Hannah Lash & Ted Hearne at the Guggenheim

by Ted Gordon on Feb. 19, 2015, 10:43 a.m.

The Guggenheim Musem's Works and Process series, which pairs artists working across media and presents collaborations in the making, will present the culminating performance of Broken Story (wherein there is no ecstasy), a collaborative work between composers Hannah Lash, Ted Hearne, Caroline Shaw, and David Lang, and choreographer Pam Tanowitz. Performed by four dancers and the FLUX Quartet, this collaborative work consists of four new works for string quartet, specifically composed and molded to the space of the Guggenheim's Peter B. Lewis Theater. 

Hannah Lash's contribution to this work is also available as a standalone string quartet, entitled Pulse-Space. Hearne's quartet will be available from PSNY; in the meantime, be sure to check out his ambitious opera project The Source, which, after its celebrated premiere at BAM, is now entering the recording studio. 

Party with Ensemble Dal Niente

by Ted Gordon on Nov. 18, 2014, 1:21 p.m.

On a blustery Chicago night, over a hundred people packed into the Jackson Junge Gallery in Wicker Park to attend a party—typical for an art opening on a Saturday night. But in addition to the art, food, beer, and craft cocktails, these partiers got to experience something extra: Ensemble Dal Niente, one of Chicago and the US' leading New Music ensembles, performing over 15 works, many of which were composed in the past decade.

The ensemble, conducted by Michael Lewanski, split the evening's performances into sets of two to three works, allowing for conversation, commentary, and mingling with the musicians in-between. From solo works to pieces for larger ensembles, Dal Niente executed each piece with precision and grace—from technically demanding pieces such as Ted Hearne's Crispy Gentlemen or Ashley Fure's something to hunt to simpler but more theoretically complex works such as Johannes Kreidler's Stil 1f. Beat Furrer's Aria, Alex Mincek's Nucleus, and Thomas Ades' Traced Overhead were standouts in a concert that the Chicago Classical Review called 'exhilarating' and 'wide-ranging'.

Check out a video preview for the Party below: 

Hannah Lash: New Monodrama, Works for Choreography

by Ted Gordon on Nov. 3, 2014, 10:01 a.m.

On Sunday, November 2nd, the audience at the Guggenheim Museum in New York witnessed a rare glimpse at new music and new choreography, "fresh out of the oven," by composers Hannah Lash, Ted Hearne, and Caroline Shaw. Curated by David Lang, with choreography by Pam Tanowitz, this performance, part of the Works and Process series, previewed a collaborative project between composers and choreographers, slated to be performed in February, 2015. Check out a recording of the event, including an interview with the composers and choreographer, here: 

Hannah Lash is no stranger to collaboration: her recent monodrama, Stoned Prince, has just been recorded by loadbang, and is slated to be released on November 5th on ANALOG Arts. Listen to an excerpt from the recording below: