Sonic Arts Research Centre, Queen's University Belfast, 18.01.2018

Two of the leitmotifs running through my work are the effect of time on memory and perception, and the creation (however illusory) of a fragile continuity from discontinuity. My large-scale ‘Traces’ Cycle for solo flute (1991-2006) is perhaps the best illustration of the former tendency, while the latter is typified by Music for 25 Solo Strings (Epitomaria-Glosaria-Commentaria) and åNeM (1996) for solo piano.

Like Music for 25 Solo Strings and åNeM (based respectively on a motet by William Byrd and an organ work by the 17th Century Neapolitan composer Giovanni Maria Trabaci), this piece makes use of pre-existing musical material.  In this case, seven fragmentary and radically differentiated versions of the Andante from C.P.E. Bach’s 4th Württemberg sonata are segmented and interleaved. Their juxtaposition creates the impression of an object viewed from different angles, different distances and different perspectives, prompting a constant revaluation of an original, which remains tantalisingly out of earshot.  

I also like to think that the piece is not simply an acknowledgement of my long-standing interest in C.P.E Bach, but can be seen as a symbol of the welcome critical re-interpretation of his music over the past 50 years, as well as recognising his well-documented interest in philosophy, aesthetics and music theory. 

The piece is dedicated to Pavlos Antoniadis.

James Erber: Elided Dilapidations (after C.P.E. Bach)(2014-2015)

James Ricci (b. 1954 in NYC) composes compelling works for soloist, chamber ensemble, voice, and orchestra.
 

He studied in Boston at the Berklee College of Music, New England Conservatory, and at Brandeis University with Donald Martino, Martin Boykan, and Harold Shapero. He also participated in diverse seminars and master classes in Europe and the United States with composers György Ligeti, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Earle Brown, Jacob Druckman, Ralph Shapey, Betsy Jolas, Sylvano Bussotti, Anthony Payne, Milton Babbitt and Elliott Carter.  He obtained fellowships to attend Indiana University Composer's Forum, the Yale Norfolk Summer School of Music, and in Europe on a Sacher grant (Brandeis University).

As co-director of the LUMEN Contemporary Music Ensemble Ricci curated a series of successful concerts of new music for both concert and educational settings.

His “To the Solar Winds” was commissioned by the Arlington Arts Council and premiered by the Solar Winds Woodwind Quintet.

A collection of his music for piano has been released by David Holzman for Albany Records (TROY1875).


George Grella of NY Classical Review wrote regarding his NYC premiere of Intermezzo, “Ricci explained that he took an intuitive approach to writing the music, exploring the pathways of his subconscious and the sound of the piano. It initially presents itself as an atonal work, but quickly and smoothly becomes the fundamentally romantic reverie of Ricci’s technical approach. The music seems to sound just the way it should and, in Holzman’s performance, was completely absorbing.”


New Music Connoisseur described Ricci’s Sonatina for Solo Viola as “…cleverly expressed, while the string writing is emotive, showy, and telling - a fine listen.”


Ricci’s music was nominated three times for an award from the American Arts and Letters.

His String Quartet No. 1 (1984) won mention in the 1985 Boston League-ISCM Competition and a recording by the QX String Quartet is available on streaming services.

Ricci's album of piano music titled "Musical Connections" was released in September of 2021. It features Grammy-nominated pianist David Holzman. It is available on the Albany Records label (TROY1875).

Two recent works by Ricci for orchestra - Rune and Night Music - were recorded by Filharmonie Brno (Czech Republic) for Ablaze Records and conducted by Mikel Toms. The recording is available under the title "Orchestral Masters Vol. 9" (Ablaze AR-00066).


In Boston Ricci held a position of Assistant Professor of Composition at the Berklee College of Music. He now resides in Chapel Hill, NC.

His work is published by Universal Edition (UE) and affiliated with BMI (Broadcast Music Inc.).

I'll follow you back when SC lifts the follower limit (!)
Loving listening to everyone's music on here :-))))))))))

Dr Pavlos Antoniadis (PhD University of Strasbourg-IRCAM, MA University of California, San Diego, MA University of Athens) is a pianist, musicologist and technologist from Korydallos, Athens, Greece, currently based in France. He performs complex contemporary and experimental music, studies embodied cognition and develops tools for technology-enhanced learning & performance. He is currently researcher at EUR -ArTeC, Paris 8 and following up at the Berlin Institute of Technology (TU-Audiokommunikation) as a Humboldt Stiftung scholar. He collaborates with the Interaction-Son-Musique-Mouvement team at IRCAM and he is a member of the Laboratory of Excellence GREAM, Université de Strasbourg, where he also taught seminars on computer music and contemporary performance practice.

As a pianist, he has performed in Europe, North & South America and Asia with the new music ensembles Work in Progress-Berlin, Kammerensemble Neue Musik Berlin, Phorminx, ERGON, Accroche Note, as well as a soloist with the Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra. He has participated in recordings for Mode (2015 German Recording Critics Award / Deutscheschallplattenkritikspreis) and Wergo records. As a soloist, he has worked with composers Mark Andre, Helmut Lachenmann, Brian Ferneyhough, Wolfgang Rihm, Tristan Murail, Richard Barrett, Walter Zimmermann, and has premiered solo piano works by James Erber, Nicolas Tzortzis, Andrew R. Noble, Luis Antunes Pena, Dominik Karski, Laurentiu Beldean and others. His programming features the most complex contemporary works, extremes of physicality, live electronics, multimedia and musical theatre, often in eclectic dialogue with ancient repertoire from Cabezón to Bartók. He is also active in free improvisation with the composer and improviser Panos Ghikas (London) and has collaborated with the physical theatre group Zero Point (Athens).

As a researcher, Pavlos was a Musical Research Residency fellow at IRCAM in 2014, where under the supervision of Frédéric Bevilacqua and Dominique Fober (Grame, Lyon) he developed GesTCom (Gesture Cutting through Textual Complexity), a sensor-based environment for the gestural control and analysis of complex piano notation, for example of works by Xenakis or Ferneyhough. His research record includes fifteen (15) publications in English, German and French and over fifty (50) talks and lecture-performances in several institutions (HfM Dresden, INMM Darmstadt, IRCAM Paris, Orcim Gent, Goldsmiths London, Trinity Dublin, Aristoteleio Thessaloniki, Cité de la Musique et de la Danse Strasbourg, Hong Kong University, Yamanashi Gakuin University Kofu, Wocmat Taiwan, LEAD Dijon, SARC Belfast, UdK Berlin) and international conferences.

Pavlos holds degrees in piano performance (Piano Diploma, Nakas Athens; Koninklijk Conservatorium Den Haag;  MA, UC San Diego) and musicology (MA, Athens National University, PhD Université de Strasbourg in co-direction with the  IRCAM, under Pierre Michel and Frédéric Bevilacqua). He has studied on LabEx GREAM, IRCAM, Fulbright, UC San Diego, Nakas conservatory, Internationale Ensemble Modern Academie Frankfurt and Impuls Academie Gratz scholarships. His PhD thesis was awarded the "Prix de thèse 2019" from the University of Strasbourg. His main piano teachers were Chryssi Partheniade, Ian Pace, Geoffrey Douglas Madge and Aleck Karis. In ensemble performance, he has followed the seminars of Ensemble Modern and Klangforum Wien.

CONTACT:

katapataptwsi@yahoo.gr

antoniadis@ircam.fr

pavladisanton@gmail.com


http://ismm.ircam.fr/pavlos-antoniadis/

https://pavlosantoniadis.wordpress.com/about/