American Modern Ensemble: Powerhouse Pianists II

American Modern Ensemble: Blair McMillen, Stephen Gosling

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About the Album

Powerhouse Pianists II is the thrilling follow-up album for the American Modern Ensemble's original Powerhouse Pianists album which also featured Blair McMillen and Stephen Gosling, performing an electric collection of solo works for piano by American composers.

Hailed as the “the dynamic duo of contemporary pianists” who “share a messianic devotion to modern music” by The New York Times, Gosling and McMillen apply the full force of their artistry to seven shining examples of music for two pianos by living composers, including John Adams, Mary Ellen Childs, John Corigliano, Amanda Harberg, Doug Opel, Robert Paterson, and Frederic Rzewski. The album is impeccably produced by GRAMMY® -winning producer Adam Abeshouse.

Perhaps the most striking aspect of this recording is how the simple addition of a second piano explodes the textural and coloristic possibilities. Deep Blue Ocean, a poetic and powerful three-movement rumination on the sea by American Modern Ensemble founder Robert Paterson, opens the album with intense waves of resonance holding up tinkling rising patterns that burst into block chords, punctuating the pastoral subaquatic scenes.

Doug Opel indulges the playful possibilities of the dueling pianos in Dilukkenjon, with the two pianos engaged in a tension-filled championship race to the finish. In Subway, a swinging take on mass transit, composer Amanda Harberg takes full advantage of the 176 keys available to her to capture the swirl of activities and personalities that flow underneath New York City. The frenetic pulse melts into the simple patterns of Mary Ellen Childs’ Kilter, which evoke a sense of mystery and mysticism as they become inextricably entwined.

In John Corigliano’s show-stopping Chiaroscuro for two pianos tuned a quartertone apart, traditional harmony and musical gestures swim in a sea of microtonal surrealism to great expressive effect that goes out with a bang. John Adams evokes the vast expanses of the American west with his ecstatic brand of minimalism in Hallelujah Junction and the disc closes with a two-piano arrangement of Frederic Rzewski’s raging industrial masterpiece Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues from Four North American Ballads.

About American Modern Ensemble

American Modern Ensemble (AME) joyfully celebrates and showcases American music, performing the widest possible repertoire, particularly by living composers. Our goal is to grow our audience base as far as possible beyond the music community. AME includes on-stage chats with featured composers, presents premieres, and conducts three annual competitions for young, emerging and professional composers. Receptions after each concert enable audience members to mingle with both composers and performers in an intimate, relaxed setting.

Founded in New York City in 2005, AME has been a dynamic, creative force in the American new music scene. With a world-class ensemble made up of NYC's finest musicians, AME is "simply 'first-rate" (The New York Times). AME has performed and premiered over 135 works by over 120 living American composers in venues ranging from Lincoln Center to Galapagos Arts Space, and has "consistently demonstrated a flair for inventive programming" (Steve Smith, Time Out New York). AME programs both cutting edge and traditional works, presenting unique, engaging events that encourage dialogue between artists and audiences. AME is committed to that connection: over 90% of the composers whose works have been programmed by AME have attended our concerts. Sold out crowds at Merkin Hall, Dimenna Center, the Rubin Museum, The TimesCenter and many other venues are a winning testament to AME's tremendous fan base and ever expanding popularity.

In 2012-13 AME was the ensemble-in-residence at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City, and AME tours and offers educational outreach programs. Recent collaborations include the Dance Theater of Harlem and Talujon percussion ensemble. For more information, visit americanmodernensemble.org.

About Stephen Gosling

Stephen Gosling, pianist, is a ubiquitous presence on the New York new music scene, and has also performed throughout the US, Europe, Latin America, and Asia. His playing has been hailed as “brilliant,” “electric,” and “luminous and poised” (New York Times), possessing “utter clarity and conviction” (Washington Post) and “extraordinary virtuosity” (Houston Chronicle).

A native of Sheffield, England, Mr. Gosling received his BM, MM and DMA degrees from The Juilliard School where he was awarded the Mennin Prize for Outstanding Leadership and Excellence in Music, and the Sony Elevated Standards Fellowship.

Mr. Gosling was for three years pianist of the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, and appeared in several seasons of the Summergarden series at MOMA. He has also performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the Grant Park Festival in Chicago, the Bang on a Can Marathon, Bargemusic, the 2001 Great Day in New York festival, and the PAN festival in Seoul, Korea. He is a founding member of the American Modern Ensemble, as well as a member of Ensemble Sospeso and the New York New Music Ensemble. He has performed with Orpheus, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Speculum Musicae, DaCapo Chamber Players, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Continuum, the League of Composers/ISCM Chamber Players, and Da Camera of Houston. He has also participated in Off-Broadway productions and collaborated with a number of dance companies, including American Ballet Theater and Parsons Dance Project. Mr. Gosling has been heard on the NPR, WNYC, and WQXR radio networks, and has recorded for New World Records, CRI, Mode, Innova, Rattle Records and American Modern Recordings (AMR).

About Blair McMillen

Blair McMillen has established himself as one of the most versatile and sought-after pianists today. The New York Times has described him as “riveting,” “prodigiously accomplished and exciting,” and as one of the piano’s “brilliant stars.”

McMillen has performed in major venues both traditional and avant-garde: from Carnegie Hall, the Moscow Conservatory, Lincoln Center, Caramoor, Miller Theatre, and the Library of Congress; to (le) Poisson Rouge, Galapagos, and the Knitting Factory. Highlights from recent seasons include the Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 1 at the Bard Music Festival, the Walter Piston Concertino for Piano in Carnegie Hall, and numerous appearances with the New York Philharmonic, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and Albany Symphony.

2014 also saw McMillen’s debut at the Gilmore International Keyboard Festival, where he performed a solo recital featuring Morton Feldman’s Traidic Memories (a McMillen calling card; Alex Ross praised his “acute feeling for those remarkable passages…”) right on the heels of a sold-out performances with his tour de force piano sextext, Grand Band. Of his solo performance, the Kalamazoo Gazette wrote, “McMillen played with complete control, meticulously observing Feldman’s tempos, meters, and dynamics, making the high notes sing and the bass resonant… It was like watching the stars come out on a clear night by Lake Michigan, exquisitely played.”

Blair McMillen leads a multifarious musical life as pianist, chamber musician, conductor, and improviser. He thrives on playing a wide variety of musical styles: from medieval keyboard manuscripts to improvisation-based music of all types: from Classical/Romantic-era piano repertoire to the music of young 21st-century composers. Known for imaginative and daring programming, McMillen has premiered hundreds of new works both as a soloist and with numerous ensembles. He constantly collaborates with composers and artists of other genres in commissioning works that stretch the boundaries of the piano and the traditional recital format.

Blair McMillen holds degrees from Oberlin Collect, the Juilliard School, and the Manhattan School of Music. He lives in New York City, and has served on the music faculty at Bard College and Conservatory since 2005.

Tracks

Deep Blue Ocean – Robert Paterson
1. I. The Darkness Below [3'38"]
2. II. Sunbeams and Waterfalls [3'24"]
3. III. Accents and Waves [4'27"]

4. Dilukkenjon [8'16"] – Doug Opel

5. Subway [3'16"] – Amanda Harberg

6. Kilter [9'28"] – Mary Ellen Childs

Chiaroscuro – John Corigliano
7. I. Light [1'46"]
8. II. Shadows [4'11"]
9. III. Strobe [4'42"]

10. Hallelujah Junction [15'44"] – John Adams

11. Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues [11'01"] – Frederic Rzewski

TOTAL TIME: 70:20

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