Æolus Quartet Performs Keeril Makan's "Washed by Fire"

by Ted Gordon on Feb. 21, 2017, 10:54 a.m.

Keeril Makan's Washed by Fire (for string quartet) explores the performance of identity—personal, sonic, and compositional. Makan began this piece by collaborating with choreographer Benjamin Levy, and strove to "[create] a piece that resonated with me on a fundamental level, one in which my emotions are not filtered by abstraction, where the focus is on a visceral connection with time." As such, Washed by Fire stands out in Makan's repertoire; Makan writes, "by embracing musical references that my mind often avoids, I was able to reconnect with rhythm, melody, and mode in a way that is markedly different from my other recent music."

The Æolus Quartet will bring Washed by Fire to Corpus Christi, TX, in a series of two concerts: one on February 24th at the House of Rock, and another on February 25th at Wolfe Recital Hall. Check out Washed by Fire performed by members of the Either/Or Ensemble below. 

Keeril Makan's "Persona" Premieres at National Sawdust

by Ted Gordon on Oct. 15, 2015, 12:57 p.m.

Keeril Makan's ambitious opera project, Persona—based on the Ingmar Bergman film of the same name—will see its world premiere at National Sawdust, New York's newest venue for new music. Produced by Beth Morrison Projects, Persona is directed by Jay Scheib, and features musical direction by Evan Ziporyn conducting members of the Either/Or ensemble. 

Cited by Broadway World as "a provocative, highly cerebral, and artistically complex depiction of human frailty, cruelty and identity", Persona is described by Makan and Scheib as "at its core, a duet — but for one. A kind of monodrama with the briefest of interruptions, performed by a sole soprano who sings the role of Alma. Alma is a young nurse who has been assigned to care for actress, Elisabet Vogler, who in the middle of a performance, suddenly ceased to speak and remained sunken utterly in an apparently self-imposed silence.”

This world-premiere production will run for two nights, on October 23rd and 24th, 2015. Makan will also present a workshop performance of Persona on October 17th at MIT, where he is an Associate Professor of Music. After the October 23rd performance, National Sawdust will also present a concert of Makan's works performed by the AEOLUS Qartet, featuring The Noise Between Thoughts, Washed by Fire, and Return—all available from PSNY.  

Keeril Makan's Composer Portrait at Miller Theatre

by Ted Gordon on Dec. 1, 2014, 8 a.m.

Columbia University's Miller Theatre has been a singular venue in New York for their Composer Portrait series, which explores the works of single composers in depth. Recent Composer Portraits have featured the works of Chaya Czernowin and Bernard Rands, both performed by the International Contemporary Ensemble. On Friday, December 5th, the Either/Or Ensemble, led by Richard Carrick, will perform an evening of works by Keeril Makan, including the World Premeire of If We Knew The Sky, composed in 2014, and the New York Premeire of Letting Time Circle Through Us, commissioned and premiered in 2013 by Either/Or. 

Either/Or and Makan have enjoyed numerous collaborations, with the ensemble's sensitive, virtuosic playing nurturing Makan's compositional focus on stillness, flow, timbre, and reverberation. Makan has written eloquently in the New York Times about his compositional process, and we have featured his work here on the PSNY Blog. Check out a performance of Makan's The Noise Between Thoughts by Either/Or: 

Don't miss The New Yorker's portrait article on Makan, writen by Russell Platt, in anticipation of his Miller Theatre concert on Friday.