"Taste American Music!" · Harpsichord

Is there any "contemporary" music from the USA apart from jazz, pop and Broadway?
Indeed there is!
And this will be impressively presented in the two concerts and the multi-media spectacle HPSCHD, conceived by John Cage, even if this will by no means do justice to all movements and styles. Nevertheless, the selection of works will represent a broad spectrum in a wide variety of formations: Chronologically, the programme ranges from a miniature composition by Charles Ives, the most important pioneer of the US avant-garde, to the world premiere of a harpsichord piece by Haosi Howard Chen, who studied at the Karlsruhe University of Music until 2022 and also lives here. The singer and composer Cathy Berberian, who became famous through her close collaboration with John Cage, Luciano Berio, Igor Stravinsky and others, Florence Price, the first African-American woman to become known as a composer of classical music in the USA, and finally Frederic Rzewski, who also taught in Karlsruhe for a short time, should also be highlighted.

The focus on the harpsichord, which is not immediately associated with contemporary music, may come as a surprise. Since 1900, however, it has been increasingly recognised by composers in the USA, especially after the grande dame of the harpsichord Wanda Landowska emigrated there in 1941. This facet is also intended to draw attention to the fact that harpsichord playing is taught at the University of Music as part of the Master's programme in Contemporary Music.
A rich buffet of musical delicacies has therefore been prepared. You are warmly welcome to
"Taste American Music!"

Earle Brown (1926–2002) Nine Rarebits (1976)
Daniel Pinkham (1923–2006)
from Lessons for the Harpsichord (1971)
David Johnson (*1946) Fantasy for Harpsichord (2021)
Haosi Howard Chen (*1991) Contrafacture (UA)
Elliott Carter (1908–2012) Sonata for Flute, Oboe, Cello and Harpsichord (1952)

Students of Karlsruhe University of Music
Idea, concept and moderation Kristian Nyquist