Georgia Spiropoulos on her piece and visiting San Francisco

Oria is a story..... a story about sound; or better an "echogony", the birth of sound. Born from silence (from nothing), sound emerges as breathy noise, becomes a "sea of noises" where a first island, the first note, is born in the first instrument; spreading into new notes and instruments meeting vocal sounds and returning to breath again.Coming to San Francisco for the first time, I will meet and work with the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players and the excellent, professional and friendly team I now know by email only. What is really exciting is the SFCMP’s interest in contemporary music coming from many different horizons and countries. I believe that when we take a sufficient distance - an indispensable distance- from our own country and culture then we are able to reconsider, to reconcile, and certainly to go deeper in our own culture. And this what the SFCMP does! I am really happy to meet all of you; and really excited to see San Francisco for the first time!

Daniel Kennedy on Steiger's Dreamscape

I first met Rand (photo at left) in 1980, when we were graduate students at California Institute of the Arts, and since that time, I've had the pleasure of sharing many wonderful musical experiences with him. While at CalArts, I performed in a fantastic new piece, Quintessence, that he composed for a mixed ensemble, resulting in the formation of the noteworthy new-music ensemble, the California E.A.R. Unit. Rand also wrote a terrific solo for me, which I've played many times over the years, and is still part of my regular solo repertoire.

So, now I have the good fortune to be part of another great piece from Rand [Dreamscape, March 17, 2008], coming from a long line of works by one of America's most outstanding composers. But, this piece presents new challenges, and a new level of virtuosity from his earlier works. The percussion part has two "stations," one for a setup of non-pitched instruments, which by its very nature has built-in performance difficulties. The second is a 5-octave marimba, with over eight feet of lateral keyboard to navigate through a complex and virtuosic cadenza. But part of the attraction to playing percussion parts in contemporary music is to face the challenges they present, and I wouldn't be completely happy without them! A very special thanks to Rand.

Pianist Vicki Ray on March 17 concert

Practicing Rand Steiger's Dreamscape has been like crawling around inside a kaleidoscope. The colors and gestures swirl and mutate in subtle, exquisite ways that have made practicing this both a huge challenge and a complete delight. In many modern pieces the piano is most used for its percussive qualities but in this piece I get to make gloriously luscious clouds of sound. I've known Rand for a long time but haven't heard any of his more recent pieces. It's wonderful to hear what he's up to these days!

In memoriam Jorge Liderman

Jorge Liderman's death, on the eve of the world premiere of his new piece, Furthermore. . ., has stunned all of us. On Sunday afternoon, February 3, 2008, David Milnes, violinist Carla Kihlstedt, and the ensemble rehearsed and played Liderman's new piece for an audience of about 60 people at our Contemporary Insights: Music and Conversation series. What had been envisioned as an event at which the composer would speak about his music became instead a makeshift memorial.

We have been privileged to premiere a number of Liderman's pieces, and to record his Song of Songs. For me personally, it has been a pleasure in working with Jorge over some 16 years to witness his music grow in power and suppleness. Gestures that were interesting, yet almost backgrounded, in pieces we played in the early 1990s developed into the main expression of the later music. The more recent music is unusually accessible, yet never obvious or predictable.

We welcome your memories and comments about Jorge Liderman and his music here.

Audience comments about the Feb 4 concert

Audience members: Comment here about the February 4 concert.
Here are three reviews of the concert.
Joshua Kosman in the San Francisco Chronicle .
Jonathan Wilkes in the San Francisco Classical Voice.
Richard Friedman, All I Know.