At a moment when America's performing arts institution are challenged not merely to continue to function, but to function in new ways, PCE will undertake a series of audio/video webcasts - "PostClassical: More than Music" -- exploring the role of music in society.
"Groundbreaking" – Douglas McLennan (founder/editor of ArtsJournal)
PCE’s latest More than Music film is a singular consideration of Aaron Copland’s odyssey as the most famous American composer of his generation – in particular, his immersion in the political left in the 1930s, and his “Red scare” ordeal of the 1950s.
PCE’s latest More than Music film is a singular consideration of Aaron Copland’s odyssey as the most famous American composer of his generation – in particular, his immersion in the political left in the 1930s, and his “Red scare” ordeal of the 1950s.
"Wildly Ambitious"
Anne Midgette
"Invigorating"
Alex Ross
"One of the country's most innovative musical groups"
Phillip Kennicott
A virtual performance available through March 5
Cost: Free
Lou Harrison – the master American composer PCE has championed since 2011 – espoused “world music” before there was a name for it. His profound knowledge of non-Western idioms -- in particular, of Indonesian gamelan – made him the master musical practitioner of cultural fusion. His violin concerto may be considered the most memorable ever composed by an American. The solo part is both fabulously virtuosic and fervently expressive. The “orchestra” includes wash tubs, coffee cans, flower pots, and other “junk percussion” Harrison discovered rummaging with his San Francisco colleague John Cage.
In this latest episode of Up Close With, Music Director Angel Gil-Ordóñez chats with visual artist Kevork Mourad.
NPR aired a 45-minute documentary based on our “More than Music” film Dvorak’s New World Symphony: A Lens on the American Experience of Race via WAMU’s “1A” daily show on December 25, 2020.
PCE's latest Recording features the work of Bernard Herrmann. Hermann was famous for his film scores, but he was also a leading figure in music for radio, to which he brought his inimitable palette of mood and sonority. Featuring Whitman, Psycho: A Narrative for String Orchestra , and Souvenirs de voyage.
