This coming Friday ICE will be performing two different programs in two different cities at the same time.  Below you can read about the show in Chicago, check yesterday's DigitICE post for info about the show in Brooklyn.

 

One of the big differences between seeing ICE and a full orchestra is that ICE is a small enough ensemble where you can hear what each player is doing to help realize of a piece. If you listen closely, you can do one better: you can start to pick out each player’s individual voice, how they’re performing some very challenging music in a way no one else would. Proficiency is a given – what’s most interesting is trying to figure out how each performer lends his or her nuances to the music on the stand. 

 

That’s part of what’s so exciting about Claire Chase’s upcoming concert at the Art Institute of Chicago. With Claire’s track record – in 2010 the NY Times described her playing as having a “buoyant spontaneity,” and I’m sure they’re not the only ones --  it’s a given that any of her solo concerts would be a golden opportunity to see a visionary at work up close. The other exciting aspect of this concert is the program itself. From Takemitsu’s elegiac “Toward the Sea,” to Xenakis’ menacing “Dmaathen” (with guest percussionist Svet Stoyanov, who will step into the spotlight for Steve Reich’s “Electric Counterpoint”), Claire has handpicked a program that shows versatility as well as virtuosity. She also has the honor of unveiling a new piece, Marcos Balter’s “Descent From Parnassus,” which I’m expecting to be among the many highlights of the evening.

 

There’s not a ticket like this one in Chicago, at least not this Friday night. I hope you’ll join me there.