition by David Fulmer, inspired by Helen Frankenthaler’s Tethys.
Free
Museum Pavilion
Part III, 2:30–3:15 pm: Abstract for Winds
Outdoor chamber music performance featuring works by Ruth Crawford Seeger, Elliott Carter, and Edgard Varèse.
Free
Spencer Terrace, Lunder Center at Stone Hill
Part IV, 5–6 pm: Chamber Music Concert
Members of the Ensemble Connect perform works by John Cage, Elliott Carter, Mario Davidovsky, and Charles Wuorinen.
Tickets: $20 ($18 members)
Michael Conforti Pavilion
Abstract expressionism was the first specifically American artistic movement to achieve international influence, and to establish New York City as the center of the western art world—a position formerly occupied by Paris. But even before the consolidation of this movement in New York City, threads of stylistic development were being cultivated in Germany shortly after the turn of the twentieth century.
Post-war music was no less creative than its contemporary in visual arts. Abstract Expressions presents an opportunity to hear music from a particularly fertile epicenter of the American musical scene: some of America’s most original, challenging, and serious music. The performances offer works rarely heard by composers who remain as influential and important figures in the history of American music.
Tony Arnold, voice
Nathan Davis, percussion
Emi Ferguson, flute
Jacob Greenberg, piano
Campbell MacDonald, clarinet
Josh Modney, violin and viola
Michael Nicolas, cello
David Fulmer, conductor
Image credit: Madame Butterfly, 2000. 102-color woodcut from forty-six woodblocks on three sheets of handmade paper, 41 3/4 x 79 1/2 in. Helen Frankenthaler Foundation © 2017 Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, Inc. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / Tyler Graphics