Very appropriate! (It reminds me of that story about someone visiting James Joyce's apartment and admiring an unusually-framed photograph on the wall. 'What's that?' - 'Cork.' - 'No, I meant what's the frame made of, not where was the photograph taken.' - 'I know. Cork.')

I had a similarly wonderful experience when I heard Drumming at the Barbican a year and a half ago, although I got quite irritated by the über-cool and trendy audience breaking into applause too quickly afterwards, as if they knew Reich was 'in' rather than because they'd been as stunned as I was by hearing the piece live.

In vaguely similar vein I managed to blag a freebie to the Laurie Anderson gig last night in Moscow,  at Dom Muzyky (Main Hall).  She played an entirely new set called "Homeland",  and didn't play material from any of her previous albums.  The ensemble was very thinned-down....  a violist, a keyboardist, and a bassist,  together with a sound programmer,  and Anderson herself on electric violin, synths and vocoder.

The new material is more overtly political than anything I've previously heard her do.  While some of the songs are a dystopic view of modern life, more than half are directly about the current political scene in the USA.  There's an extremely bitter song about the Iraq War ("Only an expert can deal with the problem, only an expert can deal with the problem"), and another mid-way through the set "We call 'em up, we call 'em up, no-one even knows why".  I'm not sure to what extent the Moscow audience understood the underlying detail in songs decrying Rush Limbaugh?  A few muso journalists whom I saw afterwards were hunting for clues as to what the "NRA" is.   Other songs dealt with pollution, the soullessness of modern city life, birds, and a song that parodied the schtick of a Motivational Speaker who is a secret nihilist.

A truly rotten sound-system (in Moscow's premiere flagship new concert-hall, hello?) pulled the rug from much enjoyment that might have been had.   Frankly it was the wrong venue entirely (trying to do NYC liberal-cool electro against the visual background of an enormous concert organ was already wrong).  I fear the ultra-expensive ticket prices (£50 cheapest) had driven away a good proportion of the fans,  and the 2500-seater hall was 70% empty.  Sensible House Management closed the Balcony and Amphitheatre, and moved everyone into the Stalls,  but we were rattling even then

I'd say not, turfo: all I'm aware of hearing of is the double bass concerto, and I'm pretty sure that's only by name, though those more in the swing of things down South may have more knowledge. This one's to have six performances in Scotland (Glasgow/Edinburgh/Aberdeen/Dundee/Perth/Inverness), plus one at Wigmore Hall in London (a co-commissioner), so that might make inroads.

Thanks for that, Prawn!  I didn't realise she would be in London with the same show later this week - it makes an unusual change for Moscow to get something before London    It's an unusual move to do the concert tour before the album is even available - I guess the idea is for the material to bed-in a little before putting it down on disk?   

I have the impression he was played a bit more in the 80s and 90s, when David Drew was head of promotion at Boosey & Hawkes, though I may be wrong about this. The only thing I've heard live in recent memory was a new piece premiered by Ensemble 10/10, Liverpool's new music ensemble, a couple of years ago, which was a bit flabby but pleasant enough.

I think H.K. Gruber, who performs occasionally in the UK, has also been responsible for introducing some of Schwertsik's work over here.

Yes!

Can't be there although of course would dearly love to have been...

I should give a brief mention to a concert I attended yesterday in the Kolumba museum. Went to see a dear friend play viola (her own versions of three Schubert violin sonatas). I didn't know that the pianist was going to be Pi-Hsien Chen (whom I hadn't previously experienced in concert). Or that someone had had the odd notion of programming the second half of the concert as consisting of either the Schubert sonata D. 959 or the Beethoven op. 111 - depending on the choice at interval of the chap (outgoing president of the museum or something) in whose honour the concert was being presented. Silly idea to have the poor pianist prepare two pieces and only play one, I thought.

Well. The D. 959 sonata was truly extraordinary Schubert playing and I shall be seeking out many more of her concerts. Perhaps not always of razor-sharp precision but intense and passionate enough that I found myself emitting involuntary noises much too often. Spontaneous and constantly active music-making. (Her face often disappeared completely behind her hair - quite unnerving at times.) Really one of the most powerful things I've experienced in a concert. I was quite exhausted by the end.

Not that I had a problem with her playing an encore. Even given that the encore was, as you may have already guessed, Beethoven op. 111...

(Yes, all of it, with all repeats as far as I can tell, and just as involving (i.e. dangerously) as the Schubert.)