Chamber Music

Ned Rothenberg’s Quintet for Clarinet and Strings is a rich CD whose enjoyment increases with repeated listening. Beautifully performed by the Mivos Quartet and virtuoso woodwind player Rothenberg. It has elements from different musical influences but is by no means eclectic. There are indeed formal structures in most of the pieces, however the overriding impression is a wonderful playfulness between clarinet and strings. One of the outstanding aspects of this CD is the integration of the personal language of extended techniques that are signature of Rothenberg’s solo playing including circular breathing, multiphonics, and odd meter cyclical grooves. Yet the music is driven by rich melodies, evocative harmony, and contrapuntal inventiveness. He juxtaposes tempered and non-tempered pitch in a lyric way and the characteristic rhythmic drive that is found in all of Rothenberg’s music is deftly orchestrated for strings. The music has an ease to it that would suggest that these compositions would become an often performed and welcomed addition to the rich repertoire for clarinet and strings. The challenge will be to find a clarinet interpreter of Rothenberg’s skills. The revelation of this CD is its unstuffy and rewarding totality. Highly recommended. Composer-Bassist Mark Dresser (Tzadik Artist for Artist page)

The MIVOS quartet, recently praised by New York Times "accomplished, admirably broad-minded young string quartet" and by Time Out New York as an "excellent ensemble", is devoted to performing the works of contemporary composers, presenting new music to diverse audiences. Since the quartet's inception they have performed and closely collaborated with an ever-expanding cadre of international composers who represent multiple aesthetics of contemporary classical composition. Commissioning and premiering new music for string quartet is essential to the quartet's mission; MIVOS has performed works by emerging and established composers including Kirsten Broberg, Juan Calderon, Anna Clyne, Luke DuBois, Wayne Horvitz, Sam Pluta, Wolfgang Rihm and Huang Ruo. They have appeared at venues including The Stone, Issue Project Room, The Tank NYC, Monkeytown, CUNY Graduate Center, Galapagos Art Space, Roulette and the Brecht forum, and were featured performers for the 2008 American Music Center Annual Meeting at the Chelsea Art Museum. Beyond expanding the string quartet repertoire, MIVOS is committed to working with guest artists and exploring multi-media projects involving live video and electronics. Improvisation is also an integral part of their performances and has led to collaborations with artists such as Ned Rothenberg, Chris Speed and Mark Feldman. MIVOS' performance of Ned Rothenberg's Quintet for Clarinet and Strings, recently released on John Zorns Tzadik label, was described as "played with spontaneity and dexterity" (The Strad Magazine).